kick scooter or folding bike for travel?

[uniwelder]

Updated--- perhaps a kick scooter isn't out of the question.  It would definitely be easier to lug around and for our distances it might not be horrible.  Anyone have experience with this?   Some of them have pretty big wheels, like this model-- https://razor.com/products/kick-scooters/a5-lux-scooter/

Does anyone have experience taking folding bikes (or scooter) with them for travel?  Like putting them in luggage on a plane, toting them around with your carry-on suitcase or bag as well, putting them in the storage area of buses, etc?  Wondering about risk of damage and whether its just a huge pain in the ass.

My wife and I just came back from a 3 week trip (was supposed to be medical related, but then ended up just being a vacation) and we would have loved to have bikes to get around the city and surrounding area.  For the city itself, we could have just rented bicycles for 2 weeks, but we also made a lot of day trips by bus.  Once we got to the location, we'd need to find a taxi or spend time walking a few miles.  It would have been nice to just get on a bike and pedal around for bit, as we'd get to our final location easier and probably experience more overall.  Additionally, a lot of the places we wanted to explore aren't really viable without your own transportation, unless you want to pay a taxi driver to chauffeur around and wait to take you back.

As for type of folding bike, I was thinking of just a single speed with coaster brake.  I'd prefer not to worry about bent/banged up levers or derailers.  Also, while it wouldn't be great for hills or setting speed records, I think a single speed bike would suffice for most of what we'd like to accomplish.  There aren't many used ones for sale, but I think we could eventually get them for $70 each, judging by what I see on Facebook Marketplace. 

The other option I haven't looked into, is whether rental places offer folding bikes.  It hadn't occurred to me at all.  Anyone have experience traveling to places and renting them?

edited to add-- looking around online, it seems renting a bike for 2 weeks would probably cost the same as buying one used.  It depends on location of course.

[Metalcat]

Don't forget the cost of traveling with them?

If you're planning for it to be tossed into storage, you will need hard cases, and those will be very expensive. Also, the cost of checking them, which could be $70+ each way, per bike. At least that's what checked baggage costs when I fly these days.

Do you really need foldability at your travel locations? If not, it should be pretty easy to cheaply rent bikes wherever you go, or even buy and sell used ones while you are there.

What utility does folding offer AT your destinations that makes it worth the cost and hassle of lugging them around?

[uniwelder]

Cases-- Yes, I suppose that would be necessary, but I've never seen or heard of them before.  I guess not many people put them on planes, hence why I'm asking.  Perhaps I can build a box with wheels or they might fit in a regular suitcase.

As for paying for luggage cost, we end up flying American Airlines quite a bit since I keep accumulating points with them, plus have one of their cards.  We each can bring 1 checked bag free.  We usually just travel with carry-on, so it shouldn't cost anything extra, unless we're with a different airline.

The nice thing about having a folding bike is that we can get on a bus while doing day trips and take the bike with us, so we have our own transportation around town or out of town for the day.  That wouldn't be possible if we rent a regular bike at our main 2-4 week fly-in destination and then do those little side trips.

We'd really have to be staying for a bit longer than a month for me to want the hassle of buying and selling.  Its certainly possible though, and in a big city, something as niche as a folding bike might sell quick.

[Metalcat]

You're assuming that two folding bikes in a hard case will be accepted as regular checked luggage though.

The airlines I fly with have weight and size maximums that are too low for that to be doable. Each bike would have to be checked separately.

ETA: bike boxes for folding bikes do exist, and they're usually $300-1000.

[uniwelder]

You're assuming that two folding bikes in a hard case will be accepted as regular checked luggage though.

The airlines I fly with have weight and size maximums that are too low for that to be doable. Each bike would have to be checked separately.

ETA: bike boxes for folding bikes do exist, and they're usually $300-1000.

Maybe I should have worded my previous post a little better.  We can each bring a checked suitcase free of charge.  If I found a small enough bike, probably with 16" wheels, it seems I can get one of those into a standard suitcase.  Luckily, ugly suitcases are easy to find for $5 at a thrift store near me.

Originally, I was thinking 20" wheels, but now that I'm looking up the folded dimensions, they're probably going to end up as an oversized luggage.  16" should fit I think.  Here's the first thing that popped up that matches what I'm looking for----- https://www.citizenbike.com/catalog.asp?product_category_id=1&product_id=65
I certainly wouldn't buy new, but with enough time, hope I can find someone selling something like this used at a good price.

[Metalcat]

You're assuming that two folding bikes in a hard case will be accepted as regular checked luggage though.

