Thanks for the responses. It's great to hear that the REI store brand is good quality and that several of you are quite happy with your Transfers. It really does look like a solid bike. sjt78, I'm not too concerned about the weight--almost all of the bikes I'm considering are 35-40lbs. I suppose that's what you get when you buy a steel frame with all the commuter fixins. Texasdiver, the Globes are gorgeous bikes, but at $940-1100 (for the IGH models) and in aluminum, it's not really what I'm looking for.

Whatever I end up with will be my commuter bike 3 days per week when I ride about 13 miles roundtrip and keep my bike in my office (I would never leave my bike unattended in the neighborhood where I work). The bike will also need to be a light utility/grocery getter, something in between the Brompton and our Kona Ute.

All of that said, I'm still leaning towards the Belleville. There's something about that porteur look that I just love. If I could afford a custom randonneur/porteur frame, I'd be in heaven