The folder or folding bicycle is a kind of bike that has several joints and / or hinges that can be unlocked in order to fold the bike into a compact size and shape. The folding typically involves the main frame of the bicycle, thought there have been some folding bicycles where only lesser portions fold.
Folding bikes are much more popular in the United Kingdom and East Asia than in the United States, and have many beneficial features that make them more suitable for taking onto public transportation.
Since many of the most rich American’s dislike public transportation and want to spend as much money as possible on a bike, they are not likely to opt for a folding bike, whereas those in other countries where public transportation is ‘cooler’ see the advantages of using folding bikes.
Many races and even records have been won or broken by riders using folding bikes, most notably Moulton folding bicycles. Though many people think that folding bicycles can’t stand up to the same standards of speed and performance, this is more of a myth than an actuality.
Folding bikes generally have smaller wheels though the ratios that determine how a bike will fit a rider seem to be nearly identical to no-folding bikes. Though folding bikes tend to cost more than non-folding bikes with similar features, many people find they are very suitable for their mixed transit lifestyles.
The biggest challenge to changing popular opinion of folding bikes in places like the US is to dissuade people of the notion that folding bikes go more slowly than regular non-folding bikes, when that’s simply not the case.