The airlines I fly with have weight and size maximums that are too low for that to be doable. Each bike would have to be checked separately.

ETA: bike boxes for folding bikes do exist, and they're usually $300-1000.

Maybe I should have worded my previous post a little better.  We can each bring a checked suitcase free of charge.  If I found a small enough bike, probably with 16" wheels, it seems I can get one of those into a standard suitcase.  Luckily, ugly suitcases are easy to find for $5 at a thrift store near me.

Originally, I was thinking 20" wheels, but now that I'm looking up the folded dimensions, they're probably going to end up as an oversized luggage.  16" should fit I think.  Here's the first thing that popped up that matches what I'm looking for----- https://www.citizenbike.com/catalog.asp?product_category_id=1&product_id=65
I certainly wouldn't buy new, but with enough time, hope I can find someone selling something like this used at a good price.

Ah, okay, that makes more sense.

So yeah, if you can account for the cost of carrying cases for them, and you can keep them within your free checked luggage size/weight allowance, then it sounds like you have enough of a destination reason to take on the hassle of traveling with them vs trying to rent bikes at the destination.

Can't hurt to try since the bikes and bags are all items you could easily resell if the hassle turns out to be excessive.

[uniwelder]

@Exflyboy I dug up an old discussion and thought you might remember enough to have valuable input.  The MMM forum search is not very helpful, so this didn't come up the first time I tried looking---- https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/mustachian-marketplace/selling-a-folding-bike-mine-got-stolen-(-san-francisco/

Also, you wouldn't happen to still have those bikes around and want to sell at an insultingly low price and ship them across the country, would you?  What model Citizen bike were they?  Can you explain how you packed them up for travel and how useful you found them to be?  If you ended up not using them much, what's the reason it didn't work out?

[Exflyboy]

Yes I still have them and have not used them since I sold my airplane in 2013.. They are still hung up in my shop.

They were very useful for getting into town from whatever airport we landed at. Having said that we only bought them in the last couple of years of airplane ownership so the ones we have are virtually new.

I can't remember what model they were but have 16" wheel on them. I also bought two higher geared, gearsets, but have the originals available.

I don't use them now because we have better bikes and a bike rack to put them on. The smaller wheels means they are a little harder to peddle than standard sized bikes but other than that they were very useful for what we needed them for at the time.

I would be open to selling them but wonder if the shipping is worth the hassle?

[uniwelder]

Yeah, the shipping cost, plus I'm way too cheap to offer you what those bikes are probably worth.  A lot could have change in 10 years, but looking up the current models, Citizen makes two bikes with 16" wheels--- one with 6 speeds steel frame $380 and the other is single speed aluminum frame $600. 

I didn't think about that your flying experience with bikes is not quite what mine would be.  It is pretty cool to know about it though.

[kenner]

Does anyone have experience taking folding bikes with them for travel?  Like putting them in luggage on a plane, toting them around with your carry-on suitcase or bag as well, putting them in the storage area of buses, etc?  Wondering about risk of damage and whether its just a huge pain in the ass.

I don't do this, but a friend of mine does sometimes when he travels internationally. He's a pretty serious biker in general so I'm guessing his folding bike isn't a baseline model, but it has a hard-sided case that's considered standard luggage size so no fees to check it (apparently international flights still do that), and while he occasionally mentions something going wrong or needing to break out the repair kit, it's generally been due to rough roads rather than transit damage.  And I can say he's never complained about toting it around, but considering some of the places he's managed to wedge his regular bike it probably wouldn't even occur to him.

[Gerard]

Coming at this from a different perspective, I once bought a bottom-of-the line regular bike at my destination and drove it everywhere during my vacation, then gave it away at the end. Turned out to be cheaper than renting, and better results for less effort than travelling with a folding bike.

Not sure this is the solution for you, but it does work sometimes!

[uniwelder]

Coming at this from a different perspective, I once bought a bottom-of-the line regular bike at my destination and drove it everywhere during my vacation, then gave it away at the end. Turned out to be cheaper than renting, and better results for less effort than travelling with a folding bike.

Not sure this is the solution for you, but it does work sometimes!

In our case, we'd like to lug it around on day trips out of our fly in location, folding bike would be preferable. 

I've haven't used a kick scooter since I was kid, but I'm wondering if that might be a feasible option.  Some of them have 8" wheels now, and I'm reading about how people use them to commute up to 2 miles for work.  I'll update the title.

