Review: Dahon Jack Folding Bike

A few months ago, my ancient beater bike was in the shop for a whole week (headset bearings were shot)... which got me thinking that it might be nice to get a new backup/occasional use bike. After some browsing, I decided on the Dahon Jack--so I thought I'd put up my thoughts on it to date as a public service to the Intarweb.


After looking at a few options, I figured the Jack would work pretty well for me. I thought that a full-size bike (26" wheels) might be easier to adapt to--I had no specific trips or plans to take it anywhere, so just having one that is a bit more compact/transportable seemed reasonable (as opposed to the ultra-compact 16" or 20" wheel models). It looks like it would fit quite easily in a car trunk, for instance. I've taken my full-size bike on commuter rail, so there's no need to reduce the size there.

Second, it's not super high-end or anything--seven speeds, regular caliper brakes, compared to the disc brake performance models. I realize that riding around town, I leave my front derailleur on the middle ring, and only shift the front going up or down serious hills.

Third, it was a pretty reasonable price--one of the lower-end items in Dahon's product line.

The folding mechanism works very nicely--it feels very secure when locked, and folds easily and quickly. When I'm riding, I occasionally hear a squeak from the frame when I am pedaling hard, but I don't think it's the hinge.



When you fold it, it's not something that is 'easy' to carry--it's still pretty bulky, and 27 pounds. But it would definitely be easier to bring up and down stairs, or in an elevator, than a regular bike. You can make it more compact by loosening one Allen screw, and dismounting the handlebars, and dropping the seat post.

You'll notice the U-shaped bar coming out of the bottom of the bottom bracket; I believe that it's there to keep you from bouncing the front chainring when you put the bike down.


As for the ride itself--it always requires a bit of adjustment to switch to a different bike. But it was clear that it's much nicer than my current bike--going from a 15 year-old Cro-Moly steel frame beater to a brand-new aluminum frame bike. I also had to get used to not having toe clips.

It's also more compact when you hang it from the ceiling:


Another thing I wanted to point out: this bike came equipped with Schwalbe Big Apple tires--I was extremely impressed with them. They are large diameter (2"), and soak up a lot of the road shocks, but the rolling resistance isn't too bad for street riding. Kevlar-reinforcement; minimal tread--the perfect city tire. This blurb from the manufacturer says they soak up shocks nearly as well as suspensions--I haven't ridden suspension bikes, but they definitely reduce the pounding on the legs and tuchus. I liked them enough that I bought a set for my day-to-day commuter--I'd thoroughly recommend them for anyone getting new tires for a commuter bike.

Finally, I read a bit about Dahon's history, which was pretty cool--the founder (David Hon) was working for Hughes Aircraft, but bailed out to form a folding bike company:

Yet despite his success, Dr. Hon eventually found the work at Hughes Aircraft unfulfilling, because his energies were devoted to instruments of war, rather than for the betterment of society. Then, in 1975 came the oil and gas crisis and the seed for Dahon was sown.

One afternoon, in his third week of waiting in hour-long lines to buy gasoline for his car, Dr. Hon was struck by the magnitude of the world's dependence on oil, a non-renewable resource that would likely be depleted within the lifetime of his grandchildren....

Dr. Hon's solution - a portable folding bicycle. Next came the hard part: turning his ideas into reality. Working evenings and weekends in his garage over the next seven years, Dr. Hon built dozens and dozens of prototypes, trying to perfect a folding bicycle that would maintain the riding performance of a regular bicycle but would fold quickly and to a compact size.

Finally, in 1982, Dr. Hon introduced the first Dahon folding bicycle to worldwide acclaim.

A pretty neat story. Also, there's a blurb written by the vice president (one of the founder's sons) about buying better things, fewer times. Sound advice.

The problem with disposable products of course is that our earth’s natural resources are finite and we are quickly going through all of the wood, iron, aluminum, and oil that is available. And creating cheap products that quickly break down only means that we are constantly replacing what we own and dumping them into landfills.

So I’ve recently adopted a new mantra—something that I call “Buy Less, Buy Better.” Basically, I’ve resolved to buy fewer “things.” I try my best to only buy things that are really necessary, nothing that’s trendy and fashionable but that will be out of style in a year or two. And when I do buy, I’ll search for higher quality products that will last. Sure, the price will be a bit higher, but if the product lasts as long as several cheaper products, I’ll have come out ahead financially and I’ll have tossed less waste into a landfill. Plus, I’ll get a lot more enjoyment out of using that higher-quality, better designed product.

I'll keep you all posted once I try taking it on a trip somewhere!