Folding Bikes - Heavy rider on a Dahon Curve

A friend of mine needs a bike, and he's on the tall and heavy side. Anyone here have experience with a 6'-er using a dahon? (A Curve D3 in this case, rated for a maximum rider weight of 220 lbs.) I think he's around 280 pounds.

I wouldn't risk it even through they test beyond those specs buy a certain percentage, but over a time the worst part of the wear would be around the seatpost cause of the leverage and amount of stress one puts on that point.

His best bet would be to go for a bike friday with the heavy rider upgrade and even those are only up to 260lbs max, at least the seatpost is better supported with some type of sleeve. If this will be his daily commuter hopefully in a month or two of riding he ends up losing serious lbs and gets into the max range and lower. Else if it's just once in awhile type riding he's doing might as well go for a full size bike.

This also depends on his riding style and how aggressive he is which will affect the life of the bike also. Lots of factors involved here.

Unfortunately, my friend has no money at all, not even to fix the bikes he has.

Those have a chromoly steel seat post?... maybe.. aluminum .. I'd say not so suitable..

Brompton, not a DaHon owner , their steel seatposts are 1,25" diameter. I'm 208#

[sold a few dahons in the shop I worked in, 20 years ago]

A friend of mine needs a bike, and he's on the tall and heavy side. Anyone here have experience with a 6'-er using a dahon? (A Curve D3 in this case, rated for a maximum rider weight of 220 lbs.) I think he's around 280 pounds.

Hmmmmm ... I have not looked at the hinge in the frame for quite some time. But I think the problem will be the seat post and handlebar post.

So he is looking at a used Curve? Is this your old bike?

unfortunately I need to say no
too many complications with a folder ....

does he/she really NEED a folder ? A good used Mountain bike will be a much better fit ,, i would assume

thor

OK why not help fix one of their existing bikes


Unfortunately, my friend has no money at all, not even to fix the bikes he has.

it will be a charitable act.

Unfortunately, my friend has no money at all, not even to fix the bikes he has.

What is broken?

Just get a Xootr Swift. it is "officially" rated at 260#, but i weigh more than that and it's been great.

Dahons, Bromptons, and standard Fridays are not strong enough for you, but the Swift is...

What is broken?

All I know is that it'd be something that requires money to fix.

I wouldn't risk it even through they test beyond those specs buy a certain percentage, but over a time the worst part of the wear would be around the seatpost cause of the leverage and amount of stress one puts on that point.

His best bet would be to go for a bike friday with the heavy rider upgrade and even those are only up to 260lbs max, at least the seatpost is better supported with some type of sleeve. If this will be his daily commuter hopefully in a month or two of riding he ends up losing serious lbs and gets into the max range and lower. Else if it's just once in awhile type riding he's doing might as well go for a full size bike.

This also depends on his riding style and how aggressive he is which will affect the life of the bike also. Lots of factors involved here.

I tried out a Curve when I was first shopping for a folder it was way too small for my 5'11" frame....I ended up with a Speed D7 which was still too small, but much better than the Curve...eventually I got a Bike Friday that fit me properly.

Given his size and weight consider how much breaking a bike or parts would cost and then having to buy the correct bike or parts...it may be better to invest in a bike that can handle his weight and that fits him right off the bat.

If he is after a bike for fitness and is hoping to lose weight having a bike that's comfortable goes a long way to getting up the motivation to go for a ride. I can ride the D7, but it's not great. I'd use it if I had to go somewhere, but I would volunteer for a long Sunday ride on it.

All I know is that it'd be something that requires money to fix.

Well ... some things cost very little. You might be surprised by what other people might give or throw away. My instinct says that zipping around on a bicycle -- even at 10-15 mph -- is something that a person should do on an appropriate bike even if your old Curve is pecuniarily free: it could cost much more in the "long run" which might not be very "long" in this case.

Perhaps you could trade the Curve for the parts/labor necessary to fix the bike.

Tall and heavy is not a good combination for a telescoping seatpost. If it were one or the other I'd say just get make sure you have enough seatpost in the frame, but not with both factors at play.

