Since I got it in January of 2001, this has become my main bike for recreational riding, medium to long distance personal transportation, touring and travel. (I still have a non-folding bike for short range urban transportation and heavy hauling, and another for sport and fitness riding)
There are many folding or separable-frame bikes with 20" or smaller wheels, but only a few brands that perform as well as a conventional high quality full size bike. PBW is one; others include Moulton and Bike Friday.
In my first year with my PBW I rode it about 3,000 miles, including two 4-day self supported tours and a couple of long day rides of over 130 miles.
Click on any of the pictures below for a larger version.
Shifting,
brakes, computer, water bottle, and small handlebar bag are all
within easy reach with my hands on the handlebar. I started out
with a different setup using a more
conventionally mounted handlebar bag and using a camelbak instead
of the stem mounted bottle cage. But I eventually decided the
camelbak wasn't worth it. It was a little (not much) more
convenient for drinking while riding, but a bit uncomfortable on
my back in hot weather, more awkward to deal with when not
riding, and definitely less convenient to refill. This bag is
mounted to the brake levers rather than the handlebar. To make it
work I removed the original full size stiffener and the original
mounting straps, sewed on new velcro straps spaced correctly for
the brake levers, inserted a 5/16" dowel across the top and
a thin plastic stiffener in the zipper flap.
The single Rohloff twistshifter shifts sequentially through all 14 gears. Gear range with 52x15 sprockets is about 18 to 95 gear inches, equivalent to a typical 21 or 24 speed derailleur system, but with all the gears in a single shift sequence and perfectly spaced.
Using a straight MTB style handlebar for touring is new to me with this bike. The Rohloff shifter is designed to work only with this type of handlebar, so it was a choice between improvising something like mounting the shifter on a stub or auxiliary bar, or just trying it with the straight bar. I thought at first I would at least want bar ends for more hand positions, but after a year of riding, including long rides up to 131 miles in a day, this minimal setup seems to suit me fine. It also makes the handlebar easier to stow when the bike is folded.
The cyclocomputer is a Planet Bike
Protege 5.0, which I like because it displays everything I
need - speed, trip distance and time of day - without having to
ever push a button while riding. I used a strip of black plastic
tape to make the display a little easier to read by masking off
one of the functions that doesn't interest me (elapsed riding
time).
The Tubus Swing
suspended front pannier rack saves wear and tear on both the
luggage and the wheel, compared to unsuspended racks that mount
to the axle and brake bolts. The original mounting hardware that
came with it did not work well with this fork crown and steerer
configuration, so I made my own adapters to attach the rack to
the fork crown and the steerer. So far I've decided not to use a
rear rack on this bike. Rear panniers are generally my last
choice for carrying a touring load, after a saddlebag and front
panniers. And a conventional rear rack would not have the benefit
of the bike's suspension, as my front panniers and saddlebag do.
Click here for a picture of the bike
loaded with my Ortlieb front roller panniers and CCF touring
saddlebag.
The S.O.N.
(Schmidt's Original Nabendynamo) is simply the best bicycle
generator available, and the only one made in a version
specifically for small wheels. The Lumotec headlight comes with
the SON. For the rear I prefer to use a Spanninga
fender-mounted taillight that runs on two AAA cells.
Left rear
quarter view shows the frame pivot that serves for both folding
and suspension, the Cane Creek rear suspension unit, the Rohloff Speedhub
with its special adjustable dropout, and my modification to the
shift cable routing. I added the aluminum bracket with the pair
of pulleys to improve the alignment of the cables where they exit
from the hub, and to eliminate rubbing of the cable connectors on
the chainstay. My original hub cable had became frayed after only
a few hundred miles. Rohloff now recommends using their EX (external cable attachment) models for
bikes with unusual cable routings, such as folders and
recumbents. I am told that others have had no problems with the
PBW's original cable routing.
The folded
bike is a bit heavy and awkward to carry around compared to some
other folders, like a Brompton
or Birdy, or compared to a
more basic PBW without the suspension fork, Rohloff hub and front
rack. The Tubus Swing rack in particular adds significantly to
the width of the bike when folded. But
I did not get this bike with the idea of folding and carrying it
every day for commuting, or to pack in a suitcase for air travel.
For me the folding is most useful for transport by car, and
especially makes it easy to hitch rides in other people's cars.
Even when I don't fold it, the shorter overall length due to the
small wheels is often a convenience.
Removal of the rear fender is part of my folding procedure, because it would otherwise be very vulnerable to damage. Note in the picture the rear fender is inserted inside the front one. The rear fender is very quick and easy to remove, being held at the dropouts by wing nuts and quick release adapters that I made myself, and at the top by a snap-in plastic bridge.
Often when putting the bike into a car trunk I can get by with just removing the stem/handlebar, lowering the seat and folding the front end back from the top tube hinge, skipping the removal of the rear fender and the folding of the rear triangle.
Right rear
dropout seen from above. If you look closely you can see how it's
tapered to prevent the wheel from slipping forward in the frame.
My home-made
elevator attachment for the Shimano 747 SPD pedal partially
compensates for my short left leg. These pedals, along with the
Brooks B17 saddle, are hand-me-downs from my old touring bike.
Click here to see how I carry a pump on my PBW
Here is another PBW owner web page
Modified July 18, 2003
