Brakemeister, I enjoy riding the bike and really appreciate the looks. OTOH it's frustrating to have these problems. I'm not trying to look for an excuse to dump it, though after all these experiences I would get rid of it if I could afford to get a BF.
These reliability issues and some really weird design features make one question if Dahon
lost touch with "the real crowd"; if they actually test their bikes in real-world use.
The weird design features are: the air pump seatpost has a plastic screw-on cap that shakes loose fairly quickly and then the pump's piston falls out and starts dragging on the ground. I contacted Dahon and was told that there was a new design of it that fixed it. Well, Dahon didn't offer this new thing to me, neither did they supply this new fixed thing to their authorized dealers to replace the deffective design...what gives?
The kick stand being too short to hold the bike when the bike carries some load; this is a major inconveniece to someone who uses a bike as much as I do; the bike shop fixed it by replacing it with a different kick stand - a bike shop can fix quickly what a big bike company cannot? ....what gives? While the fold is convenient for allowing a trunk bag to stay attached to the rack while the bike is folded, it leaves the chain exposed on the side of the bike where the bike is easier to grab when I carry it. BF and Brompton hide the drive train in the middle of the fold. Also the constant telescoping of the aluminum seatpost and the handlepost during the folding/unfolding creates black greasy stuff that always comes back after wiping it off and that permanently marks clothes and is difficult to get off the skin. Why don't the folks at Dahon come up with a way to avoid that? They are a big bike company...they must have the resources, if they have the will. These are things that a novice bike buyer like I was a year ago doesn't realize when purchasing the bike. These are issues that one comes to understand with experience.