Sad to say I have to let go of my Dahon Speed Pro TT, 2008, simply because the Surly LHT have ruined all my bicycles as it is just way to comfy and I can’t ride the Dahon any more.
Bad parts :
- I’m selling it, since I can’t raise the handle bars enough to make it comfortable for me.
- I have never been happy with breaking abilities of the Dahon.
- For some reason Dahon decided to fit some “great tyres” on it.
Great parts :
- It is a fast ride and great fun.
- I managed to climb Tourmalet, Hautacam and Luz Ardiden on it.
- It is mango coloured.
So the state of the Dahon :
- Some scratches, but else it looks good, it have been loved and I will give it a good clean before you take it of my hands.
- The hods and leavers have some scratches.
- New tyres (Conti sport contact) very few miles on them.
- Cut down cable outers so not so easy to fold, but you can rectify that.
- Extra bar layer of tape and bar phat.
- It have done around 1800 miles.
- The thread on the left hand side crank are for the pedal is bust.
The …

I’m now coming up to 5,000 miles on the Surly Long Haul Trucker, aka my little Tank, and boy have they been my most comfortable 5,000 miles ever.
But, as there always is a but, the fecking LHT is the reason that I can’t ride my other bicycles any more. As my good friend at my LBS said … “Over the years as you get older you might find that you want to raise your handlebars a little bit as time goes on. You my friend have gone and done it, raised the bars by at least 20deg on your Surly and there is no way that you can go back again“.
And then there are the Brooks saddles, I do have a Brooks bum and there is no way I’m going back to other saddles.
Dirty Pia : My beloved MTB, which I have done umpteen miles on without any problems. Now I’m in agony after a few miles, too much weight on my hands and arms because of the forward leaning position. And then there is the saddle, how the heck did I manage all these miles before on that sharp brick ?
Chutney : My Speed Pro TT from …

Last year took us to Scotland (Grand tour of Edinburgh) , Wales (3 wet days loop), Surrey Hills (3 days tour with TEA), Isle of Wight (one small wet ride), Pyrenees (more up hills than you can shake a stick at) and Denmark (flatter than flat rides) and a few more day trips and pootles here and there.

Me and Chutney (a Dahon Speed Pro TT, 2008) on the top of Tourmalet.
Description: (From their site) The Speed Pro TT is the bike for the serious roadie who wants it all: a bike that can take on a century as easily as it can pack into a suitcase for travel. The SRAM DualDrive gearing delivers 27 gears for anything from the steepest hills to hammering on the flats.
As seen on the blog: Label : Dahon Speed Pro TT
I have now had this bicycle for a little over a year now and I have collected all the blogs I have done into this review, and will update as time permits.
I have ridden it in London, the Pyrenees and on a long hilly ride, and it is one of the best rides I have had.
After a little getting used to that everything happens so low to the ground, and the twitching handling, it just flyes. I have never ridden a folder before and it have been many years since I was on 20″ tyres.
Cycling in London’s traffic it is fast, responsive, comfy and light. It comes in at 10.4kg, but I do not feel it at all. Because of the 28″ …

… will know about me and my tyres by now.
I managed to hunt down some new tyres for my Dahon Speed Pro TT \o/
I had a look at the Schwable Durano and they felt just way too thin and flimsy, really didn’t feel like I could trust them to keep the fairies away.
So I went for the Continental Sport Contact with SafetyGuard, 20″ x 1 1/8″ (HS 28-406). They look and felt much more solid that the Durano, and had a great offer of a free inner tube and one year guarantee in the deal.
I managed to put them on the wheels after a bit of fighting, must remember to take my time and not rush it, because I will end up snapping a tyre lever.
And because of the free inner tube deal, I did not get any extra. And while fitting the tyres I found out that the valve is schreda not presta. Which I find quite weird, you sell a thin road bike tyre for small wheels, and you do not use presta valves ?
Here’s hoping that the SafteyGuard lives up to what they should do and I do not over heat the rims on these long downhills. …

