duke_of_hazard

It's just one data point, but I am upto 6700 miles on my $340 2007 Dahon D7. All I have had go wrong, is one worn out pedal and one spoke broke. I seriously doubt any sub $300 bike would last more than a few thousand miles before major components fail.

konut

Too bad Downtube doesn't offer a single speed.

2_i 

Geared entry-level Dahon HT060, manufactured for the Chinese market, sells for 900 yuan, i.e. $130, in China. At first sight, the bike is of surprisingly good quality for the money. I do not know about long-term use. The bike is offered on Ebay in various markets, possibly brought over by private importers. As a reference, trash-brand folders may be offered in Chinese Walmarts or Carrefours for half this much.

edwong3

Well I can't speak for the OP but instead I am going to pretend that I was the one who started this thread. The question as I see was to name a number of decent folding bikes that sell for up to $300. There are several in that category and the intention is not to compare them with bikes selling for much more. That's the problem I have with some of the responses that have effectively hi jacked this thread away from the OP's intended purpose.

Some people (I'm not mentioning names) have this knee jerk reaction to jump on and take advantage of any occasion to trash any mention of a budget priced product just because they have this psychological need to justify the big bucks they dropped on the higher end products. Deep inside their minds they question themselves, "Did I do the right thing in spending one third, or one half, etc., of my month's salary on this bike?". And so they must look for opportunities to solidify their decision by berating not only lower end products, but sometimes it get's to personal attacks against anyone who "dares" to promote the idea that these products have any actual use or worth to own at all. Someone even insinuated that low cost bikes are "dangerous". Next someone else will say that if you don't own and ride bicycles that sell for over $400, you'll get cancer!

Most people are not going to use a folding bike to the extent that a rabid long distance commuter or tourer would, and therefore some of the responses in this thread are of no use to the OP or the other readers, however well intended they might be. A $200 bike can serve a casual rider quite well, and provide a nice low cost entry into our life style, rather than shutting them out with a required higher investment. To me that's a win win situation.

Just some "food for thought" next time another thread like this surfaces in the future.

Edward Wong III
Qile Duo 5 Speed 20" Folder

jobtraklite

I always thought that was true. But recently I purchased a Dahon Mu P8 for almost the same price as I purchased (on sale) a Trek 1000C, a bottom of the line road bike, FIVE YEARS AGO.

brakemeister

Interesting discussion with some people are trying to hard imposing their opinion on others, while critizing just that point about the other posts .... happens its the Interweb doesnt it ....

If somebody feels happy riding some junk around,, than for heavens sake ..go for it..... usually the junk will just fill the garage and after so many tries saving a buck the person never rides a real nice bike and therefore is lost ..... or how you explain to your wife that you now want to spend a thousand dollar for a bike when you have 3 unused $ 200 derelicts hanging in the garage used once....


Bikes in general have come down in prices ...or better ... their quality has improved while the dlr amount has stayed teh same ..especially if you take infaltion into that picture.. and thats true all the way back to the 1930 throughout the 50 and 70 up to today....
If you compare a MTB of today with one just 5 years old.... every last little component is way better than the one on the older bike .... If you do it with a 20 year old bike there is no comparison whatsoever ...even if you take the top of theline bike compared to a walmart bike of today ....

thor

PIZZ

I don't think because something cost less then a name brand necessarily means it's an inferior product.

I have a Motobecan road bike that I bought from ebay. It cost me half what my friend paid for his pricey FELT. I've ridden that Motobecan for three straight seasons now and only replaced the tires and chain. It's seen more miles then my friend's FELT at this point. At half the cost of the FELT, I'm very impressed at the build so far.

So as for folders, I am expecting to find decent quality at a budget price. If it's possible in the road bike market, im sure it's possible in the folding market.

alhedges

Not necessarily, but usually. However, the point is not whether one bike is inferior to another, the point is whether the inferior bike is *good enough* for your purposes.

