Originally Posted by
Dahon.Steve
Congradulations. The Helios is a bigger fold than the Brompton but it makes me wonder why Dahon stopped making them? It wasn't a bad looking bike. I don't think the fold should bother the OP unless he wants to enter the inside of a packed bus.
Nope, no buses here. My goal is to have one bike light-and-compact enough to semi-easily stuff in the back seat of my little Fiat for the occasional drive to a different riding spot. I have other bikes (and a recumbent trike) for rides from home, but no interest in finagling a bike rack onto my car for them.
If I had to hazard a guess as to why the Helios was discontinued, I would assume the complexity of getting both frame-hinges to line up sufficiently in manufacturing was an issue for Dahon. I've read some stories of the joints having noise issues, which is probably from one not quite closing as tightly as the other. Thor has also mentioned these frames being "lively" feeling, which novice riders may have reacted to as overly skittish. I'll let you know soon enough!