Thanks peeps.
I've had a wee trek down the to a few LBS to check out Dahon and Brompton (and even a few Raleigh and Ap*llo) folders. Only other bikes I am interested in that I haven't seen yet is the Dahon Curve and the Dahon Presto Lite (now discontinued), although at £450.00 (Dahon Curve, SL version) I could get a used Brompton for that price.
The Curve looks like it's more robust with a greater tyre choice (I do greatly dig Schwalbe Big Apples, like riding on a fast sofa - I have some 2.35s installed on an old CAAD3 MTB, it's a dream on the potholed roads hereabouts) and more upgradeable standard parts.
The Brompton, on the other hand, is an institution isn't it? It has an eccentric finesse in a stubbornly unchanging kind of way. And that fold...click...swivel, swivel...click..done. The gadget-head in me is raving and drooling.
The local Brompton stockist (Peddlers) advised me to rent one (Brompton) for £15.00 a day for a minimum of two days to see how I get on with it. I was very impressed with the folding, admittedly. It's compact in an impressive origami-like fashion, and a stable standing format I can see is designed just for trains and cloakrooms.
The non-titanium one weighed a fair bit with the dynamo and rack tho'...
Still, way ahead of my old 20" Raleigh shopper/ folder, which I swear weighed about 60lbs.
I reckon the rental is the way to go for the moment... (thinks...wish could rent a Dahon Curve for a day and a Brompton for a day then compare)
Velomaniac, does the Brompton flex much? I'm a lardy get, over 200lbs. 40 miles sounds cool, but I'd want a rigid forty miles...., flex drives me nuts
Andy, thanks for the offer to answer Q's, I'll probably have a few after riding the beast in a week or so.
Here's one: are newer (used) bromptons worth the extra investment, or could I buy an older used version and get similar performance?