I think this says more about your and your friend than about Motobecane and Felt. A comparison of you Moto and his Felt would probably show that, by all reasonable measures, the moto is the inferior bike. But that doesn't mean it's a bad bike; almost all bikes are inferior to some other bike. You want to make sure that you get a "good" bike, but you don't have to have the "best" bike. But you don't want to go so far down the quality chain that you end up with a bad bike. A $69 department store road bike will also be inferior to a Felt, but your experience with it would likely be very different than your experience with the Moto.

Did you pay less than $300 for your Moto? New?

In fact, as other posters have noted, you can get a Dahon Boardwalk for just under $300, and that will be a fine bike. Some other bikes may be okay, but a lot of the under $300 range will just be junk. (Which might also be good enough for occasional rides for a season or two, of course.)

edwong3

I agree with most of your comments. However, the issue is most people here don't have a real clue just how far down the price points you must go before hitting what can be considered "junk". They're thinking of a high number pricewise but they are wrong. It is easy to see that a $69 big box store bike will probably be a disappointment. That's a "no brainer" of course. But as Thor even admitted himself, bike quality has improved over previous years, but I guess it hasn't improved enough according to him for the $200 bike, or anything that sells for under the price of a Boardwalk S1 for that matter.

This is where we differ philosophically because now a days, there are a considerable number of good bikes in the $200 to $300 corridor. And yes, the Boardwalk is one of them, but NOT the only one! Schwinn, Citizenbike, and SRS among others have introduced more than just a "modicum of quality" into these price ranges. I will go as far as saying there are some honorable mentions in the sub $200 category such as the bike I ride which is built to survive a nuclear holocaust, albeit at the cost of performance. It's slow, but hey, it will be rideable even when I reach retirement age.

For most people these budget bikes will work well, and when a percentage of them get "folderitis", and it will happen, then that's when they'll be ordering that D7, or the P8, or even a Mu SL.

Edward Wong III
Qile Duo 5 Speed 20" Folder

tedi k wardhana

here in indonesia, we have no problem getting folders, good folders for under 300 dollars.
some low end dahons, and DLT's are plenty.
are they good?
yes, you bet!

ChiapasFixed

jajaja, that TEK bike says "for ages 7 and up"

FantasyFreddy

I just got it in the mail and rode it for about 15 minutes only so far. It is a beautiful bike, and I could ride it fine out of the box without even tire inflation! It does weigh about 28 lbs, so heavy for some, but I really like it so far. Bike goes pretty fast, but you have to peddle fast! I wish it had a harder gear, but not that big a deal. I am short, so lowered the handlebars all the way, and can get up on them and stand off the seat and really haul, but not for long stretches yet! The seat is hard. The gel cushion is coming in the mail (they were on backorder). Btw: the bike has a 30 day return for unhappiness option, and one yr warranty for frame, 60 or 90 days for parts I think. It has thick aluminum allow tubing, and the welds look beautiful. And for most purposes, it folds in 2 seconds! Just fold in the middle! (Can fold more if you like).. Bike is bigger than I thought it would be, but I am 5'4 and weigh like 190, so I like it! Solid, hard bike! And very shiny and w/ reflective subway stickers too! I bet their other bikes are well made bargains too! They shipped fedex, and the bike was just perfect. Will report back more later, but very happy right now, and hopefully for long time!! Hope this helps!!

FantasyFreddy

btw: I rode a $250 Diamondback small "women's" front-shock mountainbike that was very solid, amazing bike, for the last two years! Up and down a difficult hill, over and over. That bike shines and still rides like new. So there can be a lot of quality under the $300 price point, believe me!

tedi k wardhana

the bike I ride, most of the time, "was" a child's bike.
now it is for age 44 and up.....

it "was" a $40 junk bike,
now it is "my jewel"

https://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...0&d=1242577903

ChiapasFixed

but plz tell us what bike you got!? the TEK, the Dahon, the Downtube, the Citizen?

