tcs

I saw in the spec's for the Jifo: aluminum frame, rear OLD 76mm, proprietary rear hub & 10T freewheel. It doesn't look like a much bigger chainwheel than the factory 39T, or a bigger rear freewheel, could be fitted due to frame/chain clearance considerations.

So not only is the Jifo a $900 (US) single speed, I'm at a loss as to how it might be upgraded by an owner with more/different gears - maybe an FSA Patterson crank?

I'm surprised - the earliest photos of this model show a second, unused set of cable management frame grommets (gone in the latest pictures) that I'd assumed would be for an IGH. The rear OLD on the Jifo is over an inch narrower than any IGH I'm aware of.

Dahon says this bike is for the "last mile", and they seem to be adamant that will be the only thing it will be used for.

chagzuki

The wheelbase is way too short for it to be anything more than a 'last mile' bike AFAICS.

Diode100

They were after a folded size to compete with the market leader, whether it works as a $900 bicycle or not, on the evidence to date, seems to be a secondary issue.

chagzuki

Incidently, I noticed over the weekend that the dahonbikes.com URL is now active as the dahon site. Not much to see really, the 2012 range is more or less like the 2007/8 range with various bit having migrated to Tern. Not quite the 10% improvement each year.

badrad

as matter of fact - looks like a few steps back as well.
TERAZED and the ARIDUS - i must be missing something here - but both frames neither folds, and the only significance is they mention now flat pack technology - meaning the handlebar drops down, and the pedals are removable (they mention a Dahon patent in their specs). The TERAZED also comes with a huge-ass rear rack with some serious coaster wheels, but i don't see the need for it if the bike doesn't fold in half...
https://www.dahonbikes.com/index.php/bikes/show/340.html
https://www.dahonbikes.com/index.php/bikes/show/338.html
They have certainly eliminated all their performance bikes.

tcs

Uh, Dahon is the market leader.

Anyway, from looking at the official folded picture on their web site, it's not clear that a wider OLD would make the folded bike larger.

tcs

I haven't been able to find the Jifo wheelbase dimension - what is it, and how does it compare to the Curve wheelbase dimension?

tcs

There are lots of different kinds of 'folding' bikes, for different applications. The Terazed folds flat and sits on end, making its storage footprint smaller. Undoubtedly something their research says has a market.

badrad

i guess they didn't want to do the same with the 700c aridus. but maybe it will be narrow enough to lean closely against a wall.

pacificcyclist

Hmm, so you consider the Dahon Mu Nu360 a step back?

pacificcyclist

I suspect this is more of a female preferred city bike. With the last mile or 2, most ladies will do without needing to wear a helmet since most of the commute will be conducted on a train, ferry or bus. And unlike men, ladies are usually not gear nuts. The color green is a give away. Recently, I saw 2 ladies riding their green Bromptons M3L along the bike path I frequent on. One is trying to catch the Canada Line train. The other lady just came off. So obviously, there is a market for it. Just not a predominantly man's market.

jefmcg

badmother

??

Maybe you should stick to just commenting on bikes?

brakemeister

this seems to be a lovefest for Dahon haters .... thats ok, just stay in this thread and come up with funny ?? u tube stuff and what not.

In the meantime we are eagerly awaiting the first JiFos to actually sell them and make some folks happy, as they are waiting for a lightweight easy to carry, superfast to fold , commuter bike, which can be stored in the smallest of places.
Its not designed to be moded, its not designed to run centuries. Its perfect for the boat, camper, airplane you name it, and for the daily commute, where you have to carry it up or/and down flights of steps. Is it perfect ? Hell no, there is no perfect bike which can do everything.



I was very critical about this bike, and still am, but the people I let the bike ride around the campground/marina all came back with a big smile on their face, this includes two shop owners, and a bunch of folks who havent ridden a bike in years, as well as some hobby cyclist which are doing centuries all year long.
That smile is worth a lot more than this nagging and whining tude some of our members are displaying here.
I hated the color, but its growing on me, and quite frankly 75 % of the folks who rode the bike like it ( 100% of the ladies do )
Nobody cares about the narrow OLD, the shorter than the Curves wheelbase ( roughly 2 inches ) and despite my own recomendation about max height, I had a couple folks riding it being quite a bit taller ( including the St Louis shop owner) and they all made it back without problems ( and that smile on their face )

Give it a rest... enjoy your bike of choice ( we all know what brand that is ).
and rather built the folding bike market, rather than destroying it with your negativity.
Jeez who wants to be a member of that crowd ... listen to yourself once

Thor

tcs

Actually, Thor, there are regular threads - which you participate in - from people asking about changing the gearing on their folding bike. This seems to be the official word from you, though: the Jifo gearing can't be changed, and unless a single gear of 178 gear inches (sic) works for the rider, this is not the bike to buy.

Looking past the century ride hyperbole, the Jifo wouldn't even seem to be a choice for a last mile commute that's down slope in the morning and up slope or against a headwind in the evenings, or for a weekend ride in the park (one of Dahon's advertised uses for the Jifo) that included even quite modest variations in terrain. What a shame Dahon made design choices that so severely limit the utility of their first dual-frame-fold bike!

brakemeister

I dont know where that 178 gear inches comes from ..... ( other than the official Dahon pages , which are obviously wrong )

when you look at my page it says
https://www.thorusa.com/dahon/current/jifo.htm
or
53 gear inches....thats official ThorUSA ......lol

:-)

tcs

I hope the official company web page is also wrong about the tire size. ISO35-359 would be a new and unique size in the universe of cycling, used only on the Jifo! Guessing it's supposed to be ISO35-349, a common size.

pacificcyclist

Perhaps this Scientific American article will help you explain why I think your opinion is just yours; not the facts.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...ts-on-the-road

The most notable North American cities that had done a marvellous job in promoting women cycling is none other than Oregon -- pretty obvious. And guess where Clever Cycles and Universal Cycles are located huh?!? Another obvious give away.

New York and Ohio (surprise) are next. The current approach is to create the infrastructure to be women friendly. But what's wrong with the approach of creating a woman friendly commuter bike that can be used in existing inter-modal transportation infrastructure that are not as well established like in Oregon, New York or Ohio bike friendly towns?!?

Think different.

chagzuki

The website appears to have gone up in a hurry, there's plenty awry.

chagzuki

Does look like a nice toy here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDzt8VdGeNQ

Presumably if the wheelbase were longer the folded bike would be taller but the footprint could stay the same, which potentially would be a good thing IMO.

tcs

Huh? A bike with ill conceived gearing in a pretty color is "woman friendly"? That's surely condescending and perhaps borders on mysogyny.

tcs

And if they'd made the rear triangle wide enough to accept a common IGH, the folded bike might have been 15mm wider but useful in so very many more rider applications. Hopefully in future model years they'll consider follow-on models expanding the basic idea rather than dropping it due to poor sales.

pacificcyclist

Just because this bike isn't marketed for you does not mean that it is ill-conceived don't you think? Why do you think that every cyclists on earth have to be just like you?

brakemeister

what makes you think that a 53 gearing is ill conceived or anything in that direction ?
woman friendly only cause all woman I have talked to like the color, and usually they like the little smaller size better than anybody over 6 feet tall. Besides woman in particular like the low weight. Nothing wrong with being woman friendly by the way ...

thor

Diode100

Where do you get that from ?

Can't be the posts on this thread, which are quizzical rather than anything.