Dahon Launch D8,...
 

Oh, she's a smexy one,... :love:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9aa6c053a8.jpg

See the cable?

Now its gone. :foo: That is why the latch is rubbing against brake/shifter lines.

I thought bikes are supposed to get lighter, not heavier? Good looking hinge though, and glad to see them working on new designs.

Well,...the reviewer is worried more about not closing the latch correctly or pinching the cables. Rubbing isn't an issue,...

LOL
heavy bike with '90's tech
?views o f "new"hinge

​​​​​​
Um,..not 90's tech. But, isn't a brompton 70"s tech? ;)

I take it that's a 100mm front hub?

Totally
"Like the 1957 Chevy brought to the point of perfection"
I want a 10
10kg, 10 speeds, Under 10 Bennies, ride for 10 miles and want to go farther.
10,000 mile durability
Tenish , anyone?
I 'm getting 30's
30lbs, 30 Bennies, bad feeling at 30 yards, 30 youtubes of somebody riding in a circle, over 30 gallons in size/30 inch bag, 30 year old design that no one over 30 can ride..
My ideal might be a mass produced Hummingbird, and things are compared against that without much movement towards it yet.
Have we hit a peak in the Moore's Law of foldies?

Carbon is fragile.
Steel's weighty if tough.
Big wheels are hefty ,
Small ones are rough.
Chains are greasy,
Titaniums flex,
Labor doesn't come easy,
Boy, what a hex.
Small runs are costly,
Designers dream weird
A new better foldy
Just hasn't appeared.

apologies to Dorothy Parker

$999 recommended selling price?

https://www.upzy.com/products/2019-d...-bike-20-wheel

Don't get the pricing, the Euromini Urbano looks a much better bike at $349. Personally can't see the point of mechanical disc brakes on a folding bike, I know I would end up bending the rotors.

Looks to be standard 6061 aluminium the Urbano is using more advanced 6066 aluminium.

I guess it's a folding bike for those who will only buy from their local bike shop but I wouldn't pay anywhere close to that price for that specification. Even if sold at local bike shops I would of thought something like $499 to $549 was fair, $899-999 just seems ridiculous to me.

I guess the issue is they have redesigned the hinge mechanism to create a unique selling point which has cost money to develop but does it actually achieve any advantage over the very well tested and improved designs that have been sold by manufacturer's in the far east for a few decades. If anything it seems like the new hinge has added significant weight.

Who is the manufacturer of the frame and are they a good manufacturer, while Dahon has some small capacity to manufacture frames it seems they generally buy in most of their frames and which factory was used? A 6061 frame is just about the most common aluminium for bike frames nowadays so just about every factory has their base level aluminium frames made of that material. 6066 is the premium aluminum of fuji-ta and possibly used by other factories as their premium aluminium, a very good factory and the world's biggest manufacturer of bicycles by volume in the world. They also do cheaper 6061 frames including many folding bike frames. Perversely the Dahon could be manufactured by fuji-ta using inferior materials to the Urbano despite the 3x higher retail price although I'm sure the factory door price will be higher for the Dahon because of its new hinge mechanism if fuji-ta are the manufacturer.

As ever Dahon's commercial direction seems to be minor innovation of questionable merit with a hugely inflated price tag.

Euromini Forte would be more to my liking,...it's built like a tank.

Weight only 29.5 lbs ! Like the Downtube with a newer hinge and rack and fenders, by Zizzo, no less.
I do prefer 20"for the ride. I do not see how people can comfortably tour on a 16 inch, they need smooth streets
I have a Raleigh 20 to restore, and will have to weigh and post the parts' weight
It would be a fun comparison to see how and where the Foldies put their weight in a side-by-side comparison. I may pick up a used Dahon curve i3 that will need to be taken apart and serviced, giving a chance to get the weight on its parts.

It has a 120mm rear in aluminum that presents a challenge to upgrade.

Does look good. I thought when they first announced it it looked like a shimano freewheel fitted which was not a heavy duty part but now it clearly is a 7 speed cassette which are definitely heavy duty but a little restrictive in what you can upgrade to. Looks like another great spec, great value folding bike from them. I'm UK based but if I was US based they would definitely be just about my first choice I really like the way they configure most of their bikes although would personally avoid the cheaper freewheel based bikes, the same for any brand.

Unless you are heavy or planning to load up the bike to a greater weight for touring I would think the Urbano the better option though. It seems to be the best bike for spec/price ratio especially with a 6066 frame which is classed as a super lightweight aluminium to compete with Giant's 6011 and fuji-ta's 6069.

I believe Sturmey-Archer makes a 120mm 8 speed IGH,... We have another forum member that converted his Dahon Curve to an 8 speed with this hub.

The Urbano is 6066, but the Forte is 6061. No big deal IMO. The Forte is also using the same freewheel that I'll be using on my Origami Wasp,,...the DNP 11-28T 7 speed freewheel. Sounds good to me,...

