Other manufacturers

The market for folding bicycles is expanding rapidly; each year new designs emerge with a different take on the concept. We welcome this increased competition as each new product potentially attracts new people (back) to cycling, while raising interest in the folding bike market overall.

For some, a folding bike does not need to be particularly compact – just sufficiently foldable to fit in the back of a car, for instance – and there are many designs on the market that are basically fixed-frame bikes with the facility to fold in half for easier transportation. For others, compactness and portability are paramount, and a number of manufacturers have come up with ingenious designs to reduce the size and weight of a folding bike.

Below is a list of just some of the folding bike brands available today; countries listed indicate location of manufacture.

A-Bike

Sir Clive Sinclair’s take on the folding bike – very compact folder but with limitations placed on rider weight, height and probably on feasible routes (Malaysia)
Airframe

A diamond frame design (UK)
Airnimal

High-performance bikes which can be dismantled for transport. Normally built to order (UK)
Bike Friday

Green Gear Cycling makes various bikes which can be dismantled and packed away; Bike Friday is the best-known. These bikes have a reputation for good riding performance and are usually custom-built (USA)
Dahon

Dahon makes a very wide range of designs and is the largest player in the sector. The models include small-wheeled and larger wheeled fold-in-half bikes, including mountain bikes. Some of the output is sold under the Dahon brand, the rest is badged for other brands (China)
Di Blasi

A range of models (including a trike and a moped), whose main merit (thanks to a system of links) is speed of folding (Italy)
Giant

Giant is a well-respected bike manufacturer; their wide range of bikes includes a folder; the Halfway (Taiwan)
GoBike

A relatively new entrant on to the folding bike scene; the model uses a 20" wheel size (Taiwan)
Moulton

Alex Moulton pioneered the use of small wheels on adult bikes, and now manufactures beautifully-designed and made machines. The bikes are fast, full suspension bikes, not designed for ready foldability but separable into two reasonably portable halves (UK)
Pashley

The only other volume manufacturer of bicycles in the UK besides Brompton. Pashley specialises in classic roadsters and less conventional bikes, such as trikes, delivery bikes and unicycles. They also jointly produce the TSR with Moulton (UK)
Riese und Müller

A German firm with some intriguing designs for urban and touring bikes, manufactured in Taiwan. The range includes the aluminium-framed "Birdy", a full-suspension bike which folds cleverly, albeit not very small; the scaled-down "Frog" is rather more compact (Taiwan)
Strida

A unique folder, the result of some clever lateral thinking; over 20 years old and now on its third version (Far East)
MoBiky

Very compact if surprisingly heavy commuter bikes; available in 3 wheel sizes (France)