Originally Posted by Dahon.Steve
I have a 20' inch folding Dahon and it's not as comfortable as a mountainbike or road hybrid. Lets be honest and say the smaller wheel gives a harsher ride. This is probably the biggest negative about the folding bike in general but it be overcome with a Thudbuster seat post or a Brooks Saddle with springs.
I like the Bike Friday more and more and I'm thinking of selling both my Dahon bikes and getting a New World Toruist with a tripple! There's nothing wrong with Dahons but mine are limited because they don't have a tripple chainring which is necessary.
Honestly, in terms of harshness, I don't notice any significance between my DeRosa road bike and my Bike Friday Pocket Rocket. Both are smooth rides, in my opinion, and I'm happy changing back and forth between bikes. I just know that the smaller wheels means I'll be spinning more, and when I first moved to VA, as hilly as it was, I knew I'd be on the BF for at least a month before I transitioned to my road bike. Now that I've made a nice transition to my road bike, the only significance I notice (besides the difference in components) is that I'm going faster on the roadie... but because the wheels are bigger and I'm still spinning= more speed.
I was actually thinking about picking up a Dahon Boardwalk sometime in the early fall. I could do with an easy folder to tool around with.
Koffee