ridehelix

Thank you. I've put it on my to-do list.

We do our updates on our own customer portal. Last update was about 3 months ago. Our portal has much better ui/ux, has a forum, access to the customers purchase history, one login vs two and some other benefits. Overall it's a far better experience for the customer.

A good rule of thumb I use for Kickstarter and startups in general is: is the world a better place with or without this product? If it is, expect that the process of getting an idea to market is very difficult and can get messy. I try to keep that in perspective. Platforms like Kickstarter help ideas come to life and having it as an option is a net positive for innovation.

Definitely not spending any time on the internet soliciting business, you can check. Either the product speaks for itself or it doesn't, that's up to you - I have zero desire to market any wares. I read hn from time to time and saw a folding bike posts at #2 and thought I could enrich the discussion as there was no mention of Helix. If you're into folding bikes or cycling, why not find out about what else is available?

Also not avoiding any questions or intentionally lying. At the time I checked I missed the lower cost bike from PlanetX. Aliexpress would be cheaper as well, so I concede.

There were many reasons to choose Ti over steel, aluminum or carbon fiber. Steel would have significantly thinner wall thickness and would be less durable. Folding bikes get handled a lot, they get banged up, fall over, experience crushing forces etc. Carbon fiber is also less durable for this use case and aluminum would have been heavier for our design. Ti leaves no compromises other than cost of manufacturing but that is a great challenge to work on and there are many ways to optimize it which we are working on.

I stand corrected. I did a relatively exhaustive search a couple of months ago and missed this.

We were on track to complete Kickstarter deliveries by end of 2020. Still very late by all measures but the challenges of staring a manufacturing company from scratch cannot be understated. It's very hard. Even so, our backers for the most part supported us and anyone that didn't want to wait was offered refund. The pandemic threw a huge wrench into our plans and the last two years have been an incredible balancing act of managing run-away lead times, rising costs and other critical details. As an example, if you place an order for saddles right now, you're getting them late 2023/early 2024 and it's 30-50% deposit up front. Titanium costs just went up 20% and lead times increased by another 30 days due to recent world events.

As another post here mentions, it would be good for me to write about the lessons of our journey as it is unique and becoming more relevant as hardware startups seem to be on the rise. I will do that soon.

Not yet, but soon. In the mean time you are welcome to come to our factory. Email is on our website or you can pm me. Thanks

Wow, a fan here on hn! Belt drive is possible but it makes for a heavier bike as it usually is paired with an internal geared hub. Also all of the innovation in cycling where maximum drivetrain efficiency is the goal is still firmly footed in chain drive (shimano/sram/campagnolo and a growing group of others). Also right now it’s not a priority as we have a lot of open projects: accessories, electric, scaling manufacturing.

Mid drive on the other hand would be a more challenging project because of the space and packaging constraints of our design. But, rear hub motors, which is what we’re using, have improved a lot recently; they are lighter, 2 speed, quieter and are considered to be comparable now. You also have a far more flexible upgrade path when technology improves as it’s not tied to the frame.

Electric Helix is going to be pretty ground breaking because up until now, the only other compact option was Brompton which is front wheel drive.

So maybe the dream bike is still possible, just a bit different.

A well made titanium bike will easily outlast your Mazda and have better resale value. You’re getting outside and active. Lower carbon footprint. Never pay for parking. There’s so much more.

We have a 10 year warranty on the frame. Replacement parts can be shipped worldwide in 3-10 days. The components such as brakes, drivetrain, wheels are industry standard and can be serviced by any bicycle shop.

Thank you. Designing it was a labour of love. It’s function over form in every detail. No gimmicks, cheap materials or manufacturing short cuts like using castings for example. The welded frame components are all cnc machined from titanium blocks and the frame is robotically TIG welded in an argon chamber in our Toronto factory. We literally spare no expense in making them.