Upgrading gears on a Dahon 7spd?
 

I have a Dahon 16" 7 speed bike that I love to ride. My only complaint with it is that 1st gear is worthless for me. Is it possible/easy to have 1st gear removed and then have another smaller gear installed next to what is now the 7th gear? so that I will always be starting in what is now 2nd gear? Or am I better off trying to upgrade the chain ring up front?

Change the chain ring up front. Figure out what gear inches your cassette currently is and shift it by changing the chain right at the front. You may need to add\subtract links in your chain for a good fit.

Use Sheldon's calculator for assistance: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/

As PuppyP mentions, changing the chain ring is the easiest way to get higher gearing - assuming you can do so on your model Dahon.

On our original Boardwalk D7's it was not going to be simple, from what I remember. One of the reasons we switched to Fridays (besides my wanting a larger frame for my 6'3" height). I have since raised the gear range on our custom Fridays and lowered it on the Pocket 8's through a simple chain ring swap. (42T to 46T on the custom bikes and 53T to 48T on the stock bikes.) I did the wife's Pocket 8 during our recent cross-country trip after finding a 48T chain ring at Williamson Bikes when we were in Madison, WI.

Playing with the cassette on your bike would likely be a pain, especially if it's "non-standard".

Lou