If I was riding a bike for safety, I'd buy one with a freaking seatbelt!

GeekyNerdGuy

@jpbraconi, @Slartibartfast, @SigmundTheSeaMonster: What the heck kind of riding do you people do? This clearly isn't meant for backwoods riding and mountain bombing. This is for cruising roads and streets. You know, the places where space is actually at a premium and storage is hard to come by.
Idea = win.

DaOtter

Screw safety .. Think of the wind-resistance savings by having the handlebars back while riding down a hill. Being able to turn is for losers.

Obviously, bicycles have a bit of a reputation for not being the safest form of transportation as it is, and it is likely that in this battle of convenience versus safety that the odds are not good for solving the multiple bikes in the garage problem.

Monty

I feel safe and secure knowing that the handlebars on my bikes are one piece. This has bad idea written all over it.

Slartibartfast

@Kaiser-Machead is in your Macbook Pro!:

if u intend just to go around on the streets it will be ok... but don´t hit any holes.. otherwise...
the thing is that when riding u put too much pressure on the handlebars... if a carbon one can break imagine this one...

jpbraconi

Even my mountain bike is easy to get the front wheel off. The brake has a cable you pull down on to release the brake.

Lupison

Did the designer actually patent this? If not, I'm filing one now!!!

GeekyNerdGuy

@bpatten: It doesn't have to be complicated. All it needs is something that functions like a cotter pin to stop the hinge when in motion.

Kaiser-Machead is in your Macbook Pro!

@Kaiser-Machead is in your Macbook Pro!: Or you can just get disc brakes. :)

ripfire

I have had two folders. A full size Dahon and my current is the BFriday (in addition to my trek road bike). Both are excellent bikes but for storage I would rather the bike fold and NOT the handlebars. If the folder were to break I would go down with the body if the handlebars break then I lose control. The bike friday stays in my trunk and aside from my cameras its my pride and joy.

thechansen

This simultaneously thrills and terrifies me, for reasons already mentioned. Sure would make storing my bike easier, that's for sure.

Then again, with all the stuff I have on my handlebars (we're at a gadget 'site, remember?!) it might not work for me.

@Lupison: Not everybody has or knows how to use the QR axle on their front wheel. Also, it's kind of a pain to have to undo the front brake and remove the wheel. Of course, that's the medhod I prefer, since you have to remove it anyway to lock it up with the frame and rear wheel.

FredicvsMaximvs

@Kaiser-Machead is in your Macbook Pro!: Right but the difference between Motorcycle pedals and bicycle pedals is that bicycle pedals have to spin. You're gonna need a complicated locking/spinning/hinge mechanism to make that work.

Not saying it's impossible, but it could be the next million dollar idea :)

bpatten

Clever but fail. Ask an engineer why.
Weight.
Durability.
Stress.
Cabling.
Liability.

Granted it might be great for touring/hybrids but not MTB nor roadies. I say offer it as a custom job.

@Lupison: Good point, but I have a Lefty and can't remove the wheel. Easily.

SigmundTheSeaMonster

@Kaiser-Machead is in your Macbook Pro!: loosen*

Kaiser-Machead is in your Macbook Pro!

@Lupison: If you have fatter tires, you have to loose the front brakes so you don't have to pry the wheel out every time you do.

Kaiser-Machead is in your Macbook Pro!

whatever happened to the idea of taking the front wheel off and turning the handle bars parallel to the wall?....

Lupison

@Rick36: How do you expect it to fold while riding? You're pushing it outwards during riding while it only folds inwards.

ripfire

OK double post,....again...

But if folding parts are so hazardous, how do people manage with bikes where the entire frame folds? Even if THIS particular design is not safe, can't this concept be executed safely?

Kaiser-Machead is in your Macbook Pro!

@jpbraconi: I wonder if it would be safer if it unhinges upward instead of horizontally facing aft.

Kaiser-Machead is in your Macbook Pro!

Wait until one folds while riding and you become someone's hood ornament.

Rick36

and my Dahon before my Bike Friday had folding pedals.

thechansen

sorry to say... but not safe AT ALL!

jpbraconi

www.bikefriday.com

thechansen

With 4 bikes in the garage I have frequent jewels-meet-handlebars encounters. This would be a space-saver and ball-saver.

Sora57

@Kaiser-Machead is in your Macbook Pro!: brakes.

Dammit

Kaiser-Machead is in your Macbook Pro!

@bpatten: The pedals wouldn't be as big an issue. It could fold in similarly to the foot pedals on motorcycles.

Kaiser-Machead is in your Macbook Pro!

Holy Shimano breaks Batman!

DO WANT

Kaiser-Machead is in your Macbook Pro!

You'd also need folding pedals/clips, otherwise it's still going to have an unecassarily wide footprint.

bpatten

Oh sure it's cool - until someone doesn't use it correctly, takes out an eye, and files a humongoid lawsuit.

