Whenever we test a new Dahon these days, we seem to remark on how well the machines are coming on. In motoring terms, Dahon is the Ford of the folding bike world – lots of models and mega- bucks global sales. These are machines for everyman – not upper class super- compacts like the Brompton, or testosterone-fuelled jobbies like the Bike Friday, but good honest value for money machines. And the value side of things just keeps getting better.Thanks to Dahon’s new Chinese factory, and a price realignment with Europe, UK prices have tumbled in the last year.They’re now virtually on a par with the United States, which is almost unknown for a folding bike, or indeed, any sort of bike.

Vitesse

The Vitesse might be described as the Ford Focus of the Dahon range – a reasonably economical, reasonably fast and eminently practical machine. In many ways, this bike is the natural descendant of the immortal Dawes Kingpin, the first of the 20-inch folders, that went on to spawn a whole range of frightful fold-in-half machines that caused untold damage to the genre in the 1980s.Yes, we’re talking ‘shopper’ here, but the Vitesse is light years from its 1970s roots. In fact, just about the only common component is the venerable Sturmey 3-speed hub, manufactured in Taiwan rather than Nottingham these days, but back on the market following the outrageous corporate rape and pillage of Sturmey Archer a few years ago.

…With cheap labour effectively running out, one assumes prices will eventually rise…

The other key component is a light and well finished aluminium frame. A year or two ago, this sort of feature would have been impractical on a modest shopper, but thanks to China’s Third World pay rates and growing expertise, a frame of this quality is now available on a sub-£300 machine. Quite where it will all end, we’re not sure.With pay and conditions already on their way up in China, the smart manufacturing dollars are already moving into Vietnam and Cambodia, but where then? With cheap labour effectively running out, one assumes the price of manufactured goods will eventually rise, but the philosophical and practical ramifications of this thesis are – thankfully – rather beyond the scope of this article.

On the Road

Where were we? Ah, yes, the Vitesse.The initial impression is of a very light, possibly sub-Brompton weight machine. At 12.7kg (28lb in old money) it’s reasonably light, but the 11kg -12.5kg Brompton shouldn’t worry unduly just yet.The illusion is caused by the comparatively large folded size of the Dahon, of which more later.

Gear ratios are always something of a compromise on three-speed bikes.With the grey market in mind, Dahon has aimed low with  the Vitesse, choosing ratios of  42″, 56″ and 74″. All credit to this light and nippy bike that 74″ feels distinctly low, but you’ll be glad of the 42″ bottom gear with a load of shopping on board, even on modest gradients.

Handling might best be described as ‘competent’; the bike exhibiting no obvious vices, but providing no great entertainment either. One good sign is that it can be ridden hands- off with a degree of nonchalance that’s unusual for a small-wheeled machine, although by modern standards, the 20 x 1.5″ tyres are more Rubenesque than twiglet, which must help in the stability department.The only slight grumble was a degree of play in the handlebar stem hinge.This is easily adjusted out, but it’s worth checking that the dealer has run through such basic checks before you hand over all that lovely money.

Rolling resistance is good, thanks to a pair of competent Kenda Kwest tyres. Riding with 50psi in the front, and the recommended maximum of 65psi at the rear, we averaged 14.7mph on our roll-down test, which is a shade slower than the best 20-inch machines.

The riding position is rather short on adjustment, with a fixed handlebar height, limited fore-and-aft saddle movement, and maximum saddle height of only 101cm. But in practice, the position probably suits 90% of the population, excluding only those with particularly long legs and/or short arms.

G-forces and all that

…the front managed 0.72G before lifting the rear wheel… Exciting stuff, but all in a day’s work…

Thanks to (another) new toy – a digital G-force meter – we can tell you more than you probably want to know about brake efficiency. G-force is a measure of stopping or accelerating force, measured using gravity (1G) as a basis. Modern cars can produce a brake force in excess of 1G on a good dry surface, thanks to four grippy tyres.Two wheelers – particularly upright examples like the Dahon – are hampered by the fact that the rider will sail over the bars long before achieving a stop of 1G. In this case, the rear brake averaged 0.36G before the wheel locked up, and the front managed 0.72G before lifting the rear wheel. Exciting stuff, but all in a day’s work.

