Dahon Boardwalk 6, 20" folder works in Canberra

My doctor prescribed a bicycle, for mild exercise. What I had in mind was to ride it a couple of
kilometres on the weekend to the coffee shop. I ended up with a Dahon "Boardwalk 6", 6 speed 20"
folding bicycle, which has proved far more useful than expected.

In looking for a bicycle my first thought was to buy a cheap (AU$150)
pseudo mountain bike from a chain store. But an article in Choice
<http://www.choice.com.au/articles/a102220p1.htm> suggested you had to pay at least AU$550 for
something usable.

Then I found an article in Australian Cyclist <http://www.bfa.asn.au/cyclist/> January/February 2003
about foldable bicycles. One of these would be handy as I could carry it in my subcompact car on
trips (a external carrier would be difficult).

The 24 speed Dahon the AC author raved about is more than AU$1,000
<http://www.advancetraders.com.au/dahon_speedpro.htm>. But Dahon also make the "Boardwalk 6", a 6
speed model for AU$499 <http://www.advancetraders.com.au/dahon_boardwalk.htm>. This seems to be
their cheapest model with gears (smaller ones with fewer gears cost 50% more). As I was only going
to ride it short distances this seemed usable. But I was still skeptical as to how practical the 20"
wheels and the folding would be.

No where in Canberra seemed to stock Dahons, so I went to the Cheeky Monkey Cycle Company under
Sydney's central station <http://www.cheekymonkey.com.au/>. Their cycle expertise was a bit
intimidating for someone who hasn't been on one in 15 years. However, the staff were friendly enough
and loaned me a helmet so I take the demo bicycle for a test spin. It went okay and I came back the
next day to collect one.

I had intended to take it folded on the bus, but worked up my courage and rode it a few km from the
city through the inner western suburbs. Once out of the city centre it was remarkably pleasant along
bicycle paths I had not known existed.

Apart from the low price I liked that the bike came with almost everything needed (including a
luggage rack and mudguards). The only essential I had to add was a bell. Dahon should consider
offering a small bell as an option, as it was difficult to position an ordinary one in a way which
did not get snagged in the folding process.

Apart from fitting the bell I haven't had any problems with the Dahon. The folding mechanism has
small springs and plastic clamps, but these have not broken so far.

The bike has no complicated suspension, relying on the 1.5" tyres. This is more than adequate for a
comfortable ride on Canberra's bike paths. The road tyres look bald compared to chunky mountain bike
ones, but roll very smoothly and work very well on anything but soft wet steep grass slopes. The six
gears are adequate, but will not climb mountains or win races.

The bicycle folds small enough to fit in a subcompact Daihatsu Sirion car boot, so I can take it on
trips. Having intended to only ride it on the weekend, I found it convenient to ride the km or so
from home to university, several days a week. Rather than leave it downstairs in the bike shed I
found it easy enough to fold carry up and leave in the hallway at home behind a screen or under the
office desk.

When folded the bicycle seems heavier than when open and is a struggle to carry more than a few
paces. Getting up stairs is difficult, but manageable and I guess good exercise. It might be
feasible to transport on and off a train, but a bus could be difficult. Pedals and other parts tend
to catch on furniture and passers by. There is an option carry bag, but it isn't cheap and would
still be a large lump to carry. However, the bicycle is small enough to fold and carry into the
doctor's waiting room so they could see I had followed instructions. ;-)

Perhaps the novelty of riding will wear off as Canberra's cold winter approaches. But I have found
it convenient for up to a 30 minute ride on mostly level ground. An attempt to ride 45 minutes up a
modest hill proved too much. This may be more a problem with me than the bicycle.

There isn't really anything I could want added or changed on the bike (apart perhaps from removing
the "Designed in the USA" sticker). There are models with smaller wheels which fold smaller, ones
with aluminium frames which weigh a bit less and ones with more gears which might go further, but
these all cost substantially more.

It occurred to me that if I got a smaller 16" folder and a bigger travel bag I could take it by air
on my high technology tourist trips, being perfect for getting around Stockholm, Paris, Cambridge or
even a high speed US Army transport ship <http://www.tomw.net.au/travel/tourist.htm>. But the
smaller bike wouldn't add much benefit for my normal use.

