Quote Originally Posted by IBrakeforPastry View Post
I mentioned in my "standover" thread that I'm considering a Bike Friday. My cousin loves hers, but she lives in the city, takes the bike on the subway, takes it on Amtrak, and stores it neatly in her apartment. I live in a house, with a garage and own a car. I don't "need" a folding bike. Heck, I'm not sure I need another bike at all. But I'm still very tempted.

I like the idea of tossing it in the back of the car and still have room for a suitcase. I like the fact that I can probably get one to fit very well (I'm 5"0"). I like that I can pick out my color

So tell me about your experience. How does it handle? Have you checked it as a piece of luggage on a plane? Which model do you have?

Thanks for any input!
I have a Petite Crusoe. It's for riders 125 lbs or less. They use smaller tubing making the bike lighter. I have the Capreo cassette and rear hub which allows a 9T cog. This will give you a little higher gearing which helps make up for the overall lowering that happens with the smaller 20" wheels. Bike Friday's bikes with 20" wheels come in two different sizes the 406 and the 451 wheels. So if you really want the high gears, get the 451 wheels with the Capreo cassette. If you prefer lower gears, which you may want for loaded touring, you may want the 406 wheels with just a standard cassette. I would talk to them about the type of riding you do and what gears you typically ride in and they should be able to help you. You can use one of the gear calculators to compare to your current bike, like this one.

I did take my bike to do a ride back East a few years ago (I live in California). And it was fine. I purchased the case and packing material with my Bike Friday. I made sure to take pictures of the suitcase at various stages of packing the bike. I then printed the pictures with a note to TSA with my cellphone number just in case they couldn't get it all back in correctly. TSA didn't do anything to it on the way over, but when I got home, it appeared it had been inspected and a few things moved, but everything was fine.