Hi All,

I'm thinking about getting a folding bike. I currently have a Trek 520 that I use as my main bike, and an old, but recently refurbished Trek mountain bike that I use as a utility bike. I'd like to find a durable, compact utility-type of folder that would supplement my existing bikes.

I've looked at Dahon bikes and also at Downtube. The Downtube bikes look like a good value, but I had some questions about these bikes:

1. I like the idea of getting an internal hub bike (the 2009 model) but don't have much experience with internal hub bikes. Are the Sturmey Archer hubs fairly durable/reliable?
2. Is it hard to remove the rear wheel for maintenance/tire changes with the internal hub?
3. I'm also considering a traditional rear derailleur but noticed the Downtube models come with pretty long rear derailleurs that hang low. Can these derailleurs be upgraded to a short cage derailleur?

Thanks in advance!

1) Yes, they are reliable. Internal hubs don't require much maintenance, are cleaner to operate, and don't have an external derailleur to get hung up on things when folded. The Sturmey Archers do have one adjustment that you have to maintain, especially when the cable is new. Simple stuff.

2) Yes, changing the rear is slightly more time-consuming. It's not hard, not rocket science. Just have to remove the wheel.

3) You can change to a short cage, as long as your rear cassette is compatible with it. You can go up to a 27t on the rear in the Shimano world.

Thanks for the reply SesameCrunch. Your answers are very helpful.

Dr. Yan over at Downtube also directed me to Youtube where there are some videos about how to adjust/maintain a Sturmey Archer internal hub. It looks pretty straightforward. I think I will go with the internal hub bike over the traditional derailleur style.

I had a Dura ace short cage derailler on mine for a while and it worked great. 11 -32 rear. IX NS bike. Jack