Bastille

Bastille builds one thing, and builds it like nobody else: a folding bike that refuses to ride like one. Where most folders shrink the wheels to shrink the bike, Bastille kept them full-size — 27.5 inches, the same as a normal city bike — and reinvented the fold around them.

It’s the work of the Paris designer behind the YOYO pushchair, someone who has spent a career making clever things disappear neatly. The frame is built by a partner from the aeronautics industry, and the bikes are assembled in France.

Unfolded, it’s a proper urban bike. Folded, it tucks under a desk, rolls onto a train or drops into a car boot — and comes indoors with you at night, which is rather the point.

Folding, reinvented

The fold is the whole trick. Three movements, under ten seconds, and the bike changes shape: from a full-size ride, to an in-between "T" you roll along behind you like wheeled luggage, to a compact parcel of roughly 82 × 33 × 80 cm. A rotation built into the stem lets it sit flat against a wall, and every Bastille comes with a transport cover, so trains and car boots are fair game from day one. None of it involves wrestling the bike — it's engineered to fine tolerances, and it feels like it.

Big wheels, a proper ride

Those full-size wheels are why a Bastille feels planted where small-wheeled folders feel nervous. They roll over kerbs, tram lines and London's patched-up tarmac instead of dropping into every seam, and they hold speed like a normal bike. You sit in a natural riding position, with geometry that suits riders from about 1.60 m to 1.90 m and a choice of flat or raised handlebar — quick and sporty, or upright and easy.

Two bikes, one fold

The range comes in two forms that fold and ride identically; the only question is whether a motor does some of the work.

The Bastille E adds a quiet motor and battery hidden inside the rear hub, for longer or hillier commutes and arriving unflustered.
The Bastille is the pedal-power version: lighter still, mechanically simple, a lovely thing to pedal.

If your commute is long or hilly, or you'd rather not turn up warm, the E is the easy pick. For shorter, flatter journeys — and for anyone who likes a bike they barely have to think about — the pedal-power Bastille is all you need.

Bastille at Flying Dutchman

We keep Bastille at our three London shops, in Camden, Notting Hill and Hackney, because a folding bike is something you really have to handle to understand. Come and fold one yourself — it's the quickest way to see how it fits your stairs, your hallway, your train. Our workshop looks after them, and because the components are deliberately standard, keeping one running is refreshingly straightforward.

Come and fold one

Book a test ride at Camden, Notting Hill or Hackney and see the fold in person. Browse the Bastille E and the Bastille, or just tell us about your week and we'll point you to the right one.

Frequently asked questions about Bastille

Yes — it's built for exactly this. Full-size 27.5-inch wheels handle city tarmac and kerbs comfortably, it folds in under ten seconds to come on a train or under a desk, and it's happy stored in a flat. You can try one at our Camden, Notting Hill or Hackney shops.

In its most compact position it measures roughly 82 × 33 × 80 cm — small enough for a train luggage rack, a car boot or the corner of a hallway. In the in-between "T" position it rolls along beside you like a suitcase.

They share the same frame, fold and full-size wheels. The Bastille E adds a motor and battery inside the rear hub for assisted riding; the Bastille is the pedal-power (non-electric) version, lighter and mechanically simpler.

Yes — 27.5 inches, the same as a standard city bike, which is unusual on a folder and the main reason a Bastille rides so steadily.

Bastille is a Paris brand. The frame is built by a partner from the aeronautics industry and the bikes are assembled in France, to a design from the inventor of the YOYO folding pushchair after roughly ten years of development and several patents.

Yes. Folded, it travels as luggage and comes with a transport cover; the compact fold makes it far easier on crowded services than a conventional bike.

The idea is that you don't leave it outside at all — you fold it and bring it in, so it never sleeps on the street. Many owners use only a light lock for café stops.

Yes — book a test ride at Flying Dutchman in Camden, Notting Hill or Hackney and we'll show you the fold and help you choose between the E and the pedal-power version. See the full range at /collections/bastille.