Perhaps it's something to do with basic tribal instincts: iPad Tribe, Brompton Tribe, Mac Diatribe versus PC Diatribe. People join herds of like-minded others. We do it on here. (!)
Certainly I've had people in London come up to me while I was on my Oyama/Dahon saying 'Oooh nice bike but when are you going to get a Brompton?' It's the cult of consumerism: Bromptons are media-driven status symbols. Owning one restores virginity, cures warts, and enables the leaping of tall buildings with a single bound, and it's a relatively recent fad, concurrent with the price almost doubling in the last six years.
I think the extra competitiveness of folder owners comes from the continuing elitism of a large sector of the bike fraternity who believe that merely going out and buying something made of carbon fibre makes them immortal. After a while we folder operators start to rebel. The result is the traffic light 'Brompton Sprint'.
Last edited by snafu21; 02-09-12 at 02:13 AM.