6066 is a more advanced aluminium than 6061 it is much stronger so allows the frame to be lighter. It is the premium aluminium used by Merida who are probably the second best large scale bicycle frame manufacturer in the world after Giant. That isn't to say this is a Merida frame of course just making the point it is a very good premium aluminium.

According to their site data the Forte has a cassette but like you I thought that when it was introduced it mentioned an actual freewheel so wonder if they have swopped it now to a stronger cassette. We totally disagree about freewheels vs cassettes as a heavy rider I have destroyed a few freewheels in my time, bent a few axles and had the annoyance of constantly adjusting derailleurs because of freewheel wobble, they are junk components in my opinion best avoided but have used sub Shimano cassettes with success although often they don't last as long but that depends on what Shimano cassette you are comparing them to. We will agree to disagree there but the Forte is using a cassette according to the number given on their site. It is this one so the bike has a freehub and cassette and not a screw on freewheel. Maybe they have done a little upgrade. The euromini site clearly states both freewheels and cassettes for different bikes and now states cassette for the Forte. It is not a site that seems to be confused or manipulative with regard freewheels and cassettes. However I notice the Via has a cassette as well which makes me wonder if they have upgraded to freehub's on the sly so not to annoy previous customers, I thought the Via or the bike at that price level previously (can't remember if it was called a Via) had a freewheel. The only bike in their range with a freewheel now is the Campo.

https://www.euromini.bike/shop-forte

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e070626723.jpg

For the price point I highly doubt they'll make the bike 6066 aluminum. And where did we disagree? I made a mistake about the specs of my bike, so I'm not sure what you're referring to. And the DNP cassette is listed on the Euromini website, and I've located it on multiple websites. It's a freewheel,...screw on,...how the heck is that a debate? Even if it is a cassette, I have a freewheel to install. And it's the same brand,...

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...p%2F2255324449

6066 is better than 6061 in my opinion so it differs to your 'No big deal IMO' comment. According to the Euromini site they are using a cassette not a freewheel, confusingly DNP use the LY-1107 as the code for both their freewheel and cassette with only the last characters changing, LY-1107-CKC for the cassette. It wouldn't be a stretch for Euromini to actually fit a freewheel and call it a cassette although that would be dishonest but I can't see them falsifying the frame material. A freewheel certainly doesn't sound good to me, so we disagree there again so unsure why you use the 'how the heck is that a debate' comment. Is it that hard to be civil and not resort to a childish tone in forum responses? Perhaps we ought to leave it there, the point I mainly wanted to make at the beginning is the appalling value of the Dahon Launch model compared to something like the Euromini Urbano that pretty much exceeds the specification of the Launch model for a third of the price.

I understood your point that 6066 is better than 6061, but at the Forte's price point 6061 is acceptable, even if you disagree. But you seem to be under the impression that your "opinion" carries more weight,...I could care less at this point. And apparently you seem to be under the impression that I prefer a freewheel to a cassette. This is where you begin another disagreement. I never said that a freewheel was my preference, I mistakenly thought the freewheel on my Wasp was a cassette due to the incorrect specs posted. You're making it an issue.

Also, I got the point that you feel the Dahon is overpriced, correct. And that's your opinion as well. And I chose to phrase my response as I saw fit. It was hardly childish or uncivil, but that's another opinion. I really didn't post this thread to have a debate every paragraph, I posted it to share a bike I like. You brought up disagreeing to disagree, you unnecessarily quoted me, you acted childish and immature by starting a conversation in an accusatory manner.

Have a great day.

I believe it's heavy due to the new hinge mech. It is a beast,...

I also found out it will have the deltec cable on the USA models,... I'm not sure about other countries.

There is a S-A 122mm 8 speed, http://www.sturmey-archer.com/files/...0S80%20(W).pdf
which would do this proud. 16 spoke hubs would require creative spoking of 32 hole rims. and 1gear is the 1:1 giving need for BIG front chainwheel
3spd hubs are pretty limiting on 16"rims

you don't see 'alot' of disc brakes on this format...

I like it- but I'd have to try it...

i use sa xrf8 hub on dahon curve(16" folder).
opossed as you say, the first gear is direct drive, so it must me the lightest.
i use the standard front chainwhell(45t) and the standard sprocket that cames with hub(25t) witch gives me gear ratio of 24" to 78".
if you want go fast and dont care for low gears you can gear down the hub to go up to 110" on gearing.

As stated in the above post, there's no issues with the hub being used on a Dahon Curve, and it's been done before,...and quite successfully. There's a thread dedicated to it if I'm not mistaken.

And the hub is 120mm old, NOT 122 old. Read the specs you've shared in the pdf. I believe you were looking at the hub with the 132mm old.

Correct you are with spoke holes (B) 36H / (C ) 32H / (D ) 28H. My curve which I think is an 2007 has a 20 front/28 rear