Originally Posted by
8bits
In 2010 I was in the market for a folder commuter. Went to NYCEWheels on my vacation and rode a Brompton M6L and a Mu XL Sport, money at that time wasn't a issue. I loved the Brompton, the easy folding, the style, CrMo frame...but I couldn't get past the strange feel of the gear shifter and overall gearing quality. The ride was fun, but boy when I rode the Mu XL Sport...it was night and day tbh.
The Dahon was FAST, Schwalbe Kojaks are great, the nexus red band was amazing, great quality crankset (Sugino), had the grips that I loved and was used to (Ergon Grips, they really are amazing), MKS pedals! I couldn't justify spending twice on a bike that had subpar components just because of hype and a great frame/folding tech since the contender also had a great frame and folding tech (not as great, but great nonetheless)
I ride my Dahon daily about 20 miles, I even went into a alleycat race with it just for giggles and it was amazing. This is a great bike that you won't regret for sure.
Was wheelbase size (16 inches vs 20) a huge difference to you? Did you get to test ride the more component-equivalent Curve XL? Seems almost unfair to compare a 20" Dahon Mu to a 16" Brompton since the frame size of the larger bike would translate into a better ride. I would imagine it blows the socks off any Brompton as far a ride quality goes. (I need to go test ride a Brompton; there's a dealer in the Ballard neighborhood in Seattle. I hate going into shops w/o intention of buying any time in the near future, feels like I'm wasting their time.)
I have a Mu P8 and love it. I got it in March 2009 for $559 and put maybe $200 into changing the seatpost+pump to the Kore ibeam setup and MKS pop-off pedals, to cut a little weight. I went this route instead of going for the higher end bike to upgrade components later in case I wanted to back out of the cycling thing. The Mu appealed to me because I'm an ex-BMX rider and haven't owned a mountain or road cycle...so the 20" wheel base makes the bike look like a BMX w/ gears that you shouldn't bunny hop or jump curbs.
Feels like there should be a gear on my Mu P8 between gears 7 and 8...I have to really be trucking to get out of 7th to 8th.