Tovar

I saw a NEXT 6 speeds, 20", with fenders, nicely painted, $200 can (made in chine).

So for the price that's depends where you are going to buy also.

Last year I did the same research and bought a Downtube FS 8spd, was the best product for the money I wanted to spend, cost me about $400 can shipping included, support was great, the bike was OK but for the dropdown, this one was bend on transport, I flattened, and I received a new one from downtube.


Regards

vmaniqui

i am guessing here that he got the citizen bike.....

FantasyFreddy

Yes, I have the Citizen MetroBike, which is same as Gotham, but w/ rack and fenders installed (easy to do), and reflective subway stickers on it. Miami ($200) is same but in steel (many colors!), w/ slightly diff components and hinge. Tokyo is very small, for a small fold, but heavy as Gotham. I bet all are great after getting the Gotham. Depends how much you will have to carry it, and how strong you are. Can wheel it folded, but a bit awkward. For most purposes, folds in two seconds. Bike is bigger fold than you might expect. I only bought it for rain and snow: I like to inline-skate (Bont) when it's sunny! Will prob put on 1000 or less miles a year. I love it so far!! Good luck choosing! Oh, btw, can find Dahon Eco 3 for $300 also at some site w/ 15% discount.. gotta find that for you all. Just doesn't come w/ fenders and rack is all! Happy riding! - F

FantasyFreddy

One more thing: the seat on the Citizen is hard and does not have springs. I'm getting gel cover but that might not do it. Might have to buy softer seat w/ spring. So, that could add to cost however much you want, unless you already have a nice one.

TiberiusBTkirk

congrats on your new bike, fantasyfreddie,
it looks really neat.
I need to stop by the MTA store to see if they sell those Subway line reflective stickers,
those are really cool. gonna be as popular as the NYC condoms.
I don't think 28lbs is heavy but that's coming from a guy who back then thinks 27lbs for a bike
is considered light.

edwong3

Congrats on your new bike! I knew it was a Citizenbike MTA MetroBike before I scrolled to the end of the thread just from your description. Funny I posted the link to the Metro's webpage on another thread just yesterday.

Well enjoy the Metro bike and keep us informed.

Edward Wong III
Qile Duo 5 Speed 20" Folder

FantasyFreddy

THE Dahon I saw for $300 was at performancebike, but now 15% off is over and it's 345. comes w/ fenders, but no rack. I'm psyched w/ my Citizen though. It just started raining, so I'm going for a ride!!

Joako

Got an email today and they are having a 20% off on everything starting tomorrow. Just like somebody mentioned.

mlau

To the OP, you might want to up your budge to $350.

I've found that (like guitars) folding bikes usually have a higher list price than what they actually sell for. There are sales, older models, floor models, etc. There's also Craigslist, where you can bargain or find good deals.

I just had nice ride with a lady a week ago. She was riding a Dahon P8 and enjoying it immensely. She bought it from Craigslist for half of the list price.

In my case, I paid $550 for my complete Swift. It was the last "old" model from Gaerland (It was 18 months old; -$50) and a floor model (-$50). They fully tuned it, and I used the savings towards some Big Apples.

To me, the best folder under $300 is a misnomer, because you can get more than you bargained for. You should include mid-line Dahons and especially Downtubes (if you can find them used).

edwong3

[QUOTE=Joako;9395433]Got an email today and they are having a 20% off on everything starting tomorrow. Just like somebody mentioned.[/QUOTE

Performance Bike lists the Dahon Eco 3 mentioned earlier on this thread for $349.99, so with that 20% off, it would then sell for roughly $280. It would compare favorably with the Citizen Gotham and the MTA Metrobike. IMHO, the ECO 3 should be a sub $300 bike.

Just my 2 cents.

Edward Wong III
Qile Duo 5 Speed 20" Folder