Dahon Folding Bicycle Forum: Rides

Riding In Spain

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:49:48 -0600

Hi
After arriving from crossing Spain last July, I thought that my new Speed TR was the best bike I ever had. I send it to the official dealer in my town to get it revised after his first 950 Km just to be careful and ride safe. I told them to verify the spoke tension and the side stand. In fact I was hearing little noises "clics" from spokes, althow none was broke or lose. Whith the four bags in place, the bike was impossible to park whitout the help of a tree or a wall.
The day after I received a phone call from the shop, informing me that when they were dismantling the steering bearings the balls felted in the ground and it would be necessary new ones; It would take some more time to repair. Of course I get warried, becaming in doubts relatively to the quality of the bike and increased doubts about the sugested use of this model in "exploring Vietnam" as the brand proclaims. What have you to say to this occurence?

Las Vegas Folder Bike Frolic 7am, Thurs., 9/24

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:50:55 -0600

Greets...
If you are:
1) in Las Vegas next week.
2) have (or can borrow) a folder bike,
why not:
Get up really really early and come to the front of the Venetian at 7am on Thursday, 9/24 for the Annual Interbike Folder Frolic?

It's likely to contain: an easy paced ride past various morning sprinkler and groundskeeper shows, a Zip down the Deserted Strip, a parking garage ramp hill climb, rooftop whiskey toast, and maybe traces of nuts!

Unlike anything else in Vegas, it's FREE.

Cheers
mcget/trophy bikes philly, host of the Folder Frolic 2009

Rides

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:47:24 -0600

I WANT TO GO WITH A GROUP OF BIKERS ONE WEEKEND IN SAN DIEGO OR PHOENIX AZ. DOES ANYBODY KNOW OF SOME PLANNED RIDES? WANT TO JOIN GROUP FOR RIDES?

London Skyride (aka London Freewheel)

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:26:25 -0600

20th September

Anyone else taking part?

I'll be on my Cadenza 8 with my girlfriend on her Jack

Anyone In Indonesia?

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:14:49 -0600

Hi!!
Anyone in Indonesia here?
My house is in Jakarta but I study in Bandung so I rent a room there. I go to Jakarta in Friday Evening and back to Bandung in Sunday at least once in a month. I fold my Matrix and put it behind the back seat of a bus (Jakarta-Bandung si about 126 km).
So if there is anyone here who live between those cities, maybe we could ride together sometimes...

Regards,
Zulfikar.

Ride From Holland Village To Changi Village Via East Coast Park (sgp)

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:47:59 -0600

I am looking for cycling buddies in Singapore to join me for rides as follows:

Meeting Place: Holland Village (where I stay)

Date and Time : Weekday (TBA, subject to my schedule), Set off latest 7 pm

Route: Short stretch of Cwealth Ave > Queenstown canal PCN > Alexandra PCN > Kim Seng Promenade > Robertson Quay > Clarke Quay > Spore River > Queen Elizabeth Walk > Nicoll Highway > Tanjong Rhu Bridge > Tanjong Rhu PCN > Mounbatten Rd > Fort Rd > East Coast Park > Changi Village > turnaround back to Holland Village using same route.

Total forward and return trip distance: approx 80 km

Time to complete : 4 hrs

Dinner break will be at East Coast Park hawker centre

I am riding this route if I ever find time on weekdays to cycle. Got to reach home by 11 pm as there is work the next day.
I am cycling alone now and going at around 20 km/h. Note that the routes are on pavements and park connector network.

Anyone keen to join me should also be riding a folding bike.

Folder Bike Fest In Philly June 5-6-7

Wed, 27 May 2009 20:34:41 -0600

ROUND UP USA
FOLDER BIKE FEST
Comes to Philadelphia

June 6-7-8, 2009
Trophy Bikes
3131 Walnut St.
University City
Philadelphia
215.222.2020
www.trophybikes.com/events

The biggest new thing in the bike world is bikes that get small and go fast. See and test ride the latest folder bikes.

If you�re already a folder rider, join a folder bike-on-rail excursion.

Watch (or enter) a �fast-fold showdown�

And more.

