That's right - it's just the clamps (with a stubbie) and not the stem. An easy option for a little more reach/height.

Would an adjustable quill stem fit into the Dahon height adjustable stem post?

If so, is there anyone that still makes an adjustable stem with a 180 degree angle? That is, a setting where the stem is pointing straight up?

Yes and Yes - my no name adjustable stem will go vertical. I got it from ebay for £10.

I put Dahon's own micro-adjust stem on my Speed P8. It's possible that it's still available from some dealers, even though it's not used on any current models. This dealer is still advertising it, although I did not buy mine from them, and I don't know if they actually have them in stock.

The stem can be put at 180°, but I don't bother, as I have drop bars on the Speed, which compromises the fold anyway. Picture of that here.

My Curve and my Speed are in different locations, so I can't verify at the moment whether the quill stem would fit the Curve. I'd guess that it would.

Thanks F&T and DaFriMon. I can't tell without measurements, but I believe that I would want a longer reach than micro-adjust stem. Although I have a hard time finding an adjustable stem that rotates 180 degrees here in the states.

That is excellent news. Of course, you two both know what I am driving at ... the ability to get some extension during longer rides without compromising a tiny fold. I have reached the time to test ride the Curve and, hopefully, take a trip up to Philly to test ride the Mini.

It has been a while since I rode a Dahon. At the moment, I suspect that the 5 speed Curve will prove to be the winner in a contest with the mini. From what I gather ...

(1) It is a few pounds lighter
(2) Already comes with Big Apples
(3) Stays folded better--good for rolling?
(4) Has the front bag attachment
(5) Can fold with front bag attachment
(6) Can have a rear rack and possibly fold with front bag attachment (according to bag model).
(7) Local dealer

although ...

(8) The gear range is more narrow than the Mini
(9) After all accessories, probably more expensive than Mini
(10) Non-standard parts? Not sure on this one. I recall that the front hub is more narrow and the seatpost/seat is an odd diameter and design. Would it be straightforward to putz with the bottom bracket and crank/chainrings? Any input would be appreciated.

Anyone have any idea when the 5speed SL is actually going to be for sale? Dahon says May but when you place it in your cart there is a message that its on back order. Bike shops are telling me July 07.

Do you think its worth the wait?

Well, from my memory of the specs it is a little more than 2 pounds lighter and comes with fenders. Furthermore, my knee demands a wider gear range than a three speed affords. In my case, the answer is yes.

I don't think so. Unless you are very athletic and in top performance condition, you can make the combo weight (your Curve D3 + you) lighter than 3 pounds before the other Curve is available if you start biking sooner. Also, more gears doesn't mean a significantly wider gear range. Lastly, the D3 comes with rear rack AND fenders, so honestly, I see no need for the wait.


EDIT: Oh, and I forgot to mention that Dahon is always late on releases, sometimes over 6 months from the expected date.

Very interesting ... notice that the SL version does not come with the rear rack. I wonder whether the listed D3 weight includes the rack. That would explain much of the weight difference between the D3 and SL.

Just to give a specific measure, the gear range of the D3 and SL are 150% and 225% respectively. (from memory ... check sheldon brown or Sturmey Archer to be sure) The three speed is commonly thought to be a more efficient hub as well.

Ya, I'm starting to think the extra $220 or so dollars isn't worth it. Plus the D3 comes with the rack and the SL won't. I'm wondering if that also needs to be factored into the whole "official published" weight claim.

If I can drop the rack off the D3 and loose a 1lb then the difference is only 2lbs give or take. In any event, I'll be stipping it down right out of the box.

I emailed Dahon about the weight question between the D3/SL measured with and without the rack as well as the release date of the SL and will post the results if they get back to me.

Now that I am looking at the specs closely, the pedals on the SL are MKS removable pedals ... not folding pedals.

The front hubs are different. The rims are different.

The SL comes with a Sugino crank.

Hmmmm, looks like a bunch of small differences. I don't really know whether it is worth the long wait unless you have weirdo knees like me. Also note, that I am not desperate for the bike either. That is, such a bike will make my life a little easier; but I have alternatives.

-G

It's slow at work today, but why am I spending so much time looking at this forum?

Ditto what 14R said about availability of some Dahon models. Wouldn't bet on it one way or another until someone actually has them in stock.

Advantages of SL (my point of view only).

More subdued frame color appeals to me. The extra gear range is not essential, but I do sometimes find myself wanting a higher gear on the D3.

Disadvantages (my point of view only).

