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Folding Bicycle

Bicycles and Human-Powered Road Vehicles

A folding bicycle is a bicycle engineered with hinges built into its frame, and often its handlebars and pedals as well, allowing it to be collapsed into a compact form for easier storage or carrying, particularly for commuters who combine cycling with a train, bus or car journey. Though folding bicycle designs date back more than a century, the modern compact folding bicycle, typically built with small wheels to keep the folded package as small as possible, became commercially significant from the mid-twentieth century onward as urban commuters sought a bicycle that could be brought aboard public transit or stored in a small apartment or office. Manufacturers have taken differing engineering approaches to the folding mechanism and wheel size, trading off folded compactness against ride quality.

Facts
Year
1878 1
Significance
Designed to be compacted into a smaller size for easier storage or carrying. 1
Manufacturer or Builder
William Grout (inventor of the first folding bicycle) 1
Sources
1. Folding bicycle (Wikipedia)
  • History section, first sentence
    William Grout who is regarded as the inventor of the first folding bicycle in 1878.
  • History section, inventor clause
    The origins of the first folding bicycle can be traced back to William Grout
  • Introduction, opening sentence
    A folding bicycle is designed to be compacted into a smaller, more manageable size or shape, making it easier to store or carry.
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