Opinions on Dahon Bikes?

On Tue, 10 Aug 2004 17:25:09 +0200, Elisa Francesca Roselli
wrote (more or less):
....
On the other hand, I've spoken to dealers here in Paris who claim they
have stopped keeping Dahon in stock because they had too many problems
with these bikes. One told me he had a customer nearly kill herself when
her Dahon came apart at the folding join in full traffic. These dealers
swear by Brompton for folding bikes, but I am not that sold on Brommies.
I'm not keen on the 16" wheels and find them very heavy and clunky. They
are famous for their elegant folding system but I'm not looking for
something to take on the metro. I cannot tell if the dealers were
knocking Dahon to promote Brompton or whether they really did have a
good reason.

Biketrax(.co.uk) in Edinburgh bill themselves as a foldable
specialist, and stock both Brompton and Dahon.

Perhaps you might want to contact them?


--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk

in message , Ambrose Nankivell
') wrote:

"Robert J. Matter" writes:
The problem with Dahon and all other "off the shelf" folder
manufacturers is their failure to produce a man-sized bike. They all
have weight limits of around 230 lbs. which of course is too light
for a man (or larger woman) who might be traveling with perhaps a 50
lb. pack. In the winter a rider might have 10 lbs. worth of clothes
and boots on as well.

How embarassing. There was I thinking I was a man when all along I'm
not. Why didn't anyone tell me you had to weigh at least 80kg before
you were one.

Well if it's any comfort to you, I'm only just a man, and I'm trying
hard not to be. I've another two and a half kilos to lose. Mind you,
I'm quite small - only 186 centimetres.

This side of the Atlantic, Clydesdale is mostly in Lanarkshire.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.

On Tue, 10 Aug 2004 17:25:09 +0200, Elisa Francesca Roselli
wrote:

I'm beginning to get that "third bike itch". Myrtille and Behemoth are
both city bikes and have my everyday riding needs pretty much wrapped up
between them.

I have started to dream of longer runs, bike touring in beautiful
holiday places. But this almost always seems to mean renting an
unfamiliar bike locally and getting used to its idiosynchracies.
Behemoth is way too heavy to cart around. And there are many kinds of
terrain for which she has let me know she is unsuitable.

Dahon makes a folding bike called the Speed TR which has a rack for
luggage and a Sram DualDrive shifter. I am tempted by the possibility of
a bike that I could take with me on trains, and travel with on tours. I
know a very intrepid Russian lady in Cambridge who has a Dahon Speed
Pro, a related model, that she swears by. She has ridden it all over
France. She says it is a dream. She can take it anywhere and it then
takes her anywhere. But she is light and wiry with her steel-colored
hair and her Imperial accent, and I would never be so bold as to place
myself in the same lofty cycling category as her.

On the other hand, I've spoken to dealers here in Paris who claim they
have stopped keeping Dahon in stock because they had too many problems
with these bikes. One told me he had a customer nearly kill herself when
her Dahon came apart at the folding join in full traffic. These dealers
swear by Brompton for folding bikes, but I am not that sold on Brommies.
I'm not keen on the 16" wheels and find them very heavy and clunky. They
are famous for their elegant folding system but I'm not looking for
something to take on the metro. I cannot tell if the dealers were
knocking Dahon to promote Brompton or whether they really did have a
good reason.

Also there is a concern for the wieght limit on the Dahon models I'm
looking at. I am very near it. With luggage, I would be over it. I don't
know how important this is - would it prejudice the folding system and
void any guarantees?

The Speed TR costs over £600 so it's not an anodine purchase. I'd be
grateful for your experiences/opinions.

EFR
Ile de France






Today I went into a bike shop (Warlands in Oxford - highly recommended)
looking for my one bike to keep at home (for sob story, see my thread "a
bike of many hats" last week). One of the bikes I had a ride on was a
Moulton. Oh my gawd, what a piece of kit!

The Moulton is fast, and obviously very efficient - at a guess, I would
have been giving my touring bike a run for its money. It bounces like a
pogo stick if you start screwing the juice on too hard, but apparently
this can be "tuned" with some nuts and screws. I would guess I'm heavier
than you (about 240lbs) and imagine the bike is set up for someone lighter
when it leaves the factory. There's all kinds of pannier racks available,
and I know people have done heavily laden tours on them, so weight can't
be too much of a problem.

Admittedly, it does look weird. People were stopping and smiling at me,
not sure if this was because I had "potential purchase grin" or they
thought I looked stupid. But what the hell, for a ride like that I reckon
I could live with it. Plus I know I could leave the kids on mountain
bikes, and a good few roadies coughing up dust miles behind me. -;

The prices go from £675 for the Fx8, which I rode today and which my
opinions are based, up to £2500-plus for the AM - trying this next week.

