i've had downtube on my radar for a while now and while dr. yan has always scored high marks for me in terms of pricing, features, craftsmanship -- my personal preference was for a folder with No suspension and a simplified drivetrain (6 or 7sp as opposed to 8sp)... i just saw the nova on downtube.com (i revisit the site every once in a while, as i said, 'on my radar') and i have no further reason to hesitate getting a proper folding bike (current one is a vintage pierce-arrow/motobecane) As Soon As Possible... compare the downtube nova to the citizen gotham:

http://citizenbike.com/catalog.asp?p...1&product_id=7

http://www.downtube.com/product541.html

1 pound lighter, and $5 cheaper, and in my opinion, the build quality is a little better on the downtube (of course, dr. yan takes his bicycles very personally). the hinge is a licensed dahon part!

someone in this thread asked for better product photos, and here they are:
http://downtube.com/images/2010_Bikes/Nova/high_res/

and someone else was lamenting the use of a 7sp freewheel... i can speak from experience that it's Very simple to replace a 7sp freewheel with a 7sp freehub (i just did this myself on my jamis trail xr)... though a 20" wheel pre-built around a freehub might be difficult to locate, if you ever Do have an irresistible desire to upgrade the drivetrain, getting a 20" rim, freehub of your choosing (shimano 7sp) and then hiring a local bike shop to do the wheel build for you is always an option. if you get the parts yourself (rim, hub and cassette), expect to pay $50-75 for the wheel build. i HIGHLY recommend http://niagaracycle.com for the parts.