Originally Posted by
brakemeister
what proprietary bits are you talking about which are not proprietary bits on other folders
You, uh, did notice the irony implicit in the smiley-face, right?
But since you asked....
I agree that several other manufacturers have proprietary parts. The difference is that they aren't changing those parts every 2-3 years, thus making it difficult to get replacements.
E.g. Swift and BF both use proprietary handleposts, and that's about it. Forks for that size are rare but I think they can be swapped. I believe the derailleur hanger on the Xootr Swift is also custom. Those parts don't change from year to year, though, and would be a snap to replace on an older model. Whereas with a Dahon, you'd be hard pressed to replace the handlepost on a 2004 model.
Even the QR's on a Swift are totally standardized and replaceable.
Ergo for the XXV: I'd assume steering mechanism/headset, handlepost, stem, derailleur hanger (if it uses one), frame hinge, seatpost clamp, maybe the fork?
I am happy to state that
this is not a huge deal. But it would
kinda suck to drop $3,000 on a bike, and have tons of trouble replacing the handlepost 4 years down the road.
(And for the record: this also applies to other bikes, like the new Trek Madones; beautiful bikes, but the custom BB and seatmast could be very problematic down the road....)