This FREE event, now in its 7th year, is for riders and fans of folding bicycles. Trophy Bikes, the host of the Round Up Folder Fest is one of the largest retailers of folder bikes; they�ll be displaying all sorts of clever new folder designs and explaining what�s making folders the fastest-growing bike category in the U.S.

�These bikes go places regular bikes can�t�like car trunks, office building and transit,� explains Trophy Bikes co-owner Michael McGettigan, who uses a British-made Brompton for his commute. �They also foil thieves, since you can stash them inside. I don�t even carry a lock when I�m on my folder.�

Peter Reich, the inventor of the Swift folder bike, will be offering a demonstration, and meet up with other folder experts to debate the pros and cons of various folder designs.

Until recently, folder bikes had a bad reputation in this country, thanks to scores of cheap and heavy models, sold mostly online and at big box stores. But today�s modern folders are light, fast and some titanium models can even challenge big wheel bikes on the road.

The weekend-long event centers around Trophy Bikes in University City, but will roam around, making visits to Manayunk and on Sunday, to the TD Bank International Bicycle Championship, where folder fans will check out the race and show off their machines.

Complete schedule at: www.trophybikes.com/events.php

Fremont, Ca (san Francisco Bay Area) Ride Anybody?

Wed, 27 May 2009 12:57:35 -0600

Any Dahon people in Fremont, CA?

Bank Holiday Monday Ride

Fri, 01 May 2009 08:14:46 -0600

This Monday (Bank Holiday in UK) there is the annual Ride to Reach Fair from Cambridge. The Wife and I did this a couple of years ago, and this will be the first non-commute ride I've done on my new Jetstream P8.

May Day is one of the few Pagan festivals that have remained non christian, although most people don't realise it. Whenever I see a maypole I can't help but think of Edward Woodward in the Wicker Man...

Spot the (old) Jetstream (clue: I'm the guy in black with the shades)

http://www.dahon.com/forum/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=3273 http://www.dahon.com/forum/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=3272

Ride In Lawton Oklahoma

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:46:21 -0600

I will be here for a month and I am looking forward of getting some good rides while I am here. Hit me up if you are from this area.

Rollin' On 20s Calendar 2009

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 21:03:17 -0700

So, I got inspired to wade through my photo archive and put together a 2009 calendar depicting some of my favorite rides from last year's travels around the country. I made it for friends and family (and, of course, my own wall!) but figured random strangers on the internet might enjoy it too, so here you go...

Each month's page features a pair of rides from that month of the previous year. I got to ride in 12 states in 2008 (NC, SC, FL, GA, VA, WV, PA, IL, NE, CO, WY, and UT) and most of them made it into the calendar. We spent the first half of the year on the east coast, then bee-lined across to Colorado and spent the second half of the year there, so CO is perhaps a little overrepresented... but that's not really such a bad thing, right?

Note that if you like the JPG version below, you can download a higher-res PDF version of the whole thing from the mountain biking page of our website (direct link here). Personally, I print out the pages and slide them into one of those transparent pouch things stuck to the wall above my desk, and change the page each month. I'll also note that it's completely free, and there are not even any ads to ignore or anything, so feel free to download for personal use if you like it.

This being a Dahon forum and all, you may wonder why no Dahon appears until September. Well, I was ready to buy an 08 Jetstream XP when it first appeared in December 07, but Dahon didn't deliver them to dealers until August 08, so I just keep riding my trusty KHS during the long, long wait. And when the bikes were finally ready, my order from Germany apparently took a round-the-world cruise courtesy of DHL, before finally arriving in late September. Anyway, presumably next year's calendar will be mostly Dahon.

Enjoy!

[continues below...]

A Short Ride In North East England ( Geordieland)

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:46:37 -0700

I have to share these pictures they are not particularly scenic but provide a good juxtaposition of bike and Landscape.

There are only a few but give an idea of my immediate riding area the first is a reclaimed pit heap which has been turned into a country park, of which there are many where I live.

The others are of quite a famous land mark, if anyone who has heard of the pop group the Lighthouse Family , this is where their name came from.

The Bonny Banks Of Loch Lomond

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:22:37 -0700

As it was unusually unseasonal weather on Boxing Day (dry, calm and not icey!) I decided to take a ride on the Loch Lomond cycle track. It would make a great change from my usual commutes into the congested centre of Glasgow and help me work off my Christmas over indulgence in turkey, mince pies and McEwan's export!

