Strengths: Reasonably durable. Parts are easier to find than exotic bikes. Good weight.
Weaknesses: Frame gets soft as a noodle with hard wear over time.
Bottom Line:
Purchased the bike in Thailand on a whim and found the bike to be just what I was looking for. I used it when on layovers all over the world. Suited me just fine. Bent the frame hinge pin on a rougher than normal trail in Canada and eventually got it fixed in England. The bike has been loved but used hard. After a well-laden 3 day unsupported trip in northern Thailand it became apparent the frame was getting very "slack" and it was easily twisted when torque applied. If this bike can be found in good shape it is a great deal.
Strengths: 1 - Handlebar height is asjustable! This is the big thing, Often you are rarely able to adjust handlebar height on folding bikes, meaning except for tall riders your bars are much too high. Helios has a telescoping bar stem that allows you to move it up or down. All the way down it still was a touch too high, about an inch or so, bottoming out on the inside, so I cut off the bottom. Now it does all the way down about level with the seat. I would not have gotten this bike without this option since without it there's no way to make the bike fit me.
2- Real cranks. My first Dahon had a chainring permanently attached to the crank. This one has a decent quality road crank with a bolt on ring.
3 - Fender and rack mounts.
4 - Sturdy hinge mechanisms. The handlebar and Frame both fold, and both are solid.
5 - Decent tires.
6 - grips. Never tries ergonomic grips before, like em. An' i ride w/ gloves.
7- The rear cog gearing. The rear gears allow you to climb and go tolerably fast in traffic or open roads. Especially the big inside gear. Nice!
8 - Overall ride. The bike feels right, handles right, and rides right.
Weaknesses: Not many things to nitpick. Okay, maybe a few:
1- The Saddle. While not bad, it was not great, to thick and not shaped right. While not extreme as some "comfort" saddles it's clearly int hat catagory, and therefore out of place on a bike spec'ed with road tires that go up to nearly 100psi. Seriously. I put a mountainbike seat on it and was much happier. i get with much use being transport not racing, they aren't gonna spec it with a Flite, but come on, don't spec a big old couch. I don't know ANYONE who rides for transport in the US of A and spins along at 20 rpm. And guess what, at anything like a normal cadance, "Comfort" seats are uncomfortable. Since Dahon specificially recommends spinning rather than standing up and cranking big gears, to avoid stressing the folding joints needlessly, I find this choice of saddle counter-productive and frankly pointless.
2 - Shifter: The shifter works fine, but grip shift stinks, they are a pain to work on, can shift accidentally while holding the grips, and just feel cheap. Wish they'd spec'd somthing else.
3- Kick stand. This kept "clicking on the nondrive side crank. I liked it, but had to remove it.
Bottom Line:
A good quality folding bike. Unlike earlier modesl this one has a telescoping handlebar stem allowing height adjustment; the bike looks nice, is well made, and has a real pair of cransk with removable chainring (130 bolt pattern) - important for tuning gearing. Came with good tires capable fo holding decent presure -- 95psi. Can mount rack or fenders. Lightweight, not much heavier than a roadbike, much lighter than a mountain bike. Oh yeh, the silver aluminum looks sharp...
Similar Products Used: Dahon Boardwalk geared bike converted to single speed/fixed gear.
Bike Setup: Mountain bike seat, chopped telescoping stem so it fits all the way down, added regular pedals with toe clips and straps, fenders. Use removeable lights at night. Replaced stock 52 chainring, first with a 53, now using a 48.
I looked for a lightweight folder that could be multipurpose and replace a multipurpose full size bike. The bike needed to be able to handle anything from 50km rides on dirt paths to the 2km shopping trip into town. After a few basic modifications, the Helios has turned out to be the perfect bike. It folds easily, is comfortable to ride (see setup) and has a very tight turning circle. So easy to fold and lift into the back of the car.
Bike Setup: Fitted a Thudbuster seatpost. Changed the front chainring to a 45T which makes a phenomenal difference to the gearing when any hills involved. Fitted Big Apple 20X 2.125 tyres (pumped hard). Removed standard mudguards and fitted a standard MTB rear mudguard. Modified the folding pedals by drilling and fitting 30X4 stainless bolts to improve contact between shoe and pedal.
Strengths: Lightweight, a pleasure to ride, good gear range. Feels solid - I'm 6ft 4, and 180 lbs. Great handling. Folds in 30 seconds.
Weaknesses: The chain often derails, despite the chainwheel guard, when shifting to a higher gear. I've learned to pause pedaling while shifting up - no problem now.
Bottom Line:
The Dahon Helios has opened up new commuting options for me. It folds so compactly that I can ride to work 1-way, or part-way, then plop it into a coworker's trunk and get a ride the rest of the way.
Strengths: nimble, gear range, easy to fold & unfold, low step thru, same wheelbase as full size bike, great when you need to stow it away!!
Weaknesses: would prefer a fuller chainguard (for commuting)
Bottom Line:
LOVE this bike, my first folder, but definitely not my last (Caio is next!). Enough range in gears to replace my full size 21 speed, INCLUDING 28 in climbing gear, takes all my regular killer hills in stride
I wonder if you guys could give me some feedback on these . I am usually 215 at the start of each season and quickly dip down below 200 . I tend to be a masher almost always in 53 Read More »
I found a pair of used Helios wheels for $175 w/ skewers. Slight brake wear only on the rear wheel.
My question is:
1) Is this a good deal
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I am looking to build a wheelset for CX and want to keep the cost reasonable. I am looking for real world experience w/ these hubs. I don't have prices on the velocity products (Ra Read More »
