kamtsa

Thor, if you did I am yet to see it. ;-)

As the bottom of https://www.dahon.com states there are two independent companies, Dahon China (Dr Hon) and Dahon Taiwan (Josh) but I have not seen yet a clarification which of the two is behind the Dahon branded bikes in the above list.

If you don't want or can't disclose it just say so.

Folding-Bikes

Jur all the bikes you own, and the ones that are mentioned here have something in common, none of them are generic folders (fold in half hinge and lock)


TL/DR: High end folding bikes=Lotus, Ferrari, Mercedes.. Tern= Highly tunned Ford Focus.* apples and pears.


Juan


*Personal opinion, please dont bite

kamtsa

Here is Wikipedia's interpretation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shill

brakemeister

Dahon bikes are produced and sold through Dahon China

Azreal911

To me I just find it unfortunate that many already pass judgement on a bike and company that isnt even in production yet just because it is an asian country. As cheaps as you guys say their labour is, the wages are already starting to rise very quickly there because of high inflation in china and this is snowballing throughout many industries. Taiwan itself has much higher quality control (higher wages too) than china for now and for china to get out of that low end stereotype they would have to really get their ducks in a row. Dont use apple products as an example cause they have their own guys from california there watching every shipment that goes out like a hawk.

I know how much you love your brompton in your postings but it is not for everyone and theres a different folder for everyone in this market. That is the beauty of it.

As much as you like calling some of us shills all the posters where here before tern even started and some like me werent really even fans of dahon. Im giving the new guy a shot because i liked their attitude towards bike ridabilty and product sustainability, and not going to pass judgement when not even one owner review exists yet on this forum.

Also disclaimer, I have no ties to the bike industry, but a techie in the working stiffs world.

Folding-Bikes

+1 with Azreal911.

@CGS The Brazing+Assembly its done here in London, everything else comes from Taiwan.


Juan

pacificcyclist

This is all becoming more entertainment by the day! LOL.

Shill -- oooOOOOhhhHHHH! Let me ask these people the reversed question. Why are these people passing judgement? Afraid that Dahon and Tern might just pull it off? Are they worried that their bikes might become popular enough that their own bikes don't get the attention they sorely needed from the public. The recognition, the kudos, the prestige wane as these 2 companies start racking up their own fan base with these new bikes. I am not sure what you guys do with your bikes, but I just ride them. I don't immortalize the brand name on a mantel piece and pay homage to its highness and greatness. It's just a bike.

brakemeister

this is indeed better than TV soap ..lol
cant hardly wait until my crates come home and I can unpack my brandnew Jifo ...
yes its green .... ykes

thor

mulleady

Brompton Brompton Bromptonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!

Regards

Andrew Shilling Mulleady

mulleady

Yes but you seem to think you're an expert economist lol!

pacificcyclist

Do you think I should cancel Netflix because of this? NOT! My family would kill me.
I envy you Thor! Green, yikes! I like the copper color you snapped the photo of at Interbike. Looking forward to your thoughts and review on this baby!

Cheers!

pacificcyclist

Awesome -- fan cheering at the backgroud ofcourse! LOL!

mulleady

A pretty fair retort. +1

PS Bromptons Rule ok ~~~

kamtsa

New guy?

Looks more like the same old guy with one more alias and a new PR campaign. ;-)

kamtsa

Thanks for clarifying it Thor.

mulleady

I rode my Pacific Reach IF into London today. I have to say it trumps the Dahon Speed TT.

merry2

this is pretty much why i don't get the huge increase in pricing.

imo, pricing sometimes says a lot about how you want to position your product. it is not always about quality. it's often about audience and perception. most of us know that pricing something too inexpensively makes people suspicious of quality but it also means lots of people can afford it.

pricing things high gives the impression of quality and exclusivity. there are people who often want what's exclusive or what is supposed to highend, anything to set them apart from others - look at all those people carrying paper bloomindales shopping bags or paying for knock off designer watches.