This is exacty the sort of use for which I bought the Dahon (a Mu P8) - easily transporting it by car somewhere nice to cycle on my days off (though it's been doing well as a 100 mile a week commuter recently while my usual road bike's been off the road too!).

So unfolding the bike at Balloch (parking the car at Loch Lomond Shores), I set off heading North. The route was quite well sign-posted though the first 5 or 6 miles aren't too scenic, mainly following a track along the path of the main road (though safely away from the road for those not confident in traffic).

After about 5 or 6 miles the route branches off closer to the shore of the Loch and things improve a lot, becoming quieter and more scenic. Not long after this the route joins the side road to Luss - be aware of this if you're not expecting any on road sections as this narrow country road can be quite busy in summer!

The traffic in December was light however and after Luss the track leaves the road once more. Much of this route follows the line of the old Loch Lomond road which was closed to traffic when the new road to Tarbet was built quite a while ago. A few miles south of Firkin Point the track widens and this becomes more obvious as it follows several miles of wide 'road' used now only open to cyclists and walkers. It was a bit muddy or slippery in places due to fallen leaves but not too bad. The scenery by here was dramatic with Ben Lomond rising above the opposite banks, capped in a dusting of snow.

I decided to press on to Tarbet where the cycle route ends (you're on the road the whole way from here if you're going further!). Here I turned and headed the 16 miles back to my car at Balloch, making it a 32 mile round trip.

All in all it was a nice change from city centre streets and a good afternoon's cycling. The Northern half was by far the more scenic however. Recommended for anyone looking for a ride in Central Scotland!

Photo is of the Dahon between Firkin Point and Tarbet, looking north up Loch Lomond.

http://www.dahon.com/forum/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=2779

Pete.

United Arab Emirates, Anyone?

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 05:59:26 -0700

So, anybody here currently living in the cycle-unfriendly nation of the United Arab Emirates? Dubai, in particular? I'm getting a Dahon Vitesse D7HG soon, now that we're coming in to the end of the year and it's become bearable to cycle (now that it isn't 120-30 deg F/50deg C anymore). I'll be commuting to work but it'll be fun to meet up with other people, if you exist at all in this city that hates everything except big hulking cars

Vancouver/tri-cities?

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:01:05 -0600

Anybody up for it? I think midterms are (almost) over for those in school so let's get a ride in!

I don't know many places to ride through so that's up to whoever else goes along with this. I'm from Coquitlam, willing to go to Surrey, New West, Vancouver, Port Moody, Maple Ridge, and Port Coquitlam.

Colorado?

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:46:38 -0600

Is there a group of riders in the Denver area? I'm thinking of getting a folder, and want to check out some models. I haven't found a good reseller in the city yet. There's one in Ft Collins, I think but I don't feel like driving up there.

If You Live In Calgary

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:24:54 -0600

there is a group of Folding bike owners who meet for a weekly ride on Wednesdays.

Calgary folding bike club

I went last wednesday and met some very nice people and had a great 2 hour ride.

Anyone On Long Island?

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:18:26 -0600

I just purchased a 2008 Mariner D7 from Brands in Wantagh. I noticed a lot of people in the forums take their Dahon on the train into Manhattan. While I do commute into the city everday, I'm not sure I have the courage to ride my bike around Manhattan...although I will go on Merrick Road and Sunrise Highway, makes no sense I know.

Does anyone get together either on the south shore of Nassau County or out on the North Fork in Wine Country?

I'm psyched about my purchase, the bike is great and it turns a lot of heads.

Who Is In/around Vancouver?

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:06:36 -0600

Just thought we should build up a list for people around the Vancouver area.

I'm in Coquitlam.

Anyone In The Calgary Area?

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:39:36 -0600

Anyone in the calgary area interested in getting together for a ride?

Kookie - Coast To Coast?

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:43:22 -0600

Kookie,

You mention in one of your other posts that you're planning a coast to coast ride next year - which route are you planning on taking?

How far are you along with your planning and prep?

David

Golden Ring Of Russia Tour 2008

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:10:50 -0600

The actual writeup of the tour (with tour website) will come later. For now, I wanted to write about how my 2003 Dahon Matrix fared.

