Dahon Launch D8 Folding Bike - 8 Speed - Aluminum Frame - 20" Wheels - White

Video Transcript for Dahon Launch D8 Folding Bike Review

Hi, everyone. It's Evangeline here at etrailer. And today, we're gonna be taking a look at our Dahon Launch D8 folding bike. So this is gonna be one of Dahon's mid-range folding bikes that has a lot of power and a lot of force that's why it's called the Launch. So we'll take a look at some of its different features, introduce you to the world of folding bikes so that you can get the best ride for your adventures. So there's differences between folding bikes and regular bikes.

There's some special things about the Launch. It has smaller tires. It has a unique frame here. We're gonna take a look at some of those different features, different situations where you might prefer a folding bike. And then, we're gonna talk about the differences between the folding bikes themselves.

So hopefully, this video will help you choose the best bike for you and for different situations that you are going to be in. A big thing with folding bikes isn't just how compact and how portable it is, it's also how easy is it to unfold the bike itself. So what we're gonna do is I'm gonna guide you through that process. We already have everything set up. We have our pedals folded in, our seatpost is down, our magnets are holding the frame in place, so we're gonna start there.

So first step, undo those magnets. I use my knees to get myself a little leverage there. Get that frame up and into place. Use this clamp to secure it. You're gonna have a little tab right there that really secures it.