Why doesn't your friend learn how to fix whatever is broken on his bike? It's hard to imagine that the parts/tools could be more expensive than a new or used bike and, besides, the human capital gained learning how to do it is probably worth more than the small expense. If the information at sheldonbrown.com and parktool.com aren't enough then I'm sure there'd be plenty of people willing to help in the Mechanics subforum.

I dunno...I have the Dahon Mu XL and am 6'3" and 250lbs, I am aware that Dahon specifies that the weight limit for my bike (I cant speak for the curve as I dont have or know a lot about it, even tho it's similar) is 230lbs but I have no issues with mine with regard my weight stressing anything and giving concern. I dont do anything radical with mine and admittedly have not had it very long but its rolling splendidly with zero issues.

I would suggest that your friend get tires like the Schwalbe Big Apples (2" if he must have fenders, bigger if he doesnt) to help big time with the forces generated with unplanned hits on potholes and the like and make specific efforts to be careful and aware and maybe even walk the bike along terrain that would impose additional stresses of his weight if he were to ride over them (cobblestone streets, curbs, etc). There are no warranty claims you can make if you are beyond Dahon's stated weight limit for rider and cargo! With that, my bike feels solid and rides great. The seatpost I have is the Kore I-beam post which is aluminum and has a rather big diameter, I have not measured it but I think it's 33.9mm. I have never felt like it is under threat of being stressed enough to give me concern about it failing but I am not known for breaking bikes despite my weight. I just dont have the practice of abusing my stuff yet I definitely do not treat them with kids gloves, I think I use my gear as intended.

Again I must stress that I am still at early days with mine so I dont have months and months of daily seat time to report on but so far it feels fine...perfectly fine.

If he had the coin and little need for super compact storage c'dale makes that bombproof hooligan!

If weight wasn't an issue, the wheelbase of the Curve is too short. The center of gravity, if your friend is tall, would be too high with a narrow base. Not a good fit.

I dunno about that wheelbase being too short
look here http://www.thorusa.com/dahon/technical/brommy.htm
same as a Brommy and I havent heard any Brommy rider complain about wheelbase so far ....

there are a few U tube vids from an english bloke who seems to enjoy his Curve very much
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNgIy3XHTQw&playnext=1&list=PL79AA5908442230BB

just saying .....
thor

I had a Curve, actually purchased from Thor (which, by the way, I strongly recommend to anyone looking for a Dahon dealer). The wheelbases from these two bikes seem close to each other on this picture, but the Dahon's is significantly shorter than the Brompton. These two pictures might ilustrate what I am talking about (same rider on both pictures)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/152/413118414_21a4d38b7c.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2191/1796226468_daaa9a2a9b.jpg

In practice, every time I jump down a curb or make a more aggressive movement, I need to be careful on the Dahon so I don't "Endo".

For me (5'9" @173lbs and aggressive/technical rider), Curve = no good.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_urSQl6wUA5g/StbjDP-aFPI/AAAAAAAAHXM/m-IyXqjxtjA/s400/endo+fail.bmp

http://www.supersizedcycles.com/

I'm 6' and around 230 right now, I use a Dahon Expresso on a regular basis when I travel. I have no problems or complaints. I don't see any issues with the weight that he wouldn't have with another bike.

Marc

I had a Curve, actually purchased from Thor (which, by the way, I strongly recommend to anyone looking for a Dahon dealer). The wheelbases from these two bikes seem close to each other on this picture, but the Dahon's is significantly shorter than the Brompton. These two pictures might ilustrate what I am talking about (same rider on both pictures)

I think there may have been a change to the Curve design where the wheelbase was extended. Perhaps Thor can confirm.

I think there may have been a change to the Curve design where the wheelbase was extended. Perhaps Thor can confirm.

Thats how I understood this as well
I think it happened like 2 years ago ....but not too sure when .... it wsa a small change ... but than a few mm will make a difference
:-)

Thor

Thats how I understood this as well
I think it happened like 2 years ago ....but not too sure when .... it wsa a small change ... but than a few mm will make a difference
:-)

Thor

I`m sure the Curve SL`s wheelbase has been extended. It`s now slightly longer - about 10mm I think from BB to rear axle. My 2009 SL fits me much better than my 2007 SL used to. I`m 6'0. Don`t know about the 3 speed Curve.