EvilV

Dahon D7 Vitesse 2008




The Vitesse is for those who want the ultimate bike for urban commuting. We took our award-winning Vitesse D7, added an internal gear hub and tried-and-true components from top component suppliers. Then we topped it off with mudguards, a rack and even a trouser saving chainguard so you can ride in any weather. New for 2008, the Vitesse gets upgraded with the robust new Radius V handlepost. We've also added a new model with a smooth shifting Shimano Nexus 7-speed hub.
Rear pannier rack
New Radius V Telescoping handlepost adjusts to fit riders of all sizes.
Shimano internal gear hub - perfect fornasty urban commuting because it requires very little maintenance
weighs 14kg
COLOUR Cobalt Blue
SPEEDS 7
GEAR INCHES 34" - 84"
DISTANCE: SEAT POST TO HANDLEBAR Min: 620 mm (24.4") Max: 640 mm (25.2")
DISTANCE: SADDLE TO PEDAL Min: 690 mm (27.2") Max: 960 mm (37.8")
FOLDED SIZE 30 x 69 x 81 cm (12" x 27" x 32")
WEIGHT 14.kg
FOLDING TIME 15 seconds
SUGGESTED RIDER HEIGHT 142 cm - 193 cm (4'8" - 6'4")
MAX RIDER WEIGHT 105 kg (230 lbs)
FRAME K Series, 7005 aluminum, Custom-drawn Sonus tubing, forged Lattice hinge, patented ViseGrip technology, forged drop outs, integrated head tube
FORK Integrated, patented Fusion technology
HANDLEPOST Radius Telescope adjustable, patented Fusion™ technology, forged aluminum, Covert QR technology, patented InSide™ lock
HANDLEBAR 6061-T6 aluminum, Flat bar
HEADSET Dahon Fusion 2, Zero stack, cartridge bearings
GRIPS BioLogic™
SADDLE Dahon Comfort
SEAT POST BioLogic Zorin PostPump
SEAT CLAMP QR Custom oversize, aluminum
BRAKES ProMax V, aluminum, linear spring, stinless flex noodle
BRAKE LEVER ProMax V, aluminum bracket/aluminum lever
BRAKE CABLES & HOUSING SIS, Pearl silver housing, slick cables
FRONT HUB Dahon Mini, aluminum, sealed
REAR HUB Shimano Nexus 7, 7R46, 36H, black ano
SPOKES 18/10 stainless steel, brass nipples
RIMS Aluminum, black anodized
TYRES Dahon Roulez, 20" x 1.5", high pressure 65 psi, skinwall
SHIFTER Shimano Nexus 7 Revo
FREEWHEEL Shimano Nexus 7
CRANKSET Cold-forged 6061-T6 aluminum crank arms, hand-polished
BOTTOM BRACKET CH
CHAIN KMC
PEDALS Suntour folding, non-slip
CHAINGUARD Full chainguard
KICKSTAND Aluminum, Dacromet bolt
CLIP SYSTEM Magnetix system
WHEEL REFLECTORS Yes
FRONT & REAR REFLECTORS Yes
ACCESSORY Reflective trouser clip

chagzuki

Does it come with the gravel/pebbles?

chagzuki

I have a 2007 Vitesse and I had to change a lot of stuff before I was happy with it. But it's a good base for a bike.

EvilV

What were you dissatisfied with? Is it the same bike? I think they do one in steel as well. I saw this new on ebay at £270. Looks tempting as an advance Christmas present to self.

chagzuki

This is an aluminium frame. My version has a 5 speed sturmey archer hub whereas this is shimano, I think. My hub has caused me loads of problems so this model is likely superior.

Things I didn't like/changed:

The gearing was way too low for me. The chainguard acted as a noise amplifier, plus the chain (irrespective of how loose / tight it was) would slap against the chainguard, making a lot of noise. I ditched the chainguard and replaced the very cheap and heavy chainset with some 2nd hand Shimano Deore cranks. I went with a 48T ring and now the gearing is good for me.

I found the ride too harsh over mangled London streets so switched the tyres for 20 x 2 Big Apples.

Other than that I changed a few components to reduce weight but those were minor things and didn't make a huge amount of difference.

Oh, I took off the rack as it's the cheap steel version and weights a kilo.

chagzuki

Once the 2009 models are out I may well try to pick up a cheap 2008 version if, as I suspect, the gear hub is better than mine.

chagzuki

Rather peculiarly I found the stock handlebar weighed 240 grams.

EvilV

There are 92 for sale on Ebay.co.uk at this minute at £269.99 with a postage charge of £10.

