Originally Posted by
Abu Mahendra
In this case you know not of what you speak. You talk about 24" bikes as if they are representative of the gamut, or as 24" is considered a small wheel. Your post is, again, indicative of the deep ignorance here about anything smaller than 24". Problems with gearing? What world do you inhabit? Image problem? Your personal bias is part of it.
You are otherwise insightful and knowledgeable, cycco. Here none of that is on evidence. Here you are just peddling ignorance and prejudice.
Walk into 3 bike shops and ask for a tire for a "ISO451, 406, 355, 349, 305 wheel bike" or ask them for a 16" or 20" tire and see where they point you. If...and that is a giant "if"...they even have any of those sizes, they are going to point you towards the kids bikes. Even if you ask for a 24" tire, that's where they are going to point you. The fact is that smaller wheels are hard to source tires and rims for. It may be a bias against small wheel bikes but it still exists.
As for gearing, the wheel size determines the gearing. Very small wheel bikes have to use huge chainrings to get reasonable gearing. Since the rings have to be so large, the crank has to be mounted higher which makes the rider sit higher and that raises the center of gravity and has an impact on the handling. Most people will notice that immediately and will say that folders feel "off" when you ride them.
There is also a image aspect to bicycle riding. While Bike Fridays and Dahons have a purpose, most people just don't feel right riding them. Look at 408mopar's first points: "Her problem has been finding one small enough to fit her, without being a child's bike." Maybe image shouldn't matter but it does. Folders are just too far outside the "norm" for most people.
There's also the issue of just
finding one. I've been in a lot of bike shops. I've only found
one that sold Dahons. I actually tried one. It's an okay bike but seemed a bit squirelly compared to my "normal" bike. My wife's comment was similar. If we bought one, it would likely be of very limited use since there are other, better, options out there. Just the weight of one is kind of over the top. Her current Terry weighs 20 lbs which I consider a bit heavy for a small woman. The Dahon Boardwalk weighs in at 30 lb which is a lot for a small person to push around all the time. Would you willingly push around a 50 to 70 lb bike all day? That's a third of the weight of a 190 lb person.