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Dahon Bikes Again and New Commuting Crisis
So, it finally happened. My job has been threatening to transfer to a
new location about 10 km from my home, which is very tricky to get to by public transport. I have been training up to the possibility of cyclo-commuting. This is lovely on fine Spring days but the obligation to do 20kms round trip every day, in howling weather, in the horrible darkness of December, through those dark and lonely woods, down that spooky, muddy, slippery earth path, and through a number of towns with active traffic and endless lights and intersections, has given me a knot in my stomach and insomnia from anxiety. On a completely separate track, I had been thinking of enlarging my bike family with a small folding bike that I could take easily on trains for touring in pretty places when the weather is nice. After investigating a number of possibilities - Birdy, Brompton and Dahon, I decided that the Dahon Speed TR seemed to offer the most desirable range of features for the most competitive price. On a recent trip to London and Cambridge, I finally had the opportunity to try the Speed TR. I was very impressed with some things about it, but put off by others. It was extremely rigid - I finally understood why people say rigidity is so desirable in bikes. It was light and supple, handled beautifully. I loved the Sram Dual-Drive shifter and the Thudbuster suspended seat was wonderfully comfortable. On the other hand, the posture was rather too sporty for me, more Cat in Heat than Sit Up and Beg. Although the handlebar could be adjusted every which way, I never actually got to try it raised high enough for my comfort. The high baggage rack and the adjustable reach on the handlebar made the folding action very clumsy. It did not have a chain guard, and I have already lost some favorite skirts to an open chain. But then this work issue comes up. Suddenly it's not just about having a bike to play with on rare holidays, but about having something to expand my commuting options as well. Behemoth, bless her, is so big and heavy that it's just not convenient to combine bike-and-train, and impossible to combine bike-and-bus. There will be days when, realistically, it will not be a good idea to do the whole transit by bike. In Cambridge, I was able to borrow a 20"-wheeled folding bike, an adorable little Raleigh Stowaway from 1975 with a Sturmey 3-speed internal hub. I _loved_ this bike, the lightness and accessibility of it. I could well see myself with one of these little bikes, not just for vacations but as a daily thing. The LBS-man who refurbished her for me told me that such bikes remain very popular and sell well second-hand, because many elderly people prefer the comfort of low step-through and weight, and many Asian students are too small for Western frames. At the International Bike Fair in Islington, I became aware of a new Dahon bike - the Impulse P21. This costs £100 less than the Speed TR, does not have that great Thudbuster seat suspension (thought the seat still has conventional suspension), and lacks the adjustable reach. It has the great Sram Dual-drive shifter with 21 useable gears, a chain guard, more upright handle, and a more conventional baggage rack which allows for easier folding. I was able to sit on an Impulse at the Fair, but not actually ride it. I was thinking it might be a good compromise, more Commuter than the Speed TR, but more Tourer than, for example, the outstanding Vitesse P3 which gets such rave reviews and is so reasonably priced that I was almost tempted to settle for its mere 3 gears. The Impulse can even eventually be upgraded with the Thudbuster and a removeable high rack for touring with panniers, although it then comes out more expensive than the Speed TR. There are no raves of the ImpulseP21. This might just be because it's new. Other bikes in the Impulse range have been praised for straight-riding stability, a quality I definitely appreciate with my defective balance. On the other hand, it might be persistently outshined by the Speed TR which is definitely better value for money. The upshot is, I'm about to order an Impulse P21. Speak now or forever hold your peace. EFR Ile de France |
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#2
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=v= Dahon's Helios SL is pretty sleek-looking:
http://www.times-up.org/gallery/view.php?photoid=232 It's aluminum and carbon fiber, and they've redesigned their hinges at long last. A nice ride, if you're into aluminum. In Cambridge, I was able to borrow a 20"-wheeled folding bike, an adorable little Raleigh Stowaway from 1975 with a Sturmey 3-speed internal hub. I _loved_ this bike, the lightness and accessibility of it. I could well see myself with one of these little bikes, not just for vacations but as a daily thing. =v= A friend of mine in San Francisco cultivated a little fleet of Raleigh Twenties, so that she and her friends could have a transit-accessible bike at all times. =v= I envied this until I saw -- and I hope this doesn't stir up any nationalistic rivalries -- an Italian folding bike: http://www.things.org/~jym/bicycles/...nge-folder.jpg The rear rack is integrated into the frame. Primo! So I ran out and got me my own fleet: http://www.things.org/~jym/bicycles/...as-closeup.jpg (Due to their colors and a certain brand of Italian fizzy water, I've named them Limonata and Aranciata.) =v= So between these and my usual high-end folding bike, I've got no commuting crisis at all! _Jym_ |
