Originally Posted by wilfried

Thanks for the input. Word from the bike shop is that parts for the job comes to $363. That plus labor means the cost of conversion will push $600. So it looks like I'm looking at another Brompton. Or possibly another bike of some sort (A Bike Friday? A Turn?).

Just this weekend, I took the bike out of town and did a hilly ride (a round trip so two in fact). I survived, but I had to walk a couple of short stretches, did some standing on the pedals and pulling on the handlebars, and I cursed my lack of a lower gear. On the other hand, the three speed is good enough, quite nice even, for 90%+ of the riding I do, so there isn't a lot of urgency to upgrade, which means I can dither for a long time. But the itch to get something better is becoming more persistent. The trouble is, I live in a closet of a NYC 5th floor walkup apartment, so the bike has to be a folder.