Folding Bikes - Vitesse D7 vs. Speed D7

Hello. Sorry for the stupid question but I'm looking into both the Vitesse D7 (http://www.dahon.com/us/vitessed7.htm) and the Speed D7 (http://www.dahon.com/us/speedd7.htm). There are a lot of specs/features on the page that I don't quite understand. The only difference I can see is that the Vitesse is a bit lighter.

Could anyone elaborate on the differences in these bikes for me? Thanks a ton. :D

One from cromoly steel, the other from ally.

One from cromoly steel, the other from ally.

What does that means in terms of the bike? Sorry I'm new to this whole thing. :p

I had the same dilema few weeks ago. Bought the Vitessi. The Vitessi has tons of awards. I am super happy with the bike.

That's the frame material, one is chrome-molybdenum steel and the other aluminium.

Debate over which is best has raged for decades without the end in sight. Maybe Dahon makes 2 identical bikes to target both market sectors.

There has been a few reports of the steel one snapping its frame's main tube in front of the hinge. Breakages of this kind is ironically expected more of aluminium.

Steel will be a bit more springy while aluminium is stiff which may or may not translate into a harsher ride for the aluminium-framed bike. You probably won't notice a difference though.

It comes down to which color you lik better, and if you want to drop the extra cash for a bit lighter bike. If you are going to lug it around lots, you'll probably wished you bought the lighter one instead. But it's only 10% so even there you may not notice much of a difference.

Some people say the pea-soup green is fugly, but some of those same people drool over a Surly Long-haul Trucker frame which is the same color.

Thanks a ton! :D Now I have a few weeks to decide what color I want :p