Jerrys88

Hey people, this thread is 5 years old.

Just to give an update, I wound up buying a Dahon Formula S18 which I customized by swapping out the front chain rings for smaller ones - much better suited to my needs for a wide range of 18 gears with perfect low gear for climbing. Sold my Brompton. Love my Formula S18 - it's an amazing bike - happily commuted with it for two years. Figured out how to roll it when folded almost as well as my Brompton by installing a dual kickstand and securing the folded bike with a rubber twist tie. Also, the slightly larger folded size turned out to be no big deal.

But eventually I came to the realization that I love cycling so much, it was time for me to own a full-size bike. I bought my last full-size bike in 1982 and hadn't ridden it for around 15 years. My timing was great. Bought a beautiful 19 lb. 22-gear carbon-fiber road bike at an amazing end-of-season sale price (still $$ but worth every penny). OMG! What a bike!!! Holy cow - it was like going from riding a family sedan to riding a sports car. Well, I instantly fell in love and knew I had to figure a way to use this bike as my commuter. That meant figuring how to get it in my car for my multi-modal commute. YouTube came to my rescue. There was no way to fit the bike in the trunk of my car, and I wanted to avoid carrying it on an external rack for security reasons (I often run errands and go food shopping on my way home from work - wouldn't want to leave my expensive bike outside). Found a YouTube video that showed me how to slip the bike behind the front seats of my car by removing the front wheel and turning the bike upside down.

So, I've been commuting with my full-size road bike ever since and will never go back. I hate to say it, but there is just no comparison between the ride of folding bikes vs. a good full-size road bike, not to mention it was perfectly sized and customized for me. It's also opened up a whole new world of weekend bike tours with a local cycling club. As an added bonus, because it's so lightweight, it's actually easier to get in and out of places with stairs, like subway stations, because I can so effortlessly lift and carry it.

I don't mean to diss folding bikes. They definitely have their place, especially if you live in a small space and/or need to use public transportation to multi-mode commute. I don't have those restrictions and learned how to make a full-size bike work for me. The only down side is that I have to manage security more than with my folding bike. I would never leave my expensive full-size bike outside, unattended, even locked up in most locations. I was able to wheel my folded bike into any store, office, building, etc. I have become quite brazen about wheeling my full-size bike into commercial spaces and fortunately have not been turned away yet. It's worked out well for me.