Had the Dahon Speed D7 for a few weeks now and I’m really pleased with it. I’ve got a fast, fully equipped and stylish folder for just over £300 that’ll fit on the train, the bus, in a car boot, under my desk – you name it.
It’s really liberated the way I use a bike – I find I’m able to shoehorn more riding into my day that I did with a full size bike. I don’t have to carry a lock with me because I can just fold it up and take it in with me everywhere. And I mean everywhere! The pub, the supermarket, to name but two.
It’s not been an easy birth though – my bike came with a dodgy bolt securing the rear derailleur which meant that it wasn’t shifting properly – however, Harry Hall Cycles in Manchester were great and sorted the problem for me, and loaned me a superb Brompton for two weeks while the Dahon was being fixed.
Apart from that, no problems. I’ve swapped out the saddle for my trusty Brooks B17, added a Carradice Pendle Saddlebag and a set of Reelight induction lights. Just about perfect.
Let’s see how the bike copes with a winter of daily commuting!!
The Everyday Cyclist 
It’s got fenders, I assume? It’ll be fine 🙂
My Speed P8 plowed through our bit of snow with no problem today … hoping it gets me home as easily.
It’s fun to read about a person’s new bike … it’s inevitably even better than the anticipation 🙂
Taking it into supermarkets? Been thinking about getting a Dahon Speed D7 but the idea of trying to lock it up with enough cable and locks to stop the adjustable bits being adjusted off the bike and away in my absence is putting me off getting one. But if you can fold it and pop it in your trolley when stopping off for a bottle of stout and a pork pie then it’s all good. In which supermarkets have you tried this?
I’ve successfully done this in my local Tesco. I find a confident, indifferent look helps as you march confidently past the security guards with your mangled collection of bicycle parts jutting out of the trolley. However, in our local Tesco, I think that the guards are more concerned with flat screen TVs going walkies in the other direction! A Brompton is even better in this regard. It fits very neatly in a trolley, with no attention-grabbing projections.
Nice! It won’t be a Brompton as I don’t need the super-fold-commutability aspects so much, and after taking a spin round the block on one from the LBS I wasn’t sold on the ride vs the Dahon. I like the Jim Rockford style Tesco-bike-a-trolley idea.
If in the future I effect a Dahon assisted sortie into the bowels of the local Tesco I’ll send you an update.
Dave – I look forward to a full debrief. Good luck soldier…
Eddie