Folding the Mariner is a quick and painless operation that you can do in two to three minutes. The process of packing it up becomes even faster once you have done it a few times. In this, like in all things, practice is vital. There are five steps in total to fold your Dahon Mariner. First, start by pushing the seat post as low as it will go. Simply put weight on it to push it down. Once you've accomplished this step, the second stage is to reposition the handlebar. You should do this so that the brake levers face downwards towards the floor or the bike's tires. For the third step, you can go ahead and position the radius of the telescoping handlebar. Forth, you can release the stem of the handlebar which will cause the handlebar to collapse and rotate downwards. You can bring it to rest when it is next to the front wheel. The final step is the most fun. On the center of the bike's frame, there will be a lattice hinge holding the frame together. Simply release this hinge which will cause the entire frame to break in two, allowing you to go ahead and easily collapse the whole bike into compact mode. With this, your Dahon Mariner has now been folded up and is ready to be transported wherever you need it. To unfold the bike, all you have to do is repeat the same steps in reverse order. Once you get used to it, this process should take no time at all.