I bought one last year with the idea of always having a bike with me in my vehicle. While I do a number of short rides where I live, I've been in SoCal this past week. Last year I'd shopped all the folding bikes I could find in SoCal and felt the Brompton was clearly the best but balked a bit at the price. None the less, I bought an ML6 and added a Brooks B17 and Ergo grips.

Yesterday, at Newport beach, while my family played in the sand, I took off for a ride and realized just how effortless it was (did around 10 miles). When I was done, it folded back into its tiny foot print and i tucked it away into a back corner of the Land Cruiser. I kept thinking on this ride (I'm a bike path rider, not a commuter, tourer, or anything really serious; just like the Zen of bike riding) that I really had no need for my full size bike any longer; the Brompton does everything I want in a bike with the added benefit of being a no-brainer to always have with me when I travel.

I know there's lots of stuff out there with new stuff coming out all the time but if you can swing the price, want a brilliant fold, and an excellent riding bike for casual riding, I can't think of a folding bike I'd rather own. Of course, I got the usual comments ranging from "Cool bike!" to "Someone stole your wheels!". At least I didn't get, "Where's the circus?"