dorky bikes

I don't know why I find strange, dorky, and folding bicycles appealing, but I do. Here's four:

The Bromptom seems to be the standard by which other folding bikes are judged.

The Xootr Swift has impressed me with a stronger lean toward ride-ability and standard parts (particularly wheels and drive-train). If I were getting a folding bike today, this would be the most tempting option I have found. They also make nice looking scooters if you are into that.

The Dahon seems to be the most direct competitor to the Brompton. They include an electric-assist version which might be a big help in the battle against showing up "sweaty".

The iXi bike is the maximum in dorky, (with all the beauty of a Honda Element) but has a really cool grease-less belt-drive and front disk brakes. It comes in folding and non-folding versions. (This blog posting is what put me onto it.) Despite a few negative comments in the weblog, this looks like it would be really swell if I were living in downtown Seattle by Stan or something.

I also find recumbent bicycles appealing, but since I don't feel like throwing down 3400 bones for a 50 pound Bigha, (and I can't get one of Stan's YellowBikes in the US anymore) I guess I will need to do more research on those too.