Thanks for the clarification, Horst.
@Vectrex: The 728 has a classic look. Thanks for the other info too.
Tallyho, now we're talkin'! That is a a beauty.
Damn, there is no way I'm going to get just one knife. The wife is going to kill me... 
I am with horst on the 401... it's so small that it's pretty much useless. The smallest knife I can recommend is the 681 but even that is on the edge off being too small. My knife with the best weight/size while still being highly useful is the SRM 707 (G10 handles) with removed clip and removed thumbstuds. The sibling (both are made by SRM) of the 707 is the CRKT Drifter(review) which would match your preferred color scheme
Yes, the orange towel looks fantastic :heart_eyes:
.
BetweenRides, beware of the link of SRM 710 in your first message if you will use it to order this knife, it is a bit cheaper at exduct, but in the “Special Limited Products” tab:
http://www.exduct.com/Special-Limited-Products/SP-710-SRM-Pocket-Knife.html
.
Thanks for all the great ideas. I do like the 681. Favorite is still the F723. I hope Exduct picks it up soon, but I did find one on ebay for $11.50 - click on link in the first post.
I will keep you posted on the progress... it should be in the next days. I am currently trying to convince Jacky to get some more items in his shop, unfortunately he is not willing to carry some high quality fixed blade knife in the budget sector, due to the complicated legal structure one would have to follow with an international customers base.
If you scroll to the of this post you can see the 707 and the 681 in one picture and next to a standard Victorinox Swiss Army Knife. Are you sure you want a knife this small? Don't get me wrong... I have 3 of the 681 and like them very much. I often forget that I have one clipped inside my jeans pocket (very small but good clip... better than the 605)... but those things are really tiny and you are prone to put them through the washing machine. My recommendations based size classes can be found here.
are you allowed to carry a knife in the town of Chi? 
i figured they would have that locked down by now.
all kidding aside i may sound like a broken record but the spyderco budget line is the bomb dot com.
the spyderco ambitious starts at 29$
i carry the persistence which is a little bigger and a little handier and the extra 3$ is worth it
but of all the knives you listed that enlan m011 is really nice looking. i dont own any of the chinese knives talked about on this site but im really thinking hard about getting one!
Thanks for the suggestions, reiko, but I'm more of a form before function kind of guy. Design and aesthetic appeal usually come first for me in flashlights and now probably in knives. I just won't be using the knife that much and certainly not for anything heavy duty. By the way, I grew up in Georgia - Atlanta, Athens and NE Georgia, but Savannah is one of my favorite cities on earth.
I don't actually live in Chicago - I'm 45 miles West out in the Corn & Soybean fields. Besides, even if Chicago has tough gun control laws, it doesn't seem to affect the murder rate, unfortunately... 
I'm not sure if they have any knife laws though.
What you are looking for is called a “gents folder”. Sanrenmu makes a nice one that you might like. It is the 738. I have one and it is classy and not too scary for non-knife people. I ordered two and have one that is still new in the box if you decide you want to try one.
Thanks again, Vectrex. Those post links are a wealth of info. Your size comparisons are very helpful and the 710 looks to be a perfect size. I agree the 681 looks a bit small. I can already tell I'm going to have to buy several knives until I've found the perfect one.... I'm at 38 flashlights and I still haven't found that elusive perfect light, though. 
It's dangerous to start buying Chinese knives, I wanted to buy maybe 2-3 Chinese folders in the beginning. And you can see what Enlan/SRM/Exduct has done to me. ;-) And the comparison pics don't even show all the blades I own. It's more addicting than flashlights to me.
Thanks for that, Speedsix. I like it very much and you've given me a whole new brand to check out. I'll let you know if I'm interested.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/822735-Sanrenmu-738-very-attractive-budget-knife
Those are 738 links.
The 738 compares in size to the 710 SRM but is a bit lighter in weight and looks more dressy. The 710 is one of the classic Chinese budget knives and you should probably buy one to have a benchmark to compare other knives to.
The SRM 702 is a nice gents folder with gold accents that make it look like a classy piece. It has one of the most useful blade shapes ever invented, the Warncliff blade. For some reason Warncliff blades are not as popular as other blade shapes yet they are far and away the best design for an EDC. I carry a BM 921s every day at work and have for 8 years. I love the design so much that I can’t seem to get used to anything else for work.
BetweenRides have you seen the Sellers/Manufacturers / Videos I posted in the "Budget knives dealers all in one" thread? Some links are outdated... maybe it's time to update those posts again.
Tallyho, thanks for the link on the Enlan M011.
I just ordered it. In case anyone is interested the “Make Offer” button will accept $6.50 and not $6.00 which is a decent discount from the listed price of $7.85.
Hopefully NOT with the new knife!
I was surprised by this thread, BT. Cyclists generally tend to be self reliant, so I never would have guessed you didn’t carry a knife in addition to a flashlight.
Inconceivable!
