I ran into Neil S. at Bow Cycle as he was picking up a Santa Cruz Blur XC - nice looking ride…=-)  Deanna E. is also buying a Santa Cruz Blur so there seems to be a run on Santa Cruz bikes….I guess mountain biking season must be close at hand…=-)  Cool - it will be great to know so many folks with new mountain bikes - they should be pretty eager to ride them as soon as the snow melts.

I bought my Dahon Speed D7 in the Fall of 2007.  It was my introduction to folding bikes and has stood the test of time.  Two of my friends bought D7’s from Bow and two others are about to.  So what makes the D7 such an attractive folding bike?  Well it comes down to the best bang for your buck.  There is no one aspect of the D7 that is going to blow you away, but everything works really well and the price is very attractive.

Especially when dealing with my non-bikey friends it’s great when a bike comes fully loaded.  The D7 comes stock with fenders, a rear rack, a bungee strap for the rear rack, folding pedals, a kickstand and even a reflective pant strap - nice touch!  So when they buy the bike they don’t have to worry about getting a whole bunch of accessories just to get it ready for their commute to work.

Specs

• one size 4130 steel folding frame
• 20″ wheels with 1.5″ tires
• 7 speed drivetrain with grip type shifter
• v-brakes and levers
• SKS fenders
• kickstand
• folding pedals
• weight = 27.6lbs

Complete Dahon Speed D7 specifications and features are here.

The Fold

The Dahon fold is easy to learn.  You basically rotate the bars up.  Fold the stem down to the left. Lower the seatpost and fold the bike in half.  With a little practice you can do it in less than 30 seconds.  It takes longer to explain the fold than to actually do it!  One tip is to mark the folded and unfolded position of your seatpost and stem with a sharpie marker.  That way you don’t have to even think about it and getting your bike folded/unfolded is a snap.

Click here to watch a video of how to fold/unfold your Dahon.

The good news is you don’t have to play any cheesy music when folding your Dahon and you can do it a lot faster than shown in the video once you get some experience…=-)

Another tip is if you want to fold your Dahon and need to cover some ground, say to catch a bus, you can leave the seatpost up and roll it as shown in the photo above.  Another option is to put the seatpost down, but leave the bars up and roll it using the bars.  Both ways work and they save you from having to carry your bike.

The Fit

One issue with most folding bikes is they are one size fits most.  Since the stem and the seatpost angle away from the middle of the bike as you raise them the cockpit gets bigger.  This allows a single bike frame to fit a wide variety of people.  My experience with Dahons is that they fit folks up to 5′8″ pretty well.  Since I’m 6′ the cockpit is a bit tight for me, but having said that I’ve ridden my D7 for 30kms with a group of cyclists and had no issues.  If you try a D7 and find it too tight there are other Dahons, like the Speed TR, that have bigger cockpits and may be worth a look.

For a performance bike or a long distance bike you’ll be on for 5hrs+ at a time fit is critical.  For a multi-modal commuter bike, like the D7, that you’ll ride a couple KMs to the C-train and then a couple KMs to your job I don’t sweat the fit nearly to the same degree.

If you have any doubts about fit make sure you take the bike out for a test ride of at least 30mins.

The Ride

To be honest I had low expectations from the ride quality of my D7.  I just wanted a bike that could be stored/transported easily and figured I’d have to accept a poor ride in exchange.  One of my first rides was a 30km group ride all over downtown Toronto with folks riding all sorts of bikes from normal road bikes, to recumbent 2 wheelers, trikes and a couple other folding bikes.  To my surprise the D7 kept up no problem and was super comfortable to ride.  The tight fit translates into an upright seating position which would be no good for performance riding, but it suits cruising really well.

None of the parts on the D7 are bling, but they all work quite well.  Shifts are crisp and easy. The 7 speed drivetrain has lots of range as long as you aren’t climbing up the side of a mountain.  I haven’t had to walk yet.  The brakes work well and I love the fact it comes with fenders plus a rear rack.  I’m a saddle snob and usually swap in a saddle I like before I even ride a new bike.  The stock Dahon saddle has been comfortable up to 30kms which is as far as I’m likely to pedal this bike in one go.

Who Should Ride a Dahon?

