Are folding bikes the answer?

Several bottleneckers have responded to the news that L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti has called for bikes to be allowed on Metro trains during rush hour.

The gist of their response: The rush-hour ban on bikes is rarely enforced and people are bringing bikes on trains all the time anyway.

I've seen some of that -- but the problem is still that there's little room for bikes on trains, regardless of whether they're supposed to be there or not. I was on a Gold Line train to Pasadena at 9 p.m. on Thursday and the early part of the ride was standing room only.

Metro spokesman Dave Sotero, however, said he has a solution: Get a folding bike. He uses his Brompton model as part of his commute from the north San Fernando Valley, which involves riding to a Rapid bus that he takes to the Metrolink.

Sotero also points out that folding bikes are permitted all the time on trains, take 15 seconds to fold and are lightweight. "I can lift mine with four fingers," he says.

A little internet research shows that many fold-up models are in the 25-pound range -- light, but not lighter than many road bikes. The rap on such bikes has always had to do with performance. Fold-ups typically don't have as many gears as regular bikes and the wheels are smaller. On the other hand, one big advantage is that fold-ups can also be carried into the workplace -- so you don't have to lock them up outside -- and they are also easy to toss into the backseat or trunk of a car.

I'm inclined to be skeptical that a bike folds up as easily as, say, a napkin. So I walked over to the local bike shop on Sunday and checked out a Dahon model called the Speed d7. Going from ride mode to fold-up was a three-step operation involving lowering the seat, collapsing the handlebars and then folding the frame (see the photos after the jump). I can see how someone can learn to do it fast; on the other hand, I'm not convinced I would want this to be my everyday bike.

There's a ton of information on such bikes on the Internet and the fold-ups start at $200, although many are much more. Some popular manufacturers are Dahon, Strida, Montague, Go Bike and Brompton. I'm sure I'm leaving out others -- please provide links on the comment board below. I'm going to try to find a shop that will let me take one for a test ride for a week.

Finally, I'll throw out an idea that I wrote about in the paper a few weeks ago and someone commented on this morning: What about adding an extra car to a few local trains? Rip out the seats and designate it the bike car and mark it as such on the schedule. I'm not aware of any other transit agency that does it and I think that if properly promoted, it would be a big hit. Since Mr. Sotero happens to be an MTA flack, I will be tasking him with researching this possibility -- as well as perhaps an MTA discount program for fold-up bikes for their clients.

You asked for it, Dave!

--Steve Hymon

Photo: Dave Sotero

Photos: Steve Hymon / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Disaffected]

Don,

Folding bikes are far from unsafe and you will see them all over London (where the roads are MUCH smaller than your average US Metro Area). In fact the number one killer for cyclists in most cities is either their own stupidity or the stupidity of drivers that say, regard them as "unsafe as a Vespa". Ridiculous posting from somebody so utterly misinformed that I can only surmise you do your best thinking from the comfortable seat of your SuperCab Raised 350 RAM.

Read, educate - dont assume.

[Torr]

With the Dahon 7-Speed you don't actually have to lower the seat to fold the bike up.

And if you pay $15/year to get a membership at Camping World you can get two of the 7 Speed bikes for $400.

[bikylicious]

For me, folding bike is a gas saver, and then be my money saver.

[Gary]

It doesn't have to be an all or nothing idea. How about adding a car where half or some portion of the seats are removed but handrails are left in? I ride the red and blue lines with my bike fairly often with no problems, usually using the space designated for wheelchairs. Out of hundreds of trips, I've only seen a wheelchair on either line twice, and of course I would defer to a handicapped person if one were needing to use the space.

[Nicole Michaels]

Having studied mass transit systems throughout the world, I would like to offer a balance to the passion I sense in this important topic. First, there seems to be a lack of appreciation of the differences in the characteristics of rail modes as not all trains are equal. As a start, comparison references to commuter trains to metro mass transit ones are not the same as some have implied by their comments. Metrolink (commuter rail), for example, carries a fraction of the riders that Metro does (all of Metrolink carries less than just the Blue Line) and commuter trains are much wider and spacious. By the way, Metrolink has a policy that allows 2 bikes per car if space is available and must be strapped in to avoid rolling missiles when trains stop and go suddenly. Caltrains is just now facing the reality of having to remove bikes as their ridership has surges like it has everywhere else. In short, big trains have few riders and more room as compared Metro Trains (a step up from buses) which have many more riders and less interior room.

