Folding Bikes - Touring on a Dahon Speed D7

Auckland to Invercargill. ~1000 miles, probably not more than 20 miles per day and no more than 50lbs of gear. Rider weight 190. Predictions?

Predictions?

crash and burn? :twitchy:

20mi a day? I think it'll be good. My wife toured Tasmania (1200km) on a Dahon/Yeah (which I had upgraded to 9 speed gearing). We did about 65km a day. See the linky in my sig for some pics. Also look at the Annual Spring Ride linky, there are some detailed pics of the Yeah.

Make sure you ride a week or so with the bike set up as for touring. It is also a good idea to make sure the seatpost is well below its maximum extension.

20mi a day? I think it'll be good. My wife toured Tasmania (1200km) on a Dahon/Yeah (which I had upgraded to 9 speed gearing). We did about 65km a day. See the linky in my sig for some pics. Also look at the Annual Spring Ride linky, there are some detailed pics of the Yeah.

Make sure you ride a week or so with the bike set up as for touring. It is also a good idea to make sure the seatpost is well below its maximum extension.

What is with the seatpost? I have a 36"/91cm inseam and need it to be almost at maximum length (they rate the bikes for up to 6'4", I am 6'3").

Test riding will all depend on what I hear back from United Airlines.. I'm taking them down to LA from there Air NZ will fly my bike at no extra charge. United charges $175 for bikes :twitchy: If it is a no go I will order it sent to LA and meet the bike there during my layover.

What is with the seatpost? I have a 36"/91cm inseam and need it to be almost at maximum length (they rate the bikes for up to 6'4", I am 6'3"). the frame is heavily stressed by that short section of seatpost which is still in the frame. The longer the section in the frame, the less chance of frame cracks developing, of which there have been enough cases to make Dahon reinforce their Vitesse frames at the seattube-main-tube junction. A telescoping seatpost such as from Thor will give you the needed safety factor. Important on a 1000-mi tour. :eek:

I'm interested to hear how you get on - I have the same bike and planning on some easy touring with it next year. Are you carrying your luggage in panniers or towing a trailer? Have you lowered the gearing at all - some pretty tasty inclines in NZ! Any other mods?

Cheers.

2 weeks of touring on a D7 in reasonably flat territory, not a problem.

50 days? Hard to say due to your low daily mileage. D7 should be OK for 1,000 miles as long as you get a tune-up and everything is spruced up prior to departure. Make sure the wheels are in true and the spokes are in good shape.

A few caveats. One, the built-in rack is rather low; it handles well but your bags are very likely to scrape on the ground. Get a rack that's higher than the stock rack.

Two, the handlepost on Dahons is kind of weak; don't pull back on it.

Third, last I checked the rear derailleur is a proprietary part. I'd get a spare prior to departure.

Last, make sure the gearing is low enough.

Ended up going with a Cross Check because it cost the same to get over to NZ. Thanks for the replies, this post should be useful to someone someday anyhow.

lets add to this ...
Its not a good idea to start a 1000 mile tour on a brandnew bike.... ever see a marathon runner puts on new shoes for the most important event of the year ?
Any bicycle needs to be worn in a bit before you get away from any dealers on a big tour ... if 100 dlrs extra airfare is all it takes to buy some different bike than original planned I definitely see a lot of lack of planning in the first place ....

lets also think about this ... 1000 miles divided by 20 miles a day is 50 days straight on a bike you never tried before ? No idea how the saddle fits you ? No idea how a bike which is rated for 230 lbs but overloaded by 20 lbs minimum is going to behave ....
And why a bike with a low carrier fenders and such .... Speed P8 with better parts and higher cariier would be so much better ... But if a couple hundred bucks makes a difference than a trip of that length might not be the best choice ...


thor


ps. the cross check is a full sized CycleCross Bike for 1000 bucks ..I dont understand why that bike is easier or cheaper to send from one place to another than a folding bike which fits into a Suitcase ( and doesnt need to be declared as a bike as long as it is in a samsonite )
same general applies what I said above though ... bad idea

brakemeister,

I appreciate your reality check but let me clarify a few things. I bought a used Crosscheck, roughly the same price as a new D7. Second I had to dismantle it and put it in a box so I could avoid getting to the high range of UPS shipping fees to get it to LAX and avoid United's fees (which are charged even if its a folding bike in a suitcase, $175), so that combined with Air New Zealand's generous baggage allowance with regards to bicycles means it costs me the same to send the Crosscheck over. Also, I have over 90 days to complete the trip, up to a year if I really want it, so there will be no 50 straight days on a bike.

I am completely new to touring and you're right it isn't very favorable to my chances of success to not know the bike perfectly and lack enough planning. But I don't have the luxury of time in this instance. I am not really interested in predictions of doom and gloom because the worst case scenario is I'm not as mobile as I had hoped to be and instead I do more work on the fruit farms than I had expected, for lack of the ability to cycle long distances. Because failure isn't so bad I'm willing to be very ambitious and set a goal that I see as just at the limit of what I am capable of.

I appreciate your advice, but I feel its sort of like having the police come out to convince somebody not to jump . . . off a diving board, into a swimming pool.

IMO, the main factor in touring NZ is traffic. The roads here are rarely multi-lane, and the shoulder is often slim, so best to tour when traffic is light.

In North America, that usually means picking a less-traveled secondary route between A and B, but here in NZ, there often *aren't* secondary routes between A and B. So it's important to pick an overall route (Auckland to Invercargill) that doesn't go through the major centres along the way. If you take the scenic route (e.g. down either coast), you'll have a much more relaxing time on the road.

Season is also important. In Jan and Feb (and part of March), many scenic routes are swarmed by camper vans and sightseers. A month earlier or later, these routes are almost deserted. Guess which is more fun for bike touring? ;^)

Hope this helps. If you come through Wellington, give me a holler.

dmnobrien,

I was just told about the traffic in another thread. I'm arriving on Dec 25th which apparently is the absolute worst time. I didn't really have a choice of seasons though, as I'm going to NZ to fill a gap between graduation and when I start work. Is there any place you could suggest that might either be less crowded or have more secondary road options? I originally planned on doing the Coromandel circuit and then going along the eastern cape, but after looking at the roads on Google they do not appear to be the kind I'd want to ride on in heavy traffic (narrow, winding, no shoulder, etc.)

general question: I see people refer to a Dahon Speed D7 and also a Dahon Speed 7. Is there a difference?

dmnobrien,

I originally planned on doing the Coromandel circuit and then going along the eastern cape, but after looking at the roads on Google they do not appear to be the kind I'd want to ride on in heavy traffic (narrow, winding, no shoulder, etc.)

Coromandel is a popular vacation spot for Aucklanders. A beautiful ride, but probably busy over the holidays.

The Eastern Cape is much more remote - not much traffic any time of year, from what I've read and been told. It's also supposed to be very scenic touring. One heads-up - there's a music festival in Gisborne Dec 29 - Jan 1, so if you can arrange to reach Gisborne after New Years Day, that should work out.

What is with the seatpost? I have a 36"/91cm inseam and need it to be almost at maximum length (they rate the bikes for up to 6'4", I am 6'3").
I guess it's not just me. I'm 6'2" and the post is only 1 inch from the max.