Dahon Jifo 16 Folding Lightweight Bike Matt Black

The Dahon Jifo 16 is one of the smallest folding bikes you can buy, designed for people who need to squeeze a bike into genuinely tight spaces. This isn't a bike that folds down reasonably small—it folds down to roughly the size of a small suitcase, measuring around 60 by 55 by 30 centimetres, which puts it in the same territory as a Brompton when packed away. At approximately 9.5kg, it's light enough to carry comfortably, and the pedals clip off and attach to the saddle, shrinking the footprint even further if you need to squeeze it into a cupboard, car boot, van, or boat locker.

It's a single-speed bike with no gears to worry about, which keeps the design simple and reliable. There's no chain derailleur to adjust, no cables to fiddle with, and very little that can go wrong when you pull it out of storage after a few weeks. The aluminium frame is hand-built in the EU, and you can fold and unfold it in seconds. If you've been keeping it sat through winter, it'll just need a bit of chain lubricant before you ride, but otherwise it's straightforward to get going again.

The 16-inch wheels make the bike nimble in tight spaces and contribute to that ultra-compact fold, though they do mean you'll work a bit harder to build momentum on longer flat stretches. What you're trading in gear options and rolling efficiency, you gain in portability and storage. This works well for jumping off the train for that last mile into town, or for keeping in your vehicle as a genuine backup transport option. It's equally at home on a boat for getting ashore, in a campervan or van life setup where space is precious, or just locked under your desk at work. City commuting, short trips to the shops, or anywhere you need a bike that doesn't take up valuable space—that's where the Jifo sits.