Originally Posted by
HoustonB
Sorry to all, for not mentioning that the preference is for a folding bike, without tiny wheels if possible.
Answers:
1. Definitely not racing. Mostly day to day home based use. Car free bike dependence is not recreation, but regular recreation rides are highly likely. Must be able to carry rear panniers - so rear rack is essential. Regular need to travel by bus (without the bike being obvious - for security and ability to board the bus reasons). Occasional train (rush hour) and plane travel is also likely (anything from a Cessna to an A380). Touring, with me carrying the majority of the kit, is likely. In short this will be her only bike and will need to do a lot of work filling a lot of roles.
2. Our budget is 700 to 900 USD.
Thanks for all the replies so far. Plenty of food for thought.
The two goals of taking the bike on the bus and using the bike for touring/grocery getting are somewhat inconsistent. The best bikes for intermodal travel have 16" wheels; this makes a pretty big difference if you are going to be regularly taking the bike on the bus. Sometimes these bikes come with racks, but they are not the kind of racks (
AFAIK) that can take panniers. (Maybe you can retrofit a rack to take panniers).
As examples of this variety, think Brompton (probably too expensive), Tikit (ditto), Dahon Curve (D3 or SL), downtube mini...and probably a couple of more. These bikes also tend to have limited gearing (typically 3 or 8 speed hub gears), which simplifies the fold, but can be inadequate for touring.
Touring type folders, on the other hand, tend to have 20" wheels, multiple gears, the ability to take racks that will hold panniers...but they are bulky to fold and cumbersome to carry around. It's doable, and some people do it all the time, but IMO these bikes are better for folding and putting in the trunk taking into the office than they are for carrying onto a bus.
IMO, the best option would be two bikes - a small folder of the Dahon/Downtube variety, running around $500, plus a lower-end Giant Sedona (or similar), which would run about $300 with slicks.
If you just want one folder, I think you should prioritize what's most important and focus on a bike that does that well. If taking the bike on the bus will be an occasional thing, then go for a bike with 20" wheels and a good gear range (this is probably the largest folder category anyway), buy or make a bag for the bike, and deal with the inconvenience on the bus by thinking how nice it rides otherwise. And if you'll need to be folding it and taking it on the bus most of the time, then go for the easy fold and suck it up on the tour.