Originally Posted by PeaceGrabber
I saw a Ritchey makes a new road bike that is able to fold it. The bike is the standard diamond frame when it is unfold. Why don't the companies make foldable bicycle? Another company who make good folding road bike is Bike Friday. Again, it is just not popular compare to Trek, Cannondale... I wonder why people don't ride the foldable bike since you can easily store it in the four-door sedan automobile or even in your room. Are they given the same comfort and weight as the unfoldable one does? Any ideas?
The Ritchey is a nice bike but it's not a folding bicycle. It's more like a "take a part" folder.
The folding bike is a commuter bicycle to be used in conjunction with buses and trains. There are plenty of rail and bus systems that will not take a full size bicycle. The Ritchey is more of a traveling bike and not something you would want to take inside the cabin of a bus.
Smaller wheel folding bikes with 20 or 16 inch wheels are slower than a traditional bike with 700 cc wheels. The folding bike is all about compromise whether it's speed or safty. Bottom line. If you don't need to board trains and buses, there really is no need to have a folding bike.
I have two folding bikes that I use to board trains. If you have an airplane or a boat, the folding bike is the only way to go.