My wife and I own a pair Gaerlan gotravel FOLDING bikes (http://gaerlan.com/) The builder is based in San Francisco so for us was easy to go to his place and test ride a bike, spend time talking with him etc. J. Gaerlan is a very nice guy and very accommodating. We bought two (about $1300 each including a decent suitcase, and a cheapo rack)and have used them in very rough roads (Vietnam Hwy 1, Baja California, California hwy 1 and San Francisco bay area streets) I have about 2800 miles on mine mostly touring. Have also ridden off road trails with it, here in California and in Baja. BUT note: we do carry very light loads, even when camping.

I did test ride different Bike FRIDAY (including the Air Llama) models but did not found ride quality differences between the the FRIDAY and the Gaerlan. The Gaerlan came with a case and a rack (The rack I've replaced). Last time I visited my sister in Switzerland I rode her commuter, a Dahon Helios 8 it is a good commuter/train/city bike but I would not like to tour on it, the stem flexes to much and the riding position is hard to adjust.

In the Gaerlan all cables use full housing so there is very little cable contamination possible. The shifting and braking are always smooth even on/after wet trails. Ours use flat handlebars(our preference) and a combination of mountain bike (Deore) and road (Tiagra) components, the shifting and braking are very good. The bike uses the same seat post diameter/length as the Dahons. The complete bike and the rack plus some extra stuff fits inside the suitcase. There are other quality folders to consider, PBW (http://www.pbwbikes.com/index.html), the Airnimal (http://www.airnimal.com/) The lower end MOULTON$$$ made by Pashley and I'am sure many others.

Regardless of make, I think a GOOD FOLDING TOURING bicycle is a very good purchase, we are very happy with ours, that was money well spent. Good luck in your search.

Carlos