Folding Bikes - which (Dahon) to Touring upgrade ?

So, my Dad suggests we do a little tour over the English Channel for a few days....

Dear me. I don't think my HH7 is going to be suitable, I am not keen on racking it up. I could take the DT mini, but much as I love it its not quite got the loadbearing capacity (speaking from experience)

Now I really fancy NWT, or a Dahon Speed TR, but they are hem hem a bit pricy. Which budget range Dahon might upgrade easily enough to Tourer level ? Or are there other options out there?

hmmm. surprisingly i had a similar question on the thread i just sent. i wanted to know if the dahon boardwalk's components can be upgraded easily... let's wait for the experts advises...

thanks,
vic

Can't tell you from experience, as I only have the Boardwalks (S1 and D7). But look at the Vitesse D7HG. It's in the $660 (USD) price range. Not sure if that is too expensive or not, but it looks like it could handle a good amount.

My Speed P8 carries a load okay (I've only done LIGHT loads, mind you) and is stable under a load. I have Schwalbe Big Apples on it and they are slow, but they are 2" wide and work well loaded or unloaded if you aren't interested in passing anything faster than a pensioner with a walker. It would accommodate rear rack/pannier, and still have room on the seat post for a mounted bag there. I've not ever used front rack/pannier, so can't comment on that.

If you are going to be touring, you'll likely need/appreciate more than 7 or 8 gears.

From experience our experience just riding around the Portland/Vancouver area we found our previous D7's to be lacking in that department.

The Dahon Speed TR and the Bike Friday NWT are on the order of what you need to tour comfortably.

BF now has several "stock" models in Small, Medium & Large frame sizes. The Pocket Companion is similar to the NWT, has 24 speeds and is only $895.

http://www.bikefriday.com/pocketcompanion?styleId=

That's a lot of folder for the price. Just add a BF folding rack and some fenders.

What's your budget? How much do you plan to tour? How often do you plan to tour, and fly with the bike? Are you staying in hotels, or carrying a lot of gear? You doing hilly tours or flat tours?

First, thanks Foldable-Two for the heads up. I am in the UK, but even at the bad exchange rates for us at the moment, that really is a lot of bike for the money. Unfortunately, the shipping and import duty put it out of range. Shame.

Then:


What's your budget? How much do you plan to tour? How often do you plan to tour, and fly with the bike? Are you staying in hotels, or carrying a lot of gear? You doing hilly tours or flat tours?

Good questions. This is a short tour for sure, and it won't be too hilly, we will be in hotels, so will only need clothes. And we will go on the ferry to France, not the plane.

Some other factors, though, which result from me thinking about the questions. First, I haven't got a great deal to spend, say £400. But even that is a lot of money for a one off tour, so maybe a tourer will combine some of the best aspects of my DT mini - which I use for everyday store visits, library trips, etc; and my Hammerhead Seven, which I love, but only take out of the house every so often..... So, I could, maybe, go for a good-ish tourer, and sell the HH7, and give the DT mini to significant other and child. That would take me back to the speed TR (and the NWT if not for the importing issue). But interested in advise on upgraded Dahons, esp. older models, still.

hiya there, new one round here, been riding Dahon Speed P8 for around 6 month-ish.
a couple months ago I saw a tourer on Speed P7, with a rack on the back and a camera mounted on the handlebar... I believe he was on the group that go from Jakarta to Bali (+-300 km)... anyway, if you're doing supported touring and going to sleep @ hotels, I'd say use the HH7, but do swap the tires if you can, say schwalbe marthon plus? and use a removable rack like the toppeak MTB rack, they seems durable enuf...
looking forward to seeing the reports...

thx dugiebones, yep, maybe it makes sense to make the HH7 work for a living. I recall someone fitting racks to one a while back, but can't find the pic. I would rather to that than use seatpost rack, which I always find prone to swivel if loaded, no matter how one tightens, uses liquid torque etc.

Anyone point me in the direction of getting a rack that fits - does the standard Dahon tour rack fit I wonder?

I'm in exactly the same boat as you. I'm looking for a folder to tour on. I'll be doing mayby 250 miles on pretty flat terrain. Normally, I'd take my 700c tourer, but I've done that the past two years, and it's such a pain taking it apart, then putting it back together again at the other end, that I'm finding the idea of a folder that could even maybe go in a suitcase as hold luggage rather than excess baggage. I had a ride of a Dahon D7 in halfords (unfortunately just down the aisle), and I have to say, it felt a bit twitchy, but that was probably because i was riding slow and trying to avoid the other shoppers. I have read this:
http://greenbikemonkey.blogspot.com/search/label/Dahon
about cutting the top off the steerer and putting an ahead stem on it. This apparently improves the steering no end (the D7 steers like a scooter - with the handlebar right on top of the steerer tube). I'm very tempted by the idea of short, week tours on a bike I can fit as standard luggage, and put together the other side in no time at all.
The only thing I'm not sure about is riding all day on those little wheel.

Here's a link to a a question I asked on the touring forum.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=530500
it doesn't really answer my questions about the Dahon D7 (then again, I didn;t ask specifically abut it there).

I am seriously tempted by it, as I think on the flat, which is pretty well how I tour, and on a credit card tour, which is what I do, the 7 speed will be okay. I'd need to sort the panniers out, though. I'd either have to add a new rack to take standard panniers at the back, as the current one is too short, or maybe put one big bag on top of the existing one, and fit two two small panniers on the front (I have racks I think will fit). I'd also change the bars - butterfly bars maybe, which I have lying around. That would mean changing the shifter (I think), but it would work, and I think it would be a good alternative.

Then again...