Dahon Folder owners comments please

[Crackle]

Read through a few of the posts and it seems a few of you have got them.

As I'm looking for an occasional use folder to go away with I was thinking the Dahon fits the bill on price and foldability. I read they can be a bit fiddly to keep in tune and are a bit down on quality compared to others; anything else to add apart from that?

Oh! and which one I think £300/£400 is my budget?

 

[Twenty Inch]

Should be fine for occasional use.

They need more adjustment and care than a Brompton, and are heavier and bulkier to carry. Their fold isn't as quick or easy as a Brompton which is a pain with 8 folds a day (UNfold at home, ride to station, fold at station for train, arrive dest-n, unfold, ride to office, fold for storage, do it all again in the evening).

You've also got to keep the seattube lubricated for the fold, which means risking oil all over your clothes, although some people clean.

They can be a bit gimmicky - mine had a seatpost pump. Great idea, but it didn't last more than two demonstrations, let alone any use. Sometimes I feel they are continually innovating, and never consolidating.

On the plus side - great ride, very fast, comfortable, good for heavier riders like me, feels like a real bike, you can get full-size panniers on some models instead of having a great big bag on the front like a Brompton.

They're ok. I hardly ride mine now. Do you want to buy it?

 

[Crackle]

20", maybe. Can I get back to you, just considering my options at the moment.

Which one is it?

 

[Twenty Inch]

It's the Dahon impulse in red. 24 gears - SRAM hub. Needs a new front wheel thanks to a blind taxi driver, but otherwise in good order.

Have a think, and I shall too. Probably don't want to sell it really, but would get loads of brownie points from Mrs TI.

 

[Origamist]

Read through a few of the posts and it seems a few of you have got them.

As I'm looking for an occasional use folder to go away with I was thinking the Dahon fits the bill on price and foldability. I read they can be a bit fiddly to keep in tune and are a bit down on quality compared to others; anything else to add apart from that?

Oh! and which one I think £300/£400 is my budget?

Dahon puts a lot of money into R&D, hence the annual upgrades - however, the technology does not have a lot of time to bed-in and problems have arisen with certain proprietary parts/components.

That said, they offer good value for money and there is a wide range of folders to choose from. The folded size of the 20" models is reasonable, but not on par with Bromptons, Mezzos etc.

You can get pretty good deals on 2007 Mu P8s, but without knowing more about your needs it's difficult to recommend specific models.

 

[Morrisette]

I have a Vitesse (I think a 2006 model). I paid £325 for it a year ago, including a set of lights. To be honest I'm not sure how useful this will be as I've hardly used it. However!

I bought it so I could have a bike that I could keep inside at home, and for this it is perfect. The fold is awkward if you're small, I have to lay the bike down to do the frame fold but I have seen it done properly. It's heavy - I couldn't carry it more than a platform length. I've taken it on trains with no problems. I wouldn't want to do it day in day out but for occasional use/the odd bike-train commute it is fine.

It rides nicely, good brakes, and the pedals are strong enough to stand up on (for me, I'm not very big) I did have problems with the gears and they still aren't great (they never ran smoothly, tried to fix this myself and snapped the cable - I think this was to do with the shop set up rather than something intrinsically wrong with the bike though - though it was hard to resolve).

You could certainly fit a rack bag onto it, not sure about panniers. The rack is quite sturdy though, I have carried a week's food shopping on it. It actually rides better with something on the back.

Not sure I would recommend this particular model wholeheartedly because I did have problems with it - I wouldn't say it would be that great for a daily commute. For occasional use, it's fine.

 

[mickle]

There's Dahons and there's Dahons. They use four different factories. Also, loads of 'manufacturers' sell rebadged Dahons as part of their range; Raleigh (spit), Dawes, er, and some other ones. So you don't need to have a Dahon dealer nearby in order to purchase one.

Buy a Brompton.

 

[mickle]

I have a Jetstream P8 which I got new off ebay for 360 quid. Excellent value for money, rides well, folds reasonably...........in fact I would say I like it, but it's not worth 600 quid which is the normal retail in the UK. I would suggest you keep your eye in ebay and buy from Germany maybe. Only proviso is that you must be willing/able to assemble it yourself.
Also worth checking out the Dahon Forum http://www.dahon.com/forum/index.php

To be fair they require very little assembly, Dahons are so well built that they are virtually fit to ride straight out of the box.

 

[stevew]

Whilst I agree that assembly from the box is not hard, the adjustments can be a little daunting for technophobes. My P8 had very badly adjusted head bearings and it's not that obvious how it all works in that area, and no instructions !!
Also many ordinary cyclists rely on their LBS to do jobs like gear index adjustments. So for some it's no problem sorting those sort of problems out but for others it may be the differance between a bike they actually use and one that stays in the shed.
IMO 600 quid spent and a useable bike is better than 360 quid spent on a shed filler !!

 

[byegad]

My 2002 Speed-Pro is a corker. DualDrive 24 speed and goes very nicely.

 

[gpx001]

I've a Dawes Kingpin and my wife a Boardwalk Lite, which are both re-badged Dahons. The Kingpin is a little more expensive than the Boardwalk, but the overall quality of tyres, gear shifters and other components is better. We are happy with both bikes.

 

[Wraithand]

I have a Dahon Jack one of the best bikes I have ever had. It gives a very comfortable ride and is reasonably fast, I would recommend it to anyone. Although it folds it has large wheels which I think makes it better, not for those who want a smaller easy to handle "parcel" though and it feels light enough to carry to me.

 

[Riding in Circles]

I have a Dahon Jack for sale that I have upgraded to 27 speed so new rear hub, new powerspline BB, new crankset, new derailleurs front and rear, new chain, new rack and rear light, all serviced of course as I sell cycles, I only ride recumbents now. £200 or best offer.

 

[eeyin (Amsterdam)]

I was looking for some faster tyres for my 2007 Jetstream P6 (original Spec is Schwalbe Marathon Runner 20"x1.5") on looking at the internet found some 20" x 1 1/8" Schwalbe Stelvio but after ordering its obvious the new tyres are too big in diameter .... where have I gone wrong????

 

[Origamist]

I was looking for some faster tyres for my 2007 Jetstream P6 (original Spec is Schwalbe Marathon Runner 20"x1.5") on looking at the internet found some 20" x 1 1/8" Schwalbe Stelvio but after ordering its obvious the new tyres are too big in diameter .... where have I gone wrong????

20" Stelvios come in two 20" variants: ISO 406 and 451. Sounds like you've got the 20" 451s. Dahons come with 20" 406s as standard...