Folding Bikes - Dahon folder 3-sp $55- good deal? Weight limit strict?

Title says most of it- semi-locally there's a 3-sp Dahon folder for $55, 16" wheels, dunno model yet. Also- Dahon website lists max rider weight for most models at ~220 lbs- any wiggle room on that? Say, mebbe 30-35 lbs worth? (for short rides, no curb hopping or any rough stuff) All help appreciated, TIA.

Year and model would be very helpful, as well as condition of the bike. :-/

People seem to fudge on the weight a bit. I'd be more concerned with your height/inseam to make for a good fit.

Model still unknown. My height ~5'11", inseam ~30-31". I *did* just find out, the rear hub is a Sturmey-Archer, maybe that'll help date it? At least that removes worries of a pre-Nexus Shimano.!:thumb:
Owner bought it used from a friend, has never seen another, says it's all there & everything works He's stored it in enclosed garage since he bought it, was carried inside motorhome by original owner. I figure at worst, can get my $$ back out of it, + it might be fun. :D

Thanks for the input- I think I'm about to go get it. :twitchy: I've always been intrigued by the idea of a folding bike, have only seen 2 or 3 "in person" in my 55 yrs.

It's likely an older Dahon DaBike, Classic or such. It will likely look somewhat similar to this...



$55 seems about right for one of these if it's in decent shape. Enjoy.

--sam

yeah after I announced that the satinless steel ones would be probably the first collectorable dahons I see one on Ebay selling for 350 bucks ...for a rusty bucket ... YKES ...

as the former poster already said if it is clean and works 50 bucks are a very fair price.....

Still wondering about why you like STurmey Archer better than Shimano..... but let not that be a reason to buy or not to buy ,..lol


thor

Lalato, you nailed it! Change red to blue, add a black chain guard, & that's the bike I just bought. Hadda pay the full $55 for it- but it's all there, just seems to need a bit of cleaning. Rode it up & down the street a bit, it felt surprisingly sturdy. Frame is all steel. Rear fender has a break at its front mount, I may try to fix it- or just leave it alone.

Mine has a sticker on the handlebar that says "Dahon Texas", plus some patent #s further down the stem. Was Dahon ever based in Texas? Maybe a model name? Tires are a little weathercracked, but otherwise look good & should work OK for some time to come. May need to tighten the chain a bit, adjust shifter, etc. Need to wipe that rear hub clean & find the date code on it. Definitely gonna have to remove the hazy rust from that long folding chrome brace & polish it up. The paint looks good, should clean up real well if I ever get around to it. Also, it has a little folding wheel underneath the bottom bracket- when all folded up, you can unfold that long chrome brace & pull it around like a small(but fairly heavy!) narrow 3-wheel cart. :thumb:

Re Hubs: I simply wanted to avoid the old Shimano 3-sp(333?)hubs made before they went to the new "Nexus" design- dunno if Dahon ever used those old Shimanos or not, but since so many say it's more prone to trouble- and pretty well unfixable if it does break- I'd rather have the SA, SRAM, or Nexus if possible. Since it had the SA, that's fine with me. It's also why the seller originally thought it was an English bike- on the SA shifter it says "Made In England".:D

Re tires: Any suggestions for some good tires, not too pricey & a step up from the normal"kiddie bike" 16" tires usually found at XMarts? The ones on it are 16x1.75, looks like up to a 16x2.0 should work OK, but no wider/larger than that.

This dude (http://www.thorusa.com/dahon/accessories/tires.htm) has some good Big Apples or Marathons for 16". The BA's give a very smooth ride.

It's likely an older Dahon DaBike, Classic or such. It will likely look somewhat similar to this...



$55 seems about right for one of these if it's in decent shape. Enjoy.

--samI hope yours' seatpost is not as bent!

I *thought* that seat looked further back than mine, didn't think of a bent seat post!:D Nope, mine's still straight- at least so far. Puts the pedals just under my knees.:twitchy: Seller was a little over 200 lbs I'd guess, so it's withstood that so far, plus my test ride. I'll try to be careful with that seatpost. Will try to get a few pix up soon, maybe this weekend. And thanks for the tire tips too! I also just saw some Maxxis Hookworms at Niagara Cycle Works, 16x1.95, inverted tread, they looked pretty good too.

Update: cleaned off the rear hub, in addition to Sturmey Archer AW, I found:

Made In
85-9
England

So, hub was made in Sept. 1985, I guess. Puts bike at late 1985, 1986, or maybe early '87 if the pipeline was slow?

FWIW, found the serial # tonight. It was hand-scratched inside the top frame tube hinge-joint "clamshell"; H601 7926. The "2" is kinda iffy, but that's my best guess. So it was made in January 1986. I guess it was still the Hon folding bike then, with no real model name or number. Sure do like it though(always loved anything that did tricks!;) ), gotta polish up the chrome, do a little clean, oil & adjust on things, & then just ride it a little.:thumb: Gotta try to figure out a way to fix that rear fender(mudguard for our friends overseas) too. Now if a nice Raleigh Twenty would just show up, the little Dahon could have a playmate..... :D

gotta polish up the chromeA great tip for revitalising chrome: Rub with aluminium foil & water or foil & WD-40. Gets rid of rust real quick without damaging the chrome. Try it, you'll be amazed as I was.