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DAHON was established in 1982 by the brand’s founder, Dr. David T. Hon. Prior to launching the company, Dr. Hon worked as a physicist for the aerospace company Hughes Aircraft, where he helped to develop tactical lasers. The oil crisis of 1975 led him to pursue an interest in more sustainable transportation; his passion led him to create a unique folding bicycle design.
After gathering $2 million in venture funding, Dr. Hon set up a factory in Taiwan that began producing the company’s bikes. DAHON grew steadily, opening a larger factory in 1995 with the ability to turn out 400k bikes per year. Five years later, the Guiness Book of Records Millennium Edition named the brand as “the world’s largest producer of folding bicycles.”
The company has won numerous other awards for innovation and design, including recognition at major industry trade shows such as Eurobike, Taipei Cycle Show, and China Cycle. According to DAHON’s website, its research and development team holds over 500 patents worldwide, many of which appear on the majority of folding bikes sold around the globe.
One of DAHON’s most unique innovations is called DELTEC: a tensioned cable that replaces a bike’s down tube. This technology enables folding e-bikes to be extremely lightweight while maintaining rigidity, which increases the rider’s pedaling efficiency and yields higher speeds.
DAHON has expanded into the e-bike space in recent years, and its debut on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange earned the company an injection of capital. With the additional funding, the brand plans to grow its presence in both the US and overseas markets.
So far, we have had only limited experience with DAHON’s e-bikes, but the company’s designs and patented technology have proven promising. We look forward to testing more models from this folding bicycle/e-bike titan in the future, but until then, see our currently completed reviews below.