The roads are not kind in Russia. Most of the backroads we used were ridiculously rough and potholed. Many times, I wished I had brought my 2004 Dahon Zero G mountain bike. We actually rode about 30 miles of rough dirt road (worse condition than your standard US fire road) and 5 miles of...I don't know what you call it. It was like someone drove their car into tall grass and we followed their tire tracks. It was like single-tracks running parallel to each other through tall grass.

Having said all that, the Matrix performed impressively! I thought for sure it was going to shake itself apart, but so far, I haven't found any stress cracks at all. Nothing broke, either during the ride or in transit. The only mechanical thing that went wrong was that the rear brake suffered a massive failure. It seized up and I had to disengage it for most of 3/4 of the trip. The front brake sufficed.

As for my aftermarket additions, I had added some removable Planet Bike fenders with proved to be one of the best things I added on for the trip. Lightweight and easy to install, they added some measurable protection during the rainy parts of the trip. I also added a seat stem-mounted rack and panniers, but ended taking them off after the 2nd day, since the rough roads kept shifting them around and they would interfere with the rear wheel. I was able to stuff everything I needed into my camelback.

I had purchased an Airporter case for the trip. I was very skeptical of the protection it would offer when I received it, but after this trip, I feel totally confident it would protect any of my bikes. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to fit my 26" bike in there, but once I did, everything fit like a glove. In case you're wondering, the wheels, the seat/seat post, and the handlebars have to come off. The case took some beating during transit (I lost a little contact point cover and part of the outside strapping got frayed), but the bike was fine. The only negative is that on the flight out of San Diego, American Airlines charged me $125 for excess weight & size. (Initially, it was about $150, but after some arguing, they charged me the "bicycle" charge of $125.) In Moscow, they charged me $50 for excessive weight. And when American cancelled my flight and I switched over to British Airways, they didn't charge me anything. Weird.

That's it for the moment. As I said earlier, stay tuned for a writeup and pictures on the tour itself. I'm going to give my bike a good scrubdown today and see if there was any minor damage. I'll do some research and see what I can replace my current disc brakes with (possible upgrade to hydraulics time?). And perhaps I'll look at replacing the front fork with a carbon fiber version. I changed out the cranks, so perhaps I can change out the rear cassette to lighter components and next would maybe be putting in some lighter wheels. I'd like to lose a few pounds off the bike.

London Bikeathon 2008

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:26:36 -0600

Hello,
Is anyone else signed up for the London Bikeathon this year?
This is my first, and stupidly have signed up for the 52 mile Challenge ride!

Not sure if this is allowed (feel free to delete / amend if needed Mr. Moderator) but...
You can sponsor my team "The Flying Monkeys" at our sponsorship page Here!

All proceeds go to Leukaemia Research so it's a worthy cause as well as a good day out.

Thanks,

Ian.

Critical Mass

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:30:12 -0600

Hello!

Take a look at these pictures of a Dahon last month at the critical mass ride in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Best regards,
Rick Fair

_______________
Rick Fair
Technical Support|Dahon
rickfair@dahon.com
www.dahon.com

In Long Beach, Ride From The Aquarium To Queen Mary.

Mon, 26 May 2008 21:04:45 -0600

Here's a nice shortish trip filled with excellent attractions: a week or so ago, we took our Boardwalk and Curve bikes in our Honda CRV down to the Aquarium in Long Beach. We parked the car in the parking ramp at the aquarium and spent a couple hours in the aquarium, particularly enjoying the otter exhibit. The aquarium as a whole was great. We then unfolded the bikes and hopped on the bike trail that goes over the bridge in Long Beach harbor and rode over to the Queen Mary which is now a hotel. Most of the ship is open to stroll through, including the bridge, officers quarters, radio room, decks, etc etc. There is no charge to stroll around the ship. I found out that the Queen Mary was actually a much larger ship than the famous (infamous) Titanic. We even were able to check some of the suites and regular rooms on the ship as some of them were being cleaned by housekeepers after the guests had checked out. The rooms were excellent (even the bathrooms). They also had quite a few very nice shops on the ship, heavy on the British flavored gift and clothing items. We ate lunch at one of the main restaurants (The Promenade) and the food was excellent and reasonable with fantastic views. Then we went to the "soda shop" on the ship which specializes in ice cream shakes and malts, particularly of the chocolate variety, which we enjoyed while relaxing on one of the deck benches on one of the upper decks. We then hopped on our bikes and rode along the seashore over to the nearby lighthouse and checked out some of shopping near there. Then we rode back over to our car at the aquarium parking lot. The whole thing took about 5 hours, only about an hour of which was bike riding. It was a lot of fun.

