Brompton vs Dahon?

[oncemore]

Continuing to muse about a folder, the nearest equivalents I can find in weight (I must have LIGHT!) and number/range of gears are a P6R-X (11.3 kgs) at £1185 and a '09 MU P8 (11.2 kgs) at (discounted) £389.
Admittedly I would wait for a used Brommie, but even so the price difference will be at least £400.
Anyone reckon the Brommie really IS "worth" that premium?
I won't be using it for commuting so the extra size not really an issue.

[Zoidburg]

No.

Not worth the premium.

[ed_o_brain]

I'm sure that the Brompton will give a lot more satisfaction in ownership than the Dahon.

However, that's when helluva difference in price tag, and although the build uality on my Dahon doesn't look that hot, it's been fine so far.

Why is weight so important?

[iakobski]

The premium on the brompton is worth it for the fold and the folded size.

If those are not important to you then it's not worth any premium. And the brompton will be slower, which is clearly important if you are worried about weight and gears.

[oncemore]

"Why is weight so important?"

Only important on the odd occasion when I'd want to get it on a train (reason for purchase!) without risk of futher damage to already once repaired hernia and to pretty knackered elbow!

I can I think understand the "satisfaction" element - quality etc - but that would not be the motivation wiith such a bike. More to prevent boredom with current rides/routes from totally ending my cycling.

Thanks for comments.

[ed_o_brain]

Unless you are in London or particularly impartial to making a snap decision to go for a ride, I would much recommend making a cycle reservation and taking a proper bike. Especially if your main reason for going out somewhere on the train is to have a nice bike ride after it!

That said, I can understand not wanting to worry about getting cycle reservations. Don't think I would be without my folder now. It's good just to have the extra degree of flexibility.

[oncemore]

You've hit the point .... I never plan far enough ahead to make a reservation and I wouldn't know from where/when  I might want to return! And quite a few of the rail services from here state first (two) come, first served!

[Frenchie]

I ride a Dahon. A 2006 Helios P8. It rocks, simply. The ride quality is good, the equipment is excellent and I paid ca £400 for one, including SKS guards and a sturdy rack. I don't fold it daily (this is the only point where I see a Brompton having an edge; I can't think of another), but I travel with it. It goes in the car boot neatly; and it experienced Wrynose pass in Cumbria last year just fine too (as part of a 50+ Mi ride), as my holiday bike then. It is about 11kg.

[should be cycling]

You have suggested your reason for purchase is to get it on a train, and if I understand correctly quite a few of them are crowded.  These suggest that a small folded size is quite important?

[oncemore]

Fair point - but I don't think many - if any - of those I'd take would be crowded, at least not outside of what passes for "rush hour" in semi-rural Notts and Lincs.

[rogerzilla]

You don't necessarily buy a Brompton because it's better (although in some respects it is; there is a secondhand market for them, but not for Dahons).  You may buy one because it supports British manufacturing and every spare part is available quickly.

[mike]

even though you've got dodgy elbow, the weight difference between the 2 probably isnt enough to make *that* big a difference.  Both will be heavy enough to cause pain or another hernia, if you lift either of them wrong or try and carry them too far.

My choice would be the one which is nicer to ride (I've got a dahon) and then figure out how to do the least carrying possible.  Most people on my train wheel the bike onto the platform and only fold it when they're standing where the door will open, then just lift the bike on.  At the other end, most seem to rebuild the bike inside the carriage then bounce it down onto the platform and wheel it out onto the street.

buy the one you like the look of, or the one which is nicer to ride, dont worry too much about a pound or two in weight difference. 

just my 2c..

[border-rider]

I think a Brommie rides well enough.  I've done Ventoux, the Aubisque and the Tormalet on mine.  People have done PBP and LEL on them.  They're fine.

Pros: folds fast, easily and small

Cons: a bit agricultural, and I keep trashing the folding bearings.   Expensive to fix.

OTOH my B-i-Ls Dahon suffered frame failure in less than a year, and when I did a frame transplant it was a complete nightmare.

[StuAff]

You don't necessarily buy a Brompton because it's better (although in some respects it is; there is a secondhand market for them, but not for Dahons).  You may buy one because it supports British manufacturing and every spare part is available quickly.

I'd agree that Brommie parts are easier to come by, but there is most definitely a secondhand market for Dahons (bought both of mine on eBay, and I would have preferred to have been the only bidder!!).

[Russell]

The basic question to ask yourself is: do you want a folding bike or a bike that folds?

If the answer is a folding bike then it's a Brompton.  If all you need is a bike that folds then a Dahon is worth considering.

I test rode a Brompton and hated it and ended up buying a Dahon MuSL (and that is light!) then proceeded to modify it so I was comfortable.  I do 20ml a day in all weathers but rarely need to fold it for the train part of the journey and never carry it folded.

I probably am about to shoot myself in the foot as it is wearing out its rims and replacements are like hens' teeth.  It does exactly what I want which probably is not what you want!

[duncan]

Weight is not the only consideration when you're talking about carrying a folded bike, of course. I don't have experience of all the possible Dahons, but the ones I have seen fold to a much less neat package than the Brompton, which means that you end up carrying it further from your body, which is harder work. Also, if you're carrying your Brompton, you're probably doing it wrong - unfold it and wheel it, or use the easy wheels and wheel it.

Duncan

[Russell]

...if you're carrying your Brompton, you're probably doing it wrong - unfold it and wheel it...
Duncan

If you are carrying your FOLDER - surely this comment is not Brompton specific?

 

[duncan]

...if you're carrying your Brompton, you're probably doing it wrong - unfold it and wheel it...
Duncan

If you are carrying your FOLDER - surely this comment is not Brompton specific?

 

Indeed, most folders are better wheeled than carried. As I understand it there are some varieties of Dahon and Airnimal that need substantial putting together, though.

[Russell]

That is indeed true for the Airnimal - front wheel and saddle out (which is why I'm not riding one! - in fact I tried the Pacific a full sus version that Airnimal were marketing) and that was going to be so inconvenient for rail travel.  The Dahon range of small wheel folders are as quick to fold as a Brompton but not, as noted, as compact.  The full size wheel folders seem to have gone backwards in that tools appear to be needed to fold if the spanner waving I saw at Waterloo is anything to go by!

[Sigurd Mudtracker]

It's a question that I am currently wrestling with, though I think I know which way I am going to go.  I have just sold my Brompton L5 in the quest for a new six speed model and have also been casting glances Dahon way - specifically to the Mu models and the Speed TR, the thought being that they might be better to ride.

I think I will probably end up going the Brompton way again, for many reasons, but mostly because it is a splendid utility bike that I have found trouble-free over a decade of ownership - although others may have different experiences.  The Dahons seem to do better on the performance part but perhaps at the expense of folding, and, from what I've read elsewhere, on the reliability front.