The Folding Bike Race

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What is your opinion on the unfolding regulations. Should the bikes all be folded or should there be a system to level the playing field?

 

Comments

 

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25.06.08 - searaj khalifa

i think it should fold in a compact so it can be carry.

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23.06.08 - Ian Wright

I think the cycles should be unfolded, as to not discriminate people with disabilities

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19.06.08 - Richard Foxley

It's clear. It's a folding bike race! All bikes should be fully folded at the start. Doing this will ENSURE a level playing field; it's what the race is about after all!

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19.06.08 - Richard Foxley

It's clear. It's a folding bike race! All bikes should be fully folded at the start. Doing this will ENSURE a level playing field; it's what the race is about after all!

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17.06.08 - Cliff Rice

The concept of all the bikes being folded adds to the fun. However some competitors will have an advantage over others because their bikes do not simply fold, they must remove a wheel or separate other parts of the bike. Then again they often have an advantage over smaller wheeled folders because of their larger wheels, not that I'm bitter or anything :-) Perhaps the races should be categorised by wheel size, then age group, There's food for thought :-) Eventually I might win!

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17.06.08 - enrique Casanovas

I agree totally with Mr. Bailey =“I think it is important to keep in the unfolding aspect, and in doing so accept that some bikes unfold faster than others” said Bailey. “That is the whole part of the event - what are the most suitable bikes for the job. Some of the bikes that fold quickly don't ride so fast, and the fastest folders to ride take a lot longer to fold. Otherwise there's no point in doing the unfolding.

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15.06.08 - Paul Featherstone

Keeping the bikes assembled is the only way to go. The chap who made the comments about fast unfolders, slow on the track is talking nonense - 2 Bromptons finished in the top 10. I also think wheel size should factor into it, nothing above 20 inch.

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15.06.08 - Christian

Building a folding bike means making a balanced decision regarding the bike's performance including:

- Ease of fold

- Size and compactness of the folded package

- Riding comfort

- Speed

- Weight

- Accessories

The choice is determined by the folder's purpose (commuting, travelling, touring, racing, storing, off-road, fun, etc).

 

What does this mean?

A folding bike race is a race with folding bikes. If you exclude the folding then you neglect the most crucial point of a folder, namely how well-balanced the above decision actually was the engineers had to make. And if you want to see the best folder win then please let the chaps unfold their folders at the start.

(And let them carry the folded bike the length of a tube station platform first to incorporate the folded bike's compactness into the result.)

 

If people want to take part in a folder race with a demountable bike then this is a decision the rider has to make: He or she has to balance the known handicap against possible advantages and simply the fun of taking part...

Actually, this is still the primary intention of the race: Fun.

Isn't it?

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15.06.08 - Mark Oliver

Hi there - love the article! Bikes should be folded suitable to a commute - the Dahons/Bromptons should be folding in half, seat and handlebars down. The Airnimal should be split into its commuting size. The race is not about rider speed alone, it is a combination of rider speed, folding speed, foot speed and tactics! I would even make the competitors stop if the traffic lights on the otherside to the start line are on red - anyone jumping the lights would be subject to a £30 fine and a lecture from the police - if they could catch us!

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14.06.08 - Wes (the man on the Moulton) Curtis

I took a calculated risk with my Moulton that I'd make up the extra unfolding time once I was underway. As we lined up for heat one, the director said we only had to "half fold" our bikes. This is impossible for the Moulton - it's either dismantled or built. I was accordingly the last to get away but despite this I came about 6th or 7th in the heat. A miracle indeed and a tribute to Dr Moulton and pasta.

 

It certainly helped me not to have to unfold for the final - especially as the race was shortened from 8 to 5 laps. A shame - another 3 and I'd have caught 'em... yeah right!!

 

Seriously though, I think the races should include unfolding - the problem being that many bikes can part-fold. So a fully folded rule might be fairest: Slow to build but fast to ride bikes like Airnimals (and Moultons!) can compete more evenly with fast to build but slower to ride bikes like Bromptons (huge respect to the top 10 brommies though).

 

There might just be another debate to be had around racing-licence holders competing. Is this in the true spirit of the race? Should they start half a lap behind? Should they be compelled to use a Strida?

 

However this pans out, sticking to the published format and being consistent with all the races is what I think matters most.

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13.06.08 - Huw Gwilliam

I appreciate it's hard as each marque folds differently; If this was a 1-manufacturer series then I'd say 'yes—fully folded'. So should the playing field be levelled?

