Originally Posted by HoustonB

Thanks for the heads up on the Montague.

Train - this is more a requirement for myself, and would be a twice a day deal. Regular bikes are not allowed on rush hour trains (I'm not talking trains in Portland, but into London city center). Removing the wheel every time would be a royal pain in the ass. So for myself a quick fold is required not just a nice to have. I don't mind large fold size, for the train, and I would be OK with further disassembly if I was flying. Some of the Dahon bikes look good for me.

Bus - this would not be a daily occurrence, most places I might go by bus, I would prefer to bike. And in fact the folder for myself would be primarily to replace the bus ride at the start and end of each day, and also the rides on the underground between the train station and the office. Also for my girl friend bus travel requiring storage of the bike in the luggage space might be 1 or 2 times a month. It is unlikely (but not impossible) that we would want to take the folder into the seating area of a bus.

Flying - The only desire here is too avoid excess-baggage charges and make sure the bike is not damaged. Is a hard shell case considered essential. I've seen prices of $400 for the bike case. I had a Trek 950, in a soft bag (Tardis), damaged by United a few years ago on a flight from Portland to Paris. The rear left brake was bent out of alignment, and the shaft of the brake block was also bent. Hard to believe what kind of force would be required to bend one of the strongest parts of the bike. I guess I'm answering my own question - the hard case is essential, or pay the excess and go with a big box and hope for better handling. Airlines should be legally required to carry bikes free of charge - after all they could probably claim a carbon offset (if the bike is likely to be subsequently used as an alternative to say car rental).

The only issue that puts me off the hard case - if the sole purpose of the flight is touring - would be what to do with the case during the tour. When I went to Paris, the first part of the trip was a wedding, followed by a week long tour. I looked into storing my suit and shoes etc. in left-luggage at Gare du Nord train station in Paris. It was seriously expensive, I opted to go to the post office nearby and mailed it back (US Customs sat on it for over a month) - I don't remember the exact prices, but count on a week in left luggage being about 3 times the cost of mailing the case back. Also the left luggage is per case, and I only had one case that I did not want on the bike. My current thinking is to plan tours so that there is a hotel that is visited at the start and end of the tour and pre-arrange the storage of the hard case.

Finally, it is highly likely that we would want to tour on the folders at least once a year, with me carrying most of the luggage. Tours would most likely be one or two week light luggage bed & breakfast / hotel based, but carrying a tent for "caught in the middle of nowhere" stops might be a possibility. Large fold size and 26" wheels are looking like the preference for both myself and my girl friend.