Review of 2008 Dahon Boardwalk Folding Bike

2008 Dahon Boardwalk Folding Bike
By: Dahon Average Rating: 3.0 Total Reviews: 1
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A nice taste, but not enough to enjoy

On: 2008-05-19

I bought a Dahon Boardwalk as my first folding bike, and it was more an educational experience than a bike to ride. I learned that folding bikes can be very useful, but the Boardwalk itself is geared very low, it isnt easily modified, and the frame geometry is better suited to a smaller person (<59"). That said, this folding bike was wonderful to throw in the trunk of a small sports car, or stick in a laundry bag to carry on the NYC subway. Based on my experience with the Boardwalk, I upgraded to a Dahon Speed model, heavily customized by Gaerlan cycles in California (SRAM DualDrive, Thudbuster, Brooks Saddle, etc.). This customized Speed has been just about perfect for me, but it ended up costing 8-10 times the price of the Boardwalk, which in turn I sold to someone much smaller, and a generation or two older than myself. She loves it.

My summary is that the Boardwalk is designed to get people hooked into folding bicycles at a very low entry-level price, just so that they will then buy something better for a lot more money. Once you swallow this bait, then no doubt Dahon hopes youll stay within their product family, as they offer the most selection among folding bikes, and that probably accounts for 80 percent of the market. For the other 20 percent, one might find other options. Theres a bike called the Swift thats stiffer than my Speed, and it can be set up for more performance at about the same price. That said, these custom Swifts are rare birds, and the mass-market Xooter models fall well short of the mark. At a lower price point, theres also a Taiwanese-made folder called Downtube that offers tremendous bang for the buck, but these bikes are not carried in bike shops (mailorder only), and theyre also quite rare.

The answer is more a question than any ultimate truth. If youre less than 59", and you dont ride super-aggressively, then the Dahon Boardwalk might be just right.