14R as promised here are the pics and the take.
David the rep live @ a gorgeous 120 acres horse farm. The day I went was a perfect day there. He first let me try a few of his latest inventions: a foldable trikes,etc then Reach http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=242226, quite a few Birdy ( everyone except the monocoque which he did not have that day @ his farm). By then I have almost forgotten about the "raison d'etre". Then he brought out the Flamingo. Retrospectively I now understand that he was giving me a chance to really evaluate the Immitation Brommie against Birdy, ReachX3 and Brompton 6ML which I brought along.
The road infront the span of the farm was paved and about 1/8-1/4 mile of straight hill. I took the FL for a spin and all other bike as well.
1) It's definitely smoother ride than my Brommie. I made it up the hill with some effort. But I cannot do that with my 6ML. Compare to Birdy no way! The Birdy 9 speed beats every one hands down. Funny the Birdy 9 speed is nearly as easy to climb hill as the one with the Rohloff that he has. Anyway we are here for FL<sig>
A few thing that FL has improved on. A mechanism to keep the rear wheel locked when its unfolded. Of course the 8 speed. And the shift mechanism is more inline with the age that we are in (grip shift). It also come with all the rings and dings standard ie not very useful but nostalgic dynamo+lamp. Over all this Bicycle stands to become a worthy competitor of Brompton. Enough said here are some pics and links. I added some of David's shots with Reach the Rohloff Birdy and Birdy with the pedelec.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=242226
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Price? We dicussed that. I think it is going to be between the price of similar Dahon and the Birdy. Keep you posted when he decides to debut. I am still assimilating the experience with this remarkable man.