Folding Bikes - Folder for 20+ mile (round trip) commute?

I may be moving farther from the office (25 miles instead of 15), so a train/folding bike commute may be in the offing. Currently, I cover the 15-mile distance on a regular road bike.

I've been browsing the threads here and have some idea of what might work, but thought I'd throw up another "what folder for me" query to seek advice from the collective.

What I envision:

1) riding 10 miles to the major transit center, which has a train line heading another 15 miles to downtown.
2) riding 1.25 miles from the downtown station to my office.
3) Repeat in reverse order for the return home.

Factors:
1) Folder is needed because regular bikes can get bumped if the train is full. Folders are basically always allowed, even if regular bikes aren't.
2) Size of the fold isn't a huge issue.
3) Speed and ease of fold is an issue for me.
4) Ride quality is also an issue for me, if I'm going to be on the bike for 20+ miles per day.
5) Route is mostly flat, but there are significant winds at times.

I have yet to test ride any folders, but that will change shortly.

Of course, I may end up just biking the entire 25-mile (one way) commute (on my regular road bike), but there's a certain appeal to combining the train and a folding bike for something I can't just cover myself in an hour.

Thanks in advice for any advice and suggestions.

i'm riding a Mu SL for exactly the same reason.
it's a 20"
however i'm planning to ditch the train all together, once i get my ebike upgrade.

but if you plan to train a lot, then i'll suggest the smaller folders using 16" wheels

Why such small wheels when size is not an issue? I would say:
swift
Birdy speed

the size of the wheels matter, when you are trying to sneak into a can of sardines... i mean train full of people :p

the bigger the wheels, the more room you take

using 20" wheels will require you to carry a bigger bag to bag it in
but using 16" wheels, it can fit into almost any sort of bag.
you can even put the bike on top of the carry-on racks
which the 20" doesn't fit well on those carry on racks (the ones above the seats)

I have no experience with the Birdy Speed, but +1 on somnatash's recommendation of a Swift.

the swift is so so, once folded there's no resting spot
http://www.xootr.com/xootr/swift/folding.shtml

you have to keep it either on your hands,
or on your shoulders with a bag

Dahons fold can be left on itself after folding, and you can use it as a portable stool to sit on in the train ;)

I'm typing this from a hotel room in Montréal, where I took my Swift on the train from NYC. It stowed easily in the luggage area with the suitcases. On the subway, where there's no luggage area, it would lean against me, or a pole, or a wall.

It doesn't have a spiffy standing-up-all-by-itself feature, but this is no impediment to taking it on a train.

Okay, train and train can be two pair of shoes. If regularly for a long time on a stuffed subway or if changing trains/bus often, I would also choose a small fold as possible. But here we have an OP who wants to ride (fast?) ~ 24,5 miles each day and says folding size is not an issue. I assume the 15 miles is a fast train and short travel time? So OP can stand near the bike while in train? Probably he does not plan to envelope the bike and stuff it in some rack, since he said fast fold is an issue?

I love my ETRO 349 brommi and plan to optimize it as a touring bike for much longer distances than 25 miles/d (which it is easy capable of) for holiday travel because of the good ability to take luggage and the small fold. Still, if I wanted to go fast 24+ miles, with light gear on a day to day basis, I would not choose the brommi which has the biggest 16" wheels.

Note: I am not arguing about wheel size and going fast here! I just have in mind which other 16" folders (which fold quick) have we? Downtube mini, Dahon Curve - both not racers really and somehow I got the impression that the OP wanted a "racer" rather than a "multimodemaster"

Okay, train and train can be two pair of shoes. If regularly for a long time on a stuffed subway or if changing trains/bus often, I would also choose a small fold as possible. But here we have an OP who wants to ride (fast?) ~ 24,5 miles each day and says folding size is not an issue. I assume the 15 miles is a fast train and short travel time? So OP can stand near the bike while in train? Probably he does not plan to envelope the bike and stuff it in some rack, since he said fast fold is an issue?

I love my ETRO 349 brommi and plan to optimize it as a touring bike for much longer distances than 25 miles/d (which it is easy capable of) for holiday travel because of the good ability to take luggage and the small fold. Still, if I wanted to go fast 24+ miles, with light gear on a day to day basis, I would not choose the brommi which has the biggest 16" wheels.

Note: I am not arguing about wheel size and going fast here! I just have in mind which other 16" folders (which fold quick) have we? Downtube mini, Dahon Curve - both not racers really and somehow I got the impression that the OP wanted a "racer" rather than a "multimodemaster"


You could probably lump the Birdy in with the 16" bikes as the wheels are only 6mm bigger at ERTO 355 ... And as we all know, the Birdy can be a very quick bike with the right rubber and gearing....

Thanks for all the replies so far.

Let me clarify a bit on the "size" issue.

I haven't investigated too much into the relative merits of 16 vs. 20 inches and remain open to either.

However, I'm almost certainly leaning away from the ultra compact folders such as the Mobikey, Strida, etc. While the latter fascinate my inner gearhead, my current scenario would unlikely take advantage of their strengths. I imagine they would not ride how I would like for 20+ miles, although that is just conjecture on my part as I have not gone test riding yet.

The duration of the train leg will vary, depending on which one I catch. But it would roughly be 15 minutes at the fast end and 35 minutes at the slow end. The fast train would likely have a place to put the folded bike; the slow train would likely require me to hold onto it wherever I end up on the train.

Technically, the folding bikes are supposed to meet a certain size, but the conductors are generally cool about allowing basically all folding bikes aboard even as they are bumping non-folders.

Thanks again for all the input!

I have taken most of my folders on the Melbourne metlink trains in rush hour.

The Yeah (same as Dahon Helios) folds down small quickly and takes a small amount of floor; I tuck it away against a wall or at the doorway. I have added a magnetic catch so it can be carried with easy without the frame swinging open. With the right gearing and tyres it is quite quick and it gives a pretty good posture of 45º body and arms.

The Swift when folded occupies little floor space and I lean it against a train bulkhead and stand next to it (if there's standing room only). Even just holding it close it takes very little space. My Swift is same as a mid-range roadie in speed.

The Birdy takes about the same space as the Yeah. It still needs better tyres to speed it up.

all Dahons comes build in with the Magnetic latch, to prevent swinging out by accident.

if size doesn't matter, and you rather have a more comfortable ride on the bike, i'll recommend the 20" ones, since those are much more closer to a normal bike, than the weird feel you get with the 16" ones

The Birdy is the most versatile of the quality folding bikes and arguably produces the best ride. As Jur notes, you may want faster tires than the stock Marathon Racers. Also, it is a bit costly. You mention folding ease. It folds quickly but can be fussy. Takes some getting used to.

If the train is usually empty when you get on, then a Swift might be more cost-effective.

You are riding too many miles per year for a Dahon to make sense. I think that they are very good for folks who log a few thousand miles per year and want a light, well thought out bike that actually folds into a reasonable package. But they may fall apart after a while.

If size isn't an issue and you don't need a wide drivetrain, I think that the Swift folder is your best choice. Nice ride. Reasonable price. Standard components. Uses a popular wheel size.

If you want to go cheaper, then I would go with a Downtube. If you want local dealer support, I would get a Dahon Speed or Mu.