More expensive. Has SDG seatpost which will only take SDG saddles (can be changed at extra expense). Does not come with fenders and rack apparently, although these can be added at extra expense. (Later edit. My mistake, now they're showing it with fenders, but not the rack)

Other differences.
SL has aluminum fork. D3 has steel fork (not stated, but magnets stick to it.)
SL has MKS QR pedals, which could take toeclips or Powergrips if you want. D3 has cheapo folding pedals, which I'm satisfied with for this bike, as long as they last.
D3 has the seatpost pump. Not really a selling point for me, as I'd find a way to carry my road-morph pump if I didn't have it, but it's still a nice feature.
Maybe some other component differences, haven't gone through the full list.

Personally, I'm happy with my decision to get the D3, but it all depends on what's important to you.

DaFriMon: Hum, the red color is the selling point IMO. After I saw 14R's photoshop pics I was nearly sold. He should sell those to Dahon's Marketing Dept. I'm not so much a fan of the white stripe on the D3 and I didn't notice it until I saw it in the showroom. I suppose that's a testiment to its small size.

Oh, and what do you suppose is the range of the Curve D3 in miles? I plan to use it as a commuter to get across the Chicago Loop but if I wanted to would I be comfortable with a longer ride say 3 hours at a leasurely pace?

Yes, it's a matter of personal taste. The red is not bad, but I generally don't care for bright colors. A dark, green, brown, or black would be better as far as I'm concerned, but you don't get custom colors at this price level.

Depends on you. Longest ride I've taken on mine was 15.7 miles, and I only know because I've done the same little loop on other bikes. I don't have a bike computer on this one. If I want to do a longer ride, I'd usually pick one of my other bikes, but I'm sure the Curve would work out too, if I didn't mind averaging a bit slower. It's comfortable enough, although I might want bar-ends for a longer ride, so I could change my hand position occasionally.

DaFriMon,

Do you find the lowest gear on the Curve D3 is good enough for most hills you encounter? Do you have and/or recommend a suspension seat post?

Thanks in advance.

I've been posting here too much lately. One more, and then I'm on vacation.

The low gear is fine for the rolling terrain in my immediate area. There's always some kind of hill, but we aren't talking mountains here. Sorry if this is vague, but riders and terrain differ, and you may have steeper, longer hills to deal with than I do. The best I can tell you is that the 42 gear inches value that Dahon gives for the low gear is about right. If you can put any bike that you have now in a gear ratio that's close to that, it should give you an idea.

I put a Brooks B-67 saddle on mine, which does have springs. Even before that, the ride was pretty soft, probably because of the Big Apple tires. I wouldn't know what to recommend for a suspension seatpost, but you might find it doesn't need one.

Thank you DaFriMon. Enjoy your posting vacation!

So my local commuter train requires that folding bikes go in bags. I need to know who uses what. The Dahon El Bolso I've found for $55 but that seem like overkill especially for the Curve and since I don't plan to carry the bike anywhere other than up the escalator. I think I'm shooting for less function and more notional "cover".

Help me out here, the El Bolso somes with the Dahon Slip Cover? Is this the same slip cover that's sold separately for $20. I think the slip cover is what I want. Its advertized as folding down to paperback book size and simply covers the bike and uses a drawstring to close the bag.

If the El Bolso comes with it that might be nice to have but I'd never bring it with me on my daily commute. Probably only use it when camping or something.

What are your experiences? Worst case IMO is one of those mega big Target bags which I could compact down inside the under seat bag easily enough.

Some people use plastic trash bags, just to fill the train requirement. Can't get any cheaper than that.

39 gallon? That was my back up plan.

I'd always assumed that people wanted to make their folders lighter to make them easier to carry. But this sounds like you want things lighter to get better performance...? Is that what most people are after when they're removing accessories and replacing heavy parts with lighter?

Holymoly,

Most people don't plan to carry their folders for too long, and carrying 3 or 4 pounds extra for a minute or so is not that big of a difference. besides that, the combo weight is what really matters. I have a friend that spent about US$800.00 on components no make his bike 2 pounds lighter, and than bought a 3 pound lock to make sure nobody would steal his "light" bike. Now he needs to ride carrying the lock all the time.

I personally don't care how heavy my bike is as long as I don't have a REALLY HARD TIME picking it up or climbing a hill. It's not a big difference if one bike is up to 5 pounds or less lighter than another.

Just my opinion.

If I felt the need to stand up and pedal to get up a hill, would the Curve handle that situation OK? Would stock parts be in danger of breaking, or would the bike be in danger of falling apart?

Has anyone ever tried the Biologic suspension seat post? That one is $45 compared to the Thudbuster which is $140 at ThorUSA: https://www.thorusa.com/dahon/accessories/seatpost.htm

I have the Biologic suspension seat post. It's fine and works and there is no way I would ride my Dahon Presto without it. I also purcahsed a suspension seat post for my Piccolo but that bike was sold. Get either the suspension seat post, Brooks Champion flyer or Thudbuster.

I have the Brooks Champion Flyer on my Dahon Vitessee and it works very well.