Hi Guys,
I'm just considering dahon S1 and dahon speed D7 and have hard time deciding which one to choose. S1 is tempting because of the much lower price like 200$ lower and rear hub break which I like, but D7 on the other hand is appealing because of 7 speeds gear. I'm not sure though if any speeds gear on such small wheel bike make a difference anyway.

Can somebody advice who tried both? is the really big difference on those two in performance and ability to climb small hills? Is it worthy to pay that much more to have option of changing gears?
I'll be using it for commute and trips up to 6 maybe 8 miles.
thanks

Where do you live? Hills or flat? What is your budget? Welcome to the fold.

I have been considering the Speed Uno https://www.thorusa.com/dahon/current/speeduno.htm better frame and parts than a S1 and if I needed the gears I can add a IGH hub with 2,3,7,8,9,11 or 14 gears.

as for now in Fort Lauderdale, so rather flat. Budget is tight, but I don't want to buy something and then regret it month later.Anyway not more then 500$.

yeah, but also 100$ more expensive...

the one speed should be fine. Have you checked Craigslist?

I just received my Citizen Gotham 1 in the mail this past Friday and it' been a great 20" wheel bike with the single speed. The terrain around here is mostly flat, but I have went over few small bridges and rolling hills without any problems at all.
Bike has been a joy to ride and it has been everywhere I take my other bikes so far. I have already finished 47.23 miles on mine in the last 3 days and it's been a great purchase in my opinion.

They did just raise the price though to $289 was lucky to get mine at $269...still a fine price for a fine bike in my opinion though.

I think you and anyone else would do fine with it....not a fast bike, but you can get going pretty good with ease and not tire quickly even after a few miles of pushing it.

https://www.citizenbike.com/catalog.a...&product_id=31

These are a good deal https://miami.craigslist.org/brw/bik/2461459095.html

If you want to modernize and fix up a vintage this is the way to go https://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/bik/2437229432.html

what kinda comapny is downtube, any good?

BTW, do dahon bikes comes with any carrying bag or the bag is extra?

Yes, many a Downtubes were purchased on this forum. Do a search downtube and and check out the threads

https://www.downtube.com/ This is the company website.

The bags are extra.

If you dont need it to fold, these are very cool and new to the US. https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-now-available.

Unfortunately I do need a fold.

So far nobody tried to answer my question - do more speeds make a difference in such small wheels bikes?

I would say, it makes a difference like any other bike. Each gear is translated to a ratio called Gear Inch https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/ an for the same gear inch you get about the same affect regardless of the wheel size. Having multiple GI's (one per 'speed') makes it easier to adjust do varying conditions (speed, slope, etc).

Personally I prefer to have at least few gears. In general, the stronger rider you are, the less you need gears.

Hope that this answers your question.

Edit: you may want to take a look at this local company. They have decent high value bikes.

https://www.citizenbike.com/catalog.a..._category_id=1

thanks for tip, this one looks great!

https://www.citizenbike.com/catalog.a...&product_id=24



I have citizen watch, is this same company?

and is alloy frame strong enough???

Kc2ine I have the Gotham 1 that is the single speed version and it feels strong enough. I have been riding it everywhere I take my other bikes without any problems.

I am 5'7 155 lbs though...I think max weight is 220lbs.

I highly recommend the Gotham even if you get the 7-speed it's really nice in my opinion.

No, of course not.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Holdings

Yes; they make exactly the same difference as gears on a bigger-wheeled bike do.