What's up with the small wheel bias? After hearing similar comments about the Brompton, surely you know that wheel size doesn't have much influence on speed or pavement ability. My Carryme is just as fast as any other singlespeed bike without aerobars and even after 5+ years of riding I have not had a single incident where it couldn't tackle the pavement (despite potholes bad enough to knock me off full size wheeled bikes if not clipped in). Also the ride geometry's basically the same as a conventional small size compact road bike, except it's possible to ride a smaller bike than you normally would due to the lack of toe/wheel overlap. Conventional geometry is one of the things which distinguishes the Carryme from the Strida, IMO.

What the Carryme doesn't have are sizes for larger riders, extra gears (particularly high ones...even the two speed employs the limits of bike technology to achieve moderate gearing), and suitcase-ability (couldn't fit a walking cane in a suitcase either...wrong shape). The point is that although the Brompton has these things, it makes certain compromises to achieve them, which may or may not be worth it depending on the rider and their body dimensions, preferences, and very particular uses.

Personally I'd rather just ride than suffer even the minor inconvenience created by the Brompton. So if I'm going to make compromises then the end result better be convenient enough to carry on my lap even when I don't anticipate riding at all. That's why I don't want a Brompton: because a jack of all trades is a master of none and when you can get two masters for the price of one jack, forgoing the jack is a no-brainer.