Originally Posted by
Joe Remi
You can't promote your product as lightest in a market where lightest would be a massive selling point, then it's not even close. I had all the doubts about Peter ever getting a functional titanium folding bike to his investors, but one thing that never occurred to me is he would do it and miss the light part!
You make a good point. The final production Helix 10spd is just over 11kg. The KS campaign projected just over 9.5kg. I very am disappointed by this.
So many of the preceding posts highlight how the Helix is not the best in x or y or z or how some other bike is better in x or y or z. They are missing the point. The appeal of the Helix, for me at least, is the balance of x and y and z, not that it is the pinnacle of any of those characteristics.
The Helix never was going to be the lightest. Hummingbird would probably represent the sweetspot if i was to prioritise low weight within the balance of other charactics important to me, though even then, price and folded size are outside my preferences.
The Helix never was going to be the smallest. Brompton has a great balance of characteristics prioritising folded size. But Helix is small enough when folded.
The Helix does appear to be very usable. It has a very easy fold with no disassembly/reassembly required, on a par with Brompton. It rolls on it's own front wheel when folded, and according to the first and only review posted, rides well feeling smoother than the reviewer's 20" folders on rough ground, is light and responsive and 'a good climber' i.e. dicernably stiff and direct in drive with no squishy bits involved in the frame and fits a rider of my size. We'll see what more comprehensive reviews say and my own experience brings, but these are the characteristics which, in my expectation, make Helix stand out. Not to say that other bikes don't exhibit some of these characteristics, just not all of them in combination, together with such a compact fold, a manageable weight and that price point.
The bike will probably get significantly lighter in later iterations. At this stage, I'm content to just to get it soon. The bike may get pricier or they may go out business. Both would be a shame. Time will tell, but at a minimum I hope all backer sand pre-orderers get their bike.