I would recommend the Dahon Boardwalk 6 to the non-enthusiast city cyclist.

pps Thank you to all those who have posted reviews of bicycles and bicycle accessories to the
Internet. I found these very useful.

Tom Worthington FACS [email protected] Director, Tomw Communications Pty Ltd ABN: 17 088 714 309
http://www.tomw.net.au PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617

 

Tom Worthington wrote:
> I ended up with a Dahon "Boardwalk 6", 6 speed 20" folding bicycle, which has proved far more
> useful than expected.

Thats a very glowing review, Tom, almost like a press release. I see you are a professional writer.
Not, I hope, a paid reviewer. But I'm such a skeptic. Thanks for a good review.

> In looking for a bicycle my first thought was to buy a cheap (AU$150)
> pseudo mountain bike from a chain store. But an article in Choice
> <http://www.choice.com.au/articles/a102220p1.htm> suggested you had to pay at least AU$550 for
> something usable.

Not really fair. That $550 mountain bike will be far higher quality than the folding bike. Yes thats
a minimum cost for a "real" MTB, but the Dahon wouldn't last long off-road either. A "pseudo
mountain bike" with similar-grade components will cost rather less. And will have a much better gear
range. The truth is that folding bikes cost much more than similar quality regular bikes. (and
understandably so.)

> Perhaps the novelty of riding will wear off as Canberra's cold winter approaches.

Don't give up - its just a matter of dresssing for the weather.

> I would recommend the Dahon Boardwalk 6 to the non-enthusiast city cyclist.

I tried these cheaper folding bikes a while back, but found the gear range wasnt enough. If only
they could do a similar model with an 11-32T cassette instead of the 14-28 cluster, I would
recommend it to even the more enthusiastic city cyclists.

Living in Canberra, you are probably more in need of low gears than most of us. Consider that $250
21-speed from the local bike shop to complement the folding bike.

--
make nospam into oz to reply.

 

Mike <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> Tom Worthington wrote:
> > ... Dahon "Boardwalk 6"... more useful than expected.
>
> Thats a very glowing review, Tom, almost like a press release. I see you are a professional
> writer. Not, I hope, a paid reviewer. ...

Flattering someone thinks my writing good enough to be paid for, but not the case. I wasn't paid for
writing about the bicycle. I paid full price for the bike (in fact $1 more than the recommended
retail price) and didn't receive any inducement, financial or otherwise, to write a review.

My writing is mostly an unpaid byproduct of being an IT consultant. For the full story read my book
(free on-line): <http://www.tomw.net.au/nt/>. In a few cases paid material I produce is made public,
but most of it is confidential reports for companies and government agencies.

> Dahon wouldn't last long off-road either.

Yes. I took it down the NSW south coast for a farm stay holiday
<http://www.australianhomestay.com/pages/New%20South%20Wales/HO_10.html>. It went okay on the dirt
roads, but was shaking to pieces on the bush tracks (there goes my warranty) and slipped on the
grass up the hill from the trout lake. But it was fun cycling along with a fishing rod strapped to
the carrier on the back.

One problem I have now found is that the gear cable is fraying at the handlebar hinge. Dahon need to
add some sort of flexible cable guide so the cables don't catch in the hinge. Something like on Neil
Timms' Bike Friday: <http://neilt.org/cycling/images/cabletidy640x480.jpg> in
<http://neilt.org/cycling/thissatrday.html>.

>If only they could do a similar model with an 11-32T cassette instead
of the 14-28 cluster, I would recommend
> it to even the more enthusiastic city cyclists.

Err... getting a bit technical for me. I assume these are gear ratios and provide a lower low gear
and a higher high gear? If so I agree. The Boardwalk 6 gears seem to be too much the same and I tend
to skip a few in normal use.

>Consider that $250 21-speed from the local bike shop to complement the folding bike.

No, that is my full complement of bicycles for the next decade or so. ;-)

Tom Worthington FACS [email protected] Ph: 0419 496150 Director, Tomw Communications Pty
Ltd ABN: 17 088 714 309 http://www.tomw.net.au PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617