Neo Stage 3 ($350 Brompton Clone)
 

I know nothing more than these links.

https://www.kaidee.com/product-118006732
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmYwPpxYCgk
https://m.facebook.com/allthailandmo...16591828495925

...with what looks to be a knockoff of Dahon's patented handlepost and an interesting Q/R latch on the (aluminum!) main frame joint rather than a twiddly knob.

Bad copy of the Brompton.

That's actually a very close copy of the Brompton. I haven't seen a neo-bike cloan in years but they are coming back. I happen to believe it's 90% there and it wouldn't take much effort to get the remaining 10%. What surprised me is they were able to get production costs to $350 USD! If they can improve quality and keep costs to under $500.00 dollars, this company can make serious damage to Brompton sales.

Two major errors:

• It doesn't fold right: One of the brilliant ideas of Andrew Ritchie, which Dahon missed, is sandwiching the chain between the two wheels so that you don't soil your pants/hands when commuting
• No lug welded on the front tube, so you have to carry a backpack. With a Brompton, I can carry 10kg/20lbs for hours with no back pain and/or sweating like a pig

2016, and still no affordable valid alternative to the Brompton…

Meh,that's JYHO. Pulled the carrier block off the front of my S6 because I never used it. On at least half the Bromptons we've sold,the customers didn't even order the block.

Neo Stage III? Ha ha, what an interesting name.

This one recently emerged in China is even more close to Brompton, but probably based on Neo-Brompton. Although the folded mode not quite right :roflmao2:. Oh the list price about $600

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=519056http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=519057http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=519055

In the video it shows the cost as 12000 Thai Baht..about £240...That is cheaper than a Dahon Boardwalk in Thailand..For that price it has to be good value!
In fact in Thailand it is quite hard to buy a good folding bike for much less than 10000 Thai Baht and preowned folding bikes are often 5000 baht and can be in a pretty poor state.

It is hilarious that he is making a video to demonstrate the fold, but it didn't practice it first. It appears that he goes off camera to look at a manual or something. For some weird reason the guy shooting the video turns the camera sideways halfway through.

One hopes they are better at making bikes than making videos.

I don't think the bikes are made in Thailand...more likely China or Taiwan..If it was made in Thailand it would be much cheaper because there is a lot of tax on imported bikes..
As for the video..there is an expat saying in Thailand ..This Is Thailand..Make an acronym from the first letter of each word...

This and other threads on actual experiences with some Brompton clones, spanning the time from the first sighting to the desperation in getting rid of the bike, have been extremely educational. They make you run to the bank to make sure you spend your money on a Brompton before you manage to yield to the temptation of getting the clone :lol:.

There are also many Brompton clone users very happy with their bikes. I can think of three on these forums including me. I had a merc.

Looking through the other videos from that poster, I have very little reason to believe that's any kind of 'official' video.

It is good to beat the bush as something may come out :thumb:. Still, it is not a loud choir of objections over here to my quip :lol:

Its been said many times before........
Does not mean your right.......
Especially if you have no actual experience of a clone Brompton?
Sorry no qips here. I am still busy laughing at yours...

Wasn't Neo the company that got into all kinds of trouble with Brompton?

See under Clones and Licensing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brompton_Bicycle

The most likely reason is that folks simply do not care or have not read it.

I had a Brompton and a Merc. The Merc was perfectly fine and even had a few things that the same era Brompton lacked ... an extra clip to retain the rear triangle when lifted and a bottle dynamo are the first two things that come to mind. I wouldn't hesitate to buy the Merc over the Brompton.

The Brompton has made some improvements since then. But presumably a clone would copy those as well.

Yes.

From memory, Dahon was looking to produce the bike when the patent expired but the employees/lawyers in charge of the project instead set up their own company. In short, they were sued under European copyright laws. My rough understanding is that Brompton's argument was that even though the patent expired there was no reason for Neobike to copy the appearance since it was possible to use the patent while differentiating the bike. I believe Brompton actually demonstrated this to a court with a prototype ... or perhaps just a drawing.

You cannot test everything in the world. You check what others have to say and look for a rationality in the opinions and for details of concern to you.

Buying a bike because of a bottle dynamo :roflmao2:

Problem is there is a lot of vested interests and Brompton fans out their to get a rational prospective......less riders of clones.
And they get flamed.....
A to B wrote that cables got tangled up in folding, it a Web summuray lots have quoted, it's just nonsence.

I recall the A to B review. What they harped on made the review silly.

I recall that the after-tax difference in price was smaller for Brits since Mercs were produced overseas; although I don't recall how much. So I could see how folks made a different decision there. But here in the US, remember that it also came with a front mount + bag, rack, fenders, and such, it was easily hundreds of dollars less.

Well... Neobike also got in trouble for copying Dahon designs, so perhaps this is not a Brompton clone, but a Curl clone...?

If they addressed the industrial design issues raised in the original Euro case which sided with Brompton in the matter, and dropped their blatant copying of the Brompton manual, it could be that they have found a way around the decision. The chain doesn't fold inside, which is a Brompton hallmark, you say? Could be for a reason...

I think Neobike were the crowd who were licensed to produce Bromptons. When it became clear that the bad quality was giving Brompton a bad name, the license was revoked. Neo continued sales under their own name and that got under Brompton's collar quickly.

Agree with Jur... Neobike was originally licensed to produce Bromptons but after that was revoked, they kept the plans and tools and illegally started making poor quality clones.