39.00-52.9 lbs.? That's not a portable bike. It is a back breaker (I could not even lift it off the ground)! Seriously, instead of just focusing on just the price and how cheap it is, even the Boardwalk S1 weighs in at around 28-30 pounds. And it retails at $200.00.

Reynolds531,

I too live in the Southern California area. There are quite a few Dahon Stocking Dealers where they actually keep some ready-to-ride Dahon models on the shop floor. If you are not too familiar with Dahons in particular and folders in general, that is the best place to start. I wish I had the opportunity to actually see one before I bought one. I would have felt more confident about my purchase even though I just love my Dahon bike and would never part with it. I will list the actual 3 bike shops that carry them and I actually set foot in the store within the last 6 months:

Number 1 on my list

TEMPLE CITY BIKE SHOP
9628 LAS TUNAS DR
TEMPLE CITY CA US 91780

I stopped in this shop last week as of this writing. I was real impressed with this shop as it had a wide variety of Dahon made folders from a single speed Boardwalk S1, a Mariner 7 speed 20 inch bike (similar to the Speed 7 in price and gearing), up to Dahon's higher end models. The staff were knowledgable, polite, and took time to answer all my questions. I will bring my own Boardwalk in for servicing here soon.

Number 2

Alan's Family Bike Shop
1220 S. Coast Hwy
Oceanside, CA 92054

This is another good example of a well run bike shop. It is very large with all sorts of bikes from the beach crusiers, to recumbents, to a Speed D7 on the floor, all ready to ride. And a huge selection of saddles, grips, baskets, and other parts ready to install. I bought a saddle-a Nirve sprung one-for my Brompton here. They took the time to adjust the springs and the saddle postion before I had to catch the train back to L.A. While this is not a actual Dahon Stocking Dealer, I would do business with them for any of my bikes whether it is the Dahon Boardwalk, the Brompton, or the old Phillips I have. They can handle it all.

Number 3

Incycle
2992 E. Colorado Bl. #1
Pasadena, CA 91106

This shop is another well staffed shop. But it is very busy and the staff seem to be a bit overwhemed by the comings and goings of all the customers and their bikes. This shop has mostly the higher end Dahons like the Limited Edition Hon Solo (retail at $900 dollars). The shop is OK (I bought a bike part here once) but I would not buy a bike or even have it serviced here since especially a novice might need a little extra attention and you might be swept out of the shop before you know it. It reminds me of Sports Chalet or buying online in a lot of ways.

Please let me know what you decide to do.