Now here is a man secure in his masculinity...

[DeniseGoldberg]

He was TOURING on that bike? Dang. It's so *small*... looks hard to really get going fast on that bike!

Actually, Bike Fridays ride just like "big wheel" bikes. They have small wheels, but the gear inches are a combination of the wheel size, cluster size, and chain rings. I have 2 touring bikes, one a Bike Friday and the other a custom-built diamond frame bike with 700c wheels. The difference? The chain rings on my little-wheeled bike are bigger than the chain rings on my big-wheeled bike. And the gearing is exactly the same on the two bikes - so it's no harder to get to the same speed with my little-wheeled bike. If anything, the Bike Friday turns faster with its smaller wheels.

--- Denise