Titiritero
Retro Guru
Nothing exciting and actually quite low end, but given its rarity, I thought it would be worth documenting. I have only seen 2 other bikes like this in all of the internet, both classifieds on a Swiss website.
I bought it recently locally (Würzburg, Germany) as I was looking for a full size folder since we have no car and travel everywhere by train or bike. From what I have found this bike was sold in the mid-90's as a "camping bike" in Switzerland, that is, as a bike to fold and load into your caravan or motorhome in your summer holidays. Gamaparts, the brand, seems to be doing alloy wheels for cars now, but the bike, given a disclaimer sticker in the frame, might have been made by Dahon.
The folding mechanism and overall design is very similar to my wife's 2008 Dahon Cadenza, which would confirm Dahon's involvement. The Swiss origins of the bike were confirmed by the seller, who got the bike from his in-laws in Switzerland (and given the rust and lack of use, he just dumped it in his garage since then).
Bike has nothing special, a low end Alivio from the time, single wall no-name wheels and cheap cantilever brakes. But the folding system is very clever. Frame folds in half in 2 positions, which leaves the bike in a not very compact size, but good enough to fit in the boot of most cars or just travel for free on trains. The ride, at least for the little I have used it so far, seems to be unaffected by the fold, which might make it a great tourer where a multimodal option is needed.
The handlebar folds into one side by having a stem that folds in itself. The top part screws into a "normal" stem below, but with a hinge held by another hex bolt, it folds nearly parallel to the frame.
I bought it recently locally (Würzburg, Germany) as I was looking for a full size folder since we have no car and travel everywhere by train or bike. From what I have found this bike was sold in the mid-90's as a "camping bike" in Switzerland, that is, as a bike to fold and load into your caravan or motorhome in your summer holidays. Gamaparts, the brand, seems to be doing alloy wheels for cars now, but the bike, given a disclaimer sticker in the frame, might have been made by Dahon.
The folding mechanism and overall design is very similar to my wife's 2008 Dahon Cadenza, which would confirm Dahon's involvement. The Swiss origins of the bike were confirmed by the seller, who got the bike from his in-laws in Switzerland (and given the rust and lack of use, he just dumped it in his garage since then).
Bike has nothing special, a low end Alivio from the time, single wall no-name wheels and cheap cantilever brakes. But the folding system is very clever. Frame folds in half in 2 positions, which leaves the bike in a not very compact size, but good enough to fit in the boot of most cars or just travel for free on trains. The ride, at least for the little I have used it so far, seems to be unaffected by the fold, which might make it a great tourer where a multimodal option is needed.
The handlebar folds into one side by having a stem that folds in itself. The top part screws into a "normal" stem below, but with a hinge held by another hex bolt, it folds nearly parallel to the frame.
