Spurred on by Mroli's magnificent seatpost, I went to my LBS - and bought a Truvative something or other. It was fifteen quid - rather less than the £75.00 carbon one they showed me when I asked for a lightweight one. I have vowed to give the Rido saddle another go on the HH. It did not like me when it was fitted on the D7. If Karl can ride all the way from Leicester on a Rido, so can I.

F&T - your g/f doesn't like 20" wheels? Really? Mine has wrestled the HH from me, and croons over it in the garage whenever she can. She's selling her up-spec CAAD3 Cannondale (with flip paint) so she can spend more time with MY bike. She was boasting about it in the pub the other night. But it's MINE.

Hmmmm. <wags finger>

Bizarre indeed, as the bike I'm looking at now has 170 Truvativ cranks, so I'm surprised 175's are fitted to some of the bikes!


Fear&Trembling,

is that psychological, or a real handling problem with 20" wheels, do you think?

The former I'd suggest - she has ridden 700c bikes for years and you become almost hard-wired to how a standard road bike handles; it takes time to adapt to the lighter steering of small wheeled bikes, and to be honest, not everyone prefers quicker steering.

When I revert back to 700c wheeled bikes I am always struck by how sluggish the handling feels. That said, over longer distances I prefer larger wheels for cruising.

Hammerhead 5.0 arrived - and is missing the front wheel bolt (not the quick release, the otherside! Phoning Winstanleys now. First impressions - its very orange, seat is different from the SDG seats (looks more comfy and might keep it for the wife) and odd that the inner tubes should be the car (thick) ones, rather than the normal (schrader?) ones on the 7.0 and my other Dahon bikes. Would I be able to swap these or would I have to swap the rims out? Marathon Racers fitted rather than the stelvios on the 7, handlebars are obviously flat and no front derailleur, although plenty of brazes should you want to fit them. And I KNOW! Photos will come as soon as I get the front wheel sorted. Seat position is set to flat :) AND it comes with folding pedals...

Congrats on the bike - bummer about the missin' bit. Is it the plastic thing that goes on the end of the QR skewer? Sounds like it's going to be a quick bike too - no front cog-swapper - ally frame. What are the brakes? V-Brakes?


Are you going to make a fixie from it? :-)

If you're missing 1 part of two be creative until the correct one arrives. I've read over posts about the grommet missing but seems easy enough to bring the other to a hardware or major bearing supply store and just get the same I.D. O.D. washers (to simulate a spacer) and dowel to get you by til the part arrives. Just an idea.

Mine arrives tomorrow, hope nothing is missing because my ideas on paper usually turn into a 7 beer fiasco of using tin foul, women products, and mega choice words I'm trying to tell junior not to use. We'll see.

Wahoo.. I'll post pics when it's donned with carbon fiber, seat pointed to the heavenly bodies above ;-0, and tin foil and women products. I won't be able to sleep tonight!

Yeah, its not a grommet, its actually the whole nut that it is missing. In relation to the grommets, I don't think that you could just use washers. the grommets seem pretty particular. Brakes are not V Brakes, unlike the advertising - the are the same as on the 7.0 which is a little annoying - and the seat I was given is a biologic (but I have a spare SDG from my 7.0 experiments anyway!) My wife may like the biologic a little more... I think the plan is to "give" the bike to her, wait for her to get bored/stop using it and THEN convert it into a fixie... Seeing as its hidden under my desk at work at the moment waiting for the "right" moment - this could be a long term plan! PCRacer - don't tilt your seat too far back and slide off!

Will be a nice fixie in Orange that. Just tell her you *had* to have it!

Of course, not every woman loves orange. It's quite difficult to accessorise, particularly for blondes. However, should Mrs Mroli be unable to accommodate this impressive scoot, fixie or no fixie, I'm willing to step in and give this forlorn bicycle a decent home.

Clairol is my new friend.

Them HH caliper brakes, already: I found them squishy and yawnsville to start, but they've become rather good. Sheldon Brown said something to the effect that, er, good brakes feel soft - the pads compress against the rim, or something. I like the progressive stoppiness of them. Feels very controlled.

Of course, not every woman loves orange. It's quite difficult to accessorise, particularly for blondes.The blonde who rode the Bigfish folder in the Smithfield Nocturne happily proves you wrong.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3266/2559748584_7d6caa2592.jpg

Don't want to do a real review just jet, but got the Hammerhead 3 hours ago. Here go's initial opinions:

Opened box, stuck my head down and counted the cassette, 8 gears and I was led to believe 9 gears from vendor...slightly disappointed.

Put it in my stand and broke out 3 carbon fiber stems to replace the stock only to find out 2 things...it's 31.8mm (instead of standard 1 1/8") and it has a keyway (which actually doesn't line up with forks and front wheel). I'm hoping the keyway is removable and I can adjust the alignment and length with what I need. Moving along...beer is keeping me sedate.

Wahoo..every part was there ( read instances of spacers missing for front wheel)

Had to install front break. noticed that the adjustment (only for front break) is literally junk (induces way to much play and uncontrollable slack). will probably remove it like the rear break that has no adjustment.

Noticed shifters....seemed flimsy (used to Dura Ace and seeing as that groupo costs twice the bike...duh..what did you expect).

Who knows who makes the brakes. The left rear won't align with rim (uses half the pad and at its fullest adjustment up). Plus, there is no groove for the cable to set in which worries me when I might have to grab a handful. Thankfully, they have a centering adjustment or the beer wasn't going to compensate for my mood.

Got it all together and threw on some peddles....rode it for the first time and all I did was SMILE. It felt light and quick, the brakes worked well. It felt very neutral, not as twitchy as I expected. Went around the block to check everything and the smile got bigger and bigger. Shifting smooth (not as solid as Dura Ace..duh..and btw left shifter might be for a triple cuz it took two shifts to get to the big ring). Rims were true and body position was surprisingly roomy enough (although I'm replacing the gorgeous seat and post with a 40mm offset seatpost and normal 2 rail seat..personal preference).

After only 30 minutes of riding and a few beers after reflecting on my purchase I realized: Dahon has to make a price point (had I paid retail I'd be a bit disappointed for their component selection but that wasn't the case). They did their homework and it behaves wonderfully (the fork basically isn't noticeable which is the way it should be). all I can say is I'm stoked man and it fits in my RV bay for storage.

Facts:

Stem - 31.8 diameter with possible removable keyway- 95 mm long (weird..if it works will go to 100)
Cranks - 55x44 - 170mm length (trying to get BCD but have to guess but have a spare 39er for inside that matches)
Cassette - 11-12-13-14-16-18-21-24 (8 SPEED)
Bottom Bracket - 68mm square taper - English thread
Seat post - 27.2 mm x 350mm length
Weight - 21.8 pounds (rough on scale but prolly close)

thanks all..sorry for long thread but maybe this will help someone regarding a purchase...wifey's bike is next hehe

[QUOTE=jur;6877937]The blonde who rode the Bigfish folder in the Smithfield Nocturne happily proves you wrong.


Puhlease. A red hat with THAT outfit? I'm surprised people didn't try to post letters in her mouth.


But good to see a female competitor flying the flag. :thumb:

More Hammerhead pix::

I swapped the seat tube, and plonked on the Rido.

Now in love with Rido.... Except the colour.



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