it's almost impossible to find a decent 16" wheeled bike in the USA for less than a 1000usd unless you can find a brompton or bike friday tikit used. new, if you can find one, the dahon curve costs 6-799usd which is absurd. there are a couple of dahon curve bikes on c-list but, none near you.

Dahon foldable bicycle
Dahon Curve D3 Fire Red Folding Bike Bicycle

other options in the 16-14" range either plummet in quality or are of dubious origin. for example, there are numerous counterfeit and stolen IP bikes being sold by online sellers. this can seem like an attractive option as the fakes may look identical to the dahon bikes. however, the similarity in appearance can be quite deceptive.

one important distinction to consider is the materials and manufacturing processes involved. dahon designs and engineers it's bikes. the characteristic shape of dahon's bikes is made possible by the engineering of the constituent parts that comprise the frame.

to this end, dahon uses their own branded type of ovalized aluminum tubing they call sonus™ tubing. this tubing is triple-butted, which is to say it is much thicker at the ends where the welded connections occur. this contributes significant durability and rigidity to the design.

it would be straining credulity to assume that a counterfeiter would bother with this level of detail or care. and even if they claim to have done so, how can we believe anything they say when they have started their business by producing fakes and stealing intellectual property?

example:

DAHON Dove Uno - DAHON


"crius" brand fake:




my advice would be to search for a high quality used bike. takes a little effort and patience, but it's well worth it.