I test rode this "ABike" contraption, and it's actually rideable. Not for any real distance, but maybe a few blocks, on a sidewalk. It might be good if you have to walk a couple blocks to a train, and then a couple blocks after the train, on the other end of your commute.

At $400, it's overpriced by about $300. (When I say "overpriced", I'm talking in terms of what the market for a micro-folding bike can bear, not about build quality/materials/design; all of those factors seemed fine. At $400, I'd expect a properly-performing machine, no gimmicks....)

Oh, and if you pull up on the bars of the Abike even slightly, you'll flip/wheelie backwards and fall instantly, as about 90% of your weight is on the back wheel, even though it does not feel like it at first.

Part of the reason it's so expensive is that is has a kind of "double gearing". Essentially, there's a chainring driving a chain, which goes to a "mid-gear" and then the force is multiplied again through another length of chain, which leads back to the rear wheel. They don't show it well on the site, but there's a lot of pretty technical stuff going on inside that housing that leads from the crank to the rear wheel. Lots of little sprockets and chains, gears meshing directly with adjacent gears to "step-up" the gear ratio....etc....

Also, I own a Strida (www.strida.com) which I also consider to be a gimmick-on-wheels. They are super-flexy, uncomfortable and they don't really even fold up that small. Stridas look pretty cool, but they seem like they were designed by a smart designer that never actually rides a bike. It's kind of cool to have one, it's usually in the trunk of my car, but rarely actually gets used for anything practical.