Originally Posted by lighto

I have two Downtube Novas. One came a little damaged and I didn't have a good experience with Dr. Yan in getting that resolved, but the bikes themselves are fairly decent.

One misconception I had about these bikes was how small they will fold--it's not THAT small. I had crazy ideas of riding the thing to a supermarket, folding it up and taking it with me inside, but that's just not practical with this bike. Also, once folded, you have all these dirty parts (tires, chain, gear) exposed that make carrying it without dirtying yourself tricky. You should think about how you will handle the bike once you get to campus (there's alot of quick release parts [i.e. quick theft parts] if you're considering locking it up). For me, the "fold" just means I can put it in the trunk of my car and take it to the beach more easily.