Ikea gave 9000 folding bikes as christmas bonii to its employees. :D
As such ebay appears to be flooded with folding bikes for around the Ã,£30 mark :D
http://search.ebay.co.uk/ikea-bike_W0QQfromZR40
lol @ the one with **RARE** in the title!
Max would be on that like a fat kid on a chocolate bar.
Id be all over it if I could see the hinge, the most critical part of a folder. The fact that it has external gearing is a bit daft, as a true homage to a Raleigh Twenty should have a Sturmey Archer hub--which are ludicrously cheap these days.
Definitely worth getting for the price though. Theyre sinfully ugly, but stupidly handy for trains and the car.
Id prefer a Dahon Vitesse D5:
http://www.dahon.com/us/vitessed5.htm
Get one Rich, if nothing else, as a spare. Those 20" wheels are stupidly strong, and the rims are cheap to rebuild on BMX kit if you want to go nuts.
Those older Raleigh things weigh about a hundred tonnes, I used to have one (and it made me ashamed). Id be afraid of exceeding the GVW of my car :P
You can drop Raleigh Twenties down near ten pounds with some strategic changes, mainly things like post, bars, rims, and tires. Nothing expensive needed, just cheap bits like plain top aluminum posts, and bmx rims. You can retrofit one for $100 or so and get a 30 pounder. Great fun, and a cheap way to build a stealthy city bike. I dropped near ten pounds off the womans Raleigh I redid, so I know its possible. Just upgrading the saddle can drop a couple pounds. :lol: With something like IRC Roadlites, you can easily drop 600g in rubber alone...
lol max, providing I get a christmas bonus Ill get one.
Its killing me that I cant ride home to see my folks now I have no uni. Cant really afford the train.
Yup the bikes are hideously ugly, however the decals are unlikely to be clearcoated on, so a bit of work with soapy water, and a butter knife and I have another "bloo" bike like my old one. :D
Found the dealers website specs for the same bike.
http://www.raleighbikes.com/cyclesproductdetails.aspx?ID=45
Totally different bike in that link, M3. But for 50 pounds or so, the IKEA bike could be a sh*tload of fun to play around with. Ive seen the old R20s from the 70s built out into amazing machines, if totally geeky. :D Id worry slightly about bending the post, as hell, Id worry about me bending the post, but if its a gimpy one, straight posts like that are a fiver wholesale, no worries.
nah its the same one according to all the ebay auctions. its a raleigh promenade, except it has different handlebars.
Ah... maybe I have got it wrong then :D
Frame looks like like a different design. Again, the only thing worth wringing hands over with a folder is the hinge system. Lousy ones can make for a noodley bike. Id suspect Raleigh didnt totally gimp out as they have a history of serviceable folders.