Green Product of the Week: Foldable Bicycles

With all of this chatter about Google's long awaited bicycle map release, what better green product to highlight than the old foldable bicycle. These nifty inventions have been prevalent across Europe for ages, but haven't caught on in North America much until recently. The beauty of a foldable bike is that it can travel with you anywhere including public transit, the trunk of your car, or a duffle bag.

Bicycling is great for your health, and let's face it, with all of the office jobs out there, a little more exercise can only help us. In a culture obsessed with 'busyness' it can be difficult to find time to go to the gym, take a walk, or get into a healthy exercise routine. Biking to work is coming back into style in a big way, with companies offering showers for their active commuters. Beyond our physical health, it also reduces our environmental impact by eliminating our greenhouse gas emissions. It also promotes smaller roads, fewer cars, and less paved land overall. Lastly, it promotes a healthier social fabric. By getting outside, meeting your neighbors, and observing your natural surroundings at a reduced pace, we can start to enjoy ourselves a little more.

So what is so great about a foldable bicycle? Well, as a proud owner of one of these green products, I can tell you it was love at the first 'fold down'. For anyone who moves to different locations often, a foldable bike can fit in the passenger seat of a car. It is excellent for city bikers because it can fit on the front of public transit buses, as well as fold down if you are taking any form of transit that does not permit bicycles. In San Francisco, the BART stopped allowing bicycles which became a big hurdle for those living a car free life. The foldable bike came to the stranded eco-conscious traveler's rescue. If you live or work in a crime ridden area or live on the top floor of an apartment complex, the foldable bike is an ideal personal transit solution.

So how exactly does it fold you ask? This green product can shrink down to the size of the wheels. The main fold is in the middle of the bike, so the crossbar actually clicks in half. The handle bar is lowered into the shaft and then folds down. Then the pedals pop upwards, and with a few more gadget clicks and clacks and you have a folded bicycle. On many newer foldable bikes, there are two magnets that keep it folded together. Then once you are ready to use it, in a few minutes you just click everything back into place, put the 'safetys' on each of the foldable parts to secure them and you are ready to go.

This is a great green product for the person on the go, city dwellers, and anyone living in a small space. My bike and I have seen many a hill and city together, and it is still going strong, folding well, and enjoying the ride. For the relaxed rider, an electric bike may be the way to go.

Photo Credit.