Folding bike for the bus and shopping carts?
Hi all,
Looking to explore the wide world of folding bikes. I used to ride one as a kid, but have since moved on to road bikes for sport, and fixed gears for play. I have made it a personal goal of mine to go car-less as much as possible for my commutes/errands. So here I am.
I've planned out a commute to work that would involve taking the bus, and I am familiar with enough stores in my area that I could easily bike to them.
Now I just have to figure out which bike to get!
- My budget is $1000 or less
- I would like to have at least 3 gears (there are always some hills to tackle in Utah...)
- So far, I have been looking at:
1. 2008 Models of the Dahon Mu XL/Dahon Curve SL
2. Current model of the Dahon Mu P8
3. Xootr Swift
All seem like pretty good choices, so of course I am having a hard time settling on just one.
If I were to rate my own priorities for this bike, it would be:
1. Lightness/Foldability (I know the Xootr swift fails in this regard, but could I get away with it on the bus/on a standard size shopping cart?)
2. Ride Quality (This is a close second, since I can see myself taking my folding bike for ~15 mi. rides- Xootr Swift wins I guess, but are the Dahons that much worse?)
3. Durability/Required Maintenance - I enjoy being my own mechanic for my road and fixie bikes, so I don't care so much about what needs fixing as long as it's possible to fix it!
4. Aesthetics - I really don't care how it looks!
Thanks again for any help, I do appreciate it!