I had a Montague at least 10 years ago and did not find the folding to be much benefit. In your case it is a huge benefit. You could probably buy a nice $1100 mountain bike online with much better components than the Montague and swap components for less money than buying the components by the each. I have bought a stripped a lot of bikes for parts and sold the remainders on ebay.

I recently purchased a Swift and I am amazed at the capability of this little bike. I am planning on internationally traveling with my Swift in a standard suitcase. I have been commuting on my swift--3+ miles each way for the last 3 weeks and taking it on couple hour rides biketrail rides.