Wired - Dahon MU XXV
 

http://www.wired.com/images/slidesho...s/dahon_mu.jpg

Dahon got some mainstream press coverage on Wired's site.....:)

Well, consider that amount next to an expensive lightweight roadie with Dura-Ace componentry. That's what you'd pay.

Magnesium frame, eh

Keep away from sparklers!

What are you talking about? That's an emergency feature.

You'd think that for $3000 you'd get more than 14 spokes per wheel!

The price is pretty typical for super high-end bikes. Diminishing returns means chasing that last gram is pretty expensive.

I'm sure it's a nice bike, but $3,000 for a Dahon is just plain nuts.

Heck, you'd probably have to buy two to make sure you can fix the proprietary bits if they ever fail... :D

Seems designed and priced for the "money's no object" crowd. If I were ever to find myself amongst that group I might look at a Moulton separable instead (or too!). The Pashley Moulton TSR9 comes in around $2400 in Canada, while the TSR30 is $3600. The Moulton New Series (which I've never seen here) would be over $11,000. doing a straight conversion from the U.K. catalog.

ok I bite.... its time again

what proprietary bits are you talking about which are not proprietary bits on other folders

Thor

Heehee! So true. One nice thing about Dahons are that a lot of the bits *aren't* proprietary (e.g. on my Speed Pro the components are standard SRAM DualDrive, Truvativ cranks, etc).

As for the Mu XXV... I'm still drooling, days after first reading about it. I want one so bad, though I don't know if I'd ever be able to bring myself to ride it. So purty! I love the white tires. I knew I was on to something when I put white tires on my Scott CR-1 Team. :D

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....)

well I need to get up to date with smileys ..lol :-) is all I know ..
andyhow ...
you do have of course a point .... There are some parts which are hard to find ... like 4 year old forks or some handlebars ( like a 1 inch adjusatble one ) of course Dahon knows about this as well... you will see a refinement in new technologies over the next years ( i can really only talk about 08 bikes..) but not the everything needs to be new theme you and others do not like
( Its gonna be much more.. whats good stays ..... where there is a real huge improvement it will be new )

And if a part is not available than there are usually alternatives which are indeed available.. might not be the correct color or might not be adjusable .. or might even need to replace the fork as well ....

Other than that I do have 7 different and counting seatposts available for Dahons .... how many different option are there for Brand X not counting the regular size of 27.2 which I have 2



The XXV has indeed a couple items which are not availble anywhere else ( like the white Kojaks which are custom made.)... or the Sapim CXRay spokes ( oh wait.... I have those )

Its more a bike which will find 250 happy owners ... It gets Dahon a million bucks of free press ............actually the bike might be much more expensive than 3 grand ....... The good thing for all of us is that the no holds/ money no object bits and pieces on that bike will trickle down and will arrive on lesser models down the road ....

I am lusting for one of them.. would make a nice addition to the Helios XX i have ( 20 year edition )
I am hoping that somebody returns one all beaten up from the fed Ex man ...than I will be all over it ....
lol


Thor

Front hub, handlepost, fork, headset, seatpost, I-beam saddle (the latter 2 while not unique to Dahon is not widely available as stock item). I agree that a few in this list are also special to other folders except the front hub.

Last year I couldn't get the proper replacement quick release for the adjustable handlepost on a 2005 Helios P8. And that was direct from Dahon in SoCal. Same thing again, the guy on the phone sez he'll "go out in the warehouse and look through some boxes to see if he can find one".

What I received was nothing like the original and the length of the shaft is just barely long enough to do the job. Looks pretty crappy, but it kinda works.

I love the Mu SL. Although I don't have a lot of experience with high end nonfolding bikes, the Mu SL is certainly the best bike I've ever taken for a test ride.

Still I think I'll have to pass on this opportunity to grind a few thousand dollars of Dura Ace components and custom Dahon ceramic bearings to bits. I'd easily pay $3,000 for a 16 pound folding commuter that rides like the Mu, but not a race bike that I can't actually ride without gradually running it into the ground.

I'd certainly go for a frameset if the magnesium alloy proved durable, but who knows how an unproven material on a limited edition bike is going to hold up. On the other hand it's hard to go wrong when it's backed by a lifetime warranty, especially when the frame is about a pound and a half lighter than its aluminum counterpart (or so I've seen it advertised...how heavy can the aluminum mu frame really be that the magnesium one is 600g lighter?).