Folding bicycles are designed to fold into a compact form, facilitating transport and storage. When folded, the bikes can be more easily carried into buildings and workplaces or on public transportation, and more easily stored in compact living quarters or aboard a car, boat or plane. There is another advantage that the airline baggage regulations often permit folding bikes as ordinary luggage, without extra cost.
There are numerous folding mechanisms in use, each offering a distinct combination of folding speed, folding ease, compactness, ride, weight, durability and price. The size of folding bicycles is, however, limited by the chain. Bygen’s Hank Direct is a unique design bicycle that uses a direct-drive system and gets rid of the chain so the pedals directly power the rear wheel.
The hub transmission has three available gear ratios. The bike telescopes back into itself instead of folding. It is ideal for office commuters and allows greater flexibility for mixed-mode commuting. [Via]