By the way, the Queen Mary does have a small bike rack located off to the side of the main entrance to the hotel. Just ask the bell guys at the entrance where it is. So, if you're anywhere near Long Beach, this is a great way to spend the day.

That's It Done!

Sun, 11 May 2008 11:12:12 -0600

Well, this was the day. 33 miles and 14 bridges from Rotherhithe to Hampton Court. I completed the course in 4 hours 11 minutes which was a little over my estimate but not too bad at all.

My Jack stood up to the pounding well, and I didn't suffer too much either!

There's still time to get your sponsorship in at www.justgiving.com/derek-is-on-his-bike

New Forest Cycle Ride

Thu, 08 May 2008 15:57:31 -0600

For southern England Dahon or others bike ridrers.
-Join in with other small wheel Dahon riders and members of Southampton Cycling Camapign for a spring ride around the New Forest lanes on Saturday May 17.
Meet outside Brockenhurst station in north side car park at 10.00 am .
There are regular fast trains to Brockenhurst which is on the main London Waterloo-Southamprton to Bournemouth line.
Or car parking is available at the station; or public car park in the village; or on- street in roads nearby to station..

Folds Up Ride In Nyc

Mon, 05 May 2008 19:39:45 -0600

Anyone here doing the Folds Up ride here in NYC on Saturday?

I'll probably go, assuming my allergies don't knock me down for the count... I'll be on my Jack.

Nyc Five Boro Ride

Mon, 05 May 2008 18:00:40 -0600

I rode the 42 mile 5 boro ride on Sunday with 30 to 35 thousand fellow cyclists. Why would I trade a car traffic jam for a bike traffic jam? Great ride well organized. My MuP8 performed flawlesly. The 8 gears are well spaced, and the Marathon Racer tires were perfect for the task. I was even able to aid and amaze a fellow cyclist by inflating his tire with my seat pump. I didn't see many folders, infact mine drew some interest. I saw a few Bromptons, some Fridays, a few Dahons, and a couple of Airnimals. Maybe the ride was no big deal for the local folders, but it was great for an out of towner. NYC is considerably more bike friendly than Boston.
Herb

Iow Randonnee

Sun, 04 May 2008 16:59:41 -0600

Having bought the XP with (among other intentions) the aim of doing longer rides, today I went on the Isle of Wight Randonnee (see http://www.cycleisland.co.uk/). I was intending to do 'just' the 55km route rather than the whole 100k round the island (still more than I ever covered in a day before), but in total, including the travel to and from the ferry either end, plus a few, ahem, 'detours', I ended up doing 59 miles in total- not surprisingly, I'm a little tired now...particularly towards the end, I didn't bother tackling some of the climbs on the bike (some of the ones I did were bad enough, though I probably didn't use the uphill mode on the DualDrive as much as I should), settled for walking up and not giving myself palpitations. Pleased to say even if the owner wasn't quite up to the job, my XP was. Definitely The Little Folder That Could! Only slight bother was the chain coming off (cattle grid or cobbles on a fast descent..aargh), and that only happened once. I will be back for sure, to try the 100k next time. After a training programme I think...
One thing surprised me- the lack of similar bikes. There was a guy with a Bike Friday NWT on the ferry going across, a rather nice Grasshopper recumbent, and a Moulton of some description. Not one other folder or other small-wheelers at all, at least as I saw. At least two Trek Madone 5.2s, Specialized Roubauixs, all kinds of other road bike exotica...but they couldn't fit in the luggage racks on the ferry
Oh yes, and the food & drink was both excellent and reasonably priced. A big lump of bread pudding for �1 Not exactly a large bowl of pasta, but it did the trick for 'elevenses'!
Highly recommended for a challenging ride (the courses are of course available all year round, even if the refreshments and lycra-clad comrades aren't).