2007 Dahon Speed TR (20" wheeled folding bike)
The latest edition to my fleet. A Dahon Speed TR. This is my third folding bike and my second Dahon ever with the first bike being a Dahon Mu Uno single speed, followed by a Brompton M6L. I’m unsure of the year of manufacture but I think it was in the early 2000’s when this steel framed bike was first introduced. The bike features a SRAM dual drive geared rear hub as well as a rear derailleur on the outside so in total has 24 speeds which is awesome. I guess I am addicted to the touring bike thing now that I have my Thorn Nomad full size tourer which I love riding. I purchased this bike from a guy in country NSW who is unable to ride due to back problems. Luckily for me the bike is hardly used and has only done about 1000 or so kms. He lives 4 hours drive away but it just happens that I also work in a freight & logistics company so I managed to get the bike sent to me dirt cheap. The bike has front and rear pannier racks, a dynamo front hub with front light, a full sized pump built into the seat post (like my previous Dahon), Schwalbe Big Apple tyres (like my Thorn) and is a one size fits all deal so being 5”7 it fits me just fine. I’m looking to occasionally commute to work and there isn’t really a spot here to lock up a bike so I thought I could put it behind my desk. I love touring bikes and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a touring folder! There are not many reviews online describing this bike or any videos so I plan to do a full review once I get it to help others decide if they want one. Hopefully this is the end of my bike buying days.
I now have my Thorn Nomad Tourer with 26” wheels, an 80’s Centurion Pursuit single speed with 27” wheels & coaster hub brake, and now my Dahon Speed TR folding tourer with 20” wheels! All that’s needed are some mud guards/fenders, a rear light and the package will be complete. Once I do a ride of the bike I will give a full review. May even take it camping with me as I’ll be able to store it on the inner side of the rain fly etc. No need for a lock!
So here are the specs of this bike:
COLOUR Forest Green
SPEEDS 24
GEAR INCHES 21" - 114" DISTANCE:
SEAT POST TO HANDLEBAR Min: 620mm (24.4") Max: 730mm (28.7")
SADDLE TO PEDAL Min: 740mm (29.1") Max: 970mm (38.2")
FOLDED SIZE 36 x 67 x 84 cm (14" x 26.5" x 33")
WEIGHT 13 kg. (28.6 lbs)
FOLDING TIME 15 seconds
SUGGESTED RIDER HEIGHT 142 cm - 193 cm (4'8" - 6'4")
MAX RIDER WEIGHT 105 kg. (230 lbs.)
FRAME K Series, SuperLite 4130 chromoly, custom-drawn double-butted Sonus tubing, forged Lattice hinge, patented ViseGrip™ technology, forged drop outs FORK Integrated, patented Fusion technology
HANDLEPOST Radius VRO, patented Fusion™ technology, forged aluminium, patented InSide™ lock, custom designed for Syntace VRO system
HANDLEBAR Kinetix Pro, Flat bar, 7050 aluminium, double-butted
HANDLEBAR CLAMPS Syntace VRO, adjustable
HEADSET Dahon Fusion XP, Zero stack, Angular Contact cartridge bearings, machined aluminium cups GRIPS Ergon MR2, Magnesium bar end
SADDLE BioLogic™ AirFlo, Mojo Groove design
SEAT POST BioLogic™ Zorin PostPump
SEAT CLAMP Dahon Turtleneck clamp
BRAKES Kinetix SpeedStop V brakes, stainless flex noodle, stainless link and anchor bolt, “SilentGrip” ceramic brake pads
BRAKE LEVER Avid FR5
CABLES AND HOUSING Dahon LiveWire, SIS housing, slick cable
FRONT HUB BioLogic™ Joule dynamo, 6V/2.4W
REAR HUB SRAM DualDrive, 24/27 spd., 28H
SPOKES 14G, double butted, stainless steel
RIMS Kinetix Comp, doublewall, CNC sidewalls, wear line indicator
TYRES Schwalbe Big Apple, 20” x 2.0”, Kevlar puncture protection, 70 psi, Reflex SHIFTERS SRAM DualDrive, single- sided shifter, 24 speed
DERAILLEUR SRAM X7 CASSETTE Shimano HyperGlide 8 speed, 11-32T CRANKSET Sugino XD, cold-forged crank arms, hand polished, 2014 alloy 46T chainring, composite guard
BOTTOM BRACKET Cartridge, sealed bearings
CHAIN SRAM PC971, 9 speed, PowerLink
PEDALS MKS MTS-2 EZY
FRONT LIGHT Hella Micro FF, Halogen, dynamo powered
CLIP SYSTEM Magnetix™ system
ACCESSORY Front & Rear Racks, Bell, Post Pump, El Bolso Bag.
I now have my Thorn Nomad Tourer with 26” wheels, an 80’s Centurion Pursuit single speed with 27” wheels & coaster hub brake, and now my Dahon Speed TR folding tourer with 20” wheels! All that’s needed are some mud guards/fenders, a rear light and the package will be complete. Once I do a ride of the bike I will give a full review. May even take it camping with me as I’ll be able to store it on the inner side of the rain fly etc. No need for a lock!
