General

How much does the Dahon Vybe weight?

The Dahon Vybe weights 34.5 pounds, around 16 kilogram. This is quite similar to the Dahon Speed Uno, however less than the Stowabike CityBike. Therefore, the Dahon Vybe is in the medium range compared to other folding bikes.

How much does only the frame weight?

The frame weight of the Dahon Vybe is around 25lbs, thats 11 kilogram. The frame is made out of aluminium and is therefore heavier than the chrome frame from the Dahon Speed Uno. However, the additional weight has also the advantage that the bike is easier to steer and stand also steadier.

What are the dimensions of the Dahon Vybe when folded? How small can it be folded?

The Dahon Vybe is  34 x 13 x 26 inches large when folded, that is around 85 x 33 x 66 cm. This makes the bike extremely compact and easy to carry. Furthermore, it is also ideal for a person who has only a small space available, because of its dimensions you can put it wherever you have  some free space.

 

In which colors is the bike available?

The bike is available in black and dark green, with blue stickers from Dahon on its frame. I personally think that the color is excellent, because it is extremely stylish. However, if you also plan to ride your bike during the night I recommend that you use a set of reflectors. For this bike I recommend the BV Bicycle Light Set , which includes a LED Lamp and a reflector on the back.

Is the seat adjustable? How comfortable is the seat?

The seat of the Dahon Vybe is adjustable in terms of height. However, opinions diverge regarding comfort. One the one hand people say that the pre-delivered seat is extremely comfortable, on the other hand bikers argue that the they love to have a gel seat instead. I believe that if you are using a gel seat for longer bike tours you are definitely on the right site. Therefore, I suggest that you use the,  Bicycle Seat Cover / Gel Pad-Wide. This seat is the thickest saddle cover on the market and you will definitely love it when you make longer tours.

How much body weight can this bike hold? Can the Dahon Vybe hold a person with 250 lbs or around 114 kg?

The Dahon Vybe can hold up to 230 lb, around 105 kilogram. Therefore, I do not recommend using this bike with much more body weight. If you want to have a bike which can hold more than 250 lbs I recommend using the Stowabike CityBike, which can hold up to 280 lbs.

Is this bike for men/women?

This bike is definitely an unisex bike. Therefore, it is for both men and for women. Furthermore, the style of this bike  also has no age restrictions. Because of the simple color scheme that is used with this bike, the Dahon Vybe is for young and also for old.

Speed

How many gears does it have? How fast is the Dahon Vybe?

The Dahon Vybe has 7 gears, which is rather unusual for a folding bike. In contrast the Dahon Speed Uno has only 1 gear. Hence, the Dahon Vybe is an excellent compagnion if you also want to ride outside the city on small hills. I recommend, when using the bike that you ride with the 3rd or 4th gear, then you have plenty of options in both directions if you are going up or downward.

How does the bike perform on hills and old/bumpy pavement on the streets?

The Dahon Vybe has no additional dampers. Therefore, one might think that the bike performs poorly on bumpy streets. However, because of its excellent tires, you won`t feel the holes in the street. If you really want to make sure that you can cross old bumpy streets easily, I recommend to use another saddle stand, such as the Thomson 31.6 x 400 Dropper Seatpost, which is extremely comfortable.

How well does the bike go uphill?

The Dahon Vybe has seven gears. This allows the bike to go extremely easily uphill. However, I only recommend to use this bike on designated bike routes/paths. Hence, if you want to use your foldign bike as a downhill bike, I recommend to use the Montague SwissFolding Bike instead, which is much more suited for this need.

Assembly

Does the Dahon Vybe require assembly? How hard is this bike to put together?

The Dahon Vybe does not requre any assembly out of the box. When folding the bike you have to open the Dahon Vybe in the middle of the frame . Furthermore, you also have to fold the pedals and pull down the saddle. Dahon says, that you can fold the bike in less than 15 seconds. I strongly believe that this is possible, however, I do not think that if you haven`t tried the folding process before, it will hardly possible for you.

