Hello,

I was hoping for some advice picking out a folding bike.

I'm 5'1" 140lbs and on a serious budget

The bike will be getting a max. use of 5 days a week in good weather about 3 miles round trip (to/from a train station for work). Unfortunately, the area is very industrial a lot of trucks pass through, and as a result the roads are pretty bad. There are also a few small hills, but nothing out of control. The area I live in, however, does have some more serious hills. I have a nicer bike that I use for long distances and hilly areas.

I haven't had a ton of luck w/ craigslist. I'm looking for a bike $300 or under (not including shipping).

The options I've whittled it down to are the downtube nova ($299) and the dahon boardwalk ($269) if I buy a brand new bike. Someone on craigslist is also listing a dahon D7 for $300. They said the condition is like brand new, but the picture is pretty grainy. It is last year's model. I'm only weary about this because I'm not a super experienced biker when it comes to doing my own repairs or what to look for in a bike. And I'm nervous about getting ripped off.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you