Originally Posted by
BassNotBass
As a general rule I prefer riding my 20" (406) folders out of any of my big wheeled bikes. IMHO my folders are easier to handle and more tractable in mud, sleet, snow and rain... the smaller wheels sling less of those three around... small wheeled bikes allow me to pack more 'gear' yet maintain a lower center of gravity and normally they are a smaller overall package to transport when traveling. When it comes to touring/commuting/'pootling', small wheeled bikes can't be beat... but of course they can't beat a good old 29er for bombing down a mountain.
Oh yeah I forgot about that...small wheels are so much better for carrying stuff. I guess that's something to think about if I decide to get a Montague.
Originally Posted by
chagzuki
I'm hoping that rim, spoke and tyre choices improve quickly as folding bikes grow more popular. I don't want to be locked into buying Brompton parts as they're overpriced, sometimes laughably so.
It would be easier if there were more cross-compatibility, e.g. if I could find a cheap 20H 349 rim so that I could run a Dahon / Tern front hub on my Brompton. I imagine the market will evolve quite quickly and there will be more options soon.
Yeah, and speaking of which, when is Bike Friday going to make a ISO406 wheeled version of the tikit? I'd buy it in a second cause it's the only bike they make with a unified rear triangle. It's amazing the kind of punishment you can force a drivetrain (either traditional chain or belt drive) to take with a nice stiff chainstay and a rigid tensioner.
It'd be really nice to get some third party service on my bikes, but the only folder manufacturers that seem to have a URT, standardish rims, and standard hubs are:
-Downtube
-Xootr Swift
-Montague
And you can't really get good manufacturer or dealer support from any of them (well maybe Montague, but it's a bit of a different animal).
Tikit has good manufacturer support and a URT, but non-standard rims
Dahon/Tern has good dealer support and a URT, but non-standard hubs
Brompton has good manufacturer support, but a non-URT, non-standard rims, and non-standard hubs