[Gerard]

I've haven't used a kick scooter since I was kid, but I'm wondering if that might be a feasible option.  Some of them have 8" wheels now, and I'm reading about how people use them to commute up to 2 miles for work.  I'll update the title.

Oo, that's an interesting idea.

[Metalcat]

I've haven't used a kick scooter since I was kid, but I'm wondering if that might be a feasible option.  Some of them have 8" wheels now, and I'm reading about how people use them to commute up to 2 miles for work.  I'll update the title.

Oo, that's an interesting idea.

Indeed, I used a scooter all through undergrad because my campus was massive and there was a huge distance between my home and the bus stop.

They also make for AMAZING self-defense weapons.

[Brystheguy]

Get a Onewheel.

[uniwelder]

Get a Onewheel.

:) I certainly hope you’re joking. I tried riding my neighbor’s and gave up after falling on my ass twice in a row. Add in the appeal of a +/- $2,000 price tag.

[Exflyboy]

They also make for AMAZING self-defense weapons.

I have a sense there might be a story here?..:)

[Metalcat]

They also make for AMAZING self-defense weapons.

I have a sense there might be a story here?..:)

Nothing too fascinating beyond that I was a young university student coming home really late from school, living in a really rough neighbourhood and needing to defend myself on a semi-regular basis.

It's not the easiest thing to exist as a woman alone at night.

[Exflyboy]

They also make for AMAZING self-defense weapons.

I have a sense there might be a story here?..:)

Nothing too fascinating beyond that I was a young university student coming home really late from school, living in a really rough neighbourhood and needing to defend myself on a semi-regular basis.

It's not the easiest thing to exist as a woman alone at night.

Wow.. well I'm glad you made it and hopefully without serious incident.

[Not Sure]

I have rented bikes on a few occasions and, as a bike snob, have never found rentals to be in well-tuned condition. 

Most recently we rented Bromptons in Sydney, NSW, Australia which was a great decision -- mostly for the recreational opportunities, a few of which were multi-modal involving trains.  It was handy that the Bromptons were compact in the small hotel room, on the train, and felt a bit more normal in the elevator; Regular bikes would have worked also.  Sydney had a fairly robust bike-share market which I enjoyed using as well. 

I often bring a bike if traveling by car and could probably be convinced to buy a couple cheap Bromptons.  I found the front luggage system on the Bromptons to be great but the rear rack was useless.  A Brompton would be no replacement for my regular bike which gets more off-road miles that on-road miles but could be great for a multi-modal city-dweller or for traveling.

You're right to be thinking singlespeed and coaster brake, but the Brompton design requires a chain tensioner which removes some of the singlespeed efficiency advantage.

It's crossed my mind that a unicycle might make a pretty good option.

[Metalcat]

They also make for AMAZING self-defense weapons.

I have a sense there might be a story here?..:)

Nothing too fascinating beyond that I was a young university student coming home really late from school, living in a really rough neighbourhood and needing to defend myself on a semi-regular basis.

It's not the easiest thing to exist as a woman alone at night.

Wow.. well I'm glad you made it and hopefully without serious incident.

Lol, as I said, being a woman alone at night isn't exactly the easiest thing in a lot of places, but I worked full time and did school full time for many years, so that was a lot of 11pm-2am solo walks home in the dark in high crime areas.

And yeah, I've fucked my fair share of dudes along the way. You can do some serious damage to someone's bones when you swing a folded up scooter at them.

There are a lot of not so safe travel destinations out there, so the self-defense utility of a scooter could be super beneficial depending on the circumstances.

[uniwelder]

Most recently we rented Bromptons in Sydney, NSW, Australia which was a great decision

How much did it cost to rent the Bromptons?  I personally won't rent for 2 weeks if it'll be cheaper to just buy. 

[Not Sure]

Most recently we rented Bromptons in Sydney, NSW, Australia which was a great decision

How much did it cost to rent the Bromptons?  I personally won't rent for 2 weeks if it'll be cheaper to just buy.

$100USD/week each.

[ca-rn]

If you want a bike to take on planes get a trifold bike.

The most famous trifold brand is Brompton but since their patent expired there are others making Brompton Clones for much a lower price w/different options than Brompton offers.

Some have flown w/Bromptons stored in the overhead cabinet.

Brompton Clones- catch is most of them are made in China and the main market seems to be in Asia and SE Asia.  You can fly to Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand etc, buy one and fly back or take your chances on Aliexpress/Alibaba. 

Check out youtube for videos.  There are trifolds with 20", 16" and 14" wheels.