Dahon Folder owners comments please

[jethrotull]

i have a Dahon jack and the seat-tube has cracked after less than a year's daily communting! Second time as well - previously I had a Dahon badghed as a Rabbit folder and it broke after about two years. The new Jack seemed much sturdier than the Rabbit but still died - giving up on folders now!

 

[B13]

I've got a Dahon Jack that I absolutely love to bits!

The only quibble I have is that there's no front suspension. I use it for 50km rides with my cycle club, both off- and on- road so a bit of suspension on the front to smooth out the lumps 'n' bumps would be nice!!

The place where I bought it from suggested Rock Shox Dart 2s...

Has anyone here put suspension forks on their Jack? If so, which ones and how much weight did it add? Any problems?

 

[arallsopp]

Mrs arallsopp rides a Cadenza 8 with hub gear. Folds small enough for her to lift it into the car, drive out with arallsopp jnr, find a pub car park, unfold, mount child seat, buy a drink and wait for me to whizz by on the 'bent.

Is a lovely ride too. Very smooth with those balloon bike tyres and rock solid frame. Not massively light, but feels very safe. Only bike she'd let me put Jnr on the back of (he's coming up to his first birthday next month).

Works well for us, as I can do a 60 miler at the weekend, with her joining for the flat bit in the middle.

 

[Crackle]

I'm finding all the comments very useful. My original reason for one went away for the moment but it may return.

 

[jay clock]

I have a Dahon Speed P8 circa 2005 model. I bought it in the US and paid £303 allin when it was listed as £499 in the UK

I have not done much mileage on it, but it is a superb bike to own, and it is nice to know it is there on the odd occasion I need a folder (eg taking a train trip and their is doubt as to whether I will get a normal bike on)

I once did a hilly-ish 40 mile road trip and it coped fine.

The only issues are that the handlebar/stem always feels a bit flimsy like it could come undone, but never has!! Also if you want the neatest folding mechanism for daily commuting it would not be ideal

In summary I cannot imagine ever wanting to sell it!

 

[Twenty Inch]

I met up recently with a fellow Dahon commuter - daily user. He has had two Dahons fail catastrophically with seat-tube failures. He's now on his third, which Dahon gave him for nothing. This may be an issue for the bigger rider.

I've still got mine in the cellar, it still needs a new front wheel.

 

[Origamist]

I've had seat post cracks on three folders. I blame the following: high mileage, a long seatpost and my weight...

 

[upsidedown]

I bought a 2007 Cadenza last weekend.
Lovely bike, very well specced, race-blades, conti tyres, avid brakes etc - but -

first ride the magnet on the rear half of the frame fell off, so now have to use velcro to hold the frame together when folded.

rear wheel felt very weird on the way home tonight, checked it on the train and at least a dozen spokes were loose enough to be able to tighten them by hand, don't know if this is down to the builder or the dealer, but first time i've seen it in any bike i've bought.

Other observations:

A bit big for very crowded trains, but that's the price you pay for a "normal" bike feel.

Locking mechanism on the frame feels very strong, no flex at all.

Overall a great bike, let down by poor initial wheel build or pre-delivery inspection.

 

[Twenty Inch]

The magnets on mine were never very useful.

That wheel issue is shocking. Have you let the shop know? You may be doing them a favour by alerting them to an issue.

 

[ChrisKH]

I bought a 2007 Cadenza last weekend.
Lovely bike, very well specced, race-blades, conti tyres, avid brakes etc - but -

first ride the magnet on the rear half of the frame fell off, so now have to use velcro to hold the frame together when folded.

rear wheel felt very weird on the way home tonight, checked it on the train and at least a dozen spokes were loose enough to be able to tighten them by hand, don't know if this is down to the builder or the dealer, but first time i've seen it in any bike i've bought.

Other observations:

A bit big for very crowded trains, but that's the price you pay for a "normal" bike feel.

Locking mechanism on the frame feels very strong, no flex at all.

Overall a great bike, let down by poor initial wheel build or pre-delivery inspection.

Ditto on both faults for mine. I lost the rear magnet on the first ride and had to have the front wheel re-built as the spokes were loose or fell out. Where did you get the bike from? Watch for the cables at the fold, I pretty much sliced one in half when I put the bike together once.

 

[upsidedown]

Ditto on both faults for mine. I lost the rear magnet on the first ride and had to have the front wheel re-built as the spokes were loose or fell out. Where did you get the bike from? Watch for the cables at the fold, I pretty much sliced one in half when I put the bike together once.

Would rather not say where it came from as it was my first dealing with them so might just be unlucky, and they were very busy so obviously have a good name locally.

I have emailled them to let them know of a potential problem with the wheels, thanks for the suggestion Chris and Twentyinch

 

[upsidedown]

Gave up on the rear wheel as the spokes kept coming loose. Took it to LBS who said that the reason was that the spokes weren't crossed, so it would never stay tensioned. Bought a £25 wheel and it's been fine since.

 

[Crackle]

The bike shop near me has started selling Dahon folders. I'm very tempted to take a shufty.

 

[DrMekon]

I have a 2008 D7HG. It rides really nicely as long as you don't mind spinning when the wind is behind you. I am right at the limit of the bike it terms of height, so I gladly signed up to the extended warranty on the frame. If it didn't have the warranty, the relatively small amount of seatpost in the frame relative to the amount out of the frame would give me concerns about the stress on the frame. The kit on it does the job, and the mudguards and rack are nice. The chainguard setup needs tweaking (I moved the rear mountpoint behind the frame tab). and the grips are like anti-Ergons and appear designed to increase hand pain. I'll be getting some Ergon GC2s very soon. The handling is brilliant fun. It's not relaxing, but super nippy. It all moves around underneath me very quickly.

 

[Owch]

Gearing

I've just bought a D7HG and I've got one question about it. The gearing seems a bit low for Lincolnshire - with a decent wind behind I soon run out of gears so I was wondering what the smallest practical rear sprocket for the hub gear might be? Or would increasing the chainwheel size be a better option (though I'd also need a new chain too...).

It has crossed my mind that having relatively low gears might be a useful safety feature - 20" wheels don't cope with pot-holes as well as 26" ones but the bike seems reasonably steady at speed so I'd like to give it a go.