Anyone used one of these on the camino?
I will be looking into buying a folding bike ......if i do , i will let you know how i get on with it .
Hi Maligerer and joni.
For what it's worth... I'm with you both. I have badly arthritic knees and I'm 71. I too have the problem of getting a leg over the cross bar on a standard MTB, and I'm useless at walking, but can pedal at a a leisurely pace for hours. Pushing a bike up mountains though can be torture, so I'm getting pretty obsessed with weight.
I've done four bike caminos. The first was from Sevilla to Santiago on a hired bike from Triana backpackers. A very good, sturdy but quite heavy bike. The cross bar was a problem, and I fell over a couple of times when I couldn't get my leg over quickly enough, and gravity took over. I was a few years younger, though.
So my second camino, (Madrid to Santiago), I bought a Dahon folding bike, which I flew with from Australia. I had to modify it a bit; more rugged tyres, and a smaller chainring to give me a lower gear ratio for climbing. The real convenience of this bike, apart from the obvious advantage when it comes to buses, trains and planes, was the simple step through to get on the bike, great! The disadvantage is that the smaller wheels, 20 inch, are, not as efficient, but I adapted. Also the steering is a bit skittish until you get used to it, but it was fun to ride, and I made it over the mountains.
Things were more complicated for my third camino, (St Jean to Santiago). I had left the Dahon in Ireland with my son, who had decided to accompany me for part of the Frances. He flew in to Biarritz with the Dahon, and we bought a second hand MTB for him in France. So I rode the leg from St Jean to Burgos on the Dahon again. Because he was relatively young and fit, he carried some of my baggage. I don't know if I would have made it over the Route Napoleon with a full load. It involved a lot of pushing going up that mountain. I have my doubts.
We swapped bikes when he left (with the Dahon),for Ireland from Burgos. So the rest of the Frances, I rode the MTB, which was an interesting contrast because it had 29 inch wheels, and boy did I notice a difference; (the Meseta was a breeze). But the weight of bike and bags proved too much for me getting up to O Cebreiro, and (don't tell anybody) I had to admit defeat and take a taxi!
I hired again in Triana last year for the VdlP, but only went as far as Plasencia, so no big climbs.
Next year, I intend to finish the VdlP, and am intending something different. I have bought a Scott carbon hybrid, which I intend to fly with. It weighs about 10kg, and this should make a big difference. It has an angled-down cross bar so the step through is not really an issue.
I should mention that I tend to mix in quite a bit of road riding, and avoid the more tricky walkers trails.... I'm a realist.
I'll find a picture of the loaded Dahon and post it in a few minutes.
I believe I could hire a "ladies " bike but am now tempted to see if I could buy a used one here in UK. The damned Veedlepee just wont let go!
