jimboach

small wheeler

Your rants and crazy defense of a company that you have no real vested interested in, is astounding. I liken it to internet fan boys arguing over the superiority of iPhones vs Android phones, Playstation vs Xbox. Look at the market in general and see how similar competition is. Now take an objective look at the Curl and a Brompton and you will see there is a signifigant difference and if you don't, you're letting your fanboy attitude cloud your better judgement. You brompton boys are some of the worst i've seen. Jeez.

mconlonx

Taking Dahon to task regarding the curl while praising a bike with a fold awful similar to a Birdy... and in the pic you posted, there's even a Birdy in the background...

tds101 

IMO the Clinch would be my perfect small wheeled bike IF it could do fenders and had disk brakes (I do know disks on a 20" wheel are quite rare). I have a Xootr Swift rack & bag that solves the rack issue for me. I totally luv the BMX styling,...

alhedges

I'll be interested to see how well the Curl rides.

If it is ever produced.

I think people here are significantly underestimating the popularity of the Brompton. IMO, Brompton's biggest problem are their production bottlenecks and distribution issues, particularly in the US. I.e., my gf ordered a BTO Brompton on June 15; we're still waiting for delivery. As backlogs have been running around 10-13 weeks for the last several years in the US, this suggests that there is a significant demand for the product which is hampered by production/distribution/delivery issues.

I understand that B is planning on building a US-based distribution center for dealers in the US, where bikes can be assembled in a BTO fashion from frames and parts kept on hand. You can sort of do this in a limited fashion if you order from NYCEwheels or Calhoun Cycles, based on what they have on hand.

I think dealing with these kinds of bottlenecks is much more important to Brompton's continued success than adding more interchangeable parts.

keyven

As long as competition don't arise in direct relation to their fold, there would be little reason for Brompton to improve on their "biennial mini-updates" while the world races forward.

Sure it would be scary to be put in an arms race with a juggernaut like Dahon, but Brompton is still wayyy ahead in terms of marketing and reputation of their single design. It would be theirs to lose.

chagzuki

Expect to see a lightweight sealed-bearing headset on the the standard Brompton soon, plus a quick release on the caliper brakes. Possibly the light weight front hub as standard.

keyven

Fingers crossed

Azreal911

for those of you waiting for the dahon clinch the price will cause yer butt to clinch. it's full carbon bits high end components, Looks like they are not interested in selling this one to the masses. around $4800 USD, it may cost more in japan but don't expect it to drop much.

Clinch | DAHON OFFICIAL SITE - ??? **********

tdong

hopefully they will sell the frame only ?

Azreal911

Seriously doubt it cause I've never seen Dahon sell frames only if they did it would be for warranty purposes only.

Schwinnsta

I would like to see an adjustable stem on Bromptons.

tcs

Here's the Curl that was exhibited at the 2014 Taipei Cycle show in March:



and here is the Curl that was at Interbike in Las Vegas two weeks ago:



Both have ~std. chainwheels, but the frame has been simplified (possibly for cost control?). I'm guessing the latest iteration is taller & narrower when folded. The new frame provides a natural handhold to pick up the folded bike.

bmac.to

The biggest change I see is the fact that the drivetrain is tucked inside when folded on the new Curl - the older Curl still exposed the drivetrain when folded. The new model is now much more similar to the Brompton fold.

ThorUSA

USA pricing for the Curl is 1199.00
the Clinch is 4999.00 ( I told them to put regular stuff on it versus the red sram super expensive bits, but that will probably be in the next modelyear )
best Thor

Still Pedaling

They should have called it a Dahompton. The folks from that corner of the globe are major copy-cats. All in all though, it sure looks nice.

washuai

I guess, if available, I'd prefer to pick up a Curve SL, but this sits between that and Mu SL and that was gone, before I knew it was. The savings, waiting, might snap something else up game continues. Makes the used $1100 Brompton seem not so bad.
still curious about specs for the Curl.

tcs

Andrew Ritchie designed his Brompton with some funky swing down handlebars.

In 1981, Dr. Hon filed a patent for a folding bike with the now ubiquitous folding handlepost. Shortly after, the Brompton bike magically appeared improved with this feature and was marketed worldwide, despite the fact that Dr. Hon held a patent for this design.

Of course Dr. Hon copied Mr. Ritchie - Dr. Hon is, after all, Asian. Did Mr. Ritchie lift Dr. Hon's patented feature? Impossible! Mr. Ritchie is an Anglo-Saxon British gentleman.

smallwheeler

as with most disinfo, a 5 minute search for supporting data casts significant doubt on said claim. but, that's how disinfo works - you're repeating something you read and took at face value to be true without bothering to confirm it.


according to various sources cited [/URL]here, here, and here, brompton already had the first 30 bikes designed, refined, machined, tooled, assembled, delivered, and on the streets by march of 1981.

the patent claim from dahon for it's "quick release clamp" is dated with a priority date of 12 feb 81. "prioirty" dating is basically back-dating a submission to coincide with a submission date in another country. presumably, in this case it would have been initially filed in the united states. the filing date for the european patent is date one year later to feb 82.



it doesn't make any sense that ritchie could have "copied" dahon. brompton's were already in production before ritchie could have even seen these.


more importantly, what is dahon even accusing brompton of copying? a "45 degree angle fold".

really? the patent in question makes no reference to a 45 degree angle fold. in fact, the patent is for a "quick release clamp" which brompton doesnt even use.

this is just a strawman argument they have tossed out into the public sphere to somehow muddy the water and mitigate the fact that they are trying to steal brompton's bicycle in total.


the above article, written contemporaneously with the early production of the bikes, confirms brompton's timeline. by march of '81 there were already 30 brompton's on the road. by february of '82 26 more bikes had been made.

by september of '82, this receipt confirms that 206 bikes had been made. this comports clearly with the above article that production would ramp up as more orders came in.





incidentally, this is the bike that recently sold on aussie ebay serial number 132:



if anyone would like to refute this, please feel free to do so. but, just remember that calling someone a "fanboy" and accusing the person of "crazy rants" is just ad hominem and confirms you have no argument.

tds101 

Does Dahon ever sell the frame alone? I'm just wondering,...

Thanks.

ThorUSA

well I am working on some interesting stuff with them ...... but for the moment its "No"
moment means a loooong time in this case I am afraid , but never say never

tds101 

Thanks!!!

And I promise, when I finally buy something from you, no B******G or complaining!!! I reserve that for the horrid seller I had to deal with on eBay. I expect honestly when I deal with a seller/buyer. I know I'd never have to worry about a purchase from you.

mulleady

And your attitude is equally as questionable jimboach. A classic case of the 'pot calling the kettle black' as well as a sweeping generalisation.

mulleady

Chagzuki I pm'ed you wakie wake lol!

chagzuki

Hi Francis. What year is it?
Did the word 'pantour' grab your attention?

Mr. Fly

smallwheeler, I applaud you for doing the groundwork to support your argument.

The essence of the Brompton isn't its silly non-QR brakes, narrow dropout widths or all that proprietary items that some have claimed were different on the Dahon Curl and therefore made the Curl a differentiated product. Rather, the essence of the Brompton is its fold, which is functionally copied in its entirety by Dahon for the Curl. There is no way around it. The Brompton fold was unique prior to the introduction of this copy cat.

I'm left wondering if Dahon really thought the Brompton fold was the cat's meow, why can't they just license or even buy up Brompton for its design? Or perhaps collaborate with Brompton to forge a partnership that will benefit both companies and their customers. Why do the dishonorable thing when there are so many other better options?