Originally Posted by
feijai
I *would* make sure that the bike fits you. Here the tikit shines. The Speed and Mu series have a sort of one-bike-fits-all structure which, if you even moderately tall, will impart an upright feel. The tikit, which comes in three sizes and is *far*more customizable, can easily be set up with a geometry you're used to. The Mu also is a bit squeaky: you'll need to pay close attention to tightening and greasing various latches regularly. (Note: the tikit also requires its own special maintenance).
+1 However, I will say that while I personally agree that bike fit is important, one thing riding folders has taught me is that the elements necessary to achieve a good fit on a nonfolder aren't necessarily required on a folder. With the large wheels out of the way I think Dahon does a good job of optimizing frame angles/proportions/etc to provide enough adjustability to fit most users whereas Bike Friday tends to limit themselves to the traditional methods which work around the constraints of traditionally designed bikes.
Now perhaps Dahon's approach doesn't work as well for particularly tall folks, but it works marvelously for me and I would even go so far as to say it's a better solution for short folks for whom traditionally designed bikes and their fitting methods are ill suited. No doubt Bike Friday goes to great lengths to provide their customers what they're "used to", but IMO what we're used to isn't always best. YMMV.
Talking of which, Brompton probably use more proprietary parts than any other folding bike company yet every single part is readily available and in stock at several dealers / online sites. So as I say, there is no excuse for such poor service.
Yes there is: low price. For the price of a Brompton Dahon will sell you a 17 pound wonder bike. Now I know many people don't consider weight to be
that important, but objectively speaking if there's one thing that commands a premium in the bike industry it's light weight and Dahon gives it to you at a much lower cost (a 17 pound Brompton is a $10,000+ custom job).
For the record I would not buy a Dahon if I lived in Europe, but in the US we have Thor to tame the Dahon corporate beast.
