Folding Bikes - How are Dahon folders shipped to the bike shop?

I got a bike shipped to me and it came installed in a nice solid cardboard box.

Reason I ask is every Dahon bike I have bought (4 new, 1 used) seems to have what I'd call improperly torqued components. (except for the used bike that was previously owned by a guy who was a good wrench).

Just last week I changed a cassette and the lockring was barely on. Last couple of days my P8 was making a tick and while ticks are sometimes a PITA to run down I was pretty sure it was the bottom bracket. So I put it on the stand and go to bust the crank bolts and they're both too loose. Then I get it stripped down and grab the bottom bracket tool. Put the mongo wrench on it and the darn thing starts loosening before I ever put any pressure on it.

I feel like I need to go through every bike and re-torque everything.

I have to ask myself who is putting this stuff together? Dahon? The bike shops?

Clearly things can get loose after a load and time but I have my doubts.

And of course it's incumbent upon me as the rider to make sure my bike is safe just as the bike shop should go over the bike before they deliver it.

I went to a LBS here yesterday and they were building a couple bikes up and the mechanics were checking and measuring clearances and actually using torque wrenches. I've been in an awful lot of bike shops where they build bikes with no torque wrenches.

John

Ask Thor aka Brakemeister he is an authorized dealer.

They are shipped in a box almost fully assembled. That is why Dahon recommends having the bike tuned-up when you get it and to "activate" the lifetime warranty.

I purchased a Mu P8 on-line and had the exact opposite experience. When I reported this, I was accused of being a shill for the seller. What are the odds that when you buy a new Dahon, it needs a major overhaul?

Dealers should do a pre delivery inspection and check off items on a list.

The first Dahon MU SL I bought (2008) seemed a bit stiff in the steering and then got a lot worse. I called into an old bike shop in town (rather than do a 80 mile round trip to the original dealer). He had a look and then asked “who the hell assembled this bike? ....... they have only over tightened the headset and CRUSHED the bearings”..... I had the local bike shop fit a new set of bearings for me.

Apparently the dealer I bought the Dahons from does not have a good reputation within the trade.:(

This year I have bought 2 Bromptons and a Moulton from 3 separate dealers (Cycle Surgey, Formby Cycles & AVC).... all the bikes where checked over and delivered in perfect condition with none of the hassles that I experienced with the Dahons from Win****leys.

Dahons come prebuilt from the factory, also the adjustment is done there. Usually they do a very good job, but exceptions are the rule. Plus the transport can be hellish for a bike in the carton....

That is why Dahon urges the buyer to have the dealer do a precheck before it gets on the roads.

I sell many Dahons and work in the industry all my life, therefore I can compare. Its a blessing in disguise.... or a curse whatever you want to call it , that Dahons are much better adjusted than most other bikes who arrive at the dealer. Why you ask ? If the mechanic who puts bike together for the showroom gets 20 bikes with almost nothing to do on them but fiddling around here and there than he gets bored and does the next 5 without looking throughly .... If he has to re adjust every single bike brake derailleur for every bike, he is cussing like a sailor but he keeps finding all those assembly faults right away ...

Now I have seen bike mechanics running around with torque wrenches ( I sell them as well) using them as a ratchet without knowing how they work . Especially the newbies in the back of the shop who are putting 50 bikes together each day ...


As I said the exception is the rule, and sometiomes I have to spend cosniderable time to re true a wheel or adjust a headset/stem or even bottom bracket, but it is by far the best put together mass production bike you can find....right out of the box....


The bad taste in some retail outlets stemms from thew very first Dahons , which have nothing to do with the last years models. They were great little folders, but the ride quality is not comparable. The dealers didnt want to "handle" them as they were considered toys, Dahon than sold them to mass merchands and the dealers were "outsmarted" .... That didnt fare so well with them, how easy to make the product bad than to get with the program and sell them instead.... Its a lot like sour grapes .....
Dealers are sometimes funny, they talk down on a competitor instead of showing the benefits of the product they are selling, sometimes the so called IBD (Independent bike dealer ) aint so Independent, but owes company XYZ hundredthousands of dollars for some bikes he already sold ,months ago.... he will do anything to sell more of that brand to make up for his pending invoices..


Thor

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3325/3230921941_f5812cdb2d_b.jpg

In the photo above the Dahon Mu P8 had just been pulled out of it's box. I took off all the packing materials and rode the bike for a few weeks with no major issues.

Thor,

I agree with the statement about most not knowing how to use a torque wrench. I used to teach aircraft maintenance and it boggled me that senior technicians didn't know how to read a simple torque value like 10-20 lbs.

Hand them a torque wrench and they'd set it at 15 every single time. 10 for the nut, 20 for the bolt head. Then throw in 10-20 lbs plus or minus 5 and it was fun to watch. Then ask why plus or minus 5 with a range of 10.

It was great fun. Then I made them calculate for using an offset.

You're right. Most have no clue how to use a torque wrench.

John

yeah
were does that 5 lbs minus plus comes from ?? Its International actually ( they other guys have 3 kg instead) ...lol

...
Hand them a torque wrench and they'd set it at 15 every single time. 10 for the nut, 20 for the bolt head. Then throw in 10-20 lbs plus or minus 5 and it was fun to watch. Then ask why plus or minus 5 with a range of 10.

John, I did not get it. Can you explain?

Thanks,

Kam

Why you ask ? If the mechanic who puts bike together for the showroom gets 20 bikes with almost nothing to do on them but fiddling around here and there than he gets bored and does the next 5 without looking throughly .... If he has to re adjust every single bike brake derailleur for every bike, he is cussing like a sailor but he keeps finding all those assembly faults right away ...

The head guy at a local shop purposely loosens a few cables and such before sending a bike back to a tech to ensure that they actually tune the bike when an owner comes back for a quick service.

The head guy at a local shop purposely loosens a few cables and such before sending a bike back to a tech to ensure that they actually tune the bike when an owner comes back for a quick service.

Does the head guy check those bikes after the service is complete to make sure that the cables and such that he loosened were fixed?

Does the head guy check those bikes after the service is complete to make sure that the cables and such that he loosened were fixed?

He definitely doesn't check all of them. That is, I have seen him double-check a tech's work. I have seen him trust the tech to have done his job.