Folding bikes - what are they like and can I fit a child seat?

[circlesquare]

I'm considering buying a folding bike. Firstly, because my commute to work is going to get harder in the summer and I think that cycling part of the way will be easier, and secondly because I'm the only one in my family without a bike. So for leisure I would need to be able to use a child seat, and for work would need a folder.

Is this possible? What do you recommend and where to buy?

I have a folding bike, although not one of the super duper Brompton ones that you pay an arm and a leg for! It's very light and easy to fold up and down, and has gears. I would say definately get gears, as the small wheels can make even little hills quite hard work. If you need to fold down in a hurry and carry, get a brompton, they win hands down. I have a proteam very good value for money at around £100, but I wouldn't put a childseat on- they are not really as stable as a normal size bike.

I have recently bought a brompton and it is fab. I spent more than I planned to because I got it tax-free through the cycle-to-work scheme. I justified this by the fact that they hold their value really well - second hand ones sell for huge prices on ebay.

I don't think you can put a standard child seat on though. I have read about a specially designed child seat of the brompton but think it is mega expensive and not widely available. I'm also not sure that a folder would make a good leisure bike - they are not good on bumpy paths etc because of the small wheels.

Where are you? Perhaps I can recommend a good bike shop. For a folder you prob need to look in London or other big city as even great bike shops in smaller towns tend not to stock them.

I'm in Edinburgh. Where's good?

Perhaps I need to consider a cheaper folder and a cheaper hybrid / mountain bike type one - and an enormously expensive child seat, because I'm that way inclined!

how old is your dc? There is something called the ITchair that goes on the crossbar of the brompton that will do for bigger children. Otherwise I think you can put some ordinary seats on the back rack. The experts on this are the people at A to B, www.atob.co.uk if you even think about getting a folding bike do subscribe to their magazine, it's lovely!

DD is 3.7, and DS is 16 months. I've taken a look at the web site, and it looks like it would be more suitable for her than him - although she tends to nod off in a bike seat so perhaps not yet! Thanks for the link - will follow it up.

You get less respect on the roads on a folder than you do on a full-size bike, so you may not want to put your kid on it even if you could.

Meant to add

All folders make a trade-off between ease of fold and quality of ride. Before you buy, work out whether you need to fold your bike lots, nice and easily i.e. in and out of train twice a day, or whether you need something that rides more like a normal bike.

I'm a big lad, so Bromptons are not ideal - too bouncy. I bought a Dahon Impulse - 24 gears and almost as fast as a mountain bike. It is heavier and more awkward than a brompton, but a much better ride.

my friend has one of these

circlesquare the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op is excellent. I'm sure you'd get good advice there.

Their website is here: www.edinburghbicycle.com

And they have a large bike shop on the south side of The Meadows. My cycle-commuting husband has been known to make a special trip there whenever we are in Edinburgh (to visit my parents), even though there is no chance of getting anything home on the train!