I'm looking for an affordable, folding bike for my 5'4", 115 lb daughter for commuting in downtown Toronto.
She may possibly need to carry it on public transportation at times.

I've been looking at the Lite Ride but its 20" wheels seem to be kind of big for carrying. Also no carry bag.

Saw these online
http://www.raylight.ca/folding_bikes.htm

1. Does anyone know anything about these Raylight folding bikes?
2. Any other suggestions for me re brand, features, etc?

Thanks!!
DJ

Hi DJ,

When I go to the link, no bikes come up. However, from the one pic I can see, it looks like an inexpensive Chinese made bike similar to this one on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Folding-Bike-Bicycle_W0QQitemZ130220860955QQihZ003QQcategoryZ159088QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

If she will seriously be using this bike every day, I would look at something else. You can still stay inexpensive with a Dahon or a Downtube. You should also find out how far she is actually going to be riding, as there are different folding bikes for different purposes. As everyone on here will tell you, you need only research the threads on this forum to find out all you need to know about folding bikes, and make your decision from there. Hope this helps,

Juan

The moderators are cowards.

The second one on the page is a Kent Ultralite by another name--I have one. I wouldn't buy it at that price (I got mine for $150 new). FWIW, I'm 5'4", 120lbs and I use that bike on a multimodal 40mi bike-bus-subway-bus/bike commute. It holds up fine, but I'm hankering for a better bike.

A better option would be to buy a Downtube mini.

Hi - as a 5'5", 125lb girl - I'd say you're probably right about the 20" wheels. I recently got a Dahon Curve (16" wheels) and as much as I prefer the styling of the 20" wheels (and the larger selection), I know it would be really tough to carry it much. I can manage my Curve all right - getting it up and down 3 flights of stairs into my apt, etc but it is an effort. Anything bigger would be too much. (I haven't tried to take it on transit yet.) If she's on the smaller side, then the smaller/lighter the bike, the better.

That really reduces your options. My choice came down to the Downtube Mini (which is kind of a pain to get in Canada because it ships from the US and you have to pay UPS brokerage fees to get it over the border - bummer) and the Dahon Curve. I love my curve (wish it had more gears though). You do have to be okay with being an attention getter though - a tiny folding bike in fire engine red doesn't go unnoticed!

A few pics of my Curve in Vancouver....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/88364173@N00/sets/72157604209406555/

Hope that helps!