Hi CA ~ Thanks for your compliment about my hill-climbing! I'm definitely not a great climber, never claim to be, but I definitely don't feel that my "little wheels" slow me down. In fact, since they're lighter than 700c wheels, they're probably easier for me to haul uphill with! Rotating weight is definitely the most important on a bike, and wheels/tires are rotating weight, and good 650s are lighter than the equivalent 700s; they're just made of less material!

Thanks also for posting the link from the BF site. Great info and will help dispell a lot of myths about small-wheeled bikes beings slow. Yes, my 20"-wheeled Bike Friday is slower than my 650c-wheeled Aegis, but that is because I have fatter tires on it (1.35" vs. 23c), and it's a heavier bike (steel vs. carbon-fiber). All other things being equal, I am sure it would be just as fast.

Now if only the weather would clear up here in NC so we could actually RIDE again, huh?!

Emily