If you don't need to pack it for airlines, you might want to consider Dahon's 26" folders, esp. the Cadenza. For another $180 you get a bike that folds, but can handle a significantly wider range of roles, e.g., full panniers for two weeks on the road.

The Dahon manuals (on the Dahon corporate site) will quickly make you more knowledgeable than the LBS guy you've been chatting with.