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"Elisa Francesca Roselli" wrote in message ... In Cambridge, I was able to borrow a 20"-wheeled folding bike, an adorable little Raleigh Stowaway from 1975 with a Sturmey 3-speed internal hub. I _loved_ this bike, the lightness and accessibility of it. I could well see myself with one of these little bikes, not just for vacations but as a daily thing. The LBS-man who refurbished her for me told me that such bikes remain very popular and sell well second-hand, because many elderly people prefer the comfort of low step-through and weight, and many Asian students are too small for Western frames. Not only for the old and the small... http://cheg01.home.comcast.net/r20.html And I'm not the only one... http://cheg01.home.comcast.net/20_collage.jpg |
#5
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Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote:
So, it finally happened. My job has been threatening to transfer to a new location about 10 km from my home, which is very tricky to get to by public transport. I have been training up to the possibility of cyclo-commuting. (...) But then this work issue comes up. Suddenly it's not just about having a bike to play with on rare holidays, but about having something to expand my commuting options as well. Behemoth, bless her, is so big and heavy that it's just not convenient to combine bike-and-train, and impossible to combine bike-and-bus. There will be days when, realistically, it will not be a good idea to do the whole transit by bike. For someone who has wants to commute with a combination of bike and public transportation, I wonder if it would be an option to have two inexpensive bikes, one at each end of the trip ? Jacques |
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Jacques Moser wrote:
For someone who has wants to commute with a combination of bike and public transportation, I wonder if it would be an option to have two inexpensive bikes, one at each end of the trip ? That works as long as your commute is consistent, and you have somewhere secure to store your bikes at each endpoint. If your commute varies, then you need another inexpensive bike for each potential endpoint. And if you can't store a bike securely at any endpoint, then you'll be stranded at that endpoint when the bike is vandalized or stolen. -- Darin McGrew, , http://www.rahul.net/mcgrew/ Web Design Group, , http://www.HTMLHelp.com/ "The handwriting on the wall may mean you need a notepad by the phone." |
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Jacques Moser wrote: For someone who has wants to commute with a combination of bike and public transportation, I wonder if it would be an option to have two inexpensive bikes, one at each end of the trip ? How would that help? If you can't comfortably get one bike on a train, having a second in another place isn't going to change anything. If you go one way by train and walking and then return by bike, you just have two bikes in one place. Moreover, I already have two bikes. What I want is a third with special qualities - lightness, transportability, 20" wheels, a wide gear range - that neither of the others have. EFR Ile de France |
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On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 11:27:24 +0200, Elisa Francesca Roselli
wrote: Jacques Moser wrote: For someone who has wants to commute with a combination of bike and public transportation, I wonder if it would be an option to have two inexpensive bikes, one at each end of the trip ? How would that help? If you can't comfortably get one bike on a train, having a second in another place isn't going to change anything. It depends on the nature of your commute. Some people cycle to the railway station. Lock up their first bike. Get the train. Unlock a second bike. Cycle to work. Reverse the proces when going home. This means no bike need to be taken on a train on a normal daily commute. If the journey at one end is a very short walkable distance then you don't even need two bikes, though, again, that depends on your commute. If you go one way by train and walking and then return by bike, you just have two bikes in one place. This is not significantly more or less a problem with a two bike system as it is with a one bike system. You just need a strategy to 'realign' the bike or bikes when you've not used them for commuting for one of the journeys. Colin |
#9
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Elisa Francesca Roselli writes:
Jacques Moser wrote: For someone who has wants to commute with a combination of bike and public transportation, I wonder if it would be an option to have two inexpensive bikes, one at each end of the trip ? How would that help? If you can't comfortably get one bike on a train, having a second in another place isn't going to change anything. I think you're missing suggestion: Initial state: You - at home Bike 1 - at home Bike 2 - at desination station. Then cycle to home station using bike 1, state becomes: You - at home statiom Bike 1 - at home station Bike 2 - at destintion station Then get the train, state becomes: You - at destination station Bike 1 - at home station Bike 2 - at desintation station Then cycle to work using bike 2. You - at work Bike 1 - at home station Bike 2 - at work. .... now follow through your trip home in the same fashion and you'll find you get back to the initial state, ready to repeat the whole thing the next day. If you want the option of sometimes skipping the train ride and cycling the whole way then you do indeed end up with bikes in the wrong place - unless you adopt the rule that if you cycle the whole way for one journey then you must also do so for the next journey. |
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