hi,
Need someone to tell me if this is a crazy idea or not. I am thinking of doing a half ironman (56 mile) and possibly one day even a full ironman (112mile bike leg) on a folding bike.

At the moment I have an old Dahon Cadenza for commuting and my son has a downtube (which I ride occasionally). I have a full size titanflex (think beam bike) which is my tri bike at the moment and it has worked well for the races I have done.

I really like folding bikes and get a real kick out of being a tall guy (6 2") on little wheels. My triathlon goal is just to finish and have fun, I am about middle of the pack and no plans to go for the podium. I dont need the folding option really, but I just like little wheels

So I am thinking of getting a road style folding bike (maybe sell the titenflex). I am fine in taking a little hit in efficiency but it needs to be roughly the same as a good road bike- I still have to run 13miles after the bike leg. Budget is about $1200 so its probably down to a Swift or used Bike Friday. I dont think the Downtube would be suitable as its a little too small for me and I cant get the road position I am after (fun bike though!)

I see a lot of people do century rides with no problems, but did not see anything about race/triathlon style riding

Appreciate any comments!