Folding Bikes - Long term Dahon Jack

Hi All
Have searched these forums and the net in general. I'm on the point of buying a Dahon Jack. I wondered if anybody has had one a long time, not just a quick test.
Any long termers care to share any issues or strengths.
I will buy mine online cos Jack not available where I am, so no dealers.
Thanks in advance
Rob

Hi, Robsta, bought a Dahon Jack about a year ago and covered about 900 miles. Like youself bought it online for £215, one pitfall I found of buying online is that the Jack did not have a dealer safety check/service prior to dispatch. When the bike arrived the rear wheel was out of true by about 7mm, the seller refunded £15 to get it sorted out locally. If your happy as I am, to sort out any niggles on receipt of the bike, considerable savings can be made!

I bought the bike to keep folded in the car to use on days out, but have found myself using it most days for keep fit rides of about 10 miles.
Quality is top notch and components are good quality for the price of the bike.
Found the folding hinge as stiff as hell for about the first three months, but seems to have loosened after more use.

I have changed the bars for wider ones and fitted ergon grips, but this is my personal preference for comfort.

Strengths:
SRAM shifters are slick
Schwalbe Big Apple are suberb for road use
Bomb proof wheels
WTB, Speed V (very comfortable for me)
Pump built into seat post (great idea)

Weakness:
Bottom bracket, traditional type with cages and cones. Constantly working loose and eventually failed big time 12 miles from home. Changed for FSA sealed unit with no probs since.
Brake pads, did not work for me. Changed for tri-compound and again no probs since.

So all in all ,a pretty good bike for the money, buying online and with the upgrades fitted still less than the retail price!

Hope this helps!

I saw a Jack on the Washington Metro in rush hour about a week ago. It was much more intrusive on people's space than my small folder. It wasn't in the letter of the law that permits folders on Metro in rush hour, because it wasn't bagged. It wasn't in the spirit of the law because it was so damn big. Nonetheless, I have to admit that it was a good looking bike, unfolded quickly, looked very functional.

Had one, used for commuting for about 2 months (60 miles / week). Hinge developed creaking. Was told I didn't keep it adjusted, which wasn't true. Returned bike. I think I read somewhere that there were some mfctring problems in the 2008 area. Maybe they've fixed it. I loved the idea - "lifetime warranty"; in the beginning the bike was ideal. Stiff, good components, tires awesome, reasonable price. The noise from the hinge was too annoying after a while. There is not a good mechanism to make sure that the hinge is within the recommended tension (what tool can measure the closing tension of the hinge to see if it's within spec). You'll find a lot of other posts on the same issue, and with several other Dahon models. I hope they've fixed it - I didn't trust that it would be warrantied ("you didn't maintain the hinge in tolerances" - bogus) in the future so I returned it to shop for a refund.