Yeah. The bike is geared at about 45 gear inches. At 90RPM that's about 12 mph, at 120RPM that's about 16 mph. I can't pedal any faster than that and I never feel like I need to go faster than that when I'm riding this bike anyway.

I think the gearing is perfect. How can I explain why I wouldn't want a higher gear? I ride it to/from work everyday (about 1 mile each way) and I'm much faster than I am on my 20 inch folder. It's just so much easier to get this bike in and out doors, plus it's light so I can accelerate fast. I ride down the sidewalk until I see an opening in the traffic to cross the street. By the time I find an opening and cross I'm at the parking lot. I ride up a hill past the bike rack and I'm on the elevator before someone with a nonfolder could lock up. Plus I'm not "that guy with the folding bike" on the elevator (if I stand in front of it then no one even knows it's there). I usually only fold the seatpost and the headpost. The smaller fold is really only necessary when I'm somewhere crowded like the public bus (in that case the complete fold is quite nice since, with the bike between my knees, I don't take up any more room than I would if I were empty handed).

I also almost always take it with me when I'm just going somewhere in the neighborhood (post office, little grocery store for whatever I can fit in my messenger bag, bank down the block, etc). Basically everywhere that I used to walk to, but I'm now much faster (the grocery store a 1/2 mile away might as well be next door). The small wheels aren't actually as bad as I thought they would be. The bike is quite nimble and I can actually go over curbs with a little bunny hop. With a some practice I bet I could hop the bike down the block without even pedaling. However, you have to watch what you're doing. If you try to just roll over a curb then the bike will stay at the curb and you will go over the handlebars (as opposed to a 16 inch folder where the bike would probably follow behind you after you went over the handlebars). You have to hop.

High gears are for going down a straight away, but I think this bike is best for zigzagging between pedestrians so you can get that onion you forgot before your home made tomato sauce gets overcooked. With the gearing the way it is, I never feel like I'm going too fast and I never feel like I'm not going fast enough. Would I ride it with a higher gear? I guess so, but I don't think my reflexes are good enough to weave between pedestrians and bunny hop over curbs/potholes at 20 mph. Maybe I'll feel differently once I have a year of practice.

Ok. So it's 1.4 lbs instead of 2 pounds. I'd personally rather strip down a Brompton or a Dahon if I wanted a 20 pound bike. I took off the rear brake and the kickstand on mine, pulling me down to about 7kg (mine is the 2006 model which doesn't include the front rack, the extended rear rack, the mudflaps, or the bracket to lock the steering when folded...I wonder if the 2007 model would be even lighter than mine if these were stripped). I might make mine a fixed gear and take off the front brake too. With a carbon seatpost and a lightweight saddle I might even get it down to the weight of an A-bike. One of the reasons why I bought this bike was because I knew I could make it much lighter than any 16 inch folder.

Yup and yup.