Originally Posted by
Jerrys88
......The thing is that really small fold is not so important for him, as he will not be taking it on buses and subways. It just has to be small enough to fit in the trunk along with my Brompton. Of course, quality of ride is important too, as well as the ease of folding. He would also like to keep spending substantially lower than what I paid for the Brompton.....So, we were about the leave the store when the owner suggested we try out the Dahon, which I hadn't noticed. I've read and heard a lot about the Dahons, and had even put the Curve on my short list when I was shopping for my folder, but I never actually tried one out. The model they had was a Speed 7. My partner tried it out first. He was much more pleased with the folding - smaller, more elegant, and stays together, and he liked the ride, although honestly he didn't feel a great difference between it and the Downtubes we had tried. But when I took it for a ride I had a much stronger reaction. This bike felt smooth to ride, and I *enjoyed* riding it. I can't really explain exactly why, but I felt the riding position to be more natural and pleasurable, and less "upright/stiff" than the Downtube. I really enjoyed riding it. It had that fun-factor I get from riding my Brompton.
So, here's the dilemma. Of all the folding bikes I've read and heard about, the Dahon's are the ones that I associate with the most negative comments I've come across in terms of quality. Now I'm left wondering, are there quality issues that turn up after a certain amount of riding? Do all those negative comments I've come across apply to current models of Dahons? To all models? I recently brought my Brompton into an extremely high-end bike store to have a second chainring added (granny gears), and while chatting with one of the workers about shopping for a second folder for my partner he warned me to stay away from Dahons - told me how some Dahon owner had come in for some work on his bike, and how terrible and shabby they thought it was (they sell the Tikit, but he was not trying to sell me one - we were both clear it was not in our price range - he recommended a look at the Swift, which they don't sell).
So, my question - what's the story about Dahons? I don't want to steer my partner to get a shabby bike that won't hold up. I plan to take my partner to try out a Swift, but after that I can't think of any other less expensive folders that he should consider. Perhaps some of you may have some suggestions?
I am a proud owner of both Dahons and a Brompton. My Dahons are the 2003 Boardwalk S1 and the 2006 Piccolo. My Brompton is the simple C or Companion model. All models are discontinued by their makers, but I don't think it will be an issue here. The Boardwalk was my first folder. I had it now almost 5 years. I can truly say that except for the first month I had it, I never really had any major problems with it. I keep it clean and adjusted myself with minimum work or mechanical knowledge. I am about to take it into the shop for a major overhaul tomarrow. But I don't think it is vastly different than any other bike. The critical thing about Dahons that everything can (and does) go wrong with the bike during the first month of ownership.
Providing that you address it immediately by taking it back to the shop and fix it, it will serve you well for the rest of the time you have it. I had an nearly identical experience with the Piccolo a few years later. The bike shop was way better in handling the problem that bike had during the same time frame. And no more problem with that other bike either. My Brompton after it's initial tune-up never gave me any problem. If you look at lesser priced folders, consider Dahons-just make sure they are steel frame ones (Speed models are) and have most of the features you want in a bike. And don't skip tune ups!