Dahon Speed TR

[Richard Bates]

I'm now the proud owner of ...


.... a Dahon Speed TR.

I visited the Avon Cyclery in Bath today and had a test ride. It was
fantastic.

It's not the easiest bike to fold into it's smallest state, since the
handlebars need adjusting to a very specific point before collapsing
the stem. And the luggage rack gets in the way too.

However, for an intermediate fold which will sit quite happily in a
cubby hole of a train it is simple. I anticipate that for most train
journeys a full fold will not be necessary.

For my intended purpose of riding it more than folding it, it will be
perfectly adequate. I purchased some detachable pedals instead of the
standard folding ones, since the native pedals will not accept toe
clips.

Metal brake levers rather than plastic would have been nice but I'm
terribly fussed yet.

It came with a bag too which I have not tried out - I'm not sure if I
will need to fiddle with, or even remove the luggage rack to fit the
bike in.

Unfortunately, the cycle spaces on the virgin train on the way home
were all empty so there was no need to fold it.

However, I caught the shoppers' train out of Birmingham and did make
use of the intermediate fold.

 

[Not Responding]

Richard Bates wrote:
> I'm now the proud owner of ...
>
>
> ... a Dahon Speed TR.
>
> I visited the Avon Cyclery in Bath today and had a test ride. It was
> fantastic.
>
> It's not the easiest bike to fold into it's smallest state, since the
> handlebars need adjusting to a very specific point before collapsing
> the stem. And the luggage rack gets in the way too.

The smallest fold is an aquired art. I've used a marker pen to make it
easier to find that precise point that the stem needs to be in.

> However, for an intermediate fold which will sit quite happily in a
> cubby hole of a train it is simple. I anticipate that for most train
> journeys a full fold will not be necessary.
>
> For my intended purpose of riding it more than folding it, it will be
> perfectly adequate. I purchased some detachable pedals instead of the
> standard folding ones, since the native pedals will not accept toe
> clips.
>
> Metal brake levers rather than plastic would have been nice but I'm
> terribly fussed yet.

Odd. Mine came with metal brake levers.

> It came with a bag too which I have not tried out - I'm not sure if I
> will need to fiddle with, or even remove the luggage rack to fit the
> bike in.

I *think* (but haven't made repeated tests) that you do need to remove
the rack to fit it in the Doubleplay (?) bag. I also whip the seatpost
off and throw both parts loose into the bag.

> Unfortunately, the cycle spaces on the virgin train on the way home
> were all empty so there was no need to fold it.
>
> However, I caught the shoppers' train out of Birmingham and did make
> use of the intermediate fold.
>
>

 

[Richard Bates]

On Sat, 05 Feb 2005 19:21:04 +0000, Not Responding <[email protected]>
wrote:

>The smallest fold is an aquired art. I've used a marker pen to make it
>easier to find that precise point that the stem needs to be in.

Excellent idea.

Do you use the allenkey quill thing to adjust the stem height, or just
the QR lever? Or both? The bike shop bloke reckoned that the QR alone
would suffice but I'm not so sure myself.

>I *think* (but haven't made repeated tests) that you do need to remove
>the rack to fit it in the Doubleplay (?) bag. I also whip the seatpost
>off and throw both parts loose into the bag.

Do you use just the horizontal beam or do you also use the side
supports? I'll be using panniers which means the sides are essential -
and these are unfortunatelly not quick to unbolt.

Perhaps I can codge some QR fixing for it.

Are you still possibly meeting for a beer at New Street on Friday with
John and I?

 

[Not Responding]

Richard Bates wrote:
> On Sat, 05 Feb 2005 19:21:04 +0000, Not Responding <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>
>>The smallest fold is an aquired art. I've used a marker pen to make it
>>easier to find that precise point that the stem needs to be in.
>
>
> Excellent idea.
>
> Do you use the allenkey quill thing to adjust the stem height, or just
> the QR lever? Or both? The bike shop bloke reckoned that the QR alone
> would suffice but I'm not so sure myself.

Both. For something as safety critical as the attachment of handlebars
to bike, the manuals are suprisingly silent on this. Regardless of
safety, I discovered that if you leave the quill loose it rattles inside
the "handlepost" and you eventually get so irritated that you stop and
tighten everything up. Well, I did.

Also, to fully fold the bike you need to push the adjustable stem angle
to its highest.

>
>>I *think* (but haven't made repeated tests) that you do need to remove
>>the rack to fit it in the Doubleplay (?) bag. I also whip the seatpost
>>off and throw both parts loose into the bag.
>
> Do you use just the horizontal beam or do you also use the side
> supports? I'll be using panniers which means the sides are essential -
> and these are unfortunatelly not quick to unbolt.

Thus far, I've only used the beam and have left the side supports at
home. I'm glad to have the option of loading it up as a full on touring
bike but that wasn't what I bought it for and, for me, the significant
extra faff is not necessary.

A rack pack and bar bag is ample for my favoured style of long day
rides. For business travel type trips I may even leave the rack at home
and ride with everything in courier bag.

> Perhaps I can codge some QR fixing for it.
>
> Are you still possibly meeting for a beer at New Street on Friday with
> John and I?

Looking good as of now. Sometime between now and Friday (if I remember)
I'll post a picture of self+bike so you'll know what sort of cove to
look out for.