I know a lot of folks here like the “budget” knives, but in my experience, they never represent good value in the same way you can with a good budget light. When you but a Solarforce flashlight, you get 90% of what a Surefire will give you for 15% of the price. Thus, “good value”. When you buy a Byrd Cara Cara instead of a Spyderco Endura, you pay 20% but only get 45%… that’s not so good of a value to my way of thinking.
I’ve had a never used CRNT m-16 and Byrd Cara Cara rust while in storage. And I’m talking low humidity and well oiled, too. I have 3 Kabar Doziers and a Byrd Mellowlark all with horrible lockup. And I can adjust a pivot screw with the best of them. Personally, I think you should just bite the bullet and get a better knife, or, if you really feel like budget is the way to go, I’d suggest Victorinox, Opinel, or some type of small fixed blade.
As a cyclist, I’m sure you have heard, “Cheap, light, or strong… you can have any two.” I believe something similar can be said about knives.
Of course you have to do your research first, before you buy something otherwise you will be disappointed... and there are always trade-offs. There are no 1AAA flashlights with 800 Lumen and 10 hour runtime on high without overheating and the same goes for knives. Decide what your priorities are: The best cutting steels are almost always carbon steel... the most corrosion resistant steels will have less cutting performance. Read some basic guides like Jekostas knife primer and decide what you want and how much you are willing to spend on reaching the desired attributes. There is a reason Mora and Opinel offer many of their knives in carbon and stainless steel, so you can choose yourself. The convenience of modern locking mechanisms surpasses the collar lock of the Opinels and most Victorinoxes are slip joint and don't even have a lock. As a fellow biker I would rather use folding blades opposed to fixed blades, because size and weight are critical when you are on 2 wheels. I love my Mora fixed blades, but they stay at home most of the time. I would probably take a MT and larger folder on tour, so I have some tools and a larger blade (bigger than the MT blade... eg. SRM 900 series/Enlan L-class).
In my opinion I get more in return on a SRM 710 knife, than on a Sipik SK68 flashlight in terms of build quality and overall value, but that is highly subjective.
Cone, I've been carrying a cycling multitool around with me for 23 years and have never had to use it.... On my own bike. Plenty of times I've stopped and helped someone else, but my bikes are maintained in pristine condition. My two main bikes have Dura Ace components and I regularly clean and replace parts before they break. My chain is cleaned and lubed at least twice a weak. I believe in quality and usually don't cheap out on anything bike related. In all the rides I've done, I've only SAGged in on one century (seat post bolt broke) and I've only had to call my wife twice to come get me way out in the country. Once was because of a slide out in some wet leaves and the other was two broken spokes on a racing (low spoke count) wheel. Both of those times the bike was unrideable. So I do consider myself pretty self reliant.
I really have no use for a knife on a bike ride, this is just another thing to collect (not that I won't find excuses to use a knife). Since I know next to nothing about knives, I think I should start out cheap - we're talking $7-15 a pop from what I've seen on exduct. You have offered up some sage advice however, so by all means suggest something more mid-range. I'll probably pick up 2-3 cheap knives then realize I should spend more, just like I did with flashlights. Circle of life and all that. 
Vectrex and everyone else, thanks so much for all the responses. This is opening up my eyes to a whole new area to explore. I can definitely see carrying a knife on a bike tour, just not on my regular group rides. I do remember back to boy scout days and the difference between chro-moly and stainless when trying to sharpen a knife - your last post reminded me of that. Like budget flashlights, it looks like knife collecting can be entered cheaply, but I'm sure the more expensive and valuable stuff will come later.
BT, I wasn’t thinking about carrying the knife on the bike when I said “self reliant”. It was more of a bike riders tend to be self reliant, therefore they would also likely carry a knife in their day to day travels idea. You know, like the proverbial boy scout. I don’t normally carry a blade when out on a bike ride. Some allen keys, patches and a couple of CO2 cartridges normally suffice on a road ride and CB Mule with more crap than is necessary goes on MTB rides. There might be a small Vic Classic in there. My favorite move is to ride with people who bring stuff so I can lighten my own load. I need all the help I can get. My sons haven’t caught on to it yet, hehehehe.
What kind of bike MT? I have an original Cool Tool. It is indeed cool, but not tacticool.
Vectrex is right on with this, it “is highly subjective”. True about most things. There is obviously no single right answer to any of these questions and my post was only my feeling and thoughts as they apply to my own situation. I have all types of knives in my collection, but I generally only actually carry fairly large knives, tip up, pocket clip, earth tones, and some variant of the “Spydie hole”. 90% of the time this means a Spyderco Endura. Over 20 years with that model and I would be lost without it. For me it is the “one”. Most knife guys feel the same way about a particular knife too. Someday, you may also feel this way about a knife. I have no way of knowing, but I’d guess that less than 1% of the knife world feels that the Endura is the cat’s meow. What I mean is, that knife is the right knife for me. I can lay out many valid arguments why it should be the right knife for everyone. In the end though, it isn’t the right knife for everyone. That’s why there is so much variety. It gives the world flavor.