 

Which tools do I need to assemble the folding bike?

The Dahon Vybe comes folded out of the box. Therefore, you do not need any tools to assemble the bike. However, I definitely recommend to check all bolts and therefore, I suggest that you are using a bicycle toolkit, such as the Multi Function Bike Tool  for this purpose. This Multifunction toolkit can also be used for other bikes and is one of my all rounder kits in my garage.

What do I have to do to fold the bike? Do the pedals fold?

To fold the bike you have to open the double secured frame clip. Furthermore, you could pull down the saddle or remove it entirely from the folding bike, which makes the bike much more robust. Finally, you can also fold the pedals, which is a unique feature Dahon uses in all their folding bikes.

Usefulness

Can I safely attach a child seat to this bike? Which seat would work best?

I do not recommend that you attack a child seat to the Dahon Vybe, because the rack is rather low and it is possible that the child’s feed get into the bikes spores, which hurts extremely badly. If your children are too little to ride their own bike when you do a bike tour I recommend that you use a trailer, such as the InSTEP Take 2 Double Bicycle Trailer. The biggest advantage is that this trailer can also be folded and therefore, it also saves a lot of storage space!

Does it come with a storage bag? Which storage bag can I use for my bike?

The Dahon Vybe does not come with a storage space itself. However, if you are using this bike regularly, I definitely recommend that you are looking for a bag, especially if you rode your bike after a rainy weather and want to store it in your flat. For this pupose Dahon has their own storage bags, which I highly recommend.  I personally have tried the Dahon Stow Bag and I am completely satisfied with its size. I also take this bag if I am going on a trip. However, if you just want to store your bike, I recommend using the slim Dahon Body Bag, which is a bag specifically design for storing your bike.

Can I install training wheels on the bike?

You can definitely install training wheels on this bike. However, you definitely have to look for steady wheels, because in my experience a lot of those wheels are made out of cheap metal. Therefore, I recommend using the Wald Bicycle Training Wheels, which come from the famous Wald brand and are great if your child wants to learn how to ride a bike. If you do not feel secure on the bike, I recommend using stabilization wheels, such as Bike USA Stabilizer Wheel Kit, which fit perfectly with the Dahon Vybe.

Which bike bags or baskets can be used on this bike?

The Dahon Vybe is a great for shopping trips. Because of its rack you can easily put a bike bag on it. I definitely recommend to use the Topeak Trolley Tote Folding Basket, which has a capacity of 25 liters and can also be folded. If you usually have much more groceries than 25 liters I recommend to use the Bushwhacker Omaha – Bicycle Grocery Pannier Cycling Rack Basket, which is extremely stable(can hold over 25 cans topped up with other groceries).

Is it possible to convert the folding bike to an electric bike?

Yes, the Dahon Vybe can be easiliy converted into an electric bike using the Rear Wheel 48V 1000W Electric Battery Powered Bicycle Motor Conversion Kit. This kit allows anybody, without much assembling to convert a folding bike into an electric bike. I helped one of my friends to convert his Dahon Vybe into an electric bike, and we both can use tools only on a pathfinder novice level. Therefore, it is extremely easy and highly recommended to use this kit!

Travel

Can I take it into an airplane? Can I take it into a train?

The Dahon Vybe is extremely tiny when folded. Therefore, you would not have to pay much when you check your bike in as additional luggage. However, when using a train you definitely can use the bike as hand luggage. I recommend, that before you make such a trip you definitely ask at the train company, if a folded bike also counts as a bicycle and therefore needs an extra ticket. If you want to send your bike by post, I recommend that you use either one of the Dahon Bags, such as the Dahon Stow Bag or the Dahon Body Bag, or you send your bike inside a large box such as the, EcoBox Corrugated Shipping Box.

Can this bike fit into a trunk?

The Dahon Vybe is extremely small. I am driving an SUV and can definitely put two Dahon Vybes inside my trunk, with other bags also inside. However, if your trunk is super small I think that you could store the bike on the passenger seat and the seat in the back.