I am considering purchasing one of the Dahon 26" folding bikes (the Jack model). I want to be able to use this bike for touring, so I need to find out whether I can attach front & rear racks and a pannier bag system (bags mounted to both the front and back). Can a rear rack be attached to the bike? If so, will the bike still fold properly? (Same questions for the front rack.) Will most standard pannier bag systems work with this bike?

I notice that in the accessories category on the Dahon website, there are rear racks available for the 16" and 20" bikes, but they do not have a rear rack that fits the 26" bikes. I am wondering if this is because a rear rack cannot be mounted on the 26" bikes, or is there some other reason?

Thanks for any help with this.

I have a 2004 (white) Matrix. Disk brakes make it hard to put to much stuff on it. I put fenders, but the rear rack had to be one of those seatpost racks because there are not enough dropouts for fenders and normal racks. The solution is not ideal, but it works for my winter commuter bike. I shoulda/woulda/coulda gotten a quick release seatpost rack, because with the fixed rack, I cannot lower the seat, which reduces the compactness of the bike when folded--an important consideration for me as I take my bike on the Metro during the dark winter evenings.

Are you going to do heavy loaded touring on this bike? Is there a reason you want a folding bike rather than a non-folding touring bike? Just be aware of the weight restrictions-- I think 250 lbs, including the rider.

I have no idea how they would affect the fold, but the Carradice Limpet front panniers will fit on any fork with quick-release wheel and are very quick to fit & remove.

I've got a 2005 Jack (since about April) and I had the exact same questions. Turns out the Jack does have all the standard attaching points. I installed a Blackburn rack on the back along with some Planet Bike fenders and they went on without a hitch AND without affecting the fold.

Now, I DON'T have a front rack but I suspect it will also go on without a problem. Will it affect the fold? I doubt it...it MIGHT add an inch or so to the folded width. But I doubt it.

The Jack's served me VERY well as my commuter here in the midwest as well as my summer in New York City (where I'll be heading again in July).

John

Thanks for the replies on this. I emailed Dahon with these questions and received this reply:


So based on this and the reply from johnmci, it sounds like it will be no problem to at least put a rear rack and pannier bags on this bike. As for the front, I guess I will just have to take it up to a bike shop and see. I am not familiar with bike terminology (this will be the first one I've had since I was a kid) so I don't know what it means when he says, "this bike does not have brace ons on the front fork," or what that may signify as far as the ability to attach pannier bags on the front.

I looked at the link for the Carradice Limpets front pannier bags mentioned above, and it says they "will fit the front forks of almost any bike with or without suspension forks". So if I am reading this correctly then it looks like these bags fit directly on the front forks without the need for any kind of rack on the front? If so, then that sounds like it would be a good solution. Just take the bags off and it should fold up fine, right?

Finally, here is some info I got from a representative of Old Man Mountain, which is a company that the Dahon representative said I might want to check with for info on mounting racks to this bike:


Any comments on this?

Thanks again to the people who already replied, and if anyone else wants to weigh in with advice, I would appreciate it. However, I'm pretty sure at this point that I will go ahead and order the bike.