The figures are taken independently, and it’s no use adding them together to claim a stop of 1.08G, because under severe braking, force at the rear is effectively nil, as the wheel begins to lift.Thus the maximum force for the Vitesse is 0.72G.Whether that’s good or bad, we won’t know until we’ve tried a few more bikes. Finally, we’re only measuring maximum stopping force here, not brake system efficiency, which would require another device to measure the force applied at the lever.

The unbranded V-brakes work well, although the rear is hampered by an S-bend in the cable, giving a rather woolly action, and both proved hard to set up, thanks to out-of- true wheels, a common Dahon fault. Once again, a good dealer should sort this for you, but of course, many will not.The sturdy brake levers are adjustable for reach; useful if you have smaller hands, although the adjusting screw was missing on one of ours.

Equipment

Very good.The Vitesse comes with a proper old-fashioned rack complete with chrome-ey spring-clip, full mudguards and flaps, perspex chainguard, a stand, bell and twistgrip gear change. It all works well, although we had a couple of complaints that trouser legs (presumably raffish flares) could catch in the main frame hinge, and the new Sturmey gear-shift felt rather heavy and notchy. Those with smaller or weaker hands might prefer to fit ye olde post-1937 Sturmey trigger… unmatched since, but enough nostalgia.The hub itself ticks along much as it used to in’t Nottingham days, but we spent longer than expected getting the adjustment right, for which we shall blame that sticky twistgrip.

Folding

To begin with, it’s standard Dahon stuff – the handlebars fold down to the left, then the main frame breaks in the middle and folds to the left, sandwiching the bars. But there’s an extra fiddly element on the Vitesse, because the handlebars need to be rotated in the stem to prevent the brake levers fouling the stand and/or the ground. As delivered, the bars needed little rotation, but this set-up felt all wrong on the road, putting the levers too high and the gear indicator too low.With the brakes and gear-shift moved to a more comfortable position, the bars had to be rotated by nearly 180 degrees when folding the bike. It’s all a bit fiddly – fine for the occasional Sunday outing to the park, but much too annoying for a regular train commute.

Drop the saddle stem and fold the right-hand pedal (the excellent ‘Next’ design – a standard Dahon fitting) and you’re left with a package measuring 83.8cm long, 67.3cm tall, and 33.7cm wide. At 190 litres, this is slightly bulkier than the similar Helios we tested last summer. If that lot means as little to you as it does to us, the Vitesse occupies a volume of 6.8 cu ft, or about twice the volume of the folded Brompton, which continues to set the pace, folding wise.

Unfolding is straightforward in theory, but cables, brake levers and cranks tend to tangle with each other, which can easily double the time.

Conclusion

If you’re in the market for a nice sensible folding bike with hub gears and a rack, the Vitesse is more or less in a class of its own. It won’t break any speed records, either folding or on the road, but it’s a competent, pleasant machine, and with reasonable care, should give years of willing service. Is it worth £299? We’re joking, of course.The Vitesse would be a reasonable buy at £399, but knock £100 off and the opposition is left reeling.Well, would you rather ride a Pashley Micro or a base-model Strida? One suspects the top end of the market will shrug off Dahon’s ruthless march towards quality and value, but the cheapies could be in real trouble because machines of this calibre simply didn’t use sell for £300. Until now, that is. Dahon is on to a winner.

Specification

Dahon Vitesse D3 £300 (US $400)
Weight 12.7kg (28lb)
Folded Volume 190 litres
Folded Size L83.8cm H67.3cm W33.7cm Gear System Sunrace-Sturmey 3-speed hub Ratios 42″ 56″ 74″ Manufacturer Dahon web www.dahon.com UK Sales Cyclemotion web www.dahon.co.uk tel 01451 860083 fax 01451 860083 mail sales@cyclemotion.co.uk