Here's my first review of a bike, so be kind :-) I received my Montague Boston 8 in the mail three weeks ago, and I've been riding it religiously ever since. Unboxing it took a while. It's well packed in two nested boxes with plenty of padding. It's shipped folded and fully assembled. Once I removed all the cardboard and packing material, I just attached the front wheel and hit the road

First impressions: It's a gorgeous bike. The paint job is matte black and minimal, and it comes with front and rear detachable fenders. The internal hub fits well with the clean lines of the bike's style. Talking the bike out for its maiden voyage, I was surprised to find no flex at all in the ride, despite the folding mechanism. My old Dahon Matrix 2007 had a bit of flex. This bike has none.



Long ride: Taking this bike out for a longer ride, I started from the Union City Bart station and biked to Google Headquarters in Mountain View. It's a great ride that mixes city streets, a park road through a bird sanctuary, and a big hill going over the Dumbarton bridge.



The bike really shines on city streets, and getting around Union City and Palo Alto was a blast. However, the stretch leading up to the Dumbarton bridge is pitted and rough, and the aluminum frame let me feel every bump. In addition, the internal friction in the Nexus hub does slow the bike down. It's not noticeable at slower speeds, but once I got over 20mph, I definitely felt the drag. For most of the ride, I stuck to 5th gear, which showed the least amount of resistance. I'm told there's a "break in" period for internal hubs, so I hope this goes away over time.



Conclusion: This bike is a solid (dare I say perfect?) commuter bike. It's folds when you need it to, but otherwise it's a full-size bike. It's a solid upgrade from my Dahon Matrix 2007, and the 8 speed Shimano Nexus shifter covers more than enough gear range to get me over San Francisco's hills. The drawbacks are that it doesn't fold down very small at all - just enough to fit into a car trunk or a closet. I've had no problem taking it on trains in the bay area, but it's possible someone could call me out for having a full-size bike. The internal friction in the internal hub is another issue, but it's a small sacrifice for reliability.