Folding Bikes - Dahon Roo EL

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Hamburglar
12-11-05, 08:13 PM
OK. Now I'm looking at the Dahon Roo EL. Anyone have any experience with this bike?

How much does the electric assist really assist?...and is it really worth it?

Does it have a regenerative power feature?

Is this the same bike as the Dahon Helios XL?

Eric

Wavshrdr
12-11-05, 08:15 PM
No direct experience but I did hear the '05 models were improved over the older ones. Better range and speed. I have considered them as well. At this point though I am leaning toward a BionX conversion which does have regen and better range.
Hamburglar
12-12-05, 10:20 AM
I was looking at the BionX, but the BionX is substantially bulkier and heavier.

Wavshrdr
12-12-05, 10:43 AM
Yes that is true BUT much better range and regen. They are also coming out with a bigger motor and LiON battery for next year. The BionX is much faster too and you can vary the rate of assist as well have a wider range of gears. You can also front mount the unit and use a rear hub. It is also usable with just a throttle control so you can get immediate assist or run totally on the motor. But on the front YOU must modulate how much assist you want when using the throttle control because it will have no torque sensors to measure your input.

I am leaning more toward the BionX everyday but pairing it up with a Xootr frame. You end up with a faster bike for not much more money and weight is comparable. Many people add the BionX to a Birdy. For examply if you go to NYCE wheels they have prebuilt bikes with BionX already on there.

http://store.nycewheels.com/bikes.html

The basice Xootr is about 22 lbs and add about 16 for the BionX and the weight is very close to the Dahon. I am not knocking Dahons as I have 3 of them currently so I obviously like the product. The BionX just seems to be very sweet solution and easy to swap out the batter pack if you want. With the new motor and LiON pack available next year it could be an awesome package! Just food for thought.