Dahon Boardwalk D7-16″

The Dahon Boardwalk D7 16” is a small-wheeled, steel framed folder with seven gears and V-brakes. Overall, it features fairly budget components but it is practically specced and I found it rode and folded impressively.

The Boardwalk is an unusual mix, combining the innovative with an old school and often rather budget approach to components. For a start, the cro-mo steel frame is a little different in a folding world dominated by aluminium alloy.

The really innovative bit though comes in the form of a steel cable running from the front end of the mainframe to the bottom bracket. This is meant to stiffen the main single frame by adding triangulation while adding minimal weight. I’m not an engineer able to actually calculate the effectiveness of this, nor do I have access to a bike testing lab that can measure frame deflection under pedalling stress. Nevertheless, whilst the cable doesn’t appear super rigid, it is certainly under tension when the bike is unfolded. (Dahon says it should be under a tensile force of 250-300 Newtons, which is equivalent to an 8-10mm deflection of the cable if you hang a 10kg weight from it.) All I can say as a bike tester is the frame felt rigid, even when pedalling hard – but more on that later.

It’s notable that folding supremo Brompton’s famous frame design also relies on steel but uses a thicker curved mainframe. In the UK, Dahon was the main historic competitor to Brompton as they fought for market dominance in the 1980s and whilst Brompton has – to date – won the battles on home soil, Dahon appears to reign supreme in the truly huge Asian market where it floated on the Hong Kong stock exchange in late 2025. According to one report, Dahon holds more than a third of the retail value of the Chinese folding bike market.

But back to the spec of the Boardwalk. Another old school element is the use of V-brakes – a technology that increasingly feels like it’s from another era, though it’s effective and pretty easy and cheap to maintain.

There are seven Shimano Tourney derailleur gears with a gripshift control – again keenly priced but usually effective and cheap to maintain/replace when worn out, with replacement parts very widely available.

Another budget/retro feature are the solid bolt-secured axles front and rear that mean you need to take a 15mm spanner with you on rides in case you need to fix a puncture (as I did…).

There are also plenty of own brand components here that look decent quality. These include a plush looking seat and fairly slick looking 16in x 1.5in wide tyres. There are full length mudguards, threaded attachment points for a rear rack and even a kickstand. In other words, it is well set up to act as a commuter or leisure machine.

Riding and folding

My initial impression was that the ride is very nippy and free running and the bike is very manoeuvrable. Some riders complain that small wheeled bikes feel twitchy, but I’ve found that is only in comparison to large wheeled bikes and I for one soon adjust to smaller wheels – though clearly every rider is different, so if you haven’t ridden small wheelers before, do try to get a test ride on one. Potholes are perhaps more of a concern and as a regular Brompton rider I am super-alert for their presence as they can come as a very nasty shock if you hit one unseen.

Like most modern folders I’ve tried, there is little if any detectable flex in the frame when standing out of the saddle. Heaving on the bars, there was some very slight bend in the handlebar post, perhaps due to the telescopic joint which makes it suitable (according to Dahon) for riders of 145-190cm. This is pretty minimal though and in no way an issue.

The latter feature, in addition to a quick release that lets you twist the handlebars to the desired angle, means this is a surprisingly comfortable bike to ride. No doubt the respectable tyre width and plump padding on the saddle help. The seat to bar reach is fairly small. At 5ft 8in, I found it accommodating, though taller riders might feel a little cramped and there is no forwards/backwards adjustment on it as there is with some other brands, such as Tern.

There’s not too much to say about the gears and braking, but in a good way as they do what they are supposed to. I like the rapid changing you get with a twist grip compared to trigger shifters and the brakes are nice and powerful though not as smooth (or progressive in bike tech speak) as the hydraulic disc brakes which feature on a huge range of reasonably priced bikes and e-bikes nowadays. They are also a little fiddly to set up again if you have removed the front wheel, as I had to in order to fix a puncture.

The Boardwalk climbs all but the steepest hills well. It will start to wheelie if you are on a steep enough gradient and in a low enough gear.

The fold is pretty impressive, though not quite up there with Brompton in terms of speed. It’s a traditional fold in half design and I measured the folded package at 73x34x60cm. This is very compact for a folder, but again not quite up there with the Brompton’s 60x60x28cm.

Dahon claims a weight of 11.54kg, but I got 12.2kg on my scales. That’s eminently portable for me as a fairly fit 60 year old male and the fact the fold results in a nice compact package with no bits flopping about (as happens depressingly frequently with many other models) certainly adds immensely to the bike’s portability.

Folding protocol means dropping the seatpost to touch the ground (it has a plastic covering at the base), folding down the handlebars (adjust the bar height and position to the optimum for a neat fold), then breaking the mid-frame hinge and folding the two halves together so that they ‘stick’ together with the magnet attachments. Finally, you can fold in the pedals. As long as you are aware you need to get the pedal cranks in the right position so as not to foul anything, it’s all pretty straightforward.

Normally I am critical of magnet closing designs like this, but this is by far the best I’ve tried – possibly due to the neat fold with nothing projecting too much that might knock the bike apart. The folded package also balances well when on flat ground, whereas many folded packages have a tendency to topple over unless balanced on something. All in all, it’s an impressive fold.

Many people commented on what a neat looking, compact and light to lift bike this is. It rode well and apart from the fact some of the components – the V-brakes in particular – are starting to look a little outdated despite their effectiveness, it is hard to fault.

In terms of value, there is a relatively narrow field of 16in wheeled budget-yet-decent-quality folders.

Brompton’s nearest competitor model in terms of weight and price is the A-line – available at £999 on Brompton’s website. Whilst the Brompton wins on quality, hands-down, note the Dahon has a wider gear range (233% vs 177% for the 3-speed on the A-line) and you get mudguards too, which the A-line lacks.

Decathlon’s Ultra Compact model also plumps for 16in wheels and looks competitive on price and weight, but the fold looks larger and more awkward. As I haven’t tested it, I can’t say much more than that.

Availability looks to be via Dahon direct or via their major online resellers, such as Amazon. Whilst that’s ordinarily a negative, most bike shops should have no issue at all fixing minor problems with the tech on this bike quickly (and hopefully cheaply). It certainly would be nice to see it in shops though – not least because, as noted above, people are really impressed with it when they do get the chance to eyeball it. Overall, it’s highly recommended.