Contortionist Folding Bike

by Larry Lagarde

Folding bicycles must be on the minds of a lot of designers because new folding bike designs are appearing with surprising frequency. The latest is the Contortionist by Dominic Hargreaves; it's quite interesting too.



The Contortionist folding bike is a full size bike that folds within the circumference of a standard sized bicycle wheel. As with the IF MODE folding bike, the Contortionist incorporates mono hubs front and rear. The result is that the entire bike folds within the wheel rims. By folding one of the handlebar ends outward (rather than in), it can serve as a tiller for rolling the bike folded. The folded mass is fairly wide when compared to the MODE; however, as most folding bikes go, the bike's folded width is tolerable.

Although the Contortionist folding bike pictured in the video is a life sized rolling prototype, the designer must still be working to sort out the drive train as the left crank arm and pedal are missing. Also, with so many folding points, it remains to be seen whether the design can stand up to the rigors of real world cycling conditions. Regardless, it's fascinating to watch the bike fold/unfold and the clean, oval frame holds great visual appeal.

In fact, Hargreaves may even win the Dyson Award for this. I wish you the best, Dominic.