Did you get Peter’s permission to post those photos?

Peter already stated months ago that internal cable routing was too hard, hence all cable routing will be external.

You’re right though: shifter cable seems missing.

Brompton: BEST folding bike in the world, but still made with technology and components from the 1890s. Not worth the $2k they keep charging.

I hope Helix kills them.

Possibly because it's the single speed model? But then why have that tensioner there...unless it's required to keep the chain from hanging loose in the folded position.

Nah, don't kill 'em. Maybe not at $2K but B's have their place in the ecosystem. For example, I love the "shopping cart" mode which Helix will be incapable of.

Lol! You are too kind!

You mean the forward reaching ('backwards') seat post clamp? That's the way the seat post came on the Dahon Curl you shipped me.

Well, let's see if we get an actual titanium folding bike for less than $4k first...

Every one of those photos (except for the test bike photo) can be found through Google Images, or even can be found on the Helix website without login. For the test bike, yeah - I apologize to Peter for sharing that. I went into witch hunt mode - I still am. I'm still up in the air about the need for a studio-like test bike. More realistic would've been a test bike with a few grease spots on it, attached to a work stand, with a half-eaten sandwich and some empty beer bottles on the work bench.

You may be right. After further viewing of the test bike pic, the appearance is that of a single rear gear. Tensioning required.

I still have my suspicions. It might just very well be my own little world with my own made up demons.

There is some some merit in raising a flag. I get the humorous notion of sandwiches and, umm, pop bottles strewn about but even slobs would have thrown them just out of view. Nevertheless, certainly a gritty look would be more "realistic" for the purpose of showing how diligently the team has been working non-stop.

A careful studio photo means the bike used had been ready for some time before which would put into question the timing of the announcement if only to purposely coincide with the holiday season cheer. If indeed there is a facade, the test bike wasn't quite ready. It may have been "close enough" to provide good news.

Further in that line of reasoning, if one takes the bother to get a studio portrait of a for all intent and purposes production-ready build, test completion notwithstanding, why not all configurations and numerous angles, then put it up on the public website for all the world to see including the pre-orderers in order to put them at ease, and generate even more fervent interest among the undecided. Believe me, as an internet software professional, it takes no more than a couple minute to set up FTP (far less if the FTP software is preconfigured with settings for the remote web server) and a few seconds additional to upload even high res photos at speeds common nowadays.

One of the biggest gripes right now on the backer board is how ugly the seatpost quick-release lever is, which is true.

With the tech they have now AND their own space, they can weld titanium frames for any company!

I think gripe is a bit of an overstatement :). More of an observation.

Based on the preceding update, it probably was ready a week or so before the last update, the updates being fortnightly and progress being as it comes.

And what does it signify, all this suspicion?

It is true, nonetheless. :lol:

More than a little incongruous for sure. Probably not too difficult to address after market and I doubt there's many would be keen on a delay to address it before manufacture - still you never know.

Why do you folks like titanium so much? My favorite tubing is 747 triple butted steel. Titanium is *nasty*, like aluminum. It feels shardy and tearing and full of slivers. You have to actually work with the material with tools to get it.

Do you really think you are going to out live the rust? Or do you just like the gunmetal steel aesthetic?

The joys of titanium.....
- That wonderful color of bare metal...like nickel or stainless
- Lighter weight than stainless.
- No paint to chip
- No worries about fragility, as with carbon fiber
- No corrosion. (Salt is all over the roads here.)
- High strength + low elastic modulus = Lots'o energy absorption without permanent deformation.
- Retains properties at high temperatures.
I had a Dahon disintegrate in a truck fire.
All aluminium became puddles, & the steel turned orange with rust.
At least titanium frames & components would survive.

I know it's nasty to machine & weld.
(A friend ruins tooling machining massive ingots for rolling mills.)
But that makes it feel exotic & a wee bit sinful....a geekworthy illicit pleasure.

Why do I like titanium so much?

My Indy Fab Crown Jewel in ti is easily the smoothest ride I've ever owned, and I have two other steel Crown Jewels to compare. On smooth pavement, I get that riding on glass feeling with the ti. On rougher surfaces like exposed aggregate, if steel frames give a rumble, ti gives more of a buzz sensation, like the frequency of the vibration is being shifted into a less offensive and higher spectrum. Neither of the steel bikes gets anywhere near that - not that they're bad rides, they're just not in the same league. So yeah, I like that.

Helix bikes are welded inside an inert vacuum chamber to mitigate problems working with titanium. What is puzzling though is there cannot possibly be inert vacuum chambers large enough to accommodate anything the size of $100M+ fighter jet aircraft.That means either (a) inert vacuum chambers are not really necessary to effectively work with titanium, or (b) the most sophisticated fighter jets have structural integrity problems. Neither observations are consistent with all the type about sub-sonic titanium bicycles.

Nearly 6 am Jan 1...awggh... exhausted but just can't fall asleep.

Titanium isn't generally used for big stuff like the airframe or skin...at least on no plane I ever worked on. (Back in the day, it was all aluminum.) TI is typically used for higher temp applications, eg, jet engine exhaust flow control, where individual parts aren't large.

(TI is used more extensively in the SR-71, which had friction heated wings at mach 3 speeds. Many assemblies were loose at room temperature cuz operating dimensions were only achieved at much higher in-flight temps. But one can make big things with rivets, which can make very strong assemblies. And gas shielded welding works better with simply shaped parts.)

The test bike ain't happenin'. Do I have full proof? No. I could be proven wrong in the next few days.

Full proof? Any proof? The dubious idea that the piccie is Photoshoped? :) And if it were fabrication, to what end?

Btw, the 'pro photo' just requires a large sheet of black paper and appropriate lighting.

The SR71 skin was held together w/ rivets and screws and mechanical fasteners, not welded.

http://www.totalmateria.com/Article28.htm

Right, THAT'S it. ANY proof.

Yeah, it could be dubious that the piccie has some Photoshope-ing going on.

So how about a non-pro photo? NO paper and inappropriate lighting might result with the same reaction. "Dear Peter, there might be some doubt that the test bike is real. In two weeks, would you be a love and switch the light on for the next test bike photo?"

One POSITIVE 'to what end' fabrication is that we'd all have our bikes right now!

In case some wonder why people question the authenticity of the posted pictures, here are some examples of how good computer renderings can be in terms of realism.

http://www.yankodesign.com/images/de.../key_shot3.jpg


https://www.keyshot.com/wp-content/u...keyshot-09.jpg

Both images were redered using a popular software called KeyShot .