Bike Fridays are terrific--I've met two people who've ridden them across the country and two who toured Europe for a whole summer, more than 5000 miles, on a BF tandem. I've only ridden them a little, but they're really great. Priced like it, too...
Dahon, at least the ones I've seen, are lower end but still quite nice. I wouldn't hesitate to ride one anywhere, and would have bought one if our local dealer weren't a dip***** who couldn't tell me if they had one to fit a 6'4" rider and who didn't have anything in stock I could ride.
I wound up with a Downtube (
www.downtube.com) full suspension model (I would have preferred a rigid bike, but the FS model fits taller riders). It's a steal for the price, about $289 when I got mine, but not quite what I wanted. It's cramped for a taller rider, despite the company's claims and despite my mods, the saddle and tires (since replaced) are junk and it's HEAVY. I've never had either one on the scale, but my Downtube weighs much more than my 64cm lugged steel Atlantis with Brooks B-17 and big canvas seat bag.
Would I buy it again? Sure. It fits easily in the trunk of my Mazda, and I've ridden it many times when I didn't feel like mounting a rack to carry my "real" bike. It's fine for running around exploring a strange town and plenty comfortable for rides of 20 miles or so. If I were four inches shorter I'd like it more.
If you do decide to buy one, check ebay. The company uses ebay as its retail outlet, and depending on the bids, you can save $50 or so while getting full factory warranty and support.