"...My commute is in London
Ive been told so many different things about fold up..mainly that for my distance they are not suitable! However I dont want to believe this!!
Im looking at Dahon Speed D7 bike and it seems to have everything I need."-Hermitt

Hello Hermitt and Welcome to this forum,

You have been fed other people's bike prejudice about folding bikes in general. The trick is to pick one that can easilly cover the range of terrain as well as distance. All my folding bikes (and I have 3 now) cover this with ease since I was careful to pick bikes that go up different hills as well as move along a fair clip on flat terrain. The Dahon models offer a great flexiblity and choice to match these great range of terrain without going into great expense until you are more familiar with folding bikes. I think the Speed D7 is an excellent choice for a first folder. My first one was a Boardwalk and I still use it on occaision. For more information on folding bikes in general and mine in particular, see below. My web sites are personal in nature, but I try to intergrate all mine and other's knowledge in a interesting package.