Ok, I am still testing. I have had good days and bad days since day one. Today was a really good day with 30 minutes both ways. I definitely love the gear shifting. My Cateye Astrale 8 speedometer and cadence meter thingy came Saturday and I've been using that. It is awesome! It would be nice if it had a backlight, this is the only major thing I think it's missing, and maybe an extra line of display, for something like average speed or trip time or something. When on gears 2 and 7 I go 20 mph on flat ground at 90 RPM. This is what I've been shooting for, though it is tough to maintain the whole time still for me. I end up dying for the last couple miles, so I shift down one or two, which is nice. The Matrix also doesn't have mudgaurds, I've been getting a little wet/dirty because of this, not really a problem as I shower when I arrive anyway. :P

My crotch still gets pretty sore, so I broke in and bought a pair of bike shorts. They should provide less irritation than briefs. I crossed to the dark side! Using a higher cadence like I am now really increases the wear factor. I also almost fell of my bike the otehr day when mounting my bike once a light was about to turn green, but caught my shorts on the back of my saddle...A pair of bike shorts should prevent this.

The Matrix can take curves quickly without scraping the pedals on the ground like it did in my Mariner. I have been experimenting with the fork...It intrigues me. Sometimes I hear some creaking in that area, either in the fork or the stem. This always happened when I put too much weight on my handlebars on my mariner. I can't seem to stop this on the Matrix, it just goes away on its own.

That is a good idea about the ziptie snafu, right now mine is traveling about 50% I think...I don't need a ton of suspension though, just enough for railroad tracks and potholes :P

FWIW, most of the creaks on my Matrix turned out to emanate from the fold lock and the seatpost clamp. Brushing out those two areas pretty rigorously usually killed 90% of the noise.

I never did get to where I could predict the results of a fork adjustment. I read someplace that it's not the world's best suspension fork, so I figured that was just the way it was.

Thanks for the tip, I'll have to look into that. Those creaks freak me out, I can just imagine my bike breaking at 25 mph with a car right behind me, lol.

I think the cure on the Dahon forum is to lubricate both. I had a slipping seat tube on my D7, Dahon told me to lube the clamp bolt.

The suspension setting is for preload only - not compression or rebound, so once it's set for your weight it's pretty much there for road riding. 50-75% of available travel sounds ok. I played with the fork lock once when I got the bike, left it off since..

I take my bike 12-15 miles offroad twice a week for fitness riding, it hasn't started to creak yet, although I spray most of the hinge and fork bits with WD40 after I've washed it, then wipe off the excess.

The Nex 4600 hydraulic fork is fitted to quite a few Euro mid-price MTB's, and gets good reviews for single-track riding and urban use, which is what the Matrix is intended for.

It's 'only' 63mm or so of travel, the real downhill goons are on twice as much again.

Needs the fork tube sliders wiped down after every ride to keep the seals good.. :-) . A rag with WD40 on it seems to do the job.



Send us pix of your urban ride!

>:O Flat tire again!! Glass the culprit again! Why can't people dispose of litter in the correct places?!?!?! I thought I was in luck, as I had a patch kit with me, and the seat post pump was there, but I couldn't get the tire off for the life of me...My fingers went numb trying to get it off. I was able to get my mariner tires off w/o tire irons but I guess not with this one...Anyways, 2.5 miles and 35 minutes later I made it home... >:O Not in a good mood right now.

Do you use this Sanfu21?

I mean apart from sniffing it lol! :P

Arrr. I has it in my Matrix and my offroad moto bikes., Some say it rots your tyres, others say it makes your ears stick out.

So far, I'm flat free.

On Jur's recommendation, I'm experimenting with Slime liners. You have to be very careful to sand down the ends or the liner will wear through your tube. Also, they jut out on the sides of thin tires (even the road version is a bit on the wide side.

I got a pre-slimed tire replacement for my rear. Working well so far! I went ahead and bought http://www.niterider.com/prod_minewtx2dual.shtml as well. I am going to try them out tonight, they just came. It was really hot this week (highs about 100 F with about 80% humidity), but it didn't phase me too much, I think I am getting in better shape. As much as people make fun of bike shorts, I can't imagine riding without them anymore. I got heckled at yesterday by a group of young people in a truck (while I was on the sidewalk even!). Traffic was real thick and it was rainy, so I took it easy on the sidewalk as opposed to getting ran over and sprayed by passing cars for this portion. I'm guessing it was the bike shorts they were yelling about, but who knows.


Loving it!

Yowza! By now we must be senior members of MOG, the Matrix owners group. So far, my bike has aslo failed to self-destruct. I've also ordered a set of lights, not the ritzy high power LEDS you have but a remaindered pair of Cygolite Halogens.

In search of clear and present danger, I figure a nocturnal off-road trip is looming...

http://www.cygolite.com/products/hal...Rover_Xtra.jpg

Woot, MOG FTW! Yes, they are pretty ritzy. The dualness is sweet as I can point them different ways if i please. They are really light too, as well as the battery. They have a low, high, and flash mode.

I am excited as last night I broke my record time of 29 minutes with a 28:45. I then came back to SHATTER that PR with a time of 27:30 today :) Crazy! Too records in a row. I am finally loving spinning! On my record tonight I was doing 100 RPM most the way on Gear 2-6. I think the wind was helping me out though, which is probably why I did it so fast. I'm thinking this because when I went in the wind was against me and it was an extremely slow time...

29 minutes with a 28:45

Jeepers!

Yes, spinning izt der answer. I'm no athlete, but find pounding along in top gear, knee-bones aching, is hardly the most pleasant way to ride a bicycle.

The weather here been jolly poor of late, the Matrix pining - slung from the rafters of the garage, unable to go and play in the mud....

Glad you're enjoying yours, sometimes, people buy great stuff then just moan.

Tut.

Another Personal Record today! :) 27:10 The wind was behind me though, so that helped a lot! It was about 15 mph according to http://www.wunderground.com/history/...q_statename=NA

It was rush hour too, so all the vehicles passing me helped a lot too! I was in effect drafting in their wakes, even if i was riding on the side of the road...

My lights saved a guys life last week, I was riding on the sidewalk in the morning at 0550, and a guy was walking on the sidewalk! It was a deserted area without any housing or anything, and he was wearing dark clothing! I've never seen a pedestrian that early in the morning, much less this area. Anyways, I saw him in plenty of time and was able to easily slow down and hopped the curb back onto the road to go around him. If I hadn't any lights I probably would've hit him! They were expensive, but used on a daily basis, so $$$ well spent!

Hah!

Pedestrians have no place on the sidewalk.

I'm in the process of moving back to London. My new place is right on a canal towpath (Grand Union) and perfect for rides into the centre of town. I've decided to take the Matrix over the other bikes as it's tough enough for the towpath and fast enough for the roads... I'm hoping the twin halogen lights will scare away hapless hoofers... :-)