Dahon borderwalk folding bike

Duke of Hazard said:

I like the minamilist approach ( coaster brakes , single gear ) and
price < $200, and weight 29 lbs. Some questions:

1) Is it small enough to take as carry-on luggage in airplane, or must
I put it in a suitcase and check it in?

Checked. And you're probably going to pay the airline surcharge too,
unless you can find a conforming suitcase big enough for it. Even the
Brompton is an impossible fit in all but a very few extremely large and
proper dimension suitcases.

Quoted message said:

2) Any other folding bikes I should consider in this price range <
$250 ?

No, not any more. I bought my Brompton's for $235-245 but the Taiwanese
Bromptons are no longer being manufactured.

SMS said:

Duke of Hazard said:

I like the minamilist approach ( coaster brakes , single gear ) and
price < $200, and weight 29 lbs. Some questions:

Quoted message said:

1) Is it small enough to take as carry-on luggage in airplane, or must
I put it in a suitcase and check it in?

Checked. And you're probably going to pay the airline surcharge too,
unless you can find a conforming suitcase big enough for it. Even the
Brompton is an impossible fit in all but a very few extremely large and
proper dimension suitcases.

That's a bummer, how about the Dahon D7 ? It is $320 instead of $180
for the boardwalk. Since I have hills in my commute, I think I will
need the 7 gears, no? I am also reading about Downtube, but I like the
Dahon website better , it seems like a better product?

I found a suitcase just large enough but took a long search found it
in a thrift shop, trouble is you need a real tight fit to meet the 62"
girth requirement. Any bikes that fold really small out there? my case
is soft so i lined it with heavy cardboard or bike would rip it,
weighs 48lbs loaded just makes the 50lb max, also don't say it's a
bike or extra charge say sports equipment

Quoted message said:

2) Any other folding bikes I should consider in this price range <
$250 ?

The Dahon Curve has my attention tho its a bit more
than your price range

"cmcanulty"

Quoted message said:

I found a suitcase just large enough but took a long search found it
in a thrift shop, trouble is you need a real tight fit to meet the 62"
girth requirement. Any bikes that fold really small out there? my case
is soft so i lined it with heavy cardboard or bike would rip it,
weighs 48lbs loaded just makes the 50lb max, also don't say it's a
bike or extra charge say sports equipment

My Bike Friday folds into its own suitcase. I took it to Ireland without a
surcharge.

Pat in TX

Quoted message said:

Pat said:

"cmcanulty"

Quoted message said:

I found a suitcase just large enough but took a long search found it
in a thrift shop, trouble is you need a real tight fit to meet the 62"
girth requirement. Any bikes that fold really small out there? my case
is soft so i lined it with heavy cardboard or bike would rip it,
weighs 48lbs loaded just makes the 50lb max, also don't say it's a
bike or extra charge say sports equipment

My Bike Friday folds into its own suitcase. I took it to Ireland without a
surcharge.

Pat in TX

- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yes, but I think BF is more than Duke wants to pay - J.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

My Bike Friday folds into its own suitcase. I took it to Ireland without
a
surcharge.

Pat in TX

Yes, but I think BF is more than Duke wants to pay - J.

It's more than I wanted to pay, too! But, it is extremely well-built and
will last a lifetime. OTOH, they make a new model called the Tikit which is
not custom made and thus is cheaper.

Pat in TX

Quoted message said:

"Pat" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

My Bike Friday folds into its own suitcase. I took it to Ireland without
a
surcharge.

Pat in TX

Yes, but I think BF is more than Duke wants to pay - J.

It's more than I wanted to pay, too! But, it is extremely well-built and
will last a lifetime. OTOH, they make a new model called the Tikit which
is not custom made and thus is cheaper.

Pat in TX

Quoted message said:

Pat,

You and I both like, and own, Bike Friday bikes.

But it is very hard for US companies (like BF) to compete with Chinese slave
labor, which is Dahon.

(If I had no conscience, it would be SO much easier.)

Jay

Jay Bollyn said:

"Pat" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> My Bike Friday folds into its own suitcase. I took it to Ireland without
> a
> surcharge.
>
> Pat in TX
Yes, but I think BF is more than Duke wants to pay - J.

It's more than I wanted to pay, too! But, it is extremely well-built and
will last a lifetime. OTOH, they make a new model called the Tikit which
is not custom made and thus is cheaper.

Pat in TX

Pat,

You and I both like, and own, Bike Friday bikes.

But it is very hard for US companies (like BF) to compete with Chinese slave
labor, which is Dahon.

(If I had no conscience, it would be SO much easier.)

butbutbut, I thought you were employed by The Great City of Chicago!

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
Beer - It's not just for breakfast anymore!

cmcanulty said:

I found a suitcase just large enough but took a long search found it
in a thrift shop, trouble is you need a real tight fit to meet the 62"
girth requirement. Any bikes that fold really small out there? my case
is soft so i lined it with heavy cardboard or bike would rip it,
weighs 48lbs loaded just makes the 50lb max, also don't say it's a
bike or extra charge say sports equipment

There are some suitcases that are technically a bit too large, but not
to the point where it's likely that they'd be measured. While I've often
seen the weighing of luggage lately, I've _never_ seen a suitcase
measured for conformance to size when it looks like a suitcase.

See "http://welectronics.com/luggage.shtml" and look at Trident 33".
They left out the picture, but you can see it in the bottom left at
"http://gaerlan.com/" who used to sell these as well. I'm pretty sure
that these are the same Trident suitcases.

Jay said:

But it is very hard for US companies (like BF) to compete with Chinese slave
labor, which is Dahon.

(If I had no conscience, it would be SO much easier.)

