As others have discovered, the tikit is essentially a better bike than the Brompton in almost every feature but one: folding compactness (and, only if you live in the UK, price). The tikit has "real bike" geometry, particularly for larger people, is adjustable, is stabler and has better trail (or to put another way, actually has trail), is far more customizable with standard parts both from the factory and after the fact, has better brakes and certain other components, has quick-release wheels, folds like lightning, and comes from a company with a stellar customer satisfaction record, even when compared to Brompton's very good one.

But that one feature -- folding compactness -- can be a deal-breaker. If you need to fold your bike down into nothing, the Brompton is the choice. In fact, it's the Brompton's excellence in this one feature which causes the Brompton to sacrifice on all the others.

I think the fundamental question you need to ask yourself is: do I need super-compactness? If so, the Brompton would be a good route, followed by certain Dahons. From your self-description, I'd say this is not the crucial feature, and in fact the tikit's speed and ease of folding (and the Bromptonites here are rather underestimating the degree to which the tikit folds faster IMHO) could really be a win for you if you're going in and out of shops a lot rather than commuting on british rail.

Now there is another thing to consider: the tikit is new. The Brompton is some 20 years old. Bike Friday engineered a lot of clever gizmos into the tikit, and those gizmos do not have a long track record yet. On the other hand, this is a company with a lifetime warranty on their frames and a very high interest in keeping their rider base happy.

One last item to consider: the Brompton's high degree of custom pieces makes me a bit concerned about use in the far corners of the world. Some are not easily replaceable a long way from a Brompton dealer. Bike Friday's reputation for far-flung bike use is famous.

If we're putting up pictures, here are some tikit pics. The second is shot from what I like to call "the Vik angle". :-) Yes, the sign says "No Bikes".