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Reinventing the Wheel
People usually say, "Don't reinvent the wheel" when they
want a quick and easy solution to a problem. The problem is that
when you focus too much on what others have done before, you stifle
creativity and limit your ability to come up with truly original
and unique solutions.
We take a contrarian view. For us, "Reinventing the wheel"
is a philosophy that we embrace. Reinventing takes a lot of time
and it often takes us down the wrong road. But it also leads to
bright flashes of brilliance and insight that ultimately result
in quantum leaps forward. This approach to our work is why, Dr.
David Hon, our founder, left Hughes Aircraft and started his own
company after all of the large bicycle manufacturers rejected his
original folding bicycle design.
This approach is also why, time and again, we have introduced innovations
that have swept through the bicycle industry. And it is why we have
one of the most prolific and well respected R&D teams in the
bicycle industry. Today, after 20 years of building the world's
most popular portable bicycles, we stand at the beginning of the
21st century and look forward to the continued challenge of building
environmentally responsible mobility solutions for the global community.
The 15% Rule
The 15% rule is our commitment to improve our bikes by at least
15% each year. This 15% improvement can come in the form of improved
riding performance, increased comfort, lighter weight, improved
folding function, or enhanced durability. This 15% target puts a
lot of pressure on us but it means that you can be assured that
we'll never be resting on our laurels - we'll always be passionately
searching for ways to improve our product. So if you haven't ridden
a new Dahon, take one for a test ride. We promise, you'll be impressed.
RideLight Design
Sure, there are lots of folding bicycles on the market, but how
many of them are truly portable? A bicycle isn't portable if it's
too heavy to lift into your car or carry across a subway station.
Portable bicycles need to be light. RideLite Design is a collection
of technologies that we use to build some of the lightest portable
bikes in the world. Each year, every part of every bike is scrutinized
by our team of engineers to see how we can make it stronger or lighter.
The result: what you thought was a pretty darn good bike last year
gets just a bit stronger and lighter this year. RideLite Design
is why even our steel frame bicycles are lighter than the aluminum
frame bicycles of most other manufacturers. Following are some of
the technologies behind RideLite Design:
Premium frame materials - everything starts with the frame and
that's why we choose the best materials for our frames. Our top-end
aluminum frames are made from a proprietary Puro™
U6 aluminum tubing that is 25% stronger than traditional 6061
aluminum. Even our more economical steel frames are made from
high grade 4130 chromoly steel.
- Frame design - frame design is even more important than frame
material in building a light frame. A good frame is strong and
light. Some frames on the market are strong but heavy. A few are
light but not strong enough. And many of the cheaper folding bikes
on the market are not only heavy but not strong enough either.
Many of our latest patented technologies focus on how to make
a strong but lightweight frame. These technologies include our
Re-Bar™ technology, PowerBulge
frame tubing, Embed bottom brackets
and WrapAround chainstays.
- Frame details - butted tubing, CNC machined head tubes, forged
hinges and drop-outs.
- Super-oversize seat posts -
we use custom 34mm seat posts on all of our compact bikes. The
larger diameter tubing lets us use thinner tubing while maintaining
strength.
- Careful parts selection - in the months leading up to the introduction
of each year's models, our bicycle designers fall asleep with
their arms wrapped around digital weight scales. That's because
a big part of what they do is searching for lighter and better
new components. Each potential part is weighed, assembled, tested,
and ridden. Lighter tire casings, narrower and shorter chains,
Kevlar cable housing, compact brake arms, CompactDrive chainrings
and sprockets, aluminum spoke nipples - these are just some of
the many ways we lighten our bikes. In each case, the difference
is only a few grams but when you can cut 5% of weight off each
component, it adds up.
- The final crucial piece to building sanely light bikes is proper
testing equipment. Every frame and every component we make is
sent to our testing department for a battery of tests. Testing
lets us know how much of a safety margin we have and how far we
can push the weight envelope. Here's a good question: how many
folding bike manufacturers actually have their own in-house testing
equipment?
RideSafe Design
RideSafe Design is our commitment to building the safest bikes possible.
RideSafe Design incorporates many different design features and
technologies to make our bikes safer to ride. Following are some
of the many ways we ensure the highest levels of safety:
- ISO 9001 manufacturing - our main factory, where every one of
our frames is welded and processed, is ISO certified to meet extremely
high standards in production control.
- Vertical manufacturing - we'll bet you didn't know this but
these days, many big brand bicycle manufacturers don't even own
their own factories. Many sub-contract out to OEM factories that
are producing all kinds of bikes for all kinds of customers. And
the overwhelming majority of those manufacturers that do have
their own factories don't produce their own frames. They are what's
known in the industry as screw driver factories. Frames are outsourced,
components are out-sourced: the factory just has an assembly line
to screw-driver all the parts together. The problem with this
is that it is much harder to rigorously control the quality control
process when the production doesn't take place in your own factory.
That's why we have our own factory and we weld and process our
own frames. Not only that but we are heavily vertically integrated,
meaning that we even do most of our own tube cutting, forming,
and stamping. The end result is a higher degree of control over
quality and much faster solutions when we do find a problem.
- In-house Testing Machinery - It's all well and good to manufacture
your own bikes but it is also critically important to put all
new frame and components to the test before they hit the market.
Multiple samples of every new frame and component we make is sent
to our testing department for a battery of tests. Testing lets
up build in adequate safety margins.
- Strong frames - the large majority of folding bicycles on the
market are built with low cost, high tensile (low carbon) steel.
Our frames are TIG welded out of the best materials, like 4130
chromoly and Puro™ U6 aluminum alloy. And much of our patented
technology is centered around getting the most strength out of
the material that we use.
- BioLogic™ frame geometry - have you ever hopped aboard
a small-wheeled folding bike and been shocked by the poor handling
characteristics. Our new BioLogic™ geometry delivers the
surest and most stable ride available. We've designed folding
bicycles for twenty years and our BioLogic™ geometry is the
result of that experience.
- DoubleLok Technology - all Dahon bikes feature a second safety
lock on every folding mechanism. DoubleLok technology provides
an extra margin of safety and peace of mind for the rider.
- Lifetime frame warranty - of course, all of these technologies
wouldn't mean a thing if our frames weren't rock solid. That's
why we can offer a lifetime* warranty on all of our frames and
folding components.
*Contingent on the customer having their bike adjusted by a
bike technician before riding and sending in the warranty card.
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