Brompton appears to be a cool bike. I'd like one for occsional travel. But they are committing one of the Seven Deadly Business Sins, the Sin of Premium Pricing, for a fully-developed, fully-tooled, patent-expired bike that could sell for less. Of course everyone wants the most profit. But premium pricing gives competitors incentive to enter the market at lower price and still plenty of room to make a profit. Now, I would not buy a Brompton copy at 2/3 the price. It would have to be 1/3 the price for brand-x of acceptible quality, or higher for a copy of known quality and warranty equal to Brompton. Plus, I won't spend $2k+ on a bike that would only be used a couple weeks a year. If Dahon gets their act together with USA distribution of the Curl D9, Brompton may be in trouble.

I like Brompton. But pricing based largely on cache and high-fashion demand, cannot endure, IMO, except for a very few high fashion items such as a genuine Birkin bag, hand made premium shotgun from a known name, etc. A Brompton is not art, it is a utility item. It's not even highly fitted, it's one-size-fits-all, except for handlebar height. I woudn't buy stock in them, not with their current business model.