Though I am a biker myself, I would not push bikes as a priority in light of those competing for limited space on packed trains. For someone to infer that a bike has equal priority to a child in a stroller and a disabled person in a wheelchair is not looking at the humane side of transit. It might interesting your readers that what may be the most accommodating City in the country “San Francisco” bans bikes on all of its MUNI’s trains and trolleys and Bart prohibits them during the peak. MUNI’s ban resulted as a result of the ADA community declaring war for real estate on transit vehicles. Like MUNI, Metro has crushed loads in rush hour and will eventually run into to Moms and the ADA community for similar reasons.

Regarding adding a third car on the Gold or Green Lines for Metro on one, some or all trains has a number of flaws which won’t fly in the world of practical application. This has many issues ranging from being operationally infeasible ignoring the impossibility of guaranteeing cars are available at the right time due to maintenance schedules, trains running out of sequence to adjust to on the fly schedule delays, etc. This is mass transit, with an emphasis on mass. Being the most congested city in America, priority must be given to the masses in Los Angeles. If a third car is added, it will be for people who are begging for real estate including those who can’t even afford a bike. If supply is available, the demand is crouching at its doors. Just look at the Blue Line. Also, a single car rail vehicle costs approximately $3.5 Million each. A cost benefit analysis would never justify a bike train that would likely handle less than half of a passenger car for the masses.

Arguments that bikes are being discriminated truly ignore the masses, the handicap, and the babies in strollers. Bikes are welcome if there is space for them. But they can’t be imposing their pedals into people’s legs, blocking doors, and being a liability when trains stop and go. Metro has liberal bike policies and though they are not enforced (yet) they will likely be once the masses understand them. Bike racks at stations, riding parallel riding buses with bike racks, accommodating a limited number of folding bikes during the peak, and respecting the rights of the masses is the path that people should pursue who love their bikes and the masses too.

[Cycling in Hollywood]

You can get the entry-level Dahon Boardwalk for $200, that's not going to fall apart on you for years. www.dahon.com

No I'm not working for them but I'm seriously considering becoming a dealer!

I had one of their other cheaper models (the Mariner) for 2 years and rode it all over LA, taking it on the Metrolink, the Red Line, assorted buses, etc. I could have used it for many more years but it unfortunately got stolen...so I bought a full-size Dahon instead and ride that everywhere.

[yours truly, Johnny Dollar]

"many people can't run out and buy them at $200...."
Why, is that taking away from their cellphone bill and
their HBO/Showtime expenses?
A few months ago, I had lunch with a British Airways
captain in Redondo Beach; he had me fooled; he didn't
look like a B-747-400 driver with his Friday fold-up bike
at the cafe. He said he and his Friday bike go everywhere
together: Los Angeles, Singapore, London, Tokyo. He
seemed to think it was practical.
Besides, "Subways are for Sleeping."
....cleared to the outer marker.....

[V]

http://www.citizenbike.com/default.asp

[cochon.name]

don, i've owned my bike friday for 6 years. put it in a suitcase and took it to france on a fully loaded tour. took it on amtrak to pittsburgh and rode it to washington dc, also full loaded. put it on amtrak again and took it all around the country last summer. i've ridden tens of thousands of miles on it. it's much more sturdy and durable than my other bike, which is full sized.

your argument against folding bikes is pretty ignorant, obviously never having owned one yourself. plus, your closing statement is pretty telling.

as far as a $200 folding bike, i wouldn't advise buying any bike, folding or not for $200. your components are going to disintegrate the moment you need them and put you in danger. do research and invest in a bike that will last, regardless of where the bike is made.

[don]

folding bikes are dangerous,flimsy and unsafe.Look at that ridiculously over extended seat pole and that horrific-accident-waiting-to-happen goose neck.Both are waiting to snap off should you hit a pot hole!!Those tiny wheels-i would rather use a skateboard.That bike looks like a razor scooter except it collapses in the middle of the frame.There are so many bad design flaws to that contraption that i cant imagine that thing being street legal.That thing is about as safe as a vespa,yugo or worse.I would recommend against ever owning or riding such a dangerous device.God help you if that thing is made in china or thereabouts.

