I’ve been looking for a folding bike for my son and a Dahon single speed came up on the local CL. It looks like a Boardwalk, but the guy said he got it from someone who purchased it in China. It says “Dahon” on it, but all the other writing is in Chinese. Is there any reason not to buy a Chinese market model? Would there be any non standard parts on it or lower quality? It does seem like it would be harder to sell if he ever decided to. He’s asking $175 for it which seems reasonable for an American market version but I’m not so sure about a Chinese market version. New ones on Amazon go for a little under $300. Would you buy it? Thanks in advance.

I looked up the bike and it is a Dahon that I have not seen here but it is cool looking but I wouldnt give more than $125. Most of the parts should be obtainable here. It is a lower end Dahon.

This one is a very good deal
https://greensboro.craigslist.org/bik/3468430717.html

There are several Dahon single speeds in China. Here is one of them :

https://gouwu.qunba.com/b-dahon/prod1611291/

If you are buying for riding rather than collecting, then it is probably better to buy one here for the US market, although parts are pretty standard. The Boardwalk on Amazon fluctuates in price. (It was $269 last week). I almost bought one but I want a different frame material.

In general, if the exact same bike as the Boardwalk (marketed as a model for the foreign market) is sold in China, it is actually more expensive there. Many of the cheaper Dahon models are only available there so the quality/quality control is all over the place.

I was thinking the same thing.

We saw that, but he wants 20" wheels.

Is it a real Dahon? Seriously, fake Dahons have been a problem in China and elsewhere. Does the seller have the original sales paperwork and owners manual?

"Because patent infringement and counterfeits have become so common in many parts of the world [read: china], it has become vital for Dahon to take action. Beginning with the 2012 product line, every Dahon branded bicycle shall bear a serialized 3D holographic label as proof to dealers and consumers that the Dahon bicycles they purchase are genuine."

hologram stickers will surely solve the problem!

If it can be of of help, I bought in China a couple of 6-speed Boardwalk-style Dahons, the first one for about $110 and the second for $170. The price slipped because of the fall in the value of the dollar against yuan and because of a slight inflation in the Chinese market, eating up in the end the deterioration in the real value of $. With the above, $175 asked for a used single-speed seems quite stiff.

My overall impression of these bikes is that they rely on genuine Dahon components for folding. However, the frames are made by some licensed manufacturers and the remaining components are of a lower quality than on Dahons made for the US market. (I have not owned, though rode, a Dahon made for the US, so cannot express firm opinions.) Within the Chinese market there are still plenty of bikes of a lower quality, though the market is perpetually moving up. For me, these bikes were OK because I needed folders for an occasional use at a location that we occasionally frequent. An excessive investment just did not make sense. They ride OK, but the bikes of better quality are more fun to ride. For a kid who may or may not catch the bug of riding, it may be OK but I would negotiate a substantially lower price.

We picked the bike up last night. The seller accepted my offer of $125. I'm not so sure it's a Chinese market bike after all. It does have some small labels on it with Chinese writing, but it also has a label with an American flag on it - something to the affect of "Engineered in the USA". I'm not sure they would put that on the Chinese market version.

It rides and stops very well and he's happy with it.

Thanks all.

Congrats and now post some photos of it.

Will do, but it might be a while - my son has the bike with him at college. I didn't have my camera with me when we picked it up.

Based on that single sentence above, ultimately, nothing else matters. It's good to hear your son is happy with his new ride.

The purchase is already done, so just enjoy it with him. Save all the worrying about details when he asks you to buy him a used car in the future.

That labeling completely agrees with my Dahons bought in China. You need to understand that the Chinese look with a disdain at Chinese products. This is because of their experience with the lack of quality controls. In consequence, even completely Chinese manufacturers go at length to create an impression that their products are actually foreign, particularly when their products are somewhat more expensive than typical for the market, e.g. because of higher quality.

In any case, congratulations on completing the transaction. In my case, the first Chinese-market Dahon served us well enough to go ahead with the purchase of the second.

The car he already has. This is the first time he's been interested in a bicycle since he was maybe 10 years old. He's now a Sophomore in college. I bought a couple 90s mountain bikes for him and fixed them up but he didn't like them. Then I bought an old Raleigh Twenty for myself and he liked (and wanted) that (but I wouldn't let him have it). That's when we decided to get him his own folder.

Are you on the Raleigh Twenty forum?
https://raleightwenty.webs.com/

Yup, same user name. Here's my Twenty.

I like the white, did you upgrade the wheels? I have 2 Twenties, 2 RSW's, Dawes Kingpin and an old Univega folder.

Wow, you have quite a collection! Sounds very cool.

I haven't upgraded the wheels yet. I have a spare rear SA hub set aside. I need a front hub and then I'll get some rims and have wheels built for it. I want to leave the original wheels alone so I can put them back on if needed.