On a clear holiday, I set off on a solo road trip.

I put a brand new, folded small bike in the trunk of my open two-seater and opened the car's roof.

The car glided down the garage ramp, and with a pleasant exhaust note, I pointed its nose towards the sea.

Thus began my blissful time.

Now, I'm going to tell you how I came to acquire a small bike.

Why a Small Bike?

As a road cyclist, I also love cars.

Since I manage everything with just one open two-seater, it's impossible for me to carry a road bike when I go out. Although I do travel with my bike on trains, I thought there would be another kind of enjoyment in having a small bike that I could easily take out of the car whenever I felt like it.

With a sudden influx of extra cash, I decided to buy a folding small bike.

The enjoyable process of choosing a folding small bike.

①　I was surprised after gathering information

The variations were incomparable to road bikes, ranging from different wheel sizes, sporty models to city-riding ones, and cool designs to cute ones. I thought, "This is going to be tough."

My budget was 100,000 yen, which I felt was quite a splurge.

I decided to look for a foldable, lightweight, and sporty model.

②　First, I decided on the wheel size

Although the condition was that it had to fit in the car's small trunk, I thought a 20-inch wheel size, which is larger for a small bike, would be preferable.

Upon researching, I found that there are two standards for 20-inch wheels:

406 and 451, which represent the diameter in millimeters of the tire bead. This is almost equivalent to the inner diameter of the tire.

This means that even for "20-inch," there's a difference of 45 mm.

The larger 451 size seems to be used in particularly sporty models.

Thus, by deciding on the wheel size among the many options, the candidates were quickly narrowed down.

③ Small bikes available for 100,000 yen

However, a small problem arose.

Many attractive brands were simply out of reach at 100,000 yen.

Naturally, there was no way to find an Alex Moulton, Brompton, Birdy, or Tyrell for 100,000 yen.

More affordable options included Dahon, Tern, Renault, Bridgestone, and KHS. Of course, these manufacturers also offer many appealing models.

④ Does a small bike need gears?

Of course, a small bike is better if it's lightweight.

Furthermore, I found that there was a difference of almost 2kg depending on whether it had gears or not. I felt that without gears, I could experience a direct feel similar to a fixie bike. It could also be an opportunity to train my leg strength (maybe).

This was a difficult point, but when I actually looked for 20-inch models, I found that most of them came with gears.

⑤　Folding mechanisms vary widely

Some fold sideways, some rotate vertically and settle, each company competing with their own clever ideas. Just meticulously observing them would make coffee time fly by.

If it's for car trunk storage, as long as the length, width, and height fit, it's not a big problem. However, for train travel, I thought careful consideration of protruding parts and wheel positions would be necessary.

⑥　Are small bikes slow?

At this point, I suddenly started to wonder.

That's because I remembered a bike I bought with my pocket money once that was sadly slow.

However, it's clear that there's a big difference between something that costs 20,000 yen and something that costs 100,000 yen.

So, I checked the gears of models for which I could find information.

On one model with 451 wheels, it had a formidable 53-39T front gear!

Since most recent entry-level road bikes come with lighter gears like 50-34T, it's clear that the intention is to compensate for the small tire size with the gearing.

Moreover, the rear gear was 11-32T, which is the same as road bikes.

This might be fast, just as the rumors say!

⑦　Decision made!

I decided to go with a model that has gears.

The wheel diameter is 20 inches, 451.

Folding small bikes often don't offer frame size choices. Some compromise might be necessary, but for me, with an average Japanese physique, it probably won't be a major issue.

All that was left was to choose the color.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you the model I chose here, but I think it's probably close to what you're thinking of.

Customizing a Small Bike

The gear ratio is what I'm most concerned about, and I think changing the gears might be an option depending on the intended use.

I'd also like to try good quality tires from other brands after seeing how these perform, and I fantasize about how cool it would be to put on ICAN baton wheels.

I really need to work hard and earn some money for that.

Other modifications, such as changing the saddle and handlebars, are easy for me as a road cyclist.

The model I chose has black mechanical parts, making it easy to match with other components.

The great thing about small bikes, unlike road bikes, is that there are no set theories.

Well,

After leaving home, my car passed through a coastal village.

I stopped the car, opened the trunk, and took out the compactly stored small bike.

The bike was easily assembled, and I leisurely gazed at the sea.

I could see a tanker moving offshore. I was mesmerized by its enormous size for a while.

Then, I came back to my senses and got on the bike.

After passing through the village alleyways, there was a small hill ahead.

"Shall I try climbing this one?" I muttered to myself.

Finally,

Different from usual, I introduced the small bike (mini velo) in a story format.

There are many attractive mini velo bikes in the city, even from a road cyclist's perspective.

A certain model with 20-inch 451 wheels, for example, has enough acceleration to outpace a road bike.

To the question, "Can a folding small bike be fun?" I confidently answer YES.

ICAN Baton Wheels Official Website

【Reference Article】The Key to Mini Velo Performance Improvement: Carbon Wheels