Here's a report on metcaffination. I've been doing this on school days for a little over a year and my experience with questions was largely similar.
As folding bicycles are rather rare, I am frequently asked about it. A friend of mine once observed that Americans, in particular, have a tendency to ask how much you paid for something: this is certainly true of the Brompton. Complete strangers are often most interested in how much it cost me and have no hesitation about asking.
College Park Bikes stocks a number of folding bikes, and can order others. They are a local Bike Friday dealer, and they can get the Tikit (http://bikefriday.com/tikit) which I call the "Transit Oriented Bicycle." It folds more quickly than the Brompton, and the base model costs around $1,000. I have one, and if I could only own one bicycle, it would be a Tikit.
Posted by: kenf | September 30, 2008 at 02:03 PM
I also do a multi-modal commute with a Brompton and I get asked the cost question at least once a week. While I'm glad to see that some people are genuinely interested, it seems pretty rude. I usually just give a generic answer about how folding bikes run anywhere from $200 to a few thousand.
Posted by: Ian | October 03, 2008 at 10:51 AM