Originally Posted by folder fanatic
[I]
I partially disagree with you, Dahon Steve. I first bought a Boardwalk with 20 inch wheels since I did not actually see the bike when it was ordered and I had to assume that 20 and 16 inchers were very close in size when folded. I bought a Brompton when I discovered that the Dahon was far too heavy at 29 pounds and too close to my maximun carrying capacity (30 pounds is my lifting limit) and not compact enough when folded to be brought inside with ease restaurants, classrooms, bus cabins, etc. for storage or transport. The Brompton (and probably the Piccolo) is far more suited for these activities.
These are the specs between the Dahon Piccolo, Brompton and Speed 8
Brompton Piccolo Speed 8
Height 22.2" 25" 25"
Length 21.5" 27" 32"
Width 9.8" 11" 13"
Brompton Piccolo Speed 8
Weight 25' lbs 25.7 25.5
Price $1,065.00 $399.00 $499.00
I took the time to put these figures in a spreadsheet and was surprised at the slight difference in size between all three folding bikes. The Piccolo is barely 10 inches bigger (all around) than the Brompton but is $666.00 less expensive than Brompton. The Speed 8 is only 17 inches bigger all around than the Brompton but costs $566.00 dollars less than the Brompton. Incredible. Furthermore, all three bicycles weight about 25 lbs making this insignificant according to the specs. Unless you intend on spending $1,800.00 for the most expensive Brompton, all three bikes weight basically the same.
If the OP wants to spend an additional $700.00 dollars for 10 inches in overall savings which I doubt anyone will be able to notice, be my guest. What he's really paying for are high labor and transportation costs of the Brompton to the U.S.A.
I once thought long ago that size was most important factor in purchasing a folder but found this not to be the case. Every place I was able to take my 16' inch folder, the 20' inch wheeler was accepted too! What I did discover was how much efficient and confortable the 20' inch wheel was compared to it's 16' inch cousin.
Below are a small list of places I took my 20' inch Dahon Speed 7 with no problems.
1. MTA Bus
2. Metro North Commuter Rail Road
3. NJ Transit Rail road
4. Mc Donalds
5. NJ Trains Bus
6. Grayhound Bus Lines
7. Staten Island Ferry
8. LIRR - Long Island Railroad
9. Amtrak
10. Coach USA - Bus Line