Dahon SUV Folding Bike

A quick background:
I have an aluminum road bike, a Cannondale CAAD8. I ride it to work almost everyday. I needed something that can carry 10+ kilos of laundry weekly, which the road bike is incapable of without rack modifications. Being a weekend long rider, I wanted the roadie to stay light and relatively aero.

A folding bike might be the best option there is for me. These city riders have complete accessories available locally. More on racks and accessories some other time.

I was set to get the Dahon Vybe D7 in white. It was on the top 10 list for folding bikes for 2015, according to ibest9.com. Being a noobie in the folding scene, I can't recommend you taking that seriously. When I was about to get the Vybe in ROX BGC, they told me that a customer got the very last unit and I was torn between the SUV(Php 15,000.00) and the Mariner(Php 28,000.00), 13,000 price difference. I would've picked the shiny Mariner, it being aluminum and lighter by 2.6 kilograms but this would just be my secondary/utility bike and the SUV is the best choice.

I had to get the cloud white color.

The crank is thin and very flexy. Being used to Ultegra 6800 cranks, this is not very desirable at all for me. The cranks will be one of the things that will be going. I was surprised to see that the pedals are also foldable but they feel flimsy so they'll also be going. This might be because I am used to stiff cranks and pedals for road bikes. Only a matter of time before I can really decide if I should pursue upgrading.

Small enough to fit in the corridor.

The one thing I dislike most about this is that the flat bars are welded to the stem (or whatever it is called). They form a letter "T" which makes micro adjustments impossible. You can only adjust the height. I'll do more research on how to replace this part without straying too far away from the design principles of Dahon. Colorful, custom bikes are fun to look at but I don't want mine to look very chopsuey.

I can't say at this point what the material used for the wheelset are. From my previous experience with other bikes with wheelsets like these, the rims are pinned aluminum while the spokes are not. 

I was told by the salesman that should I upgrade to other rear derailleur, I don't have to change hangers.

The welds on the frame are not smoothed out. This is not really an issue as you don't really need a bike like this to be very aerodynamic. I do, however, have issues with the quality of the powdercoating. There are little holes in the paint around the joint areas. I can't say for sure if these are defects or is an effect of the powder coating process.

You can't remove this label.

Holes at the bottom bracket.

At the top tube and seat tube connection.

Head tube.

Everything is powder coated.

The shifter clicks nicely and changes gears smoothly. 

It fits right in the elevator.

What is the maximum tire size to fit this Dahon SUV bike? Check out my blog entry to find out.

I have to get used to riding a folding bike. The riding position is comfortably upright unlike the aggressive stance in road bikes. During my first test ride out in the real world streets, I came across folding bike riders who courteously greeted me with a welcome nod. The folding bike group is no different with roadies. We all share the same passion which is cycling. See you on the road.