These new products put the recreation in folding bikes
How many times have you faced this dilemma?
You’re finally off the road for the day. You’ve pulled into your new site, unpacked some things, and settled in to make this place home for a while. Home is wherever you are, especially when you’re stopped.
But there is something fun a mile away, a camp store just out of walking range, or lots of amazing trails somewhat nearby for someone who had the foresight (and extra room) to bring a full-size bike.
What do you do?
A. Pack up again, drive closer, and try to re-park.
B. Pull out the 20-inch wheel folding clown bikes and see if they are any use.
C. Write it off as another missed opportunity.
CHANGE Full-size folding bikes: New ways to solve an old problem
Now you’ve got an even better option. Simply pull a full-size bike out of a hatch (where it was protected from road grit and theft), and use that as your recreation. If your RV is “home base”, this is the rest of the baseball diamond, if not even the entire park.
The recently introduced CHANGE 812, for example, is a new folding mountain bike without compromise: standard 27.5” wheels, hydraulic brakes, FOX air fork, and 20 speeds of rapid-fire index shifting.
A minute later, it’s a cubbyhole-sized 30” x 15” x 37”.
Or, if the whole front-suspension mountain bike thing isn’t for you, how about leisurely touring gravel trails on this CHANGE 811 rugged hybrid that weighs just 27 pounds?
A surprise lesson about bikes and safety
One November, my wife was packing our truck with equipment for a weekend event and asked me why there was a folded bike in the back. I honestly couldn’t think of a good reason, other than I simply hadn’t bothered to take it out. “It’s not in the way. Just pack around it.” She did, and we got underway.
At 5:40 that evening, already dark in the Pacific Northwest, our vehicle stopped being able to shift into any gears. We coasted to a stop at the side of the empty highway, about a mile from the lights of a nearby town. What now?
The first call was easy. A tow truck deals with vehicles. But what about us? What about all our equipment? What about all the folks counting on us to arrive on time and help with the event? I called Enterprise about renting a car, and was told, “Sure, dude, if you’re at my desk in front of me in the next 15 minutes.” Did we mention the part about suddenly having no vehicle?
But we did have a folded CHANGE bike—a 27-speed rugged hybrid (prior version) that got me to the rental place on time, even after overshooting it in the dark by over a mile. And it fit easily in the trunk of the rental sedan, saving lots of room for our equipment. Emergencies have a way of getting smaller when you have your own lifeboat.
And the health benefits roll in…
When we formed a company around full-size folding bikes, a key audience was professional truckers—folks whose entire careers are built around extended periods of sitting, with all the health challenges that entails. They were focused less on mountain-bike specs and more on the fact that this frame is ruggedness-certified (EN-14766, ISO 4210) and the only folding bike available with a downtube, so it can handle weights of 300 lbs and above.
Recently, the Department of Health & Human Services weighed in as well with the new physical activity guidelines. All you need to gain “substantial health benefits” is 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity aerobic workout. While that may seem like a lot at first, it’s only 21 minutes a day of moderate exercise.
Put another way, if you just pull out your bikes and ride once around the campground/neighborhood every day or two at a leisurely pace, you’re well on your way to substantial health benefits! With a light bike and great gearing, you might even enjoy the adventure; after all, adventure and exploration are why you got your RV in the first place, right?
Have bikes, will travel
All CHANGE bikes come with a carrying case. Here are two in action.
You’ve already got an excellent home base for great adventures with your RV. Now how are you going to explore from there? Where would you put a CHANGE bike if you had one?
And lastly, how would you like a great deal just for RV owners?
Bob Forgrave,
President, Flatbike, Inc.
