Whether you need a bike you can take by train or one you can easily store indoors, a folding bike like one of these could be the perfect answer.

A folding bike fits where a bigger bike won’t, such as a train’s luggage rack, a small car’s boot, or somewhere you won’t trip over it in the tiniest of apartments. Thanks to a combination of hinges and (usually) smaller wheels, a folder can be transformed in seconds from bicycle sized to suitcase sized.

Mixed-model travel is where this is most useful. Cycle to the station, fold the bike, board the train (no reservation required), then reverse the process at the other end. Compact folders will usually be accepted on buses and in taxis as well.

The other big benefit is that you can usually take a folding bike indoors, especially if it’s covered or bagged. This massively reduces the risk of theft and also means you don’t have to buy and haul around a heavyweight lock. Where you go, the bike goes.

All folding bikes are a compromise between riding performance and folding performance. No folder is best at both. Hinges can flex. Small wheels have different handling characteristics. Balancing a folding bike’s different demands requires clever design – which is why the better ones are expensive.

Here are five folders worth considering for commuting. Prices are RRP, before Cyclescheme savings.

Btwin Tilt 100 £199.99

Cheap folders are often rubbish. This one isn’t. It’s a simple, fold-in-half steel singlespeed with 20in wheels, a long stem that folds down, and a long seatpost to lower. It measures 78x66x41cm when folded, which is small enough for a train’s luggage rack. The Tilt 100 is sturdily built and has a frame hinge with neat security feature to prevent it becoming undone by accident. Like most cheap folders it’s heavy, tipping the scales at 13.3kg even without variable gears, a rack, and mudguards. You’ll need the latter; budget £15 or so for a pair from Decathlon. (If you also want gears, check out the 6-speed Tilt 120.) The Tilt 100 isn’t without flaws. Its single gear is a little too low. It handles idiosyncratically due to its short wheelbase and low trail. And it’s unlikely to fit properly if you’re taller than about 5ft 9in. But if you’re on a tight budget and only need a folding bike to ride two or three miles to and from stations, Decathlon’s cheapest own-brand model will do the job.

Tern Link C8 £850

Tern’s least expensive Link model looks superficially similar to the Btwin Tilt 100: a 20in-wheel fold-in-half bike with the familiar long seatpost and folding stem. It’s just better all round, as you’d expect from the step up in price. The aluminium frame has a stiff, secure hinge and has fittings for a front bag or basket as well as a rear rack. Steering is more stable thanks different geometry and 50mm-wide tyres, which also provide a more comfortable, pothole-proof ride. Eight-speed derailleur gearing lets you tackle hills and headwinds, while decent quality V-brakes give powerful braking. It’s not particularly compact when folded (80x73x39.5cm), but still small enough for public transport. At 12.8kg, it’s fairly hefty to lug around. Fortunately it requires only 10 seconds to fold, so you can wheel it right up to the train door without worrying about being stranded on the platform as you fiddle with hinges. Where it really scores over other sub-£1,000 folders is its ride quality on less-than-perfect roads, thanks to its bump swallowing big tyres and the lack of flex in the frame and stem.

Brompton C Line Urban with battery lighting £1,329

The Brompton is an icon, the standard by which other folding bikes are judged. Why? Because it’s the best at folding. The frame doesn’t fold in half but into thirds: the rear end flips underneath the main frame, then the hinged front part folds back on itself, bringing the front wheel alongside the rear. Once the stem is dropped down, the seatpost lowered, and the lefthand pedal folded, you have a locked-together package measuring just 64.5x56.5x27cm. That’s small enough to fit between seat backs on a train, let alone the luggage racks. The Brompton even has castors so you can roll into nooks and crannies more easily. As a bike, it rides better than you’d think when looking at its small (16in) wheels, because it has a wheelbase as long as a conventional bike’s. Steering is still sharp but improves if you use the excellent luggage system, which puts weight over the front wheel. There are lots of different Bromptons these days. For commuting, the C Line Urban is the one to beat: its 2-speed derailleur gearing saves weight over the hub-gear models, making it – at 11.26kg – easier to carry; and it’s not prohibitively expensive.

Airnimal Joey Commute £1,900

The original Airnimal was a folding road bike that was designed fit in a standard-sized suitcase for easier air travel. The range has diversified but most models still have, in folding bike terms, larger wheels – either 24in or 26in. The Joey Commute has 24in wheels with chunky tyres. For a folder, the riding performance is excellent. Folding is clever but not especially compact. The telescopic seatpost is lowered first. Then the front wheel is removed. Then the rear end of the frame tucks underneath, coming to rest under the fork. Then the front wheel can be fastened to a mount on the frame. And finally the handlebar and stem are removed and clipped to the frame. It takes 60 seconds or more and leaves you with a bulky package measuring roughly 98×85×35cm. That’s fine for a car boot. To get it on a train you’ll want to hide it in the optional Joey Bag (£69.99) and hope the guard is friendly. You can dismantle the Joey to fit in a smaller case for guaranteed train or plane travel but that takes minutes so isn’t something you’d want to do daily.

Birdy City £2,579

The Birdy holds the record for the quickest bike fold: 4.9 seconds. While it will likely take you 20 or more, that’s still fast enough on a busy station platform. The folded dimensions of 80x62x34cm are fine for public transport too; not as compact as a Brompton but small enough. The Birdy’s ace card, however, is not its fold but its riding performance. Both wheels have elastomer-sprung suspension – 30mm travel at the front, 60mm at the rear. As well as making the ride more comfortable, the suspension makes the bike faster and more sure-footed on surfaces that aren’t velodrome-smooth. The steering geometry is better than most smaller wheelers too, so you can race down descents with no speed wobble. The City version of the Birdy is commuter-ready and comes with an 8-speed hub gear, hydraulic disc brakes, mudguards, and dynohub lighting. That’s why it’s relatively heavy at 12.9kg. Folding the Birdy takes practice initially. First you detach the front suspension and fold the fork around its rear pivot so that it nestles under the top tube. Then you flip the rear end under, like a Brompton, and lower the stem and seatpost. Once you’ve mastered the process, it’s quick and easy.