To my mind there are a few groups of people that should really take a look at folding bikes:

1. Commuters - if you can take transit part way and shorten what would otherwise be too long a bike ride a folding bike makes a ton of sense.  Most transit systems let you take a folder on buses and trains during rush hour - although you may want to get a bag to make your fellow transit riders happy.
2. Commuters - you can ride all the way to work, but there is no place to securely store your bike when you get there.  A folder [again a bag is useful] can be carried into your office and easily be stored in a closet or under a desk.
3. Small Apartments/Condos - you want a bike, but you live in a small downtown space with no storage.  Your partner isn’t keen on a bike taking up lots of room inside and there is no place outside the apartment to lock your bike.  A folder will sit happily at the bottom of a closet until you want to ride.
4. Frequent Travelers - if you fly a lot the or even if you drive in a small vehicle and wish you could have a bike with you at your destination a folder is ideal.   They can pack into an airline legal suitcase where they won’t get damaged and don’t cost you extra baggage fees.

I’ve got a lot of of bikes in my fleet and if you count the ones I’ve sold over the years - well it gets a little embarrassing.  It’s tough to explain to a date that the 8 bikes she sees in my small downtown apartment are actually a small fraction of the number of bikes I’d like to own and represents a lot of restraint/culling of the herd.  On the upside having a lot of bikes gives you the chance to really compare different rigs and figure out which ones you like best.  So the bikes that I keep for the long term have proven to be superior machines that really do their job well.

As I was thinking about reviewing my Surly Long Haul Trucker I realized it was the oldest bike I owned and I couldn’t remember exactly when I first got it.  It has to have been at least 5 years ago.  Considering I’ve owned quite a few touring bikes since I got the Long Haul Trucker it says quite a lot that this remains my go to touring machine.

The Frame

If you stripped off the Surly decals from the LHT you’d be left with a classic steel road touring frame.  Nothing stunningly radical, but a solid well built platform to hang your components on and carry you on tour.  I really like the LHT’s curved steel fork.  It’s strong and absorbs road vibration quite well which makes for a comfy ride.  The steerer is long so you can easily get the bars up high for a relaxed touring position.  The tubing is standard Surly 4130 Cro-Mo double butted and nicely TIG welded.  The main tubes are slightly over sized to make the frame rigid when fully loaded, but they didn’t go over board so the bike will ride nice unloaded and doesn’t weigh a ton.  The LHT comes with a full compliment of fender and rack braze-ons including mid-fork low rider mounts.  Naturally, since it’s a Surly, there is lots of room for fat rubber.  I run 35mm Schwalbe Marathon XRs+ fenders with tons of clearance.

Note that the LHT comes in two wheel sizes 26″ & 700c depending on frame size.  This is a good thing because trying to fit large wheels in a small frame causes all kinds of problems.  There is lots of debate online about what wheel size to use for touring.  Personally I think for most people the key is getting a bike that fits well regardless of wheel size.  You can get equivalent tires for both wheel sizes and one wheel size will not be remarkably faster or slower on tour.  Whatever you do don’t buy the wrong size frame just to get a specific wheel size that’s totally crazy.

The photos of the Cherry Red [my friend Anna's LHT] and Sage Green [my LHT] are both 700c frames.  These colours are no longer available, but you can get a LHT in Olive Green and Truckaccino [I really like this colour...=-)].

My Build

When I got my LHT from Bow Cycle Surly didn’t sell a complete Long Haul Trucker so I built mine up from a frame set.  I got exactly the bike I wanted, but of course it cost me double what a stock LHT sells for.  If I was going to do it all over I’d probably just buy the complete LHT and replace the saddle with a Brooks leather saddle.  Eventually as I wore parts out I’d replace them with exactly the ones I wanted.

• Sage Green 58cm Surly LHT
• Shimano LX hubs
• Mavic CXP33 rims [32H]
• Schwalbe Marathon XR 35-700c tires
• Trekking crankset 48/38/28 - 175mm
• BMX platform pedals/Time ATAC Control Z pedals [when I want to go clipless]
• SRAM 9spd chain [nothing fancy]
• SRAM 11-34 cassette
• Shimano Dura-Ace bar end shifters
• Shimano XT rear derailleur
• Shimano 105 front derailleur
• Dia-comp 287 V-brake levers
• Shimano Deore V-brakes w/ Koolstop Salmon pads
• Salsa stem and bars
• Brooks Champion Flyer saddle
• Old Man Mountain Cold Springs front rack and Red Rocks rear rack
• SKS fenders

When you look at my build there is nothing revolutionary going on.  I just wanted a comfortable bike [leather saddle, higher bars, shorter reach to bars] that was reliable [bar end shifters work in friction mode if necessary and Shimano drivetrain is solid] and I could ride around town as well as on tour.  After over 5 years of riding the only changes I’ve made are going from clipless to BMX platform pedals and replacing the chain once.  Given my tendency to upgrade my bikes that’s pretty amazing.

