Originally Posted by
prathmann
My distance from the ground is determined by the length of my legs and the need for some clearance between the ground and the pedals. I doubt that there's more than an inch difference between my bikes - and I'm not sure if I'm higher or lower on my folder. I pump up my folder tires to slightly higher pressure than in my other bikes, and the tire width is in between that of my road bike and my touring bike.
I haven't noticed much difference in the amount of water/dirt flung from the tires in wet conditions but haven't tried to make any kind of controlled experiment to compare.
I should be more careful about categorically stating there is a difference in height. In general, the bottom bracket is about the height of the wheel hub (although this doesn't have to be true) and your height is (mostly) set relative to the bottom bracket*. So, you will often (but not always) find that folding bikes with 16" or 20" wheels have a lower bottom bracket compared to a bike with 700c or 26" wheels.
Cheers,
Charles
* I set my seat height based on what's comfortable to pedal, and then hope that I can get a foot down. If you set your seat height based off of getting the same amount of foot down regardless of bicycle type, then, yes, you'll be the same height regardless.