Thglimited - Heavy Industries

JB here. There are many types of folding bicycles, most of which are more than a thousand dollars and impossible to build. Therefore, I found it necessary whittle down the vast possibilities. So far, I’ve compiled the following list:

SuperTiny Micro bikes (eg. Mobiky Genius): These bikes fold up really tiny; their wheels are less than 6″ and the folding mechanisms are fairly simple. However, the tolerancing on these things make them almost impossible to build a working prototype.

Traveling bikes (eg. anything by Montague): These bikes are made for people to take on planes or in their car while maintaining a small clearance or fitting in a bag. However, these bicycles almost always require wheels to be removed, something that I’d rather avoid as a designer.

Bikes that fold in half (most folding bicycles out there): These bicycles are designed with a hinge in the middle of the frame so that the front and back wheels align when folded. As I don’t know how I would realistically build this using the tools I have available, I’m going to avoid this folding mechanism.

Sliding bike frames: The frame slides into itself, the wheels become closer together without rotation. I think we could do something cooler than this, but it would work.

Rotating bike frames (eg. bike friday tikit, birdy. montague dx, new world tourist): Hinges on some other part than the frame allow the frame to collapse. This folding mechanism seems the most doable.

I’m omitting weird ones like the strida because it would be impossible to manufacture a ball-hinge joint on a small scale.

That’s all for now. Any input or comments or differing opinions would be appreciated.