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DAHON-VITESSE-...|39:1|240:1308

Thanks for your views on the one you had.

chagzuki

Yeah, it's not a bad price. I looked into changing the hub gear and found that the over-locknut dimension or whatever it's called is different, i.e. Dahon must have altered the frame, so I'd have to get a new bike. I might go for that, but I'll need to do a bit of research first on the hub to make sure it'd be a big enough improvement.

EvilV

Did the Big Apples make a worthwhile difference? Sometimes you can start throwing money at a problem and make very minor gains for a lot of dosh. I like to keep hold of my cash if I can.

chagzuki

When I first put the Big Apples on I wasn't impressed. They add about 100g per wheel and the bike lost a bit of it's zippyness, i.e. the very thing I liked the most about the bike. But comfort-wise, run at a very low psi they are good, and I quickly grew to like them. I'm really not sure about rolling resistance. I don't have a 2nd bike to A/B with, so I'm not sure how much energy I'm losing running them so soft. If feels to me like I'm saving a lot of energy not worrying so much about uneven road surfaces. Perhaps I ought to switch back to the Kendas for a while and see how they feel.

EvilV

maybe I should just stick with my Merc. It has nothing at all wrong with it even though I have used it quite hard and put over 3500 miles on it. It is however very filthy from being ridden in the bad weather.

rbrian

I was set on a rebadged one of these, a Ridgeback Attaché:

- it looked fantastic, especially in matte black, and it got pretty good reviews. Then I rode it around the shop - perhaps it was poorly adjusted, maybe it was because the tyres were flat, but it felt horrible - twitchy and cramped and flexy, like trying to ride an exercise bike. It put me right off folding bikes, and I bought a hybrid. A couple of months later, I test rode a Brompton, and bought it there and then, for twice the price of the Ridgeback.

chagzuki

It's not exactly the same bike. The handlepost doesn't appear to be adjustable and the forks are different. Does look nice though. I'd like to repaint my frame entirely matt black, i.e. get rid of all logos. Or nice dark satin grey/gun metal mix, semi-metallic. But that's going a little far.


I find the handlepost flex on the Vitesse to be fine ONLY with the bar low, as I like it, i.e. as low as it can go. The higher the bar the more flex (of course). With that length of handlepost there will be a lot of flex.

chagzuki

The frame looks different too, slimmer, like previous year Dahons. Judging by this, the 2009 model, they're buying up old Dahon stock:

jur

I think what happens is, Dahon make OEM bikes from older models and rebadge them. The above bike is like my Yeah but it looks like it has the newer alloy handlepost. OEM rebadged Dahons used to have the steel version, but now the newest Dahons have the V-clamp version, so the previous alloy one is now also available for OEM bikes. Or so I am speculating.

EvilV

Hmmmmm - this is what I need to know. It's reality check time. To be honest, the little bike I have - a Brompton knock off, does everything I need and has more than proved its worth. It would be a shame to pay out money for something worse.

Thanks for taking the trouble to share your experience.

rbrian

The important thing is to try it for yourself. As has been mentioned, the bike I rode is not exactly the same - there seem to be lots of Dahonalikes out there. The more expensive Dahons, like the Mu, get excellent reviews, the cheaper ones, less so.

chagzuki

Yeah, the bike you rode not only has a long, non-adjustable stem, but also riser bar, so unless you like a very upright position it'd feel wrong. The actual Dahon is fairly configurable, except for cockpit length.

EvilV

Thor sells Dahon bikes as I am sure most people know. He sells a lot of them. This is what he had to say about the Vitesse in another thread:

tedi k wardhana

I bought two months ago, a similar model vitesse, second hand, also matt black.
but I notice that mine doesn't have the reinforcement piece between the downtube and seatpost.
mine might be an older model.
regarding the improvement, now I am in doubt.
does it mean that the previous year model is prone to be broken at the point i mentioned?
hopefully not.
otherwise I will sell mine, and get me a later version...

oh, forgot to mention.
mine has a six speed derailer...

jur

There have been enough reports of the seat tube cracking above the weld to the top tube. I suppose that extra reinforcement is a move to stop this type of failure. I wouldn't know how many (if any) cases rode with the seatpost not inserted enough.

tedi k wardhana

do you happen to know, starting from what year model, the reinforcement piece was added??

thanks for the info, anyway.
since obeying the minimum insertion of seatpost does not give me the optimum pedal to saddle distance,
I have been going a bit higher, exceeding the min insertion marks.
thanks to you, I will make sure I will obey the minimum insertion mark.
(at least it will be only 3 to 4 cm higher)

noteon 

Dahon has no failures. Didn't you know that? We're all just riding wrong.

jur

Unfortunately not. You might get an answer by looking at the Vitesse models year by year at the Dahon web site bike archives.

I think it is fairly recent because it seems the difference between the Vitesse and the Speed has finally bee wiped out, now sharing what looks like the same frame, both having the reinforcement piece and alloy frames.