Folder Ordered

Not Responding said:

I've ordered my Christmas pressie (from my wife); a Dahon Speed TR.
Unfortunately a really *do* have to wait until the 25th before I can
even look at it as it's being delivered to the ancestral pile where
we're spending Christmas.

Have a 50 mile ride planned for Boxing Day to test both our abilities.

Never owned a folder before.

Congrats! I bought my Dahon Impulse in October and also considered the
Speed. It's a great bike!

EFR
Ile de France

" [Not Responding] " <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I've ordered my Christmas pressie (from my wife); a Dahon Speed TR.

Can't comment on that exact model, but I had a quick spin on my dad's
Dahon Vitesse the other week - I'd never ridden a folder before.

Felt good, stable, comfortable. Only slightly strange thing was getting
out of the saddle to go up a (moderate) incline. Felt what I guess is
'the castor effect' on the front wheel - felt like the front wheel turned
both ways of its own accord more than the 26" front wheel on my MTB does.
Never felt dangerous though, just 'different'.

I guess a lot of this is down to technique; I tend to lean right over the
handlebars when honking on the pedals, whereas maybe a more central
stand-up position is better on a small-wheeled bike, so less of my lard-
mass would push down on the front wheel. Also, it was a real quick spin,
so I wasn't able to fine-tune the bar / saddle heights, etc.

Really liked it though, especially the well-engineered folding routine.
Mutli-modal commute is definitely something I'll consider in future, if I
end up working a train-ride away from here. Hope you enjoy your folder.
Watch out for Xmas ice on the roads!

--
Chris Bardell
[Remove favourite mode of transport from email address]

Chris Bardell said:

I guess a lot of this is down to technique; I tend to lean right over the
handlebars when honking on the pedals, whereas maybe a more central
stand-up position is better on a small-wheeled bike, so less of my lard-
mass would push down on the front wheel.

Or, use the gears and stay in the saddle. Used to be a keen and
frequent honker myself, but got out of the habit on the 'bent for
obvious reasons, but that habit has transferred back to the uprights now
and the only time I get out of the saddle is for suspension effect
coming /down/.

As long as the gears are there and you're not sprinting there just isn't
any need to get out of the seat, which comment would have surprised me
greatly a few years ago!

Pete.
--
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 [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

In article said:

Chris Bardell said:

I guess a lot of this is down to technique; I tend to lean right over the
handlebars when honking on the pedals, whereas maybe a more central
stand-up position is better on a small-wheeled bike, so less of my lard-
mass would push down on the front wheel.

Or, use the gears and stay in the saddle. Used to be a keen and
frequent honker myself, but got out of the habit on the 'bent for
obvious reasons, but that habit has transferred back to the uprights now
and the only time I get out of the saddle is for suspension effect
coming /down/.

As long as the gears are there and you're not sprinting there just isn't
any need to get out of the seat, which comment would have surprised me
greatly a few years ago!

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/?ProductID=5360011689 says the Dahon Vitesse has
a 3-speed hub, so "As long as the gears are there" is an important
qualification.

Alan Braggins said:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/?ProductID=5360011689 says the Dahon Vitesse has
a 3-speed hub, so "As long as the gears are there" is an important
qualification.

Indeed, though 3 is still often enough if they're the /right/ 3. Case
in point is my Brompton L3 with the 18% gear reduction option. Dundee
is quite distinctly unflat and I live on a hill, yet I never honk on the
Brom (it's rather poorly suited to it, having such a long handlebar stem
and a rather upright riding position). A pal with an L6 (wider range of
gears in smaller steps) is up out of the saddle all the time, it's
mainly a style thing.

Pete.
--
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 [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Not Responding said:

I've ordered my Christmas pressie (from my wife); a Dahon Speed TR.
Unfortunately a really *do* have to wait until the 25th before I can
even look at it as it's being delivered to the ancestral pile where
we're spending Christmas.

Excellent folder. I have three Bromptons, and I'm considering selling at
least two fo them and getting a Speed TR. The 3 speed hub on the
Brompton doesn't cut it around here, and the Shlumpf drive is too expensive.

Not Responding said:

I've ordered my Christmas pressie (from my wife); a Dahon Speed TR.
Unfortunately a really *do* have to wait until the 25th before I can
even look at it as it's being delivered to the ancestral pile where
we're spending Christmas.

Have a 50 mile ride planned for Boxing Day to test both our abilities.

Never owned a folder before.

What I really like about the Speed TR is a feature that was present in
the first DaHon, then disappeared for many years on nearly all
folders--the adjustable height steering column. Combined with the
adjustable reach stem, the Speed is a lot more usable by different size
people, probably down to 10 year old or so kids. Very few folders have
the telescoping steering column.

I've been putting off ordering a Speed TR, but I think you inspired me
to get one for myself for a gift from my wife (she’s often buying me
gifts that I order for myself!). Need to figure a way to put toe-clips
or straps on those pedals.

I met Josh Hon at Interbike (the U.S. bicycle industry trade show) and
had a long conversation with him. He's the son of the founder, David
Hon, and he pretty much runs the company, and I think that he is
responsible for moving DaHon up-market in folders. Got a good laugh
about some of the patent issues; the former licensed Brompton
manufacturer in Taiwan, Neobike, ended up having their executives sent
to jail for patent violations against DaHon, though DaHon chose not to
sue other violators.

http://www.bicycleretailer.com/bicycleretailer/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1465672

The company was originally called Hon, but a trademark dispute with the
U.S. maker of steel office furniture forced the name change (I know that
I was confused, I went into a store to buy a filing cabinet, and walked
out with a folding bicycle).

Steven M. Scharf said:

Excellent folder. I have three Bromptons, and I'm considering selling at
least two fo them and getting a Speed TR. The 3 speed hub on the
Brompton doesn't cut it around here, and the Shlumpf drive is too
expensive.

If it's a Mk3 then you can get it converted to a 6 speed with a
retro-fit kit, improving both spacing and range albeit at the expense of
something extra to go wrong.

The 18% standard reduction available on the 3 speeds is enough to get a
Brom up pretty serious hills, but you'll spin out quickly coming down
them so it's not as good as a solution as the 6 for a wide range of uses.

Pete.
--
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 [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

No, they are all the L3-T (a model not sold in the UK or the U.S.). I
bought them in Taiwan. Not planning to put too much money into them,
as they were only $U.S. 235, and not up to the quality of the U.K.
Brompton's.

The problem is that around here the good recreational riding is all up
in the surounding foothills and mountains, and there are hills even in
the neighborhoods. I tried commuting on the Brompton, combined with a
train ride, a couple of times, but neither the climbing nor the
descending was very enjoyable.

We used to have San Francisco Folder rides, which were heavily
Brompton, and it was quite a challenge to climb some of the hills in SF
on a Brompton.

If we had a good pub in my neighborhood, I'd definitely Bromp to it! We
only have coffee houses and Chinese tea cafes (too many of both).

Not Responding said:

I've ordered my Christmas pressie (from my wife); a Dahon Speed TR.
Unfortunately a really *do* have to wait until the 25th before I can
even look at it as it's being delivered to the ancestral pile where
we're spending Christmas.

I managed to order a Speed TR today. It isn't normally sold in the
U.S., as it's a European Model according to Dahon, but they did have
some of the 2004's in the U.S.. I have to wait a month or so for the
mudguards. Should receive it on Tuesday, as I didn't want to drive 300
miles to pick it up.

Love the Brompton, but it'd cost me three times as much for one with a
comparable gear range.