louisthedog

hiya, slightly worried now after my purchase of the 20" Vybe D7. I have always used my normal bike for slight off-road purposes, e.g. on foot paths, canal paths, woody paths... and i seem to have read somewhere about a Dahon rider who used his bike offroad. but i've just read my manual and it says there one should only use the bike on paved surfaces....
obviously, non-paved uneven surfaces will put a higher strain on the bike, but the Dahon comes supposedly with a frame that according to its manufacturers is virtually indestructable. So does this mean I would need to worry only about the wheels?
anyone has experience of off-road on your folding bike??? Advice greatly appreciated!

3speedslow

I would say my first concern would be the thin tires that are usually on these machines. The control might not be there.
Slight irregular ground on a ride every now an again should be okay if your worried about the hinges.
since it’s your bike the choice is yours to make. Let us know what you choose and how it goes!

Fentuz

Depends of your weight. @68 to 70kg, I rode my Helios (and jetstream and smooth hound) on gravel path, jump curbs, muddy path etc. and it is fine. I have a monoblock TT handle post, Rear Kinetix Comp wheel (28 spokes) and Front Kinetix comp pro wheel (14 spokes) on kojak 35-406

Those bikes are rated for 105kg so with 50% safety factor, I am fine. I would admit that with 2% safety factor, I would not ride them as I do.

CrimsonEclipse

The manual is written by lawyers to protect the company.

That said, the wheels will simply wear out 2x more quickly.
Not the end of the world.
The failure mode will likely be with a broken spoke.

kwantani

Perhaps Dahon GB2 is more ideal for gravel road.

2_i 

I routinely ride my folding bikes off-road, but all my bikes have steel frames. The bikes have too narrow tires for some sandy paths but then it is normal for life to be imperfect. When it makes no sense to insist on riding a given stretch, I just walk to save energy for other parts of the route. The steel frames have been chosen intentionally considering banging up of the bikes in transport, but presumably the steel helps in the off-road endurance too.

louisthedog

hi Guys and thanks a lot for your input! Made me feel good - I don't think I have to worry TOOOO much then, just need to expect a few earlier part replacements and adjustments.

tcs

To be (somewhat) fair to those lawyers, what is 'unpaved'?






You'll be fine.