I had one of those "What the heck was I thinking?" moments this morning after leaving for work on the 1989 Dahon Getaway 16" folder/project bike. The ride motions are often random and bizarre, but on a good day they are reasonably muted with periods of normalcy when riding straight on smooth pavement.

But this morning the bike motions were extra random and bizarre. In addition to the regular irregular wobbles there was a up and down bouncy motion to the rear. It felt like the rear tire was low, but I had pinch-tested the tires before leaving. Could the spokes be loose again, as they were when I bought the thing of FB Marketplace for $50? Could the frame be coming apart as did the frame on my beloved '97 NIshiki Blazer late last fall?
The longer I puzzled over it the more committed I became to the commute. Finally I just rode on and focused on what felt right: The brakes, the gears and shifter, the seat and the new bottom bracket.

When I reached the office I put the floor pump on the rear tire...40psi...down from 65. The 16 x 1.38 Schwalbe Marathon Racers have a max psi of 85psi (if I remember) but the ancient steel wheels can't hold 'em over 75. I run them at 65 which is firm enough.

I aired them up and on the ride home the ride motions were back to their normal weirdness. I had a strong tailwind for the first half of the paved commute and I carried a lot of speed through corners being careful to not overrsteer. Then opted for a couple miles of gravel.

After rotating through all my "regular bikes" and the 20" folder which rides and feels "normal", the 16" Getaway makes me wonder what was I thinking buying and rehabbing this bizzare lawn gnome of a bike?