A
Andyk
Guest
This is a tale about a folding bike. Racers and bib short wearers will want to stop reading now : )
After airing my queries on Brompton, Dahon & other folders here (thanks for all the opinions given),
I tossed a coin. Well not quite, but I mailed the Dahon distributor on Friday and got a reply that
the Dahon Presto SL wasn't likely to be available in the future, they had one left in stock, it had
been on loan to a magazine so would be a bit scuffed, and would I like it for a 50 quid discount?
Do lemmings like cliffs!
I recited the uk.rec.cycling mantra (card number, expiry date, delivery address) and on mid-Saturday
afternoon the big box arrived. I think it's basically their Presto (3-speed lightweight commuter
folder) frame but single speed with a lighter saddle, carbon seatpost, no racks, etc. to keep the
weight down.
As there aren't going to be any more of these around there's not much point trying to review it! But
let me say it's ideal for what I wanted; I already have a nice tourer but wanted a "messing around"
bike, light enough to easily get down from my flat for the short rides, maybe do some light travel
with it (putting the tourer on trains gives me minor heart attacks.)
I reckon it weighs about a pound over the catalogue's claims, and there are a few minor component
changes, but it's still damn light - 9 kg by my estimate, inc. supplied pedals. (Anyone buying a
Dahon in the UK who's picky about these little details, may want to confirm the spec first.) The
reduced inertia of the wheels really did take me by surprise, compared to my tourer it does 0-20 in
no time - but not much beyond that for me, with that single gear ratio!
The components seem fine - obviously in this case they spent a bit more to save some weight. The
supplied flat pedals (folding on both sides by the way) work fine but I took the SPD's off my
tourer; massive improvement I think. The tyres are good, I was expecting squishiness and rolling
resistance. The handlebars are far stiffer than I thought; you can feel (and hear) them flex when
you try to thrash it, but in normal riding they seem secure to me. The seatpost could do with an
extra 2 cm or so, and I'm just under 5ft 8ins and about 76kg so not abnormal. Pushing the saddle
right back helped a bit, but if doing longer rides with this I might need to get a longer seatpost
eventually (and it'll have to be carbon, I've been spoiled now!)
As expected a few scratches & scrapes as it's been shipped around to & from a magazine; strangely
the tyre treads still showed lots of flashing from the mould and no signs of actual use at all, so I
don't know what aspects of it they were reviewing - probably shininess
The longest I've done on it so far is about 18 miles in 1.5 hrs; strong headwind out, but a nice
quick tailwind back where it seems to whizz along for very little effort. Single-speed is a new
thing to me, so at times I was geeing it up and going no faster, at other times standing on the
pedals - but the rolling hills of Berkshire shouldn't be a problem with no baggage. Sometimes you
just want to buzz along, look at the scenery, leave the kitchen sink behind, let the racers overtake
and it's fine for those days. I find the saddle's a bit hard after a while; but my mileage has been
pitiful recently so that's probably contributing.
The only disadvantage in the design I can pick on is that it will never fold as small as the
Brompton; but nothing does (well maybe I'll get one of those too one day). In the Dahon bag it's
light but bulky - wearing the bag as a rucksack will make it difficult to get through doors as the
halved bike is held horizontal, not vertical. But it'll be manageable by hand with another bag/pack
if travelling by train.
A slight problem I can see long-term is doing my own maintenance on it; the hubs are narrow,
presumably done for Dahon, and right now I can't see a way of getting at the bearings...
Cheers, AndyK
After airing my queries on Brompton, Dahon & other folders here (thanks for all the opinions given),
I tossed a coin. Well not quite, but I mailed the Dahon distributor on Friday and got a reply that
the Dahon Presto SL wasn't likely to be available in the future, they had one left in stock, it had
been on loan to a magazine so would be a bit scuffed, and would I like it for a 50 quid discount?
Do lemmings like cliffs!
I recited the uk.rec.cycling mantra (card number, expiry date, delivery address) and on mid-Saturday
afternoon the big box arrived. I think it's basically their Presto (3-speed lightweight commuter
folder) frame but single speed with a lighter saddle, carbon seatpost, no racks, etc. to keep the
weight down.
As there aren't going to be any more of these around there's not much point trying to review it! But
let me say it's ideal for what I wanted; I already have a nice tourer but wanted a "messing around"
bike, light enough to easily get down from my flat for the short rides, maybe do some light travel
with it (putting the tourer on trains gives me minor heart attacks.)
I reckon it weighs about a pound over the catalogue's claims, and there are a few minor component
changes, but it's still damn light - 9 kg by my estimate, inc. supplied pedals. (Anyone buying a
Dahon in the UK who's picky about these little details, may want to confirm the spec first.) The
reduced inertia of the wheels really did take me by surprise, compared to my tourer it does 0-20 in
no time - but not much beyond that for me, with that single gear ratio!
The components seem fine - obviously in this case they spent a bit more to save some weight. The
supplied flat pedals (folding on both sides by the way) work fine but I took the SPD's off my
tourer; massive improvement I think. The tyres are good, I was expecting squishiness and rolling
resistance. The handlebars are far stiffer than I thought; you can feel (and hear) them flex when
you try to thrash it, but in normal riding they seem secure to me. The seatpost could do with an
extra 2 cm or so, and I'm just under 5ft 8ins and about 76kg so not abnormal. Pushing the saddle
right back helped a bit, but if doing longer rides with this I might need to get a longer seatpost
eventually (and it'll have to be carbon, I've been spoiled now!)
As expected a few scratches & scrapes as it's been shipped around to & from a magazine; strangely
the tyre treads still showed lots of flashing from the mould and no signs of actual use at all, so I
don't know what aspects of it they were reviewing - probably shininess
The longest I've done on it so far is about 18 miles in 1.5 hrs; strong headwind out, but a nice
quick tailwind back where it seems to whizz along for very little effort. Single-speed is a new
thing to me, so at times I was geeing it up and going no faster, at other times standing on the
pedals - but the rolling hills of Berkshire shouldn't be a problem with no baggage. Sometimes you
just want to buzz along, look at the scenery, leave the kitchen sink behind, let the racers overtake
and it's fine for those days. I find the saddle's a bit hard after a while; but my mileage has been
pitiful recently so that's probably contributing.
The only disadvantage in the design I can pick on is that it will never fold as small as the
Brompton; but nothing does (well maybe I'll get one of those too one day). In the Dahon bag it's
light but bulky - wearing the bag as a rucksack will make it difficult to get through doors as the
halved bike is held horizontal, not vertical. But it'll be manageable by hand with another bag/pack
if travelling by train.
A slight problem I can see long-term is doing my own maintenance on it; the hubs are narrow,
presumably done for Dahon, and right now I can't see a way of getting at the bearings...
Cheers, AndyK
