Hey guys! I am looking at purchasing a citizen miami folding bike for commuting to and from work. I want to put panniers on it so that I can transport my uniform to and from work. What your experience when it comes to folders and commuting?

Lots of people commute with folders. You have to be a little more careful about heal strike with many folding racks than with a regular bicycle, but it can be done.

You may get more response in the folding bike forum, but there are people here as well.

I like the front Pannier setup on my Bike Friday.. being a small wheel, it is both low riding
and I can tie stuff on top of the panniers across the top of the bags and rack.

My first bike since college (almost 40 years ago) was a Citizen Tokyo. I'm glad I bought it, since it was what I could afford at the time, and I rode it regularly and happily for several years. However, in retrospect, now that I've replaced it with a much better bike (that cost twice as much), I wouldn't go with the Citizen if I could afford better. The quality was lacking. My current bike is not a folder, and I miss the compactness, the small storage profile, and the ability to easily take it on public transportation. I don't miss the rough ride, the slow speed, and the repairs the Citizen required. So if you like the benefits of a folder, by all means buy one. But don't buy a cheap bike of any kind unless that is the only way you can afford to bike - and even then consider a good used bike over a cheap new one.

I used to ride a folder since part of my commute (11 miles or 16 minutes) is on the Metro train (smaller cars than Amtrak for example) and the folder took up a lot less space. I have the DaHon Curve 8-Speed (internal hub gears), and while I do have to adjust various parts of it occasionally, it's really pretty well made.

Now, however, the Metro has put in "bike cars" which really means they've taken out four sets of seats and set aside an area for bike, strollers and luggage. I rode the folder for awhile after they put in bike cars, but now I ride my normal road bike, use the "bike" space, and am overall much happier with the bike ride part.

So . . . by a folder if you need it for less-space consumption purposes, but (at least in my opinion) the ride won't be as good as your regular (non-folding) bike.

Of course, if you really think about it, a folder takes up just as much space folded or un-folded, its just that it's a less obtrusive space when folded.

Rick / OCRR

For the past several months I don't think I have ridden anything but my Citizen Miami. I think I've owned it for about a year now and the three things that needed changing for my own benefit was modifying the seat post for additional length, gearing it a little taller than stock and changing tires to ones of better quality. At times I use a seatpost mounted rack that I set high so that my integral trunk/panniers fit on back without risking heel strike.

I used a Downtube for a long time in Florida and Kentucky. IT was a great choice. Infinitely adjustable and shot thru traffic like a little water flea. I used a big, plastic kitty litter tub for a trunk, the kind you can get in any food store. The only negative I had with mine was that standing and pedaling was kind of sketchy. No big deal at all, though. A Folder is a great choice.

Nashbar has those old Marlboro Fuji folder frames on sale. Pretty much full size. Then you could use a garment bag pannier.https://nashbar.com/bikes/Product_100...t#ReviewHeader

Check out Origami Folding bikes.
The Crane is <$300. Great value for the $$.
The firm's owner is a member here.

I used to ride a Dahon Mu SL that I put fenders on. No panniers though. Eventually I switched to a 29er mtb because the road sucks so much. I got about 2mph faster by switching to the mtb.

I bike-train-bike to work and I cycle back from office. My commute is 5 miles. This allows me to ride with work clothes and park my bike under my office table.
It was difficult in the beginning. The smaller wheel ride is not as comfy as 700c/32mm. I ride a Brompton 2 speed and there were many times I wished I had more gears. And there was also a learning curve on how to board trains during peak hours with a bike :-)

But overall, love it. :-)

Indeed, took me a while to find the best way is to lift the bike and point the dirty chain at people's faces so they give you some room :-)

You live in Miami so I think you should get the Citizen! I got a GreenZone two months ago and am happy with it. It was cheaper than the Miami ($ 200 new) and it was steel. Also when I was shopping around I saw a lot of used Citizens for sale. One person admitted that they did not like the ride. I test rode one and did not detect anything amiss, but there were a lot of used ones for sale which gave me pause. I test rode the Brompton, but it was way too expensive. I also heard that the folding joint on Dahons are prone to trouble. So I bought the GreenZone and so far am quite happy. I am thinking of taking it on a credit card tour from Buffalo NY to Montreal Quebec. I will add bar ends so I have a few more hand positions.

You may want to check out the "Folders" bike forum. We deal with all sorts of issues like commuting, repairs and tourding. I would never have heard of the GreenZone without that forum.