Your body might be a little oversized and you think that you would look like a circus elephant riding a folding bike. That’s not true. There are a lot of heavy-duty folding bikes built for big and tall cyclists, so you can take advantage of all benefits of a folder.
Following is a list of the best full-size folding bikes.
Flatbike Change Bike 611
The Change Bike 611 is a rugged folding hybrid bike optimized for rough use on pavement and trails. Despite being a full-size 26-inch folder, the bike weighs just 26 lbs thanks to the aluminum frame and carbon fiber fork. It also features a Shimano Deore 27-speed drivetrain, a carrying bag, and a saddle bag for your pedals.
Notably, the CHANGE 611 frame has passed the European EN-14766 test suite of impact and load tests. That’s 1,200 newtons, or about 270 lbs of force on the frame from multiple directions. The EN-14766 stem test involves 600 lbs of downward force. And the bike features Mavic wheels, which are regarded as among the strongest in the industry. According to the manufacturer, its maximum load is over 300 lbs (136 kg).
Dahon Espresso
I reviewed the Dahon Espresso D24 a few months ago and was really impressed with the bike. It features full-size 26-inch wheels but it is still very compact and you can fold it easily. Moreover, riding the bike is extremely comfortable since it is equipped with a front suspension fork.
The bike weighs just 34 lbs and it can hold up to 242.5 lbs (110 kg).
Montague Folding Bikes
Unlike other folding bike manufacturers, Montague specializes in full-size folders only. There is a wide range of folding bikes for you to choose, for instance, Montague Navigator, Paratrooper, Paratrooper Pro, Paratrooper Elite, Paratrooper Highline, Paratrooper Express, Crosstown, Boston, Urban, Fit, or Allston. The maximum weight capacity of the bikes is 250 lbs (113 kg).
The most popular series is the Paratrooper bikes because they are folding mountain bikes equipped with disc brakes and front suspension fork. The only downside is that you will have to remove the front wheel when folding the bike.
The prices vary from $600 to over $2,000. You can find all Montague folding bikes on Amazon.
Tern Folding Bikes
Tern produces some decent big folding bikes and most of them are very well made. There are the Tern Eclipse, Tern Node and Tern Joe series. Some of them have 24-inch wheels while some others feature bigger 26-inch or even 27.5-inch wheels.
My favorite lineup is the Tern Eclipse since it includes some decent bikes like Tern Eclipse X22, Eclipse P20, and Eclipse Tour. The maximum load weight of those bikes is 230 lbs (104 kg).
Those are my recommended full-size folding bikes. They are expensive bikes but they are worth every penny. You should totally avoid some cheap bikes like the Columba or Stowabike.
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Tall Maybe, but none of those weights will hold a big person. Where are the folding bikes that can hold 350-450 lbs?
I wondered the same thing John. I don’t consider those weights to be heavy…300 to 500 is heavy.
Check out Bike Friday.. They have bikes rated for up to 400 pounds.
Up to 250? You must be joking. MOST of the tall man over 6.5 weigh more than this even when not being overweight. This review is completely useless.
6.5 and 250lbs is almost obese…
Yeah… according to a BS and scientifically incorrect scale…
On what planet? That is pretty normal weight for someone 6’5″
You realise the BMI scale is horribly flawed and inaccurate in every measurable way?
I am 193cm & 105 kg and I could easily loose five of those kilos. My work keeps me on the road so much I rarely see my bicycles at home. Looking forward to trying some of these.
Sad but only wealthy people could afford those prices !
Weight on a CHANGE bike is no issue. All the force distribution of a standard diamond-shape frame applies here, unlike a folding frame with a single bar. And it also has Mavic wheels.
That’s why it can pass a 600lb downward force stress test. We routinely have truckers in the 350-400 range inquiring about these. And we had a pilot jump the folding mountain bike version at high speed on a trail, fully loaded with panniers–definitely not recommended, but also proof that a lot of downward force is OK.
Yes, you pay more, but it’s something that will last.