Chris

--
|C|H|R|I|S|@|T|R|I|N|I|T|Y|W|I|L|L|S|.|C|O|M|
Remove the bars to contact me

"Gawnsoft" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 10 Aug 2004 17:25:09 +0200, Elisa Francesca Roselli
wrote (more or less):
...
On the other hand, I've spoken to dealers here in Paris who claim they
have stopped keeping Dahon in stock because they had too many problems
with these bikes. One told me he had a customer nearly kill herself when
her Dahon came apart at the folding join in full traffic. These dealers
swear by Brompton for folding bikes, but I am not that sold on Brommies.
I'm not keen on the 16" wheels and find them very heavy and clunky. They
are famous for their elegant folding system but I'm not looking for
something to take on the metro. I cannot tell if the dealers were
knocking Dahon to promote Brompton or whether they really did have a
good reason.

Biketrax(.co.uk) in Edinburgh bill themselves as a foldable
specialist, and stock both Brompton and Dahon.

Perhaps you might want to contact them?

When buying a Dahon, be aware that the models with the same designation are
nonetheless sold in different configs in different countries. For example, US
(and possibly UK?) models come without the mudguards and rack that are standard
in continental Europe.
--
Mark South: World Citizen, Net Denizen

Chris Davies wrote:

The Moulton is fast, and obviously very efficient - at a guess, I would=
=20
have been giving my touring bike a run for its money. It bounces like a=
=20
pogo stick if you start screwing the juice on too hard, but apparently =

this can be "tuned" with some nuts and screws.

And tuning your pedalling technique a bit, I'd think.

Admittedly, it does look weird. People were stopping and smiling at me,=
=20
not sure if this was because I had "potential purchase grin" or they=20
thought I looked stupid.

Small wheels =3D=3D crap bike is the common perception. I get laughed at=
a=20
lot on the Brom, though the yoof I overtake on it seem rather perplexed=20
that I'm able to do so... Add appropriate gearing and suspension to=20
small wheels and they become an asset rather than a problem.

The prices go from =A3675 for the Fx8, which I rode today and which my =

opinions are based, up to =A32500-plus for the AM - trying this next we=
ek.

Don't forget the New Series, which will set you back around 5 grand!=20
(yes, really!). Only ever seen one, which Peter Gabriel was riding=20
around the stage singing "Solsbury Hill" from on the Still Growing Up=20
tour. Resplendent in stainless steel, it looked /very/ shiny!

Pete.
--=20
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Elisa Francesca Roselli" wrote...
I'm beginning to get that "third bike itch". Myrtille and Behemoth are
both city bikes and have my everyday riding needs pretty much wrapped up
between them.

I have started to dream of longer runs, bike touring in beautiful
holiday places. But this almost always seems to mean renting an
unfamiliar bike locally and getting used to its idiosynchracies.
Behemoth is way too heavy to cart around. And there are many kinds of
terrain for which she has let me know she is unsuitable.

Dahon makes a folding bike called the Speed TR which has a rack for
luggage and a Sram DualDrive shifter. I am tempted by the possibility of
a bike that I could take with me on trains, and travel with on tours.

The third bike itch is a good thing, and a good touring bike would be good
to have, but does it have to be a folder? I believe that there are still
trains in France that accept fully assembled bikes, and I never found boxing
up my bike to travel on TGV trains to be all that dreadful a chore.

I'm not recommending against the Dahon or other folder, just suggesting that
you consider non-folding as well as folding machines when shopping for a
tourer.

=v= Here's another folding bike website:

http://www.geocities.com/justridinga...lding-bicycle/

Check out especially the links at the bottom.

=v= You might subscribe to the folding-bicycle email list
(details on that website), but you'll get pretty much the
same responses you got he "Try the one I got, I like
it." To which I might personally inevitably add, try the
Bike Friday, I like it. (Mention my name if you buy one;
I can buy some new tires with the referral fee.)

=v= Dahons are the cheapest, and I've taken some rides on
some good ones. Quality varies, though, so try before you
buy, if you're going that route.
_Jym_

Le Wed, 11 Aug 2004 16:04:45 +0000, mark a écrit :

(...) and I never found
boxing up my bike to travel on TGV trains to be all that dreadful a chore.


Some of these foldable bikes come with beautiful cases to be carried in
trains or airplanes.
But when you get to your destination airport/station, what do you do with
the case ? I guess you can't put it on your rack and carry it with you
during your whole trip ?

Anybody has personal experience to share ?

Thanks
Jacques

Jacques Moser wrote:
Le Wed, 11 Aug 2004 16:04:45 +0000, mark a écrit :


(...) and I never found
boxing up my bike to travel on TGV trains to be all that dreadful a chore.



Some of these foldable bikes come with beautiful cases to be carried in
trains or airplanes.
But when you get to your destination airport/station, what do you do with
the case ? I guess you can't put it on your rack and carry it with you
during your whole trip ?

Anybody has personal experience to share ?


I usually get a hotel at the destination and leave the case with them
until I get back. Otherwise there is always left luggage.

Tony

On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 22:41:19 +0200, "Jacques Moser"
wrote:

Anybody has personal experience to share ?

Bike Friday has an optional frame that turns its hard case into a bike
trailer. If you pack your other items in soft bag, you take the frame
and bike out of the trailer, pack the soft bag and gear into the
trailer and off you go.

About $ 400 in the U.S. and worth it IMO for anyone traveling by plane
or hitching a ride one way.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...