Dahon

Dahon
Dahon
Industry Bicycle
Founded 1982[1]
Headquarters Los Angeles, California, United States
Key people Dr. David Hon, founder and CEO
Products Folding bicycles
Website www.dahonbikes.com

Dahon is the world's largest manufacturer of folding bicycles with a two-thirds marketshare in 2006.[2] The company was founded by David T. Hon, a former laser physicist,[3][4][5] in 1982 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with assembly factories in China, Macau and Bulgaria.[1] Dahon markets bicycles under its own name as well as other brand names, including Ridgeback, the affiliated Yeah Bicycles, and Novara for REI in the U.S.[6] The company is a member of the Global Alliance for EcoMobility.[7]

Contents

Company

History

Dahon was founded in 1982 on a vision of “green” mobility, a form of transportation that not only serves to keep people healthier, but also preserves the environment for the next generation. As a relentless innovator, Dr. Hon toiled in his garage for seven years to create the perfect folding bicycle that would uphold these ideals. After presenting his invention to several established but uninterested companies, Dr. Hon and his brother Henry decided establish their own company from scratch. The two gathered venture funding and established their headquarters in Southern California while Dr. Hon re-located to Taiwan to build a factory. One year later, in 1983, Dahon folding bicycles were rolling off the assembly line. Under the continued leadership of Dr. Hon, now recognized as the father of the modern folding bike, Dahon and its team of 70 engineers continue to set the pace with new technologies and innovations.

Production

Primary production takes place in the company’s main factory in Shenzhen, China. Plans are also in place for a completely new factory in central China with an initial production capacity of 700,000 bike units per year. Another facility, near Beijing, produces Dahon bikes for the Chinese market, a market that continues to grow strongly for the U.S.-based company. Beginning in 2012, all Dahon brand bikes destined for Europe will be made in Bulgaria.[8] In a strategic partnership with Maxcom Ltd., the company is setting up a full-scale production base at one of the most modern facilities on the continent. All of the bikes for the European market will be made at the ISO 9001:2008-certified facility in Plovdiv, which specializes in the manufacturing of bicycles and features state-of-the-art machining technology and modern quality inspection equipment.[9]

Marketing

For 2012, Dahon launches its first-ever global advertising campaign, which incorporates a two-tiered marketing campaign specifically designed for both b2b and b2c markets. The company’s new strategy reinforces its positioning as a technology-rich brand with a broad product portfolio while also communicating the brand’s emotional values in a more personal way. As part of the shift to further enhance the focus on the brand’s emotional appeal, Dahon also introduces the new tagline, “Freedom Unfolds”. The new global campaign, themed “Express Your Personality” was launched at Eurobike 2011 in Friedrichshafen, Germany in a live-stage performance where several of the campaign’s leading characters lit up the runway with their personal pick out of the 2012 Dahon bicycle range.[10]


Folding bikes

Dahon Espresso, 26 inch, folded

Several Dahon bicycles use a patented single hinge frame design, whereby the handlebar folds down and the frame hinge swings to the left, leaving the handlebar inside. Biggest sellers are the models with 16 or 20 inch wheels, but models are available with wheels from 12 inches to 700C. Models are available with derailleur or hub gear shifter, or both or none.

Models

Dahon in its 2009 product catalog offers 35 models of folding or portable bicycles in wheel sizes ranging from 16-26” with aluminum alloy or steel frames.[11] Most of the 2009 offerings are true folding bicycles with some, like the Flõ mountain bike, using Ritchey "break apart" technology.[12]

One of the company's best selling bikes is the Boardwalk D7, an entry-level, steel-frame commuter bike.[13]

Special bikes

In 2008 to celebrate 25 years of production Dahon produced a special edition based on the Mµ series of bikes - the Mµ XXV. 250 of these machines were produced. In March 2009 they announced that they would produce 1,000 sets of a special edition bike based on its Curve D3 folding bike with the Spanish design firm Kukuxumusu.[14]

Awards

A 2009 Dahon Mμ SL folding bike

Dahon received an Innovative Products Award each for a folding bike entry and a suspension postpump, which combined an air suspension system and bicycle pump inside a single seatpost, at the 2009 Taipei International Cycle Show.[15]

In September 2009, Dahon's Ios XL, a bike designed for the urban commuter,[16] was awarded a Eurobike Gold Design Award.[17] Only 77 entries out of a total of 400 applicants from the bicycle industry worldwide were awarded with Eurobike Awards in 2009, and out of those only eight received a Gold Award for outstanding achievements in design and innovation.[18]

