A commuter’s secret weapon

By John Carey

updated 3:11 p.m. ET June 2, 2006

Parker Snowe used to ride the train into town, then hoof it to his office. "But I got tired of walking 1 1/2 miles," he says. So a year ago the director of the Wharton School's international programs found the perfect solution: a folding bike.

Now, Snowe, 48, pedals 2 1/2 miles from his home to the Media, Penn., train station, folds the bike, and carries it onto the train. In Philadelphia he unfolds it, zips to work, and parks it in his office. "It's easy to carry, a lot of fun, and a great conversation piece, " he adds. Advertisement

Once ridden only by hard-core enthusiasts, these typically small-wheeled, hinged bicycles are becoming more mainstream. Dahon, based in Duarte, Calif., dominates the market with more than a two-thirds share. It sold 285,000 bikes around the world last year, up 25 percent from 2004. And sales in the U.S. are expected to climb 50 percent this year.

Why? More people are discovering how handy these contraptions are.

Vienna, Va., bike shop owner John Brunow became a fan on Sept. 11. With the Pentagon burning and roads gridlocked, he thought he might have to ride a tandem into D.C. to get his wife home from her job. That wasn't necessary, but he got her a folding bike to keep in her office just in case. He also began to stock them.

GETTING AROUND Click on the links below to view photos and learn more: See the folding bikes Best small cars Best 4x4s Best summer cars New cars for new grads Rides that are truly one of a kind

Now, folders have become 25 percent of his business, though most buyers don't come in looking for them. One big group of customers: suburban moms. They put one in the trunk and take it for a ride while waiting for the kids to complete their activities.

When he was doing trade shows in Europe, Seattle-based David Black liked the convenience of the German-designed Birdy folder so much he signed on to become its U.S. distributor. Now, "I wouldn't be caught dead without it," he says. Folders are popular among airline pilots, RV and boat owners, and executives who don't want to miss any training days when they're on the road.

Even so, folding bicycles still meet with skepticism. Aren't they slow, rickety, and silly-looking, people ask. As a Washington-based bike commuter who rides 5,000 miles a year, I figured I'd be a good judge.

I couldn't test all the models available. There are scores of them in all price ranges. So I gathered four for an extended test. I rode them from home to BusinessWeek's offices in D.C. (a 20-mile round-trip), carried them into restaurants, stashed them in car trunks, brought them on the Metro, and used them on longer, hilly rides. I also tried Dahon's best-selling Speed D7 and a British Brompton.

MORE FROM BUSINESSWEEK

BusinessWeek Section Front

What Will the Crisis Mean for Venture Capital? Movers: MetLife, IBM, National City, TJX Companies Where the Credit Freeze Has Thawed Movers: Alcoa, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, Wal-Mart McCain's Mortgage Bailout Plan Why Clean Tech Is Taking Biotech's Shine Movers: Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland, AMD College Costs: Coping with the Meltdown 3D Imaging Spreads to Fashion and Beyond House Reverses Field, Votes 'Yes' on Bailout BusinessWeek Section Front