GiltProto

Dammit! What a great idea! I'm just mad that I didn't think of it! I hope the inventor makes a gazillion dollars!

hakubak

Not a new design. Previous iterations have failed because of weight issues (not so much stability, because you make that up by using a stronger material. Adding, TA DA! weight) And it also prevents you from using handlebar bags, handlebar computers, etc.

brother9

hmmm... how easy to put on custom components, ne? - brakes and shifters... Also, i like bar-enders - can't be done in this case...
methinks it has great potential.. but not yet there...

designguybrown

Looking closely at one of the pictures it looks to me like the pedals are folded too.

tlb

This is fantastic. It also makes it easier to handle with the front wheel fixed in place.

lecti

Errr I worry about my handle bars breaking already and they are made of a solid piece of alu, they make a unnerving creaking noise . I say no thanks bars should be be made of one piece of tubing not any parts to fold. Ultimate fail @ripfire: Have you been on a bike seriously you pull and push the bars in many direction and not just outwards. Please think before you post.
@DaOtter: This applies even when cruising along the streets, oops I hit a f'ing curb my handlebar collapsed and I have driven into a bus. There is a reason why this has not implemented previously.

ichi1

Well I use bike hooks to hang my bike in my garage. At least the handlebars hit me on the head instead of the groin ;-)

AJ_Syrinx

Hmmm it makes it heavier, more expensive, and easier to break all in one fell swoop. Not to mention the risk of them folding while riding. All to save a few inches of wall space. Interesting idea for a small subset of cyclist, but a poor choice overall.

1roll20s

Looking at the design, I think it would hold, but I worry about it folding in at an inopportune (sp) time.

I just noticed there's a lock to keep the handlebars folded, nice bit of extra security.

ARP

@DaOtter: Yeah exactly. I suppose the only downside to it would be the weight.

ripfire

Seems like a great way to make it easier for your bars to fail while mountain biking.

mcjake

Folding handlebars are NOT new and have been available on the following folding bikes...

Gekko
[ridethisbike.com]

Mobiky
[ridethisbike.com]

Strida
[ridethisbike.com]

What's cool about Joe Wentworth's design is that it appears meant for full size mountain bikes. If that's the case, these bars would be a welcome addition to a bicycle like the Paratrooper full size folding mountain bike. Better yet, the handlebars lock together, deterring theft AND allowing a bike to be leaned against an object with less chance of the bike falling over. Brilliant; I hope a major bike manufacturer licenses this so it can go to market soon.

RideTHISbike

Handlebars take a lot of stress (if you are an experienced rider) which is why they are made to be strong and stiff. When a rider is cycling there is a lot of force transfered to the front of the bike to keep the rider balanced. If the hinge fails you're in for a horrible disaster. I don't know if you've ever lost your handlebar or had it rotate out of the stem, but the result is usually a chin to the steer tube.

DeanOfAllTrades

@bpatten: yeah, bikes like the Dahone Curve already have folding pedals, so those things already exist.

On another note: I haven't read all the comments, but the article does not mention that, in the visible end of one of the handlebars, you have a lock integrated, so the entire thing is also supposed to be a safety device, implying that a potential thief would not be able to ride the bike back home without handlebars. Which would be pretty pointless against pushing the bike or wholesale thieves who just turn up with a van and throw every bike, that's not up on a tree by the count of three, into the back.

yogibimbi

Oh man, I can just imagine those things snapping down, trapping your hands, casting you over the handlebars, the bike following behind you, bouncing off a tree, falling off a cliff, landing on a sharp rock in raging white water, having a grizzly mistake you for a salmon, then winding up in the forest outside Blair. Rough situation man.

The Magnificen7

@ichi1: Seriously, how much force do you put on the handlebars when turning, maneuvering rough terrain, or wheelies even? What percentage of the time are the bars being pulled as opposed to push? 15%? 20%? Some things are left out of my previous post because it's just too obvious. I guess not everyone gets it.

The lever clamp on my seatpost can support my entire weight, and you think this locking mechanism wouldn't handle a couple of bumps?

ripfire

too much danger for such little benefit

ten10

It seems the innovation is the locking mechanism as a deterrent for a bike that's only going to be unattended briefly in a relatively safe location, but those cylinder key locks have proven easy to defeat.

YMMV

Isn't a quick release for the handlebar stem far simpler and more reliable than this contraption?

TickleMeElmo

I have to admit that is a good idea.

bms

@ripfire: oh ffs you just don't get it I am not going explain physics of why your seat post quick release/bolt (depending on whether your stuck in the 80s or worried about theft) does not incur as much stress as the handlebars , well unless you land on it repeatedly but then your clamp bolt is going to die which is what clamps your seat post to your actual seat.though I suppose you have never cycled standing up (yes try it, it's fun) and are probably of little strength so could not lift your front wheel , so your dullness will probably save you and you should buy a dull folding handlebar to go with your dull riding and go home to your dull wife who is bored of your missionary position sex as you are too scared of trying a new position.

ichi1

Bunch of crybabies! It's a good idea get over it.

BattistaOrville

When is the iPhone going to collapse?

skottmckay

you all missing the fact this is the perfect anti theft device, notice the lock on the handlebars...

nasmithey

you are all missing the lock on the handle bars, this is the perfect anti-theft device.(unless you ride around throwing bikes in your truck

nasmithey