Dahon borderwalk folding bike

[Jym Dyer]

>> 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.

=v= Could be Taiwanese, though.

=v= In the 1970s, Dr. David Hon was living and working in
California, working on war planes for Hughes Aircraft, and
had a change of heart. When he was waiting in one of those
long energy crisis-era lines to buy gas, he decided to put
his talents towards the betterment of humanity, and to deal
with that very problem. His solution was a folding bike.

=v= I'd like to say, after all that, that it was a *good*
folding bike, but in fact it was quite heavy and clunky and
a horrible ride. He moved to Taiwan to have them built,
and the low quality production made it even worse, since
the frame hinges didn't line up or close snugly.

=v= They've improved quite a bit since then, but they've never
come up with something I'd like to ride every day. That's what
makes a Bike Friday or Swift Folder worth a the extra expense:
everyday-quality ride, made stateside, no labor abuses and much
kinder to the environment. Certainly Dr. Hon's heart is in the
right place, but I just don't like the product.
<_Jym_>

 

[Don Wiss]

On Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:44:50 -0700, Jym Dyer <[email protected]> wrote:

>=v= They've improved quite a bit since then, but they've never
>come up with something I'd like to ride every day. That's what
>makes a Bike Friday or Swift Folder worth a the extra expense:
>everyday-quality ride, made stateside, no labor abuses and much
>kinder to the environment. Certainly Dr. Hon's heart is in the
>right place, but I just don't like the product.

Jym,

You haven't ridden the Dahon Glide. It is fun to ride. I have made it my
every day bike. Sometime I'll let you try it. Are you still around here? I
do sometimes make the Brooklyn Critical Mass.

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

 

[SMS]

Don Wiss wrote:
> On Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:44:50 -0700, Jym Dyer <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> =v= They've improved quite a bit since then, but they've never
>> come up with something I'd like to ride every day. That's what
>> makes a Bike Friday or Swift Folder worth a the extra expense:
>> everyday-quality ride, made stateside, no labor abuses and much
>> kinder to the environment. Certainly Dr. Hon's heart is in the
>> right place, but I just don't like the product.
>
> Jym,
>
> You haven't ridden the Dahon Glide.

Or the Speed TR.

Dahon has a wide range of folders, some better than others, and some
better and some worse than some of Bike Friday's products. A lot of
people base their opinion of Dahon on the early Dahon folders which were
indeed pretty bad. Kind of like how some people judge Hyundai cars based
on the old Hyundai Excel.

But it's true that Bike Friday's are assembled in the U.S., as well as
having frames made in the U.S., though of course all the components are
imported.

 

[[email protected]]

>You haven't ridden the Dahon Glide. It is fun to ride. I have made it my
>every day bike

Any thoughts on the Dahon Curve model?

 

[Jym Dyer]

> Jym,
>
> You haven't ridden the Dahon Glide. It is fun to ride. I have
> made it my every day bike. Sometime I'll let you try it.

=v= I've tried the Glide, but there's something about the feel
of aluminum. I *almost* liked the 2004 Helios XL, but still,
aluminum. I don't try to be picky, and like I wrote, I find
the Dahon story to be inspiring, but I've never liked the ride.

=v= They just introduced a snazzy new magnesium alloy bike that
I'd like to try out, though ...

> Are you still around here? I do sometimes make the Brooklyn
> Critical Mass.

=v= Mostly in California, but I bounce around. Alas, for the
past year I've only been in town for the Manhattan CM, which
is a little bit less fun. :-\
<_Jym_>

 

[Don Wiss]

On Mon, 22 Oct 2007 19:20:26 -0700, Jym Dyer <[email protected]> wrote:

>=v= Mostly in California, but I bounce around. Alas, for the
>past year I've only been in town for the Manhattan CM, which
>is a little bit less fun. :-\

No kidding. I stopped going a while back. I will go this Friday to take
pictures for my web site. But I'll come from work and I won't have a bike.

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