Dahon pays relatively well for China. Their factory isn't in the
interior where they can get away with paying shoe-company wages. I don't
know about Trek, Specialized, and all the other bicycle manufacturers
that have moved most of their production to China.

See
"http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/business/worldbusiness/29labor.html?pagewanted=all"

The difference in labor cost between bikefriday and Dahon accounts for
only a small portion of the difference in price. The bigger factor is
that Dahon manufactures standard products in large quantities, while
Bike Friday manufactures custom products in very small quantities.

Quoted message said:

Dahon pays relatively well for China.

=v= This is kind of the all-purpose off-shoring excuse.
10-15% above a poor average doesn't sound so hot to me.
<_Jym_>

"Tom Sherman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jay Bollyn said:

"Pat" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

>> My Bike Friday folds into its own suitcase. I took it to Ireland
>> without a
>> surcharge.
>>
>> Pat in TX
> Yes, but I think BF is more than Duke wants to pay - J.
It's more than I wanted to pay, too! But, it is extremely well-built and
will last a lifetime. OTOH, they make a new model called the Tikit which
is not custom made and thus is cheaper.

Pat in TX

Pat,

You and I both like, and own, Bike Friday bikes.

But it is very hard for US companies (like BF) to compete with Chinese
slave labor, which is Dahon.

(If I had no conscience, it would be SO much easier.)

butbutbut, I thought you were employed by The Great City of Chicago!

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
Beer - It's not just for breakfast anymore!

No, I am employed by the great state of IL, as a civil servant.

Chicago is, IMHO, run by the 'Irish mafia'.

Jay

In article <[email hidden]>,

Jym Dyer said:

Quoted message said:

Dahon pays relatively well for China.

=v= This is kind of the all-purpose off-shoring excuse.
10-15% above a poor average doesn't sound so hot to me.
<_Jym_>

So they should . . . leave? And take the job back to the USA?

You know, anyone who thinks that offshoring hasn't been a great benefit
to actual people in China might want to take note of the fact that China
has about 3 times the GDP of India.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"My scenarios may give the impression I could be an excellent crook.
Not true - I am a talented lawyer." - Sandy in rec.bicycles.racing

Ryan Cousineau said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Jym Dyer said:

Quoted message said:

Dahon pays relatively well for China.

=v= This is kind of the all-purpose off-shoring excuse.
10-15% above a poor average doesn't sound so hot to me.
<_Jym_>

So they should . . . leave? And take the job back to the USA?

You know, anyone who thinks that offshoring hasn't been a great benefit
to actual people in China might want to take note of the fact that China
has about 3 times the GDP of India.

The only way to not have a rush to the bottom in terms of manufacturing
is to legislate high tariffs for imported merchandise so that it is
uneconomical to manufacture outside the U.S.. When one company runs off
to China, all the competitors must follow or go out of business. You're
left with the low volume, boutique manufacturers that cannot fill the
demand for the products. The savings of manufacturing frames and
building complete bicycles in the U.S. versus China is about $45 per
bicycle when shipping costs are included in the equation.

Prior to building in China, Dahon had their own factory in Taiwan, they
never manufactured in the U.S..

Ryan Cousineau said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Jym Dyer said:

Quoted message said:

Dahon pays relatively well for China.

Quoted message said:

=v= This is kind of the all-purpose off-shoring excuse.
10-15% above a poor average doesn't sound so hot to me.
<_Jym_>

So they should . . . leave? And take the job back to the USA?

You know, anyone who thinks that offshoring hasn't been a great benefit
to actual people in China might want to take note of the fact that China
has about 3 times the GDP of India.

Don't go messing up peoples "thinking" with facts, Ryan!

SMS said:

Prior to building in China, Dahon had their own factory in Taiwan, they
never manufactured in the U.S..

And remember the family that owns Dahon is named Hon, which sounds Chinese
to me.

Don <www.donwiss.com/joyrides> (e-mail link at page bottom).

Here is a link to an instruction for getting a folder into an airline
sized suitcase (girth max 62"😉 I get my 16" cheapo heavy folder into
a suitcase OK but with the additional work shown on link you can even
get a 20' in a suitcase. Now I'm going to get a nice 20" dahon or
downtube . I am considering the Dahon Speed D7 http://www.dahon.com/us/speedd7.htm
or Vitesse http://www.dahon.com/us/vitessed7.htm or the Downtube
http://www.downtube.com/product530.html Does anyone know which is
better for all around riding? Also does anyone know if the Dahon D7 or
Vitesse has quick release hubs? The specs don't say, thanks

Jay Bollyn said:

"Tom Sherman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jay Bollyn said:

"Pat" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
>>> My Bike Friday folds into its own suitcase. I took it to Ireland
>>> without a
>>> surcharge.
>>>
>>> Pat in TX
>> Yes, but I think BF is more than Duke wants to pay - J.
> It's more than I wanted to pay, too! But, it is extremely well-built and
> will last a lifetime. OTOH, they make a new model called the Tikit which
> is not custom made and thus is cheaper.
>
> Pat in TX
Pat,

You and I both like, and own, Bike Friday bikes.

But it is very hard for US companies (like BF) to compete with Chinese
slave labor, which is Dahon.

(If I had no conscience, it would be SO much easier.)

butbutbut, I thought you were employed by The Great City of Chicago!

No, I am employed by the great state of IL, as a civil servant.

Do you work at Helmut Jahn's monstrosity at Clark & Lake?

Quoted message said:

Chicago is, IMHO, run by the 'Irish mafia'.

The most sullen and unhelpful civil servants I have ever dealt with were
part of the City of Chicago bureaucracy. Dial 311 to get the run-around. 🙁

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
Beer - It's not just for breakfast anymore!