Perhaps, depending on what skills are being tested as part of the race. If it's just about racing small-wheeled bikes then no - don't fold them and open up the remit to more separable and mini-bike designs. If it's truly about the idea of entertainment (or showcasing the flexibility of origami bikes) then yes - the folding should be part of it. How that's acheived could be myriad; a 'best of three fold-time' handicap followed with staggered start based on those times seeming fairer but less entertaining. I think that all I really wanted in the race though was consistency of rules. We were ambiguously asked to ;just fold them in half; and different competitors interpreted that in different ways. Some didn't at all.

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1.06.08 - Stuart Affleck

My answer to the question would be 'Yes'- the bikes should all be folded (or dismantled in the case of Airnimals & separable Moultons. That would in itself be a level playing field. The faster bikes tend to have slower folds (with the exception of the quicker Dahon models) tend to have slower folds. And it's supposed to be a folding bike race. I think that implies folding, missing the point if no folding is involved. Hence, frames/wheels folded in, handleposts down, seatposts down, pedals folded in (if applicable). These measures would have hurt my time- my bike's seatpost is hard to raise- but it would be the same for everyone. If your bike takes 10-20 seconds to unfold, then it is no great hardship. I would repeat my earlier suggestion that a run to the bikes favours bigger and stronger entrants able to outrun others or shove them out of the way. Instead, 'qualification' of timed folding or unfolding, in order to determine start order. Fastest fold on 'pole', slowest at the back. Riders would start by standing by their bike, then beginning to unfold, or by running across to them (like the real Le Mans drivers ran to their cars) no opportunity to be barged out of the way. This would ensure that this folding bike race meets its name- a folding race, won by speed on a bike & not on foot. If like the Spanish gentleman in this year, you have a very fast folding Strida, why not be able to take advantage of that at the start? Equally, Wes Curtis on his Moulton had a complex assembly job in his heat, but had enough speed to counter that problem and make the final. Making both fold puts neither at a disadvantage over the course of the race.

This could also work for a team event. How about teams of 3-5 riders, running in a relay over 5 laps, with 'pit stops' to change between bikes- one bike is folded, the next unfolded?

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13.06.08 - John Folan

leave folded, bikes that take longer to unfold riders run 10 meters to there bikes those bikes that can be unfolded quicker riders run 15meters and any custom mods to bikes these riders run 20 meters to there bikes and dont cheat is supposed to be fun, i certainly enjoyed watching and it also has made me start saving to buy myself a folding bike and enter next years event as it looks like a very fun event that i would enjoy taking part in, win or loose a great event looking forward to next year and hopefully taking part.

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13.06.08 - Richard Bailey

There's no point in having a folding bike race without the unfolding. Some bikes unfold faster than others but with practice most bikes can be unfolded quickly and if not, you're probably racing on the wrong bike, or you better have fast legs. If riders want a level playing field at the start they should enter the support race instead. This should remain a folding bike commuter race, suited and booted, where you're either slick with your unfolding or you're left behind.

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15.06.08 - Keith Henderson

I'd just like to clarify the points I made previously... I didn't exactly say: 'the race should be a test of the rider’s fitness and bike handling and not of the technical superiority of one machine over another.'

 

My point was that on the night, there seemed to be specific directions as to how the Bromptons should be folded. I was surprised to see all the Bromptons lined up in the first Heat with their seat tubes raised and handlebars assembled. Meanwhile the Airnimal was almost completely assembled but the Moulton was almost completely disassembled making the Moulton rider more disadvantaged than he should have been. It was the one rule for one, and another rule for the other aspect which brought most to the conclusion that the final should be raced without the fold.

 

As long as all bikes start from the same point - completely folded - then the race becomes what it should be... a race of man and machine. I would have been more than happy to have all bikes folded in the final. After all, the manufacturers also need the race to be a showcase of their bikes, and the folding aspect definitely increases the spectators enjoyment.

 

I'd be grateful if you could clarify my points.

Finally, lets face it, it was just a great laugh.

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13.06.08 - Jaz

Interesting comments, it's a folding bike race!, so all the bikes should be folded at the start. If your bike takes longer to unfold, well "you bought it". So,that's your problem and not your competitors. The test of the rider’s fitness and bike handling come after the unfolding. The fun is in watching people unfold their bikes and take off. Don't take the fun out of the race!

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13.06.08 - Carl James

The unfolding added a great, extra dimension - both for competitors and spectators - otherwise it just becomes another bike race! How about two start lines? 10m run if you're unfolding your bike, 20m run if you're not. It then becomes a tactical decision that each rider has to make prior to the race - having considered all the

'folding factors'!

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