The Ride

Not surprisingly the LHT’s relaxed touring geometry and strong frame make for a great ride fully loaded.  I’ve bombed down mountain passes at 80km/h+ on a LHT with full panniers and there is absolutely no drama.  The bike goes where you point it and is agile enough to avoid potholes or road debris when needed.  I take photos and eat while riding without having to stress about my bike.  Surly goes through a long prototyping process when designing their bikes and it shows in how they ride.  Since my early LHT was built Surly hasn’t made any significant changes to the LHT.  They got it right and then didn’t mess with a good thing.  In our day and age of constant upgrades a bike that can remain the same for 6 years+ and sell better and better with time is really cool.

My LHT has handled bad paved roads, gravel roads and the odd off-road section without any problems.  I have to give props to the Schwalbe Marathon XR tires.  At 35mm they provide some cushioning to smooth out the ride and deal with gravel well.  At the same time they roll nicely so I can keep up with my touring buddies.  Best of all no flats yet and they wear like iron - highly recommended.

Okay the fact a touring bike rides well fully loaded isn’t a huge shock.  But, most of the time we are at home doing day rides, commuting or running errands.  Some touring bikes are harsh unloaded and steer like pigs making them not much fun to ride when you aren’t carrying 50lbs of gear.  The LHT is a pleasure to ride unloaded.  It does steer slower than a road bike, but for most people that’s a good thing because they don’t have to think about their bike all the time to stay out of the ditch!  The LHT’s frame is not crazy heavy so if you wanted you could build it up as reasonably light commuter/day ride bike.  As a plus the same relaxed ergonomics that make the LHT great for 8hrs+ days on tour also make it a fun bike to hammer out a 4hr metric century with your buddies.  I liked how my LHT handled unloaded so well that I sold my Cannondale road bike and just kept the LHT.  If you can only have one do it all bike the LHT is a great choice.

LHT Complete Bikes

When anyone asks me what touring bike I recommend the answer is most often a Surly Long Haul Trucker complete bike.  It combines proven performance with low cost which makes most people happy. Last time I checked they were selling for around $1300 and all you need to add to tour is some racks & panniers.

If you have any doubts about the capabilities of the Surly LHT complete bikes check out the tour journal of the two guys pictured above. I met them on the Icefield’s Parkway last summer.  They bought new LHT completes and rode them from Vancouver to NYC.  Even more amazing is Tuzo’s tour journal.  He bought a LHT complete and on his first tour ever rode from California across the USA, across Europe, across Asia & China home to Malaysia.

LHT Resources & Porn

I run the Surly Long Haul Trucker & Cross Check Google Group with nearly 1500 members so if you have any questions about the LHT drop into the group and ask away.  You’ll get lots of helpful advice.

I’ve posted a bunch of LHT photos from tours and just riding around town on Flickr you can see them here:

• Icefield’s Parkway Tour 2006
• Icefield’s Parkway Tour 2008
• Baja Tour 2006
• Bow Valley Tour 2008
• Mosquito Creek Tour 2008
• General LHT Photos

After a couple weeks of riding some of the best trails that Utah and Arizona have to offer I thought I’d post about our Santa Cruz Nomads and how they are treating us:

• these bikes reek of quality and thoughtful design
• 6″ of travel can really save your bacon when you get off your line
• the Nomad really is an all mountain bike - climbs well, descends well and eats up XC with lighter bikes
• the Avid Exlir CR brakes have been flawless and provide easy 1 finger braking
• even after many many miles of rough downhills and drops the wheels haven’t needed any attention
• the suspension takes some fiddling to get just right, but once you have it dialed it’s awesome
• the stock drivetrains are working well without needing any adjustment so far
• The stock Kenda Nevegal tires have been great

Although Kurt has been trying hard to break his bike the only thing we’ll need to do with these bikes when we get home is to wash them and then wait for the snow to melt…=-)