Some things to consider... Not all of this may apply to you, but I found the following:
- I found that the long masts made my Dahon Helios less pleasant to ride for much more than than shortish rides on flat-ish ground relatively unloaded. Other folders I tried all suffered from that flaw.
- In my boat (30' Alberg Sailboat) I actually found that I could just as easily put my full size road bike in the seat locker as long as I took the wheels off. So I usually just took a full size bike.
- The Helios didn't easily fit in the seat locker in the normal folded state. It was slightly wider than the locker opening and required removing a pedal (folding the pedal wasn't enough).
- The Helios did fit nicely in other places in the boat, but I liked having the bike in the seat locker.
- The folder was nicer to carry in the dinghy which was nice since we usually anchored out.
- I like the folder for taking along on air travel where I might do some short rides, but didn't use it enough in that capacity.
- I loaned it to a friend who had a 1 years teaching gig in Spain and I think it worked out well for her. That is unless she just wanted to appear grateful to me for the loan. I think she admitted it still cost her a bundle in baggage fees over the course of her time in Europe. I suspect she might have been better off to just buy a bike there and sell it or give it away if she couldn't before coming home. I think there may have even been a loaner bike program in the city where she was for much of her time there.
- I definitely wouldn't tour on my Dahon with much stuff. Maybe ultra light short distances per day easy riding, but I don't know if I'd choose it for even that unless there was some very special reason to do so.
Last edited by staehpj1; 05-21-19 at 05:31 AM.