Compass Marine - Dahon bike?
 

Hello to everyone - my first post here!

I'm trying to buy my first folding bike - I'm in the UK living in Bristol and trying to get to Bath University everyday, so want to be able to go on a train but still get up a reasonably monstrous hill on the other side

I'm on a pretty extreme budget, but I noticed on AtoB that Dahon's might be found cheaper marketed at Compass Marine. I went and found them, and found a selection here:

http://www.compass24.com/watersports...ycles_Bicycles

There's one for under £80 there - what do people think? Are these simply rebadged Dahons? Are the bikes any good at all? I just don't know!

Thanks

they do not seem to be Dahons .....
Latches are super critical on folding bikes.. obviously ... these like many others have latches which are trying to circumventing the Dahon patents, and look like the latches of folding bikes from 10 years ago....
Dahon has a couple of full time engineers which are doing latches only ( making them stiffer, more positive, safer , etc )


thor

I'm in the market for a cheap basic folder, and could live with a single speed - provided I can easily change the sprocket or chainwheel, as I would go for a fairly low gear. I don't mind spinning a bit and freewheeling downhills. I would think it could be more of a problem for fritzpoll, with a hiily route.

On a cheap bike, I like the idea of a simple bike. Less to go wrong, and what little money that has been spent has paid for better basic stuff (wheels, bearings etc) than on a cheap deraileur system that may be difficult to adjust. Also, I would assume that a coaster brake could be more reliable and consistent than a cheap caliper brake.

I would also like to hear if anyone has experience of this compass bike.

The A to B site also has a link to this:

http://www.daudbikes.com/folding%20bike.html

Does anyone know what the rear brake is, from the photos on the site. The spec says one thing, but the photo seems to show a hub brake, with what looks like a grease nipple.

and

I've recently seen some New Era 16" 6-speed folders on Ebay. I followed the price on some. They have them at a buy it now price of £50 plus £20 p&p. They also had some on auction a few days ago which went for various prices, mostly around the mid twenties. The cheapest went for £18:01. As I live fairly near to the supplier, I could pick one up and save the postage. I find it difficult how they can go for this price, and presumably the importer/supplier will be making a profit. There must be very little value going into the materials and manufacture. I just cannot imagine them being any good at that price, but I don't know as I've never seen one in real life, let alone ridden one or tried to maintain one.

(Re Brakemeister's post)

That's interesting. I wouldn't know how to assess the safety of a hinge unit - other than fastening it and then trying to force it open, which I don't suppose is very accurate or scientific.

Does anyone know how to check and to decide what is a good design?

Is there anything actually wrong with an old design of fastener? Is there a safety issue, or is it the life of the unit, or is it a weight issue?

its a little bit like to compare a bmw with a yugo ... the yugo has all the parts needed to drive, turn, slow down, going up and downhill..... but every part which is used to make the yugo is not of equal quality of any bmw part .... The yugo will get you there ( at least for a short time) but it aint fun ...

disregard the comparison with cars( if you drive a yuigo or you dislike bmw.s) .. its just to give an example....

Thor

I've decided to bump this thread, to find out if anyone has any personal experience of these single speed folding bikes from Compass. I've searched the internet, but all I've found is the page from the Compass website, as in the original post. I've tried emailing Compass to ask for more technical details, and/or a specification sheet, but have had no response. I understand that its a basic bike, but as that is all I need, it might be OK if it is basically sound.

I'm on the lookout for 2 folding bikes. One needs to be a good quality one for my wife to use as her only bike. The other would be a spare/additional bike for me. We would want folding bikes to be able to transport them by car, but most of the time we would use my wife's from home, also. From home, I could use my normal bike. As all our riding, when on holiday, will be along easy-going paths and trails, I could be happy with a single speed machine.