Originally Posted by froze

Some of you are forgetting one thing about touring...you don't want a bike with odd ball parts that will take days to have sent to Bumjack Egypt to get fixed while you wait around in someplace you have no desire to wait in! And odd ball tire sizes or rims like the Bike Friday or the hub like the Rhollof should it fail will just raise eyebrows by the local yokos who won't have a clue as to what the heck it is or what to do about it! They'll probably recommend rebuilding the wheel with a standard freewheel and standard rear derailleur! There goes your expensive Rhollof hub...in the trash! A hub like that is only ok if your going to be touring someplace like Los Angeles.

This is why Rivendell, Beckman Designs and maybe Gordan and Waterford use simple components that are very reliable, easy to repair even by the handicap, and are replaceable with universal parts any where in the world; combine that along with simplicity of steel that can be easily repaired by a local welder without expensive welding equipment that can weld on Aluminum or Titanium, because a lot of small out of the way places don't do specialize welding on other materials nor can they afford the cost of those welders.