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 last worry is that there is a crack around the seat post clamp. I have been using it at the max seat post length but I have never been over the max allowed weight. As a cycling trainer I have trained a few people who are lets say a bit heavy but I have not use the bicycle when the seat post at the max. But still it cracked :(

But then again I would be happy to sell the Speed Pro TT as spare parts for others, as I do hear that the spokes are rare as hens teeth.

Here is the link to Dahon’s description of the Speed Pro TT 2008 model.

For sale in the UK, preferably in the London area, so give me an offer.

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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 Dahon, which I have climbed Col de Tourmalet on without any problems, ok I was cream knackered but it was not the bicycle’s fault. The position on that is also too much leaned forward and the brakes are not there compared to the Tank.

Stella : My Peugeot road bicycle which I have fixed, is also a bit too much leaned over for comfort, but along with Brooks saddle (Team Pro). It is still very much ridable as a pootle around town bicycle, though long distances are out unless I raise the bars a bit.

My little Tank, is just so comfortable, nice and high position where I can see what is going on when commuting. Just rolls, ok not fast, but this is not a racer at all. As I keep saying, four wheels and a sofa is what the Surly LHT compares to. And it has brakes that just work: they stop me on a dime, loaded or not. Brilliant control when riding loaded or not. And then there is the Brooks Saddle, some like them, some don’t and I do love it, comfy :)

So my stable has too be rethought. Pia is going to be retired since she will cost too much to upgrade as the group set is worn out. Chutney is going to be sold as parts for others to use. Stella I will keep as she is as she is still fun to ride on quick short rides.

Though this leaves the question what N+1 should I get ?

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A grand total of 5,915.65 miles for me last year and 2564 of them were done on my new touring bicycle only had it for five months. It just seems like I can’t get off that Long Haul Trucker. I do need to get onto my other bicycles not just to remove the cobwebs but also because I do enjoy riding them.

Though I’m 1000 miles down on the target I had set for the year. The reason for that is that I’m working weekends and therefore not out cycling. Hopefully that will change this year, with some more rides with my wonderful riding partner Peli.

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.

I wonder where this year will take us ?

Happy riding all.

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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″ to 125″ gear range, that just changes double fast, nothing different with the 3 hub gears that are like the 3 front rings. With it fancy handle bars and stem you can easy find a position that suit you.

It have a longer distance between the wheels, which makes the ride much more like a “normal” bike. Climbing up on the steepest part of the Tourmalet the front wheel never came off the ground, and I never had the twitch that you can have with a smaller wheel and going up hill at low speed.

Descending is fast and fun, I can’t say that there is anything different compared to a “normal” bike. That is off course when you have gotten used to its handling, but that is the same with any bike.

The only things I had to change on it …

Handlebars: I had to add some Bar Phat as the handle bars that is on it is too thin for my liking.

Brake pads: The ones that comes with it as a standard don’t even bite, so I put some Koolstop and they have stopped me on the fast descents in the Pyrenees.

Seat post: Since I’m 6’4″ with an inside leg of 35″. The seat post that come with the bike is not long enough even though the web site states that it fits a 6’4″ person. So I got a seat post from a Dahon Vitesse which also have the normal seat clamp and not the new seat railing thing, and that is just the right length.

And of course riding it in France you will get of plenty of people looking at you and asking you questions about it.

Now that was all the good news about the Dahon Speed Pro TT, here comes the bad news …

I got this bike in August 2008 all being a very brilliant bike to ride. But compare to the amount of miles I have gotten out of the “Dahon Special Edition Schwalbe Stelvio, Mango/Black, 20″ x 1″, foldable Kevlar bead, DualCompound Silica casing, RaceGuard anti-puncture protection” I can only display my disappointment.

This bike has only touched the Queens highway, never been off road or on dirt track/canal/towpath. Though I have ridden it in the rain and the tyres have a brilliant grip and roll very fast. I have had 3 inner tubes on it and the tyres are now falling apart, click here to read my open letter to Schwalbe about this.

Total count of visits = 8 or was it 10 vs 1780 miles, now that is just not on, compared to the tyres on my other bicycles.

And 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″. And I got much better bite on my front and back brake now compared to before. Though 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.

Rating

A brilliant, fast, fun ride. But what was Dahon thinking about when they put the tyres and brakes on this?

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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. As here in Southern France 20″ is unheard of.

-H

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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 did moan about this to Bohle (as the part conversion with them, remember the open letter ?) and got this reply.

Hello H

Re tyre sizes. Unfortunately tyre sizes can be quite confusing as you have just found out. Quite often it is the old Imperial sizes combined with Metric sizes that can fall under the same overall size classification ie 20″. The new Durano, although it has the same RaceGuard puncture protection system it has a much more durable tread compound so offering a more reliable and higher mileage tyre than the slightly lighter Stelvio.

28-406 Stelvio art no; 11613352 folding bead 11113129 wire bead
28-406 Durano art no; 11646979 folding bead 11146976 wire bead

Kind Rgds

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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 so miles the tyres have started to wobble/kick very hard at certain speeds, and I take it that is because of the kink in the tyres. I know for sure that my brake block hasn’t touched the tyres, because that is one thing I’m scared of especially because I rely on them when cycling in the Pyrenees.

 

I have some old (4 years) Specialized Armadillos (700c x 28) which have done over 6000 miles and I think I have had 1 or 2 flat, and one of them was a nail that lodged itself in the rim.

 

These pictures are just from the rear tyre. The front tyre is also cut to bits, but yet have to develop a wobble and kink.

The Schwalbe Marathon Plus evolution (26″ x 1″), probably the best tyres I have, have done over 2000 miles and have had no visit yet, but got two quite big cuts in them but are still going strong. And I have not been shy with these tyres, I’ve ridden trough some nasty stuff with them.

Still have to try out the Schwalbe Marathon Plus (700c x 35) which I only got because of what I read about touring tyres and have tried with the Schwalbe Marathon Plus evolution.

Now I just hope that the Schwalbe Stelvio with RaceGuard (20″ x 1″ 1/8) I just got are better and do not suffer from the same problem. Because I could not find any Marathon Plus’ or Specialized Armadillos in that size.

I got a reply …

Hello H

Many thanks for your mail, most interesting. I am surprised that you have been able to obtain the 28-406 Stelvio as they have been discontinued and been replaced with the new Durano, we even have some of the Special Dahon Mango coloured version on stock.

Kind Rgds

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Bummer is that I have just seen the Speed Pro TT 2009 version and it have V-type brakes. Ain’t it just so …

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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.

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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

Quote
A 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 2 or 3 over the weekend) the tires are simply cut to pieces, if they where in a different shape they would be a great sieve.

So yes do get this bike it is worth it, such a great ride. Just be prepared to get some different tires and brake pads, before you head out.

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