Yes, although I have only done this a very short distance to see if it would work. Haven't tried it in difficult real world conditions, such as weaving through crowds at a train station.

There is a large bracket (has to be bought separately) which attaches to the head tube and stays on the bike. That does not interfere with the fold. The Klickfix accessory I bought is a wire basket, and no, I wouldn't be able to fold the bike properly with it on there.

Hey DaFriMon. Thanks for the response.

Leaving your basket on, what interferes with the fold? Do you think the KlickFix alternatives (there is an 8L bag that is typical of many handlebar bags) would experience the same problem?

Actually, I need to apologize for giving bad information, as the attached photos should show. It looked like the basket was going to bang into the rack when I started to fold it, so I took it off (the basket, that is). On closer examination, this was wrong.

I'm not sure what bags would work. With some, if the attachment point was too high on the bag, perhaps it could end up rubbing on the tire.

May I know if the Curve D3 can be fitted with the Dahon Touring rack? Its such a neat little bike but I think its capable of short touring, say 40-50km per day.

Thanks again ... no need to apologize. It is surprising that you could fold the bike with BOTH the basket and trunk bag.

I would love to hear about them. I would benefit myself to gain about 4 to 6 inches of "cockpit" space.

R

Hello all - I'm new to this forum, and was happy to find it.

I'm a pretty avid club racer with Porsche Owners Club and had a nice weekend at California Speedway. During the two days, I borrowed a Dahon Speed from a friend who had an extra one and let me say that it made all the difference in the world - being able to cruise around was so fantastic I committed right there to buy a folding bike and take it with me on events at various tracks. I also see it as another piece of luggage to bring to Maui when we go in June, but not so sure yet.

Anyway, I need one that is truly compact, so the Curve has piqued my interest. It seems the most compact quality unit under $400 around, but when I read the folded size, it doesn't seem that much smaller than a 20" model like the Downtube IXNS, essentially only 7 inches longer, that's it. I need it small because I'd like it to fit in one of my trunks of the Boxster S, and with the description of the Curve saying it fits in a grocery bag, that statement belies the measurements they give, as I don't know too many grocery bags 26" by 25" by 13", unless they have them in Texas. ;)

FYI, I am 6'2" and 209lbs

Anyway, thoughts on compactability of these bikes?

Re: biking on Maui. There are two great coastal roads on Maui for biking. Hana Highway from near OGG airport to beyond Paia has wide shoulders (about 7 miles from near the airport until a major gulch). Gulches are the problem with many coastal roads in Hawaii, such as Hana Hwy on Maui and Belt Rd. on BI .... the gulch hairpins are often wet, have red mud and fallen boulders on the shoulders, have steep approaches, and impatient drivers. The second pick for "safer" biking on Maui is Lower Honoapiilani Rd. on the Lahaina side ... about 5 miles, dry, sunny, residential and beach traffic. If you like hills, gulches, and lots of them, along with lolo drivers, try the remainder of Hana Hwy, or the windward side of West Maui.

Although I'm not really into photography, I got a new digital camera about a month before I bought my Curve, so I took quite a few pictures of it, and put them on the public section of my Flickr page. Two of the most recent show the bike in a shopping cart, which should give you an idea; I'd have to agree that it would be a pretty large grocery bag that would take it. It folds small enough for my purposes, and I like it a quite a lot. At least I got the same folded dimension that they give when I measured it myself. Review on the Dahon forum under my handle there, Slivovitz. Also, there's another review by somebody else who got one a few days ago.

I just sent Thor an e-mail. Hopefully he will make a return visit to the forum.

I will also check out the reviews on the Dahon forum ... take a guess what my userid is ... ;)

IH, I just got back from DC. Sunday was great! Great weather, lots of bikes. I had a great time!

I have a syntace stem on mine, with a cool carbon handlebar ....with bar ends....

I can fold the handlebar just fine.
And yes it rolls really nice with the seatpost stickin out.
The smaller bags I hve from Klickfix will allow to stay attached when folded .... the bigger wicker basket has to go off the bike however.

more mods to come.. when I have time I will make a page with all the details

thor

I read that Dahon may give frame kits to dealers ... true? if so, will you be one of them?

how much of an extension do you get with the syntace stem? from what I see online it does not look like much.

Really? Sorry we missed you.

Even though it was overcast with a slight drizzle on Saturday, the riding weather was quite good. The boss and I actually rode both days.

Here is the Saturday ride ...

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...de-3-TR-Island

14R and other Curve owners - any problem with reliability? I've heard murmurs about the newer Dahons suffering a bit on reliablity, and I would hope that since the Curve has an internal hub, and essentially fewer exterior parts, it might not be very problematic...

These folding bikes are expensive when you use them only once in a while, but then again, it seems resale is quite good...

yes I will have frame kits as fast as they become available ...
its a couple inches extension only. but that plenty enough for me

its kinda strange to hear about reliability with new models and than in the same sentence that the can drivetrain might make all the difference..... as of most problems real or perceived were somewhat connected to a 5 speed can driven bike from a couple years back ....

Thor

Idea regarding extending the reach and hand positions ...

I noticed that Thor sells a Revolve Stem with a quick release at the top. Perhaps one could fit one of those trekking bars. One would then have the option of rotating the bar forward for more extension. Presummably they could be rotated into the correct plane for a small fold.

What is the horizontal reach then? Say from the top of the seat post to the handlebar assuming that they are level.

If you are talking about the Syntace X-Ray clamps (or Peanut Clamps for road bars), they look like they would give you 40mm or so forward reach. I am sure someone with a Dahon can measure the distance more precisely though...I was going to use them on a Brompton...

Less than ANY other folder I had: ZERO so far.

No problems after a bit more than a month, although I've done mostly short rides in fairly good conditions. This model is new this year, so I doubt if anybody has put really enormous mileage on one yet. We'll have to see how they're holding up after a year, but I'm pretty optimistic about mine.

If you listen closely, you'll hear murmurs about every brand out there. :)

Sooooo about an inch and a half ...

Is this what we are talking about here?

http://www.syntace.de/imgserver/synt...34_Syntace.jpg

I do not think so ... my guess is that Thor is using a little stubby where the bar is located on a typical Curve as a base for the syntace clamp.