Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,319
Likes: 0
From: Vancouver, Washington and Ocean Shores, Washington, USA
Bikes: 2 - 2007 Custom Bike Fridays, 2 - 2009 Bike Friday Pocket 8's, Gravity 29'er SS, 2 - 8-spd Windsor City Bikes, 1973 Raleigh 20 & a 1964 Schwinn Tiger
I am exact same size you are and I started out on a Dahon Boardwalk D7 (now the Speed 7).
After a couple of yrs we upgraded them to Bike Friday's to get more gears and standard parts. My last major ride on the D7 was 24.5 miles with a couple of pretty good climbs onto major bridges here in Portland, OR. It went well, but was at it's limit - at least with me on it.
(Like FF, I also have a single-speed Boardwalk which I use almost everyday as my market bike. Great bike for the $129. I paid for it several yrs ago.)
Downtube would also be a good choice in that price range.