Dahon Top Five

[Diode100]

The Dahon range baffles me with it's complexity, a multitude of models, year on year changes, repitition of model names etc. So help me sort the wheat from the chaff, how about naming your top five Dahon all time bikes, of any ilk, just the ones your rate best for ride-ability, reliability, maintain-ability, looks, whatever ??

[14R]

1-Curve D3
2- Curve SL
3-Mu SL
4- Speed Pro TT
5-Hammerhead or Smooth Hound Mini-velo.

Different purposes, different bikes, but Dahon would see my money again to any of these bikes.

[Bacciagalupe]

Afraid to say I don't think there's much point to this, other than sharing the name of what happen to be personal favorites. Although there are some, uh, quirks to the model line, generally speaking the different models do try to optimize their uses for different riders.

That said, I think their general-purpose / mid-range / commuter-type bikes are the best of what Dahon can do. Decent fold, nice accessories, etc. I do not personally believe that their more expensive models match up to the competition on that level, and they make some odd design choices for their expensive specialty bikes.

Name your purposes, and you can get some better ideas of what will suit you....

[wrafl]

My first Dahon, the '06 Speed D7 has performed flawlessly and am very satisfied with it's handling, rideability and performance. I have 924 miles to date since purchasing it in April. I have my eye on either Dahon TR or Speed Pro.

[mpchi]

Don't know if I have top five, but I'll point out the models that excels in what they do:

Jetstream P8 - Full suspension with the most travel in Dahon's line, as off-road (light) as Dahon gets.
Mu SL - Lightest among the lineup and more commute friendly, got front hub suspension.
Speed Pro/TT - As its name, its build for speedy road riding, also got front hub suspension.
Curve SL - Small and light with 16" small wheels with commuter written all over it.

The others kind of falls inbetween, based on their price range and compromises on the parts they have. And I am not as familiar with their 26" line up.

[folder fanatic]

I don't want to drive myself batty with all the changes Dahon goes through any given year. The way I weed out models or even if I would spring for a bike in any period of time is to buy basic models for that year, decide what I like or not like about it, decide if a higher ended model will serve me better and go from there. Dahon is about change and moving beyond a given model when it no longer reflects what the company is striving for. The other makes strive more for improvements in smaller increments rather than a huge change at one time.

[keithnyc]

:o My first Dahon, the '06 Speed D7 has performed flawlessly and am very satisfied with it's handling, rideability and performance. I have 924 miles to date since purchasing it in April. I have my eye on either Dahon TR or Speed Pro.

I agree wholeheartedly with wrafl on this as well. My key criteria in this order were:
price, "rideability", appearance and portability. I'm not a racer or a daily bicyclist...instead I use it for errands and long, leisurely city rides (2-4 hours) on weekends. I also bought it in case the subway shuts down again so I can get to work without being beholden to the taxis.

The Dahon Speed D7 ('06) model won hands down.

[DaFriMon]

I hesitate to write too much about models I haven't ridden or seen. My 2004 Speed P8 is an excellent multi-purpose bike, about equivalent to a decent hybrid in the full-sized world. The folded package wasn't the smallest even before I modified it with drop bars, but it was adequate for my needs, and still is. Based on this, I'd be fairly confident in any of their P8 models.

My Curve D3 is also a great little bike, with a surprisingly stable and comfortable ride. Narrow gear range, of course, which makes it a bit less versatile.

One general criticism of Dahon has been that they change their offerings so much from year to year, rather than concentrating on just a few models. However, different versions of the Speed have been available for several years. If you want a good general purpose bike, I don't think you'd go very far wrong with either the P8 or the D7. If a relatively compact fold is important, then either of the Curves might be fine, depending on the kind of riding you want to do.

That's not to criticize the other Dahon models, or other brands, for that matter. It may seem less confusing if you decide first how you plan to use a folder, and what characteristics are most important to you. There are already reams of advice on this in earlier threads. This article (http://www.foldsoc.co.uk/buyguide.html) may also be useful.