There we go. That's in place. Now, we're gonna get these handled bars up. Use this lever here. That snaps up too. Then, we have the seatpost. So let's get that seatpost to your ideal spot. We have some numbers here to help you figure that out. Pull those pedals out, kickstand down, and now we are ready to ride. So before we talk about specs and measurements, first, let's take a look at how this bike rides. So my videographer is gonna follow behind. Let's go on a trip. So with the Launch, I can definitely feel that there's so much speed in this bicycle. I had to tone it down a little bit because my videographer was riding behind me. But the shifter itself was very responsive. It immediately shifted gears as I was going, allowing me to adjust to the different inclines on the road. This is not a mountain bike, so you can see here that there's more space for me to look around and look at the traffic. Very helpful since once the road is clear, I'm ready to go and race off with the Launch bike. Wasn't that fun This was definitely built for speed compared to the other mid-range folding bikes that Dahon offers. Let's take a look at the specific components, though, on the bike that make that happen. So let's start at the top. We have a trigger shifter here. We also have disc brakes. We'll take a look at the brakes later. The trigger shifter is interesting. It uses a pinching movement to go up and down the gears. You do have eight speeds here or eight gears to work with. The brakes are connected to disc brakes on your small wheels. So these are gonna be 20-inch wheels. You have your disc brakes. You also have your magnets, which help connect both sides of the frame when it's in the compact position. So these are 20-inch wheels and 1.75 tires. So compared to the other 20-inch wheels that we have on Dahon folding bikes, these tires felt like they handled the streets as well as the uneven pavement a little bit better. We also have double-wall rims, just giving that extra stability. Everything works together to really launch you forward. Some other highlights are our telescoping handlebars. These can go up and down. We also have a marker for your ideal folding height to help you out when you fold this down to be more compact. At the end of the handlebars, we also have the three holes that allow you to add accessories like a basket or a bag to your folding bike. We have a Dalloy Aluminum frame. So that frame material helps keep it very lightweight at only about 27 pounds. But you still have the strong durability with a weight capacity of 250 pounds. So those are the main highlights of the Launch bicycle. If you want more details about the specific components, like what kind of derailleur does it have, what is the brand of this shifter, you can check all those out on our product page for the Dahon Launch D8. Now, we talked about how portable it is, how compact it is. Let's put that to the test. So a traditional regular bicycle is different from a folding bicycle. The whole experience is different too. So what we're gonna do today is we're gonna compare the both of them. I have John here. He's usually the videographer behind the camera, but this time, he'll be putting a bicycle up onto the bike rack on his vehicle while I fold up the Dahon Launch D8 and put that inside of my vehicle. So let's make this fun. Let's make this a competition and see who finishes first, okay Let's start in three, two, one, action. So I'm gonna drop these handlebars first. I have them at ideal folding height. Get these pedals in, one and two. There you go. And then, we have our frame. So that's gonna drop down. See if that pushes down. There we go. And then, don't forget that seatpost. It's gonna support everything and locks. Okay, so our magnets are on that side. So that folds up just like that. There we go. We're ready to go. Find a space inside my car. And just like that, I'm done. John I'm done. Cool. That was a comparison between the two. Took about the same amount of time. Is there a cable lock on your bikeThere is none. No, and my bike is all nice and secure inside of my car. So that's gonna be a main difference for that. The process was very different. So hopefully, you we're able to see it. So this is what the bike looks like stored inside my hatch. Very helpful because what if you don't have a hitch or you don't have a bike rack like John had on his 4Runner earlier This makes it nice and convenient. You're able to carry around your bikes. So let's take a look at tips and tricks of things I've learned living with a folding bike. The first thing you're gonna have to think about is where you're gonna store it. Do you have enough space inside your hatch, your trunk, your boat, your trailer If you don't have a vehicle, perfectly fine. Let's say you ride your bike to work, you can store this right beside your office or your office desk. What I do is I put a quilt down underneath just to give it some extra cushion for where it's sitting on. The second thing is you still need to maintain this bicycle. So we have other tools here at etrailer as well. We have air pumps for the tires. We have wrenches like Allen keys and stuff for your different bolts and nuts on your bicycle to help you maintain it and keep it going. Another thing is, how are you gonna lift it How are you gonna transport it The key there is just to hold it by the frame. You have some different options here. You can hold it over by that seatpost. Since you have a magnet keeping things together, that's gonna help you out since that's not gonna pop out too quickly. This does weigh about 27 pounds, so something to keep in mind if you need to transfer this from one place to another. How long can you carry 27 pounds This doesn't just go in cars or closets or desks. You can also keep this inside your boat, your trailer. In fact, speaking of trailers, let's take a look at that process. So here we have our RV's basement, and we're using the MORryde cargo sliding tray. So most of the bicycles we have from Dahon fit on this tray. This is actually gonna be the exception. So the height this sits at is gonna be at about 14 1/4 inches. If you have it angled downwards where that wheel is, the length it's gonna be at is gonna be around 33 inches long and our width is perfect here at 26 inches width. Now, our door here, because the tray is a little bit higher, you only have an opening of about 13 1/4 inches, so this was not able to slide into our basement. If we did not have the tray, it would be a perfect fit. So I brought out my top three mid-range folding bicycles offered by Dahon. So we have the MU D8 series. We have the Dahon Briza D8, and we also have the Launch D8. So if you've noticed, they're all D8s, meaning they're all eight-speed bicycles. So the question is what's the difference between the different bicycles They seem similar. They seem slightly different. What is best for what Well, let's go over that. A quick summary of the highlights of the bikes before we go into the details is the MU is gonna be your most versatile bike rack. It has pretty much the best of both worlds. Not too fancy, not too crazy, a good middle-of-the-road bike. If you're not sure what kinda adventure you're going on, go ahead, get the MU. This one also has different color options. And then, you have the Briza D8. This is gonna be your fancy bike. This is gonna have the most cargo options, cargo capabilities. This is also gonna have the smoothest ride overall. And finally, you have the Launch D8. This is great if you're planning on going super speedy through the streets of the city you're in, going down the trails. If you're going off-road even, this is what you would go with 'cause it has the power to get you through. So let's talk about shifters. The MU uses a grip shifter. The Briza and the Launch use trigger shifters. In terms of responsiveness, I'd like to say they're about the same. It's more of a matter of personal preference, what do you think performs better or is easier to use. In terms of adjustability or fine-tuning your bike for you, the Dahon MU as well as the Launch D8, they have telescoping handlebars. You can move them up and down. The Briza doesn't really have telescoping, it's fixed-height handlebars. So that might be a big difference for you. They all have telescoping seats, though. So that's where some of your adjustment can be found. If you're thinking about cargo, then the Briza is definitely the winner. You have an included cargo rack with the Briza. Now, all three of them can be adapted to get a cargo basket or a cargo bag in the front. So that could be an option for you too. This is not included with the Briza, by the way. This can be moved back and forth if needed. But this is helpful, especially if you wanna use saddlebags with your rear pannier. And I guess the other main difference between our bikes is gonna be the frame design. So they're all made of a very lightweight Dalloy Aluminum material. So relatively, all the same in terms of their weight. The Briza is definitely gonna be the lightest as well as with that step-through frame, whether you're wearing a dress, a skirt. Whether you have issues with long road trips, this is gonna be the most helpful for you. But they all perform very well. Their clamp systems all work very nicely. They have slightly different clamps, but I've had no issues with any of them. So in terms of that, it's an equal road. Compared to our more entry level bikes, these definitely have their own different personalities, and they're designed for different types of adventures. Hopefully, this video helped you out with that. So my personal thoughts about the Dahon Launch D8 is, is really is designed for, let's say city streets, going fast, being speedy. If you want something that has more cargo, we talked about in our comparison about how the Briza might be better for you or even the Hit with less speeds. If you do wanna just go fast and you're focused on a performance bicycle that's still a folding, compact bicycle, that's when I would choose the Dahon Launch D8. And that was a look right here at our Dahon Launch D8 folding bicycle right here at etrailer.com. My name is Evangeline, and I really hope you enjoyed this journey..