Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
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I do not know how many times I have started reading a thread where someone wants to buy a folding bike, but late in the post they say they want to spend about half as much as they would expect to spend on a full size bike.
If you want to buy a used Dahon for $600 for a trip that otherwise will cost you many thousands, maybe it will work out ok.
I'm not too worried about having the perfect bike. I will only be riding a few miles fully loaded from the airport to the hotel and then a few times switching hotel or to apartment. Weekend trips should be with very light panniers and during the week maybe one pannier with a couple books and spare jacket.
If I can find a fully loaded large frame Bike Friday with internally geared rear hub I might pay twice as much. There are at least a dozen 2nd hand Bike Fridays in the PNW on craigslist and facebook but all of them are small or medium frames.
The Dahon comes with a solid rack. My panniers are nothing special so if I buy the Dahon I will probably modify the panniers and add an auxiliary set of mounts that set the panniers higher and further back to prevent heel clip.
One of the great things about bike touring is that it is very egalitarian. I love riding my Woodrup Giro Touring with campy, cinelli, huret and shimano components. But anyone can get a good enough bike for $300 and have a great adventure.
Thanks again everyone!