Great to see that the discussion has started about vela.ca folding bikes. Vela.ca is a Canadian based company which is focused on the Canadian Market. For all of our friends south of the border (US of A) please allow me to explain some of the differences in pricing. Canada has higher import duties and sales tax (GST) for bicycles, not to mention universal health care, rich ethnical diversity and apparently a more securely structured banking system. Vela.ca's price of $450 CND also includes shipping within Canada (shipping costs are also higher in Canada). Let's do a comparison... A comparable downtube model sells for $379 USD. Import duties= %13 GST=%5 If Canadians order from an American company they will also be charge a customs brokerage fee which is about $20-$40. So, Downtube's $379 is now up to approx. $450. Downtube charges $80 for Canadian shipping... we're up to approxly $530, not including the possible $20-40 brokerage fee. So, for the moment Vela.ca's bikes are not ideal for American customers but are very competitive for Canadians. The bikes are stylish and customer service is great. It's great to have comments in any forum but I don't think anyone has done a fair comparison of the bikes or the price. Maybe the company will eventually open a branch in the US. Cheers