Originally Posted by
Doonbiker
Frankly, an aluminium road bike over $1200 is a little overpriced imo.
Still..
The Chameleon does come pretty close. My only consternation is that the elastomer might induce flexing later. (BruceMetras, may I ask how long have you had yours, and if you've faced this problem? She's a beauty, by the way.)
I've actually heard good things about the Minimax, but I'll wait for someone to post a ride-n'-tell.
Looks like yet another BikeFriday/Airnimal stand-off as of now.
Man, why isn't there a light(er)weight titanium version of the Dahon Dash P18? I'd have lapped it up by now.
The Airnimal was a pretty good ride during a handful of test rides. The big issue is tire/tube availability. The Joey can actually fit ERTO 520 and 507 tires which makes things considerably better on that front. But last I checked the Joey only comes in one size whereas the Chameleon came in either two or three.
FWIW, I believe that titanium frames are roughly the same weight as aluminum frames; but have ride characteristics similar to steel frames.
There was a limited edition
titanium Birdy.
Bike Friday will replace the steel seat mast with a titanium version which saves some weight. Although getting back to the weight difference between titanium and aluminum, when Bike Friday made a "Super" Pocket Rocket Pro prototype, I believe they made the seat mast out of aluminum because the aluminum piece was lighted than a similar titanium piece.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAjswy_xlN8