Events

Smithfield Nocturne 2009 Folding Bike Race

The winners of the Smithfield Nocturne 2009 folding bike race, held in the Smithfield Market area of London, both rode Dahon folding bikes. Keith Henderson took first place in the Novice Commuter category riding a Mμ SL[19] while James Norton was first in the Seasoned Commuter category on a Mμ EX.[20]

References

A Dahon bike from c. 1987, in the collection of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
  1. ^ a b About Us. Dahon corporate website.. http://www.dahonbikes.com/index.php/article/index/1.html 
  2. ^ "A Commuter's Secret Weapon". Business Week. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_24/b3988102.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-12. 
  3. ^ "United States Patent 4,344,042: Self-regenerative laser oscillator-amplifier". USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=4344042.PN.&OS=PN/4344042&RS=PN/4344042. Retrieved 2009-07-08. 
  4. ^ "United States Patent 4,178,561: Scanning arrangements for optical frequency converters". USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=4178561.PN.&OS=PN/4178561&RS=PN/4178561. Retrieved 2009-07-08. 
  5. ^ "United States Patent 4,019,159: Optical frequency doubler using electro-optic crystal with improved feedback control of crystal phase match". USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=4019159.PN.&OS=PN/4019159&RS=PN/4019159. Retrieved 2009-07-08. 
  6. ^ "Novara FlyBy Shuttle Foldable Bike". REI. http://www.rei.com/product/784058. Retrieved 2009-05-11. 
  7. ^ "Businesses". Global Alliance for EcoMobility. http://www.ecomobility.org/index.php?id=9476. Retrieved 2009-06-12. 
  8. ^ "Dahon Enhances Global Manufacturing, Adds Key Management". Bicycle Newswire. http://www.bicyclenewswire.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.showreleasemore&id=3038. Retrieved 2011-09-27. 
  9. ^ "Dahon to move some bike production to Europe". Bikeradar. http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/dahon-to-move-some-bike-production-to-europe-30530/. Retrieved 2011-09-27. 
  10. ^ "Dahon launches New Global Campaign". Bike Europe. http://www.bike-eu.com/news/5230/dahon-launches-new-global-campaign.html. Retrieved 2011-09-27. 
  11. ^ "Dahon 2009 Catalog". http://files.dahon.com/catalog/2009_dahon_catalog.zip. Retrieved 2009-05-08. 
  12. ^ Lesser, Chris (2008-10-23). "Tested: Dahon Flo Folding Hardtail". BikeMag.com. http://www.bikemag.com/gear/bikes/10-23-08-tested-dahon-flo-folding-hardtail/. Retrieved 2009-05-08. 
  13. ^ "Boardwalk D7". Dahon corporate Website. http://www.dahon.com/intl/boardwalkd7.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-12. [dead link]
  14. ^ Sutton, Mark (2009-03-18). "Kukuxumusu and Dahon team up for limited folder". BikeBiz.com. http://www.bikebiz.com/news/30358/Kukuxumusu-and-Dahon-team-up-for-limited-folder. Retrieved 2009-05-11. 
  15. ^ Harker, Jonathan (2009-04-14). "Dahon bags two Taipei awards". BikeBiz.com. http://www.bikebiz.com/news/30456/Dahon-bags-two-Taipei-awards. Retrieved 2009-05-11. 
  16. ^ "Dahon Ios XL". 2010-05-06. http://www.dahon.com/bikes/2010/ios-xl. 
  17. ^ "Eurobike Award 2009 List". Messe Friedrichshafen. http://www.messe-fn.de/eb-en/press/press-photos.php?id=129&cn=EUROBIKE%20AWARD%202009. Retrieved 2010-05-06. [dead link]
  18. ^ "Eurobike Award 2009". Messe Friedrichshafen. http://eurobike-demo.de/eb-en/supporting-programme/eurobike-award-09.php. Retrieved 2010-05-06. 
  19. ^ "The Folding Bike Race". http://www.nocturneseries.com/smithfield/foldingbikerace.php. Retrieved 2009-06-11. 
  20. ^ Stevenson, John (2009-06-01). "James Norton smashes Dahon folding race". BikeRadar.com. http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/bikeradar-live-james-norton-smashes-dahon-folding-race-21830/. Retrieved 2009-06-11. 

External links

v · d · eFolding bicycles
Brands and models
A-bike · Bickerton · Bike Friday Tikit · Birdy · Brompton · Dahon · Di Blasi · Giant · Montague · Moulton · Neobike · Pashley · Strida · Swift Folder
Designers
Alex Moulton · Riese und Müller · Andrew Ritchie · Clive Sinclair

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