harlond

The Helix project will not be a success unless Peter ships every bike with a jar of poutine gravy.

Lalato

OMG... Now you've made me even more sad that I didn't get in on the Kickstarter!

linberl

I'd pay more to get it WITHOUT the poutine, lolz.

Ozonation

There is a help group for people like us you know.
Brain Bag (an old one from 2000 still trucking along), Aeronaut (used all the time when travelling, Large Cafe Bag, Camera Insert (discontinued), Empire Builder, ID Messenger Bag, Night Flight Travel Duffle, Co-Pilot, and a host of small pouches, etc.

.... but back to folding bikes... I found if I removed the metal frame from my Brompton messenger bag, I could use it by itself with the ID Messenger bag - because I don't think the Brompton bag holds up very well in business settings.

To be honest though... I might be migrating away from TB. The bags are tough and great, but not really constructed for photography. Mind you, the Maker's Bag looks enticing...

Pine Cone

harlond

Link?

Pine Cone

Joe Remi

Anyone who says there's pics or video but doesn't link them should be banned.

linberl

I guess I didn't realize it had a single front fork ( like a Giant Halfway). There's something about that which totally messes with my need for symmetry. Aside from that, it's a pretty sweet looking ride.

avole

spambait11

SurfHenk

The backer of bike nr 5 shared these pictures, which is really kind of him:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9bky3u0w7...2hzKcva9a?dl=0
Enjoy!

pastorbobnlnh 

Beautiful! The welding looks amazing. I find the overall appearance to be quite pleasing.

Interesting change in the seat tube/post from round to ovalized and the addition of the horizontal top with the adjustable QR on the mount for moving the saddle forward or aft. The only down side to this is there doesn't appear to be any means to tilt the saddle nose up or down to change the angle to suit the preference of the rider. Possibly I am wrong about this? It does look relatively easy to swap the saddle for a rider's preference, say a Brooks Professional or Swift.

SurfHenk

As a backer, my understanding based on the information at hand is that the seat post is round.

And indeed, the seat can slide fore and after in order to achieve a compact fold when needed and yet allow to adapt the fore/after position of the saddle optimally to the rider.
The information provided to us backers is that there is a way to (slightly) alter the tilt of the saddle up or down by means of a dedicated screw.
And yes, the seatpost should accept any standard-railed saddle as long as it does not interfere with the fore/after mechanism and lever. I have no idea (yet) how restricting this might be wrt saddle choice..

Raxel

I don't understand why the heck they designed the seatpost that way. It's much heavier than standard two bolt design, lacks angle adjustment, adds cost (more titanium tubing + one more welding) and has two possibly unsafe pointy edges.

Standard aluminium two-bolt seatposts are very light and dirt cheap nowadays (I got my 31.8*580mm post at only $20)

SurfHenk

Did you read the above comments?
Yes it is a bit heavier (but not much), numbers have been disclosed by Helix on the weight.
But it does allow for angle adjustment.
And it has the big advantage that the saddle can be slided inwards for a very compact fold and slided outwards for a good rider position.

I do agree that it is quite pointy in case one would lose the saddle and than have an accident. This is an unlikely situation (but of course can not be excluded), so maybe het can still further refine the pointy edges.

And obviously, if a user is really not happy or comfortable with this seatpost he could always replace it with another one. This is one of the aspects I really like about the Helix, it's use of as much as possible standard bicycle components.

ttakata73

Yeah, the seatpost is a weird choice and limits comfort. I'm guessing it's a standard diameter and can be replaced? I am glad this project is finally happening. I would consider buying version 2 or 3 when the community reports no problems with the design. I'd still prefer a 20" tire that is fatter instead of a skinny 24". Maybe they will do other wheel sizes later.

pastorbobnlnh 

The prototypes definitely show a round seat post and seat tube. But take a look at these pictures. They are not round by any stretch of the imagination.

SurfHenk

I have to admit you make me doubt now.
My understanding was that the seatpost is round. But I am not sure now whether that is the case still..

Raxel

Sorry, I missed above comments.But I am still scratching my head because:

-Shrinking the X dimension will be more easily done by just rotating the seatpost by 90 degree (see the folded pic, there are enough space) rather than adding such a complex mechanism.
-Titanium is expensive, even as a plain tubing form. Google for how much a simple titanium handlebar cost.
To build such a seatpost one need to cut titanium tubing multiple times and weld them. And helix frame will already cost a lot to build due to its complexity.
Why add unnecessary expense?

Gibsonsean

if you look at the other end of the seat tube, it is round.

avole

rhenning

Avole on the first page if you click on view last read it brings you to the end. Roger

Jipe

For the seat post, on one picture, it seems not round but on the seat tube it is written diameter 28.6mm what means that it is round.

But the first thing that came to my mind seeing the detailed pictures is that this frame is very complex with a lot of special CNC parts, it is much more complex to build than a classic road or mountain bike frame, more complex than a Brompton frame or a Tyrell frame too. Even not in titanium, this frame must be very expensive to build.

Is it a beautiful bike ? For me not but are there any beautiful folder ? On folders, the folding requirements dictate the bike design.

pastorbobnlnh 

Now here's something odd--- and more about the unique shape of the seat post and seat tube:

The top of the seat tube is the ovalized shape...



...however, the bottom of the seat tube, as joined next to the bottom bracket shell, as @Gibsonsean mentions--- is round!