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06-12-06, 05:32 AM
Well, I've now got about 75 miles on the seat of the MU SL so I thought I'd add a little more feed back to the forums here. Overall - very happy with the purchase But there are some issues that aren't that great.
It's a very zippy little bike. The frame is rock solid and very stiff. It's light. Handling is very responsive - even when you may not want it to be. Like the little tilt to get a better viewing angle on the scenery can steer you off the course. ;)
The ride is surprisely smooth. At least that's a surprise to me. I'm not terribly experienced as a biker and reading about aluminum frames, small wheels, high-pressure tires and hard seats made me expect something more like a skateboard but it's not like that at all. I can't say how much the pantour suspension hub is adding to the mix but I'm not interested in changing anything on this front.
I've moved the handlebars down and forward and moved the shifter over about a centimeter. Things feel much better now. Dahon's website touts the adjustable syntace VRO handlebar system - it's not quite all that as it only allows movement around an arc. Thus you can't just move the handlebars forward. You must also move them up or down some as well. Still, it's not an issue - I was able to get a nice comfortable position and I suspect most others will as well. I plan to change the bars to either drops or tt bars soon so that's all I'll probably ever have to say on the deliverd handlebars.
Gear train has performed flawlessly. I love the sram trigger shifter. The gearing is well suited for this bike. I haven't needed anything less than the 31 incher on the biggest hills. I've also decided that I can live with the 91-inch top end for the foreseeable future. It will force me to work on raising my cadence. Using very unreliable methods - I think I'm most comfortable with a cadence around 45 rpm at the moment. Way too slow. So the Schlumpf will wait for a bit while I upgrade the engine. :)
The brakes are not my favorites. I'm having issues with the front brakes sticking closed. I've tried adjusting them myself but to no avail. I'm going to try again before taking the bike into a shop since I'm trying to learn to do my own maintenance. As a result of the sticking - I've got noticeable pad wear already. When they are not sticking, I've not been overly impressed with the stopping ability of the brakes. They work but it's not like the Mangura hydraulics I have on the Speed TR. If this braking ability is all that v-brakes have to offer, I'll probably switch to center-pull road brakes when I switch handlebars.
One point to note, the MU's rear frame is wider than most. I've had my right heel strike the little cable support on a couple of occasions. If you commute wearing work boots or winter boots or something with a wide heel, this could be a very serious issue. You might be forced to adapt an unnatural pigeon-toed pedal posture since the support is braised on and is not movable. I have US size 9 feet but I do adjust my seat back behind the pedals a little more than the textbook recommendations.
It's a very zippy little bike. The frame is rock solid and very stiff. It's light. Handling is very responsive - even when you may not want it to be. Like the little tilt to get a better viewing angle on the scenery can steer you off the course. ;)
The ride is surprisely smooth. At least that's a surprise to me. I'm not terribly experienced as a biker and reading about aluminum frames, small wheels, high-pressure tires and hard seats made me expect something more like a skateboard but it's not like that at all. I can't say how much the pantour suspension hub is adding to the mix but I'm not interested in changing anything on this front.
I've moved the handlebars down and forward and moved the shifter over about a centimeter. Things feel much better now. Dahon's website touts the adjustable syntace VRO handlebar system - it's not quite all that as it only allows movement around an arc. Thus you can't just move the handlebars forward. You must also move them up or down some as well. Still, it's not an issue - I was able to get a nice comfortable position and I suspect most others will as well. I plan to change the bars to either drops or tt bars soon so that's all I'll probably ever have to say on the deliverd handlebars.
Gear train has performed flawlessly. I love the sram trigger shifter. The gearing is well suited for this bike. I haven't needed anything less than the 31 incher on the biggest hills. I've also decided that I can live with the 91-inch top end for the foreseeable future. It will force me to work on raising my cadence. Using very unreliable methods - I think I'm most comfortable with a cadence around 45 rpm at the moment. Way too slow. So the Schlumpf will wait for a bit while I upgrade the engine. :)
The brakes are not my favorites. I'm having issues with the front brakes sticking closed. I've tried adjusting them myself but to no avail. I'm going to try again before taking the bike into a shop since I'm trying to learn to do my own maintenance. As a result of the sticking - I've got noticeable pad wear already. When they are not sticking, I've not been overly impressed with the stopping ability of the brakes. They work but it's not like the Mangura hydraulics I have on the Speed TR. If this braking ability is all that v-brakes have to offer, I'll probably switch to center-pull road brakes when I switch handlebars.
One point to note, the MU's rear frame is wider than most. I've had my right heel strike the little cable support on a couple of occasions. If you commute wearing work boots or winter boots or something with a wide heel, this could be a very serious issue. You might be forced to adapt an unnatural pigeon-toed pedal posture since the support is braised on and is not movable. I have US size 9 feet but I do adjust my seat back behind the pedals a little more than the textbook recommendations.