Leila -
Absolutely, you can use a Bike Friday as an everyday bike. I actually have two of them - one set up as a skinny-tired road bike (a Pocket Rocket, purchased before they made the Petite line, although I've considered trading it in for a Petite!), and one set up as a touring bike (an Air Glide). The reason I bought my first Bike Friday was so I could take a bike with me on trips when I was flying somewhere without dealing with a full-sized bike case and excess baggage charges. The bikes are built with a drive train that gives you the same gear ratios as on a "regular" bike, so they are not any more or less difficult to ride than other bikes. I've toured extensively on the Air Glide; that's the bike that I used on my cross-country trip. And I ride my Pocket Rocket quite often too. The Pocket Rocket is set up with all road components (Ultegra) and slightly higher gearing than the Air Glide. For the Air Glide - knowing that I would be hauling my gear and riding up mountain roads, I opted by slightly lower gearing by using an Ultegra front derailleur and an XT rear - and mountain-bike brakes, which gives me more clearance for the fatter tires I like when I'm touring. Since the bikes are made to order they can pretty much come up with whatever you need. And I would be happy with either style of bike (the Air or the Pocket) as a touring bike.

If you have more questions, please ask & I'll try to answer them.

But if you are seriously thinking of going with a Bike Friday I'd encourage you to call them and start looking at options. There is a little bit of lead time since the bikes are made to order (not a lot - but you can't decide you want one and have it delivered within days!).

--- Denise