Darn pretty. If you are looking for a good bike to ride around the city, but which you can also lift up the stairs and into your aparment, there a bunch of options available these days.
The iXi bicycle ($1099) came to us through ID Magazine's design review and also from Graham over at Treehugger. It is a 25 pound wonder with a greaseless belt and a single swooshing framepiece that will stand out from far away. It is meant to attract you and make it fun to ride, but it didn't get a very high rating from ID due to the lack of power from the belt and the fact that it is awkward when taken apart.
Despite this, the iXi is a good new entrant into this field which is bordering on becoming hip. (Thanks, Graham!) MGR
Other top picks by ID are:
Pretty bikes get stolen, sigh.
Check out the folding Bike Fridays too - singles, tandems, even triplets, and tandems that turn single when necessary. Plus BFs fit into a standard Samsonite case for travelling - and the case turns into a trailer for hauling. Plus plus - they are light and can go real fast (that is, when you want to go fast). www.bikefriday.com
If you really want a folding bike, go to a store and try them out. Check how easy and quickly they fold up. Most of the folding bikes are so much easier to lock up with a ulock than they are to fold that people just lock them up which defeats the whole purpose of the bike. Of the ones that I have tried, the Brompton is the easiest to use.
The reviewer at ID Magazine is misinformed on lack of belt efficiency. Actually, the belt used on the iXi is as efficient if not more efficient than traditional chains. See www.ixibike.com for more!
For the same price, you could get an eGo, which would mean you wouldn't have to pedal and would have the coolness of an electric scooter.
Many miss the point of the iXi. It's easier to live with and use on a very regular basis compared to other bikes. For example, thanks to the greaseless belt, kick-snap folding pedals and carry handle, it's very easy to carry it indoors or park in the hallway. As in Ken's comment about folding convenience above, that's just not the issue here. Besides, the iXi rides really well and is probably a lot easier to ride and faster than most bikes on the road.