[David in Tarzana]

Steve,

In your Editorial regarding Garcetti's call for sharrows, you wrote:

Note to readers: Vermont is a very heavily trafficked road, so you must have some nerve to be out there on a bike in the first place.

Well I ride over Sepulveda a few days a week from the Valley to the Westside. You must think I have a death wish. Sometimes I think that I do myself. But it is an officially sanctioned Bike Route after all. If the city of Los Angeles says it's safe enough to be an official bike route then it has to be safe. Right?

[Sarah]

You're very right. Folding bikes can be quite inconvenient to ride. I use a combination of my road bike and public transportation to get around L.A. and I don't own a car. I frequently take my bicycle on the red and blue line. I've had a blue line conductor get very upset with me for bringing my bike along during rush hour. It's a terrible inconvenience to be shut out by public transportation rules, and lack of space! People are usually quite accepting and will take a few extra steps to walk around my bike, but the main problem which needs to be addressed is space. I vote extra car.

[Tom Rubin]

The suggestion to add rail cars for more room for bikes is simply not possible for most local rail lines. The Blue Line operates three-car trains, which is the limit of the stations and the blocks where it runs on the street - and the trains are crowded. On the Gold Line, there is a different problem, that of limited propulstion power supply (light rail cars require dozens of dollars per hour in electricity alone). The Red/Purple lines are limited to six-car trains, which is what you have during peak periods now. Metrolink has far more flexibility to add a car than the MTA light and heavy rail lines, but this would still not be simple -- and, by the way, depending on the line, rail cars can cost over $3 million.
Another possibility, one that would help at least some people, is more bike lockers, at the same cost to the rider as parking a car, and allowing two lockers for each cyclist, allowing a "junker" bike to be stored for the downtown bike ride of that last mile-and-one-half.

[Robert]

I don't understand what the big deal is. A bicycle car will help certainly, and would be a great incentive for mass transit, but I don't think bringing in bicycles should be prohibited in any case.

In New York, people can bring bicycles on trains all the time and those trains can be packed! So it's up the bicyclist to decide if they want to brave the waters.

Similarly, people can bring in strollers anytime of the day--which take up just as much room as bikes--or carry large packages. Yeah, they take up space but that's life! It's mass transit's job to serve the needs of its people and it's as ridiculous to prohibit bikes as it is to prohibit strollers, wheelchairs, etc. And even more so with a metro system like los angeles' in which bicycles provide a crucial link between its sporadic stations.

[Rebekah Wright]

I'm sure folding bikes are convenient, but many people in this city can't just run out and buy one... even at $200. From what I've observed it's possible many people out there get stuck riding whatever they can get their hands on, from used & old rusty things to their kid's bike. If people must resort to biking because their budget just can't cover the increase in gas, most likely it won't cover a new bicycle either.

[Mark]

DownTube folding bikes

http://downtube.com

[Colin Bogart]

Folding bikes are one option, to be sure. Dahon's are fairly inexpensive. Bike Friday and Bromptons are not. Also, look at the people who are taking bikes on the trains. They are riding mostly cheap bikes; many of them are second hand. We still need a solution for them. It wouldn't be that hard to put a couple of verticle racks in each car. This helps make it clear where the bikes go and makes efficient use of space at the same time. Look at Portland's MAX trains as an example. Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner is also a good example. I recommend Dave Sotero walk across to Union Station and check out the racks on the Pacific Surfliner. If Amtrak can do it, so can Metro.

[Eclexia]

Caltrain, the commuter train in the SF Bay Area between SF and San Jose, uses bike cars.
http://www.caltrain.com/info_bicycle_program.html

[Divalicious]

Bike Friday -- the ultimate folding bike:

www.bikefriday.com

[Cycling in Hollywood]

Folding Dahons are great bikes, fairly inexpensive and durable. I used to ride a 20" Dahon to the Metrolink from El Monte and then on the Red LIne to Hollywood/Western everyday, great way to commute. I was able to fold the Dahon completely in less than 10 seconds, really fast when you get used to it.

Now I live in Hollywood and don't need to use the train so I ride a 26" Dahon Jack everyday. I usually don't need to fold it up but it comes in handy sometimes, like when I meet a group of ppl somewhere and throw my bike in somebody's trunk when we leave together.