Dahon Folding Bike

fcurran

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Oct 23, 2007
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Dahon unveils electric bike | Bicycle business | News by BikeBiz

From Bikebiz:


The Boost – an ultra-light folding e-bike – enters the market

Dahon has today revealed details of a folding electric bicycle – the Boost.

Set to be showcased at the forthcoming Eurobike show, the Boost has been two years in the making with a Japanese technology partner and boasts sophisticated motor and torque sensors that add power proportionally to what the rider applies to the pedals.

With a 250W motor with a top speed of 25 km per hour, the Boost uses a 3x3 gearing system that allows for nine different riding modes for variable electric assistance and can also be used as a standard bike when the electric drive system is turned off.

With a folding process of just 15 seconds, the fully equipped weight of the Boost is 19.6kgs, making it one of the lightest electric bikes on the market.
Dahon vice president Joshua Hon said: “There are some very good electric bikes on the market already but there aren’t many good ‘portable’ electric bikes.”

“Electric bikes are a really compelling product for urban mobility with excellent growth potential but most are really heavy and difficult to transport. A truly portable electric bike can be rolled onto trains and buses and will really help to expand the usefulness of the category. In the cities of the future, we believe that most inner city transport will be a combination of personal transport (walking, bikes) and trains and buses.”
 

Artstu

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Aug 2, 2009
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Any extra news on this bike? guessing it will be priced at £1200+
 

keithhazel

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Oct 1, 2007
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Dahon unveils electric bike | Bicycle business | News by BikeBiz

From Bikebiz:


The Boost – an ultra-light folding e-bike – enters the market

Dahon has today revealed details of a folding electric bicycle – the Boost.

Set to be showcased at the forthcoming Eurobike show, the Boost has been two years in the making with a Japanese technology partner and boasts sophisticated motor and torque sensors that add power proportionally to what the rider applies to the pedals.

With a 250W motor with a top speed of 25 km per hour, the Boost uses a 3x3 gearing system that allows for nine different riding modes for variable electric assistance and can also be used as a standard bike when the electric drive system is turned off.

With a folding process of just 15 seconds, the fully equipped weight of the Boost is 19.6kgs, making it one of the lightest electric bikes on the market.
Dahon vice president Joshua Hon said: “There are some very good electric bikes on the market already but there aren’t many good ‘portable’ electric bikes.”

“Electric bikes are a really compelling product for urban mobility with excellent growth potential but most are really heavy and difficult to transport. A truly portable electric bike can be rolled onto trains and buses and will really help to expand the usefulness of the category. In the cities of the future, we believe that most inner city transport will be a combination of personal transport (walking, bikes) and trains and buses.”
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at first glance i thought it was the "flyer" the folding one, cant remember brand name.....sort of similar isnt it at a glance
 

flecc

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Oct 25, 2006
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at first glance i thought it was the "flyer" the folding one, cant remember brand name.....sort of similar isnt it at a glance
Yes, the frame looks like the BikeTech Flyer Faltrad, but this is a very different system. It looks like the Sunstar motor mounted just in front of the bottom bracket and driving a second chainwheel, the battery mounted just to the rear of the seat tube.
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Bigbee

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Oct 12, 2008
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Yes, the frame looks like the BikeTech Flyer Faltrad, but this is a very different system. It looks like the Sunstar motor mounted just in front of the bottom bracket and driving a second chainwheel, the battery mounted just to the rear of the seat tube.
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How the hell can you tell that from the picture!I can bearly make out its a bike from that photo!:)
 

flecc

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Oct 25, 2006
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How the hell can you tell that from the picture!I can bearly make out its a bike from that photo!:)
I hadn't seen Artstu's link, I just copied and enlarged the pic to see where the blocks of black were! From that I could see that the Sunstar was the only option for that position.
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Erik

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Feb 20, 2008
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I want one, no make that two, to bring on caravan vacations for me and my wife, and of course to have in the boot.

Dahon Boost 2010

However 2000 Euros is pretty steep.
 
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Artstu

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Aug 2, 2009
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I'm very tempted too. but price is a major factor

I like this Dahon myself, none-electric


 

daniel.weck

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Aug 8, 2009
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2000 Euros ... ouch !
20 kg ... ouch !

The motor looks like it can pull though ! :)

Is it in any way similar to the Panasonic crank units, or is it just a Currie-like chain-driven setup ?

translated:

Google Translate
 

flecc

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Oct 25, 2006
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The Sunstar unit is far from powerful at 180 watts, but driving through the gears that doesn't matter as much,
though it's weaker than the Panasonic unit. It has it's own bottom bracket insert incorporating a Panasonic like
torque sensor and also has fairly sophisticated software control. Uniquely it has resettable DIP switches inside
it's control which can be set for a full range of bike wheel sizes. Single chainwheel only possible, though that
doesn't matter on a folder.

This Panasonic based Swiss BikeTech Flyer Faltrad is a bit lighter at 18 kilos, but it's even more expensive. Last
UK price I saw was £2100, so about €2400:
flyer fold.jpg
 
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daniel.weck

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Aug 8, 2009
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flecc

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Oct 25, 2006
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Of course BikeTech have always had the swan neck frames on their step-throughs, including the folder, but Dahon
have only adopted it recently for two folder models to make step-through easier. Most of their folders still use their
well known straight single tube design.
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daniel.weck

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Aug 8, 2009
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Artstu

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That's interesting. I'm guessung on a couple of the photos the motor shown is different than the universal one as the frames shown have an extra bracket welded on to support the motor.

I wonder how much they cost and where you'd get hold of one in this country.
 

flecc

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Oct 25, 2006
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Thanks for the photos Erik, not the first e-bike to look worse on the left, it often seems to be the messy side.
Some like the looks of the Flyer F on the right, but the left view looks very clumsy. The new type Panasonic
unit is a bit messy on the left side too.
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Erik

Pedelecer
Feb 20, 2008
198
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The rear frame looks over-engineered to me, with the luggage rack integrated.

The frame looks like it could handle a 10HP petrol engine without problems.

For €2000 I would expect more than a measly 3-speed hub, generally it looks like a mix of an expensive motor paired with cycle parts from entry-level Dahons.
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For €500 I get a medium level Dahon with 7-speed hub and dynamo lights.

or €375 will buy me an entry-level Dahon comparable with the Boost

Additionally €600 will buy me a 20" front wheel with motor, controller and battery.

I think Dahon should improve the cycle parts specs.
 

flecc

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Oct 25, 2006
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For €2000 I would expect more than a measly 3-speed hub, generally it looks like a mix of an expensive motor paired with cycle parts from entry-level Dahons.

I think Dahon should improve the cycle parts specs.
I agree Erik, this seems a common thing on most Chinese made e-bikes, very cheap bike parts on high priced
e-bikes. Wisper seem to be doing things a bit differently on their latest high end models though and Giant of
Taiwan aren't bad, so there's hope yet.
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