Portable bicycles are gaining respect among commuters

A general article about folding bikes in Denverpost.com featured a sidebar devoted exclusively to Bike Friday. Way to go! Click on link below for full article.

The best-known folding bike today may be the Bike Friday, made by a Eugene, Ore., firm whose custom-fitted contraptions have inspired a cult following over the past decade.

"We almost reside outside the normal bike market because we only sell direct," says co-founder Hanz Scholz. "Our focus is as much on the community of riders as on the bike."

The small-wheeled bike, named after Robinson Crusoe's helpmate, Friday, comes in a citified version that sells for about $600. But Bike Friday's top sellers are high-performance models that feature a normal-length wheelbase, weigh as little as 18 pounds and sell for $1,600 to $4,500, depending on the components. (See www.bikefriday.com)

"We try to deliver what people want, not what they need. We're in the business of dream fulfillment, in a way," says Scholz.

"People don't come to Bike Friday expecting it to be their primary bike, though it ends up that way for about 70 percent of them."

One of the brand's biggest fans is Teruel De Campo, a Denver anesthesiologist who has ridden his high- end Bike Friday "all over Europe" and once led Scholz on a ride up the Mount Evans road, one of the most grueling circuits in Colorado.

"All bikes will fold," De Campo likes to joke. "Some, you fold yourself. With others, cars may do it for you."

Terry de Campo was one of the many Bike Friday owners at the inaugural Lon Haldeman/Bike Friday Desert Camp - register for the upcoming camp now!. - Jack Cox