Congrats MequonJim to your new D3. Just got my Dahon D7 this morning from BrandsCycle. Can't ride it now due to (April?) snow but as soon as it's all melted, I'll take it our for a spin. Your thread helped me in making a good choice of folder brand. It was either the Dahon or Downtube and I bought the D7 instead. And I like to thank also everyone who contributed to this thread with their wise and expert recomendations and suggestions. Glad I found the Bike Forum site, a good source of information to read and discussions of different cycling issues. Many thanks again to those who posted and shared their wisdom and have a safe ride always.