So here are the specs of this bike:
COLOUR Forest Green
SPEEDS 24
GEAR INCHES 21" - 114" DISTANCE:
SEAT POST TO HANDLEBAR Min: 620mm (24.4") Max: 730mm (28.7")
SADDLE TO PEDAL Min: 740mm (29.1") Max: 970mm (38.2")
FOLDED SIZE 36 x 67 x 84 cm (14" x 26.5" x 33")
WEIGHT 13 kg. (28.6 lbs)
FOLDING TIME 15 seconds
SUGGESTED RIDER HEIGHT 142 cm - 193 cm (4'8" - 6'4")
MAX RIDER WEIGHT 105 kg. (230 lbs.)
FRAME K Series, SuperLite 4130 chromoly, custom-drawn double-butted Sonus tubing, forged Lattice hinge, patented ViseGrip™ technology, forged drop outs FORK Integrated, patented Fusion technology
HANDLEPOST Radius VRO, patented Fusion™ technology, forged aluminium, patented InSide™ lock, custom designed for Syntace VRO system
HANDLEBAR Kinetix Pro, Flat bar, 7050 aluminium, double-butted
HANDLEBAR CLAMPS Syntace VRO, adjustable
HEADSET Dahon Fusion XP, Zero stack, Angular Contact cartridge bearings, machined aluminium cups GRIPS Ergon MR2, Magnesium bar end
SADDLE BioLogic™ AirFlo, Mojo Groove design
SEAT POST BioLogic™ Zorin PostPump
SEAT CLAMP Dahon Turtleneck clamp
BRAKES Kinetix SpeedStop V brakes, stainless flex noodle, stainless link and anchor bolt, “SilentGrip” ceramic brake pads
BRAKE LEVER Avid FR5
CABLES AND HOUSING Dahon LiveWire, SIS housing, slick cable
FRONT HUB BioLogic™ Joule dynamo, 6V/2.4W
REAR HUB SRAM DualDrive, 24/27 spd., 28H
SPOKES 14G, double butted, stainless steel
RIMS Kinetix Comp, doublewall, CNC sidewalls, wear line indicator
TYRES Schwalbe Big Apple, 20” x 2.0”, Kevlar puncture protection, 70 psi, Reflex SHIFTERS SRAM DualDrive, single- sided shifter, 24 speed
DERAILLEUR SRAM X7 CASSETTE Shimano HyperGlide 8 speed, 11-32T CRANKSET Sugino XD, cold-forged crank arms, hand polished, 2014 alloy 46T chainring, composite guard
BOTTOM BRACKET Cartridge, sealed bearings
CHAIN SRAM PC971, 9 speed, PowerLink
PEDALS MKS MTS-2 EZY
FRONT LIGHT Hella Micro FF, Halogen, dynamo powered
CLIP SYSTEM Magnetix™ system
ACCESSORY Front & Rear Racks, Bell, Post Pump, El Bolso Bag.
The Actual Bike - Second hand but in pristine condition - done about 1000 kms.
So this is the bike I'm getting sent from country NSW to my work. It's in excellent condition and only needs fenders and a rear light. I may even look at getting a second mount for my Ortlieb handlebar bag as I am finding it very convenient to put things in the front and access them whilst riding. Below are three more pics. These are pictures from the seller I have not received the bike as yet.
Update
Ok so I have had the bike with me now for about 6 months and did not really do anything with it during this time. I got it delivered to the office. The most I had done was pump up the tyres with the seat post pump and rode around the office for a bit of a laugh. I finally got it home and Have made some changes to it. Firstly I ordered some SKS 20" fenders and mudguards for it as the bike did not come with any. They arrived from Germany and I have installed them. Lastly I removed the front and rear pannier racks as my priorities have changed with this bike. I will not be getting rid of the removed parts as I intend to use it as a tourer eventually. I have removed these items because i am trying to make the bike as light as possible. You see in my current job I fly around Australia a fair bit. Mainly to Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. Occasionally I go to South Australia too. So I figured if I am gonna keep up with my cycling and be really disciplined about it, I'll take the bike with me! See I normally just take some hand luggage with me on the plane for each trip which is more than enough for me, however I am still allowed to take 23kg checked in which I never really do. So if I am able to put the bike in a suitcase it could go with me wherever I travel to! So that's my plan anyway. Below are pictures of the bike in it's current guise. The first pic shows the bike with parts removed and the second with the racks hanging up now. I'll get a pic up there of the bike and how it currently looks with the fenders on.
Guess what...surprise...surprise.....it's for sale on ebay now!!
I'd been looking for a Dahon Dash P18 for ages and one has finally come up for sale used on the web! Well, it's actually a Dahon Smooth Hound and is 16 speeds instead. But still it's what I have been looking for. Basically a mini velo that can fold! So I've advertised this one now. In the time I have had it I have upgraded the rear light and added brand new sks fenders. Bye-bye Speed TR! Below is the sales photo. It's in better condition from when I first got it!