Assembly / Disassembly

Now I know that we all have our idiosyncratic ways of folding a folding bike. I know this because of the numerous YouTube videos that demonstrate this. Do the saddle first. Do the handle bars first. Use the kickstand. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

When I first got Betty I followed the instructions as laid out in the sheet that comes with the bike. This was fine and it worked in the front lounge. What wasn’t clear was how I could get this operation down to 10 seconds (still can’t).

One issue that was apparent from this trial was that the handle bars were in the way when closing the bike up. This was primarily due to the way I prefer to ride the bike – with the brake handles at 30º down from the horizontal.

I am what might be best termed as an inveterate tinkerer. So I tried some of my own tweaking.

The first tweak, then, was to adjust the handle bars to a similar angle to the handle bar post. This had the advantage of being ‘tucked in’ when closing the handle bars. With the newly fitted ‘cable-tie-bell’, I was able to tuck the bell under the brake handles thus:

Then fold the handles down to the correct position for folding. (In the instructions – Steps 2, 3, & 4 – it suggests that the handle bars be lifted to minimal insertion. When I tried this, I found that they got in the way of the Dahon Magnetix type catch. So I kept them in their riding position and they fit just right.)

The instructions then suggest to lower the seat all the way and to twist to a 45º angle to the line of the frame; Set the RH pedal to 45º; unlock the FBL frame clip; fold, catch and store. YouTube also has a number of variations on this (including the kickstand, setting the seat first and folding before the seat). After a few tries and failed attempts, I now have perfected my way of folding Betty.

1.     Forget the kickstand.
2.     Reduce seat height to minimal and have the seat facing forward.
3.     Unclip the T-cross handle bar and align the brake handles with upright post, refasten. Confirm bell is out of the way.
4.     Fold down handle bars as shown in instructions.
5.     Fold pedals, and set LH pedal to 45º forward/down position (looking at the bike from the RH side set LH pedal at 4 o’clock)
6.     Unclip FBL frame clip and fold bike – ensuring cables are out of the way and Megnetix catch is fastened.
7.     Carry bike onto train.

To reassemble, simply do the above in reverse order.

I might even post a video on YouTube.

Oh, and I got frustrated that I couldn’t get the seat in the same position every time I hoisted it up. A permanent marker pen, on the seat post, soon sorted that out.