i can't help but think the price increases have a little to do with this, especially considering the crap dahon get for manufacturing in china - as if most things aren't made there.

the cynic in me also believes this is an opportunity to raise prices when they see the demand might be high. i'm just wondering what they think the sweet spot is for price.

i'm also disappointed in the price increases because i think dahon should position itself as the honda/toyota of folding bike makers - they have the market with the most sells, biggest profits, and they manage to come up with innovations before others. they seem pretty happy making good quality cars for the masses.

the spinoff lexus and acura lines are for the "luxury" segment.

i for one am considering picking up an a current bike with the old price.

mulleady

I wouldn't argue what Dahon achieve with improved frames, components, better hinges & improving their ride quality over the years. However, I would strongly contest that they 'innovate before others'. I don't find Dahon very innovative on the folding mechanics at all as their bikes rely on the old style half-fold. The Curl is a copy of the Brompton and Dahon still fail to come up with something as good at this themselves. Other innovations include Strida and more recently the superb Bike Friday Tikit Hyperfold and Pacific IF folders. Did Dahon innovate before them?

PS. Dahon is an effective manufacturer and I have found they keep improving their frames at the high end. The Mu SL is a classic bike and will never date in its styling. I'm sure the new Tern bikes will show a strong commitment to innovation over the next few years given Joshua Hon's drive and vision.

Diode100

But are you not yourself passing judgement - on bikes that you have not ridden or even seen, passing judgement in fact on bikes that you know no more about than any other poster here, after all I don't even think Thor has gotten to ride any of them yet. Dahon already has a "fan base" for their existing bikes, (for example, both Mr Mulleady and myself have Jetstreams), so there is nothing to suggest that what ever new bikes they put on the market will also gather a following, but to repeatedly suggest that whatever Dahon/Tern do in future is going to automatically be "best in class" is just fan base drivel. I'm all for letting the new bikes speak for themselves, if they are great bikes then we will soon all know, we just don't the rabid invective.

mulleady

pacificcyclist

Do you cycle near the Pacific coast or have you ever had the pleasure of riding a Pacific bike? If they can get their marketing and pricing points right, they could really push the competition in the long-term. There are some fantastic bikes in their new range and I have had the recent privilege of riding and folding the Reach IF.

Now I do say 'if' because Dahon have shown a huge commitment to mass manufacturing folding bikes and becoming the global market leader. Total kudos to them for doing this.

merry2

okay. you may be right.

mulleady

Me neither but the Brompton isn't just a bike, it's a work of art, a folding marvel and it look great in raw lacquer...........

Hang on, it's just a bike or is it?

CSG

Trolls, shills, and insults. OK...

jur

1. The fold-in-half style, while old, is not necessarily therefore the worst. With well designed hinges there is no reason why a fold-in-half is inferior to any other type of fold. The oft-repeated statement that frame hinges cause flex is IMHO incorrect; besides the Brompton also has its frame hinge so why should that not come under the same criticism? Dahon greatly refined the fold-in-half from the clumsy mechanisms of the Raleigh 20's ilk. I tested the Tern Link's frame flex and it is as good as any of my other folders including the Brompton. The Vise-grip hinge clamps were a clear innovation. And I suspect the folding stempost was also a first innovation, certainly the patent was granted to Dahon. Andrew Ritchey's early drawings may pre-date Dahon's patent but it appears to be one of those things that was ripe for invention, so two independent parties came up with the same idea at the same time.

2. Dahon has done a great number of innovations, just look at the list of patents. And the Jifo is clearly new and innovative and folds quite as small as the Brompton, does so a lot faster and is lighter to boot. Granted, it's early days and appears to be single speed but there does not seem to be an inherent reason why a hub gear can't be fitted.

I wouldn't argue with the claim that the Curl is a Brompton copy.

alhedges

Cite? Because Brompton's materials don't seem to support this.