… 20″ ?
Ordered some Schwalbe Stelvio with RaceGuard (20″ x 1″ 1/8) at my local bike shop. Only to find out that 20″ x 1″ 1/8 is not 20″ x 1″ 1/8, yes they thickness is the same but my old tyres can easily fit within these new one.
I know that there is this number system, 28-406 (20″x1″1/8) HS 350 …
The 28-406 is the width and diameter of the tyre, a standard which is set by set by E.T.R.T.O – The European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation.
I’m not sure what the HS 350 is, though I think that is a Schwalbe number to describe the tread.
And the 20″x1″1/8 is simple to understand, 20″ in diameter and 1″1/8 is the width.
But why the heck does that not fit to each others? The last time I measured 20″ it was 20″ which is 50.8cm or 508mm, it is not that hard to figure out.
This only leads to mistakes.
I also learned from Schwable or Bohle who is Schwable’s contact in the UK, that the Stelvio’s have been discontinued and been replaced with Durano.
So the hunt goes on for some tyres that is puncture proof and that fits my Dahon Speed Pro TT.
I …

As you might have seen I have had my fair share of a moan about these tyres. 1200 miles. And then I spotted this recall which I just had to write to Schwalbe about.
Hi,
I just saw the recall you have for the Schwalbe ULTREMO R tyres. The problem rings a bell to my tyres.
 
This is what Dahon said about the tyres on their website.
Dahon Special Edition Schwalbe Stelvio, Mango/Black, 28-406, foldable Kevlar bead, DualCompound Silica casing, RaceGuard anti-puncture protection, 120 psi
 
I have done just over 1700 miles on them over the last 11 month, they have brilliant grip and are very fast, not scared at all going around corners at speed and you can really lean in.
 
But when it come to keeping the punctures away they are no better than soft Swiss cheese with holes. It’s not much use, that RaceGuard. They have simply been cut to pieces, and I only ride on roads on these tyres.
 
The numbers of flats I have had on these tyres is unknown, because I have given up counting. Every journey I now do on these tyres I count in extra time for a “break” to fit a new inner tube.
 
In the last 100 or …

Cutting the brake cables down did help, I got much better bite on my front and back brake now compared to before.
Bummer is that I have just seen the Speed Pro TT 2009 version and it have V-type brakes. Ain’t it just so …

So in an attempt to get better braking on Chutney, I cut down the generous Dahon cable routing. Front brake by 2.5″ and the back nearly 6″. I haven’t tried it out on road yet, but there is clearly much less movement/give in the cable and it feels like it is “biting” much better. Tough while fettling around I found out that my front break cable was a little bit frayed.
 
And when I pulled out the cable it was like a cork screw …
 
Never seen that before in my fettling career, after a little looksee I think I figured out what caused it. The cable outer is coming out of the handle bar and is going into the shifters at an sharp 90 deg angle with strait lines, not a rounded/smooth/curved angle. Which I also think is the reason for the fraying and some lack of braking power, I have to do some more fettling to see if I can get that routing in a softer/smother angle.

Well I have now passed the 1200 miles mark on Chutney, and all I can say I love to ride the Speed Pro TT. Great fun, fast and I do not get any pain in my shoulders or my back when riding around, on long and short journeys.
The only thing that is letting this bike down big time is the rattling noise it makes, I have tried to tie down lose cables with cable ties and soft rim tape in hope to stop the cable outing rattling against the frame. Boy does the “talk” when going around town, but then again she is a woman Smiley
And then there is the tires “SCHWALBE Stelvio Light TIRE- dahon special edition”, they have brilliant grip and are very fast. Not scared at all going around corners at speed and really lean in. But when it come to keeping the fa***es away they are no better than soft Swiss cheese with holes in then. Folding Bicycles and Folding Bicycle Accessories by Dahon
QuoteA RaceGuard Belt provides puncture protection: it consists of two carcass layers, between which is sandwiched a virtually impenetrable rubber compound./Quote
My arse !! Lost count on how many I have had (was it …