Folding Bikes - Casual Riding/Traveling Folder??

We are slightly considering getting rid of our 2001 Caravan and switching to a Honda Element.

I love the Caravan because, with the 3rd seat removed, I can put up to four bike, with front wheels mounted normally, right in the back. Generally, we road travel with two mountain bikes, which fit easily, and leave lots of room in the back for luggage, and we still have the middle seat for icebox, etc.

It would appear to me that this would be a more difficult feat, if not impossible, with the Element. So I have been looking around the internet and have located the Dahon Boardwalk D7.

This would be used for casual rides in a variety of locations. For example, when we drive to Carlsbad, California, we like to ride the bike paths along the beach from Oceanside down to Torrey Pines, and even go up the rather steep Torrey Pines grade inside the State Park. Or we plan to go to Moab and bicycle the EAST trails, not Slick Rosck or anything like that.

We aleady have 6 bikes in the stable (see below), but none of them meet the requirement of easy portability in a smaller space.

I noticed the Boardwalk could currently be had for about $300, which is in our budget.

I am 6', and weigh 210 lbs

My wife is 5'7" and is about 160. She needs a "step-through" bike.

Any thoughts.

(We are considering the Element (only slightly at this time) because the Caravan goes through gas like crazy and is pretty big to drive, and has racked up about 65,000 miles, which means if we want to resell at a decent price, it is getting close to that fall-off point)

I'm bigger than you are and every folder I tried fit. (I had to get a stem extension for the KHS I eventually bought but the seat post is fine at max extension)

Take a look at some of these links:
http://nordicgroup.us/fold/
A to B Buyer's Guide (http://www.atob.org.uk/Buyers'_Guide.html) (missing a bunch of North American bikes)
http://www.foldsoc.co.uk/
My review & shopping experience. (http://www.halffg.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/foldsoc/canada.html)

Test ride anything before you buy.

The closest thing to a step through folding bike that I know of is the Birea one (I looked for my partner who wanted one where she could put her feet flat on the ground). I encourage you to also look at the Downtube viii and the KHS F20 as being good basic bikes. I like both of those better than the dahon speed8 that I bought.

We are slightly considering getting rid of our 2001 Caravan and switching to a Honda Element.

I love the Caravan because, with the 3rd seat removed, I can put up to four bike, with front wheels mounted normally, right in the back. Generally, we road travel with two mountain bikes, which fit easily, and leave lots of room in the back for luggage, and we still have the middle seat for icebox, etc.


(We are considering the Element (only slightly at this time) because the Caravan goes through gas like crazy and is pretty big to drive, and has racked up about 65,000 miles, which means if we want to resell at a decent price, it is getting close to that fall-off point)

Denver, for convenience and gas savings you might take a look at the Toyota Scion. My wife insisted on having one so she could haul bikes easily. I was disturbed about trading in our Honda hybrid for one, but it's not bad, we get up to 37mpg on the highway (overall 27 to 37) and the room inside the vehicle is indeed very impressive. What' more the price is right and she's never been more happy with a vehicle.

Oh yeah - I should've added the Downtube!
http://www.downtube.com/catalog/

If I'd known about Downtube prior to getting the KHS, I might've gone with their full suspension model.
Price isn't "high-end" but it's a good looking bike that seems worthy of upgrades if you wanted to turn it into a high-end bike.

Look at the Burro bikes if you are wanting off-road capability.

After much thought, and looking at some other cars, we have concluded that our current Dodge Caravan is the PERFECT verhicle for us, and so we will just keep using it until it no longer can serve its purpose, and then look again. So, therefore, our non-folding bikes will do just fine.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

A biria might be too heavy for your wife .Check out some dahons before you discount them, a possibility might be an LBs who is a Dahon dealer or a camping world near you.