My bike broke in half......

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the_mikey

Legendary Member
Good that they did a recall. I guess they didn't want to be stuck with the reputation of frames breaking. Although i expect it cost them a lot of sales around that time.
Have you still got the folder ?

I don't have it, but I know the person who uses it now and it's still going well, I replaced the jockey wheels, cassette and tyres for the current owner a few months ago!
 

Kell

Veteran
In aluminium framed bikes and steel framed bikes, both can fail if they are poor quality. I just dont buy that reasonable quality alu framed bikes will break easily, many alu bikes have been around for a long time. I've never had one one break on me, or fracture at the welds yet and i'm not exactly a lightweight rider.

Not sure how you judge ‘quality’. If it’s just down to price then, at £900 each, the Dahons should have been better.

My first folding bike was a second- hand one I bought on eBay for £200. Aluminium, designed by the guy who designed the folding hinge for Dahon, and lasted well. Didn’t crack - even when I got knocked off and it got a little bit squished.

That was a Rabbit.de bike.

502956
 

Smudge

Veteran
Location
Somerset
Not sure how you judge ‘quality’. If it’s just down to price then, at £900 each, the Dahons should have been better.

My first folding bike was a second- hand one I bought on eBay for £200. Aluminium, designed by the guy who designed the folding hinge for Dahon, and lasted well. Didn’t crack - even when I got knocked off and it got a little bit squished.

That was a Rabbit.de bike.

View attachment 502956

But this thread isn't about Dahons and Dahon dont have a reputation for breaking. It was Tern that had a spate of bad frames and they did a recall after that episode.
 

Kell

Veteran
Pretty sure the OP stated he believed it was a rebadged Dahon.

I also didn’t claim anything other than I wouldn’t have another aluminium framed bike. As 66% of the ones I did have have cracked. And both of those were Dahons.

What I was asking is what you believe a ‘quality’ aluminium bike to be.

Where do you draw a line and say that one is and one isn’t? That’s all I was asking.

As far as I was aware at the time, when mine cracked, Dahon was in the process of suing Tern. Certainly Joshua Hon had already started Tern, and David Hon was in proceedings with them. Info was sketchy at the time and the UK distributor had stopped importing, so despite having two bikes - each worth £900 new, and both with lifetime frame warranties - I was left with no help.

As an aside, it’s also the reason I don’t use Evans any more as they left me high and dry. I had my receipt, my contract was with them, they should have sorted it.

But I’m not bitter. :wacko:

Like for like, Terns weren’t wildly different in pricing to Dahons, so I’m stuggling to work out how anyone would know what constitutes quality.
 

Smudge

Veteran
Location
Somerset
Pretty sure the OP stated he believed it was a rebadged Dahon.

I also didn’t claim anything other than I wouldn’t have another aluminium framed bike. As 66% of the ones I did have have cracked. And both of those were Dahons.

What I was asking is what you believe a ‘quality’ aluminium bike to be.

Where do you draw a line and say that one is and one isn’t? That’s all I was asking.

As far as I was aware at the time, when mine cracked, Dahon was in the process of suing Tern. Certainly Joshua Hon had already started Tern, and David Hon was in proceedings with them. Info was sketchy at the time and the UK distributor had stopped importing, so despite having two bikes - each worth £900 new, and both with lifetime frame warranties - I was left with no help.

As an aside, it’s also the reason I don’t use Evans any more as they left me high and dry. I had my receipt, my contract was with them, they should have sorted it.

But I’m not bitter. :wacko:

Like for like, Terns weren’t wildly different in pricing to Dahons, so I’m stuggling to work out how anyone would know what constitutes quality.

OP's bike doesn't look anything like a Dahon, they haven't ever produced a frame like that. Its a no name folder, the like of which can be bought cheaply at many places.
Its these no name bikes that i wouldn't have any faith in and i certainly wouldn't spend my money on.
 

Smudge

Veteran
Location
Somerset
but you would buy a Dahon, despite the fact they are known to crack.... :wacko:

Its simply not true that Dahons have a reputation for frames breaking. Some may have, but also Brompton frames have been known to break, and no one would say they have a rep for it.
 
I like the added v brakes :okay: must be ten times better than original brakes..
Yeah, original brakes are ......... erm ........ not for the faint hearted.
I'm a fan of V-brakes, simple and effective when set up right. As I've got a TIG welding box it was a no-brainer really.
On my next one, I'll try and keep the original fork and add bosses to it, max tyre size though will be 1.75" for front.
Anyways, they're cracking (not literally of course) little bikes, and as oft been said, they ride just like a full size bike........:smile:
 

ukoldschool

Senior Member
Its simply not true that Dahons have a reputation for frames breaking. Some may have, but also Brompton frames have been known to break, and no one would say they have a rep for it.

There you go again misquoting, you seem to make a habit of this.

I didnt say they had a reputation for cracking, I said they are known to crack. Kell has had 2 Dahon fames and both cracked.

but you would buy a Dahon, despite the fact they are known to crack.... :wacko:

I appreciate you are clearly a Dahon fanboy, but please read what people wrote instead of what you think they wrote. :okay:
 

Smudge

Veteran
Location
Somerset
There you go again misquoting, you seem to make a habit of this.

I didnt say they had a reputation for cracking, I said they are known to crack. Kell has had 2 Dahon fames and both cracked.



I appreciate you are clearly a Dahon fanboy, but please read what people wrote instead of what you think they wrote. :okay:

I'm not a fanboy of Dahon at all. I only entered this thread because i questioned why the op stated his folder was a rebadged Dahon. Yet it then transpired he just assumed it was. Then people come on talking about Dahon frames breaking like they have a rep for it, which they dont.
I was putting the record straight against generalised views.
 

icowden

Veteran
Location
Surrey
Similarly Tern Frames are okay, it just the hinge that tends to crack and break (the closure bar, so it remains structurally sound).

I have had a Dahon frame break while riding, but that was because Evans decided that a tern bike could be fixed by replacing the frame with a Dahon Frame and didn't notice key details such as the seatpost being a different length - and not long enough to reach past the safety point of the seat socket. Luckliy I only sustained minor injuries and after a brief discussion about legal action got my shiny new Tern Joe P27 as a replacement.
 

mitchibob

Über Member
Location
Treorchy, Wales
Plus steel framed folders like Brompton aren't exempt to breaking, incidences of that can be found.

True, but seriously impressed with only getting a very slight frame bend and still ridable bike after hitting car side-on at 20mph, where my right hand, left wrist, and helmet, didn't come off quite as a well.
 
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