After a long day at work the last thing you want to happen to you is to be prevented from boarding the train home because you have a bike but the guards won’t allow it on the train because it’s packed with non-cycling fellow commuters.

So, after getting turned away from train after train because I had a cheap and cheerful but non-folding Halfords Carrera full suspension bike, I decided enough was enough. I had to get a folding bike. I’d seen their owners at the station; they just roll up, twist and turn a few locks and levers and the bike fold ups into something the size of the average suitcase.

There’s something about the folding bike fraternity. They seem so smug because they are using a green method of commuting yet they have little hassle when it comes to getting on and off trains. What made me mad was seeing their contented looks as I argued with yet another guard while they just breezed on by.

The thing is, these folding bikes aren’t easy on the eye but, as I found when trying one for the first time, what they lack in aesthetics, they make up for in practicality. It became a case of not merely considering a folding bike but actually wanting one and being willing to spend the money to buy one.

Money-wise there was a bonus in that the company I work for runs a cycle-to-work scheme in conjunction with Halfords and was able to point me in the direction of a Dahon Vitesse D7. It was perfect for the amount I was willing to spend on a folding bike.

The ride quality was fine if a bit light at the front, but then again I’m not a serious-minded cyclist so fellow readers are welcome to disagree. I did consider a Brompton but, while they are nice to ride and a little easier on the eye, I just wanted a simple bike that would get me from home to the office and fold into the size of something that wouldn’t lead to a confrontation with an over-zealous platform guard. In my not-so-expert eyes, the Dahon achieved that.

So the first time I rode it to the station to catch the train to work I had the same veneer of smugness that I’d seen on the expression of other members of the folding bike fraternity. As soon as I got to the station that veneer was wiped off, for I had to acknowledge some small but incredibly annoying foibles with the bike.

For starters it has a mechanical folding ratchet that doesn’t fold fully unless you adjust the height of the handlebars but even then the handlebars still drag on the floor, causing serious wear to the grips. I’ve already had to change them and probably will have to do so again at some point.

Another downside of having a folding bike is that you go down in the estimation of your kids. I cycle with them a lot but they insist I dust off the mountain bike before I do so because they are afraid of committing social suicide by proxy in front of their friends. 

Furthermore, my boss remarked I’d look better wearing a flowery dress and straw bonnet and fit the bike with a basket while riding it. [This may not be a cycling issue per se – ed.]

The downsides aside though,having a folding bike does make commuting easier because I am able to shave five minutes off my time from station to office and have an easier experience in general when commuting.