Dahon Mu Uno
 

So after unhealthy amount of time spent on reading up the forums and googling on the net, I ordered the Mu Uno today from Brandscycle.com. I was torn between the Brompton M3E & Mu Uno(originally I was deciding between a Downtube 8H & Dahon D7HG), then I decided that Mu Uno was the bike for me.

I called brandscycle at around 4pm today and talked to Byron, he was very helpful & friendly and answered all my questions patiently. When he didn't have an answer to my question(I asked whether the bike could be rolled when folded or not), he put me on hold and personally checked out the bike. He also promised to have the bike assembled, tuned, checked, lubricated & warranty activated, then repacked and have it shipped out today through UPS, so I placed the order. At 5:30pm, I received the tracking number from UPS notifying me the scheduled delivery is tomorrow. So for the cheapest price I could find for the bike online at $521.99 with FS(apparently free assembly & tuning too), so far I'm very impressed with their service! :thumb:

A question for fellow members who use coaster brake: what's your thought on it? Is it responsive enough that I can take off the front brake? I really like the minimalist design & cleanses of the bike, I would prefer not having any wire sticking out of the bike, but then again I also prefer not to die from not being able to stop in time at an intersection...

Are there any recommended mods or accessories for the bike? I read it somewhere that the handlebar is pretty wide. If I were to cut it, can I do it myself with a dremel tool or should I leave that to a trained bicycle technician(I have no experience with bike modding)?

I've also seen some recommendations for the MKS EZY QR pedals. I actually prefer not to hold the pedals when I have the bike folded. Are there any additional advantages besides the slight weight & width reduction, pedal swapping & used as an anti-theft device?

I'll probably post some images & videos once I've received the bike. It's surprising how little user information there is online for the bike.

Did you go to the Dahon forum and look for fellow Uno owners? There are a few of us over there... and a few pictures posted.

The handle bars are wide, I cut mine.. a hacksaw would be better than a dremel cut-off wheel unless you have plenty of discs.. and a steady hand.. it's just aluminum tubing.. some use a cheap tubing cutter that you can get at a Home Depot.

I wouldn't remove the front brake, in fact, I would change the pads to Kool Stops... they work better.. I like lots of front brake.. the coaster brake works great, and can lock the rear wheel easily.. I do the majority of my slowing down with the coaster brake, unless I really have to haul it down in a hurry, then I use them both.

Pedals are fairly personal, I mucked around with my original folding pedals and installed PowerGrips... pedals still fold and I also have foot retention..

If you are trying to make it even lighter.. you can ditch the stock saddle (although comfortable) and the seatpost (as it has a built in pump), and get a standard SDG or Kore seatpost .. the kickstand weighs a few grams, I took mine off, weighed it, and put it back on.. I find use it... a Dahon Kinetix Pro/Rolf front wheel will weigh a few grams less than the stock Kinetix comp..

I ride mine all the time... and, it will roll fine when folded... it is Dahon's narrowest package and the wheels are almost perpendicular to each other when folded.. the magnets hold the folded bike together very well... have fun with it..

Hi BruceMetras, thanks for the tips!

yes I've searched the Dahon forums and found few useful posts, mostly were by you, lol...
I don't know why no one was mentioning about the ability to roll both ways on the Uno, to me it's a major feature I was looking for(I assume it's balanced while rolling on both wheels), and that's one of the reason I was considering a Brompton but not the Mu SL, because no matter how light the bike is, it's still ~20lbs and to drag it around a train station, stores or hallway, my arms will get tired quickly.

So how much weight have you saved by swapping out the seatpost & take off the stand and other parts? If it's not much, I'll leave them on since I like the built-in seat pump.

I'll probably also leave the front brake on for few days to see I often i need it. I used to use the front brake most of the time on my Canondale for quick stopping.

Roll it with the front wheel while grabbing the saddle (don't push down the seatpost). Very easy and you can roll it forward or backwards.

It's really a good idea to have both the front brake and the rear coaster brake. The front brake will stop the bike much more effectively than the rear brake, except perhaps in wet conditions. And the rear brake will be a good backup for the front one.

If you decide you want to swap out the seatpost, I have a SDG post and seat. Let me know, and we can work out a deal.

I know I mentioned it more than once.. :lol: .. it is extremely convenient to be able to roll in either direction without the pedals moving ... it's pretty well balanced.. I have rolled it 50 to 100' in a parking lot a few times just to see how it was... but I don't have too much occasion to roll it folded.. if I'm not riding it, then I just push it (banks, sandwich shops, food stores, supply shops) ... the places I go, no one has even mentioned the bike until I go to pay, then they say something usually complimentary..

I haven't saved any weight.. :lol: , other than dropping 10lbs of fat since I started riding it.. I like the post pump and the kickstand... I was just mentioning things that would easily lighten an already pretty light folder, if one was so inclinded ...

So I've been riding my new Mu Uno for the past 2 days and I would like to share some of my impressions of the folder.

The Bike: It feels very solid. The ride feels smooth, efficient & stiff. I would prefer the gearing to be slightly higher, but I can see why the current gearing would fit majority of people. During my rides on rough roads, it felt quite bumpy, but it didn't feel like it was about to fall apart. The hinges also seem of high quality. well, at least they're shinny...:D
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2566/...78d5a211aa.jpg

The Fold: Since the bike is pretty light at 23lbs(weighted with the brake & kickstand on), it's very easy to bring up to my 3rd floor apartment using just my weak arm(left). The bike can be rolled both way when it's folded and I'm generally happy with it, but it's not as balanced as I've expected. It wasn't so much as tiring to balance as having to keep paying attention not to let it fall on one side. here is a short rolling video demo I put up on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AmXDfJa-Ak
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ADDED: a more comfortable and balanced way to roll/drag the bike when folded. YouTube Link -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0aMzZf5wLM
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3548/...bb1fa6fb_o.jpg
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Modification:
The handlebar does feel little too wide for me, so I cut an inch off each side with a hacksaw, it was pretty easy. Now the width is perfect!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2636/...6a541d75b2.jpg

Accessories:
having a shadow black folder riding at night, I thought some rear & front lights are necessary. I bought the Planet Bike Blaze 1/2 Watt front light & Blinky Superflash rear light combo for it. They're great! especially the Superflash rear light, it's almost blindingly bright!

Planet Bike Blaze front light:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2588/...012a44c0_b.jpg

Planet Bike Superflash rear light:
Video -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjxj_8vR2q4
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2594/...6f8690996c.jpg

Fender:
It has been raining here for the past 2 days and the Mu Uno does not come with any fender. I don't want to have a fender on all the time so I bought the SKS X-Tra Dry Rear Fender. It's really light(5 oz) and I only need to put it on when I need it. It takes 2 seconds to snap it on and it fits the Mu Uno fine I think.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3546/...f7d193b1ca.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2561/...7960595a22.jpg

If you would like to see more images of the folder, please check the images on my flickr account
Dahon Mu Uno Gallery

enjoy!

P.S. anyone know what this hole on the bottom bracket is for? Is it for lubrication?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2437/...00729842_m.jpg

It's a very clean and sweet looking bike. I like how there's almost no wires on that ride.

If you really want a higher gear in the future you can easily add a schlumpf drive and still keep that clean look on there. That way your back won't have a messy derailleur and cables to it.

Great bike.

It is for draining out water that could find its way into the frame.

nice bike....i have a mu xl and am loving it too.....

yes I love the clean looking of the bike too. I was going to uninstall the front brake, but now I think that I'll leave it on just to be safe.
The schlumpf seems like a great device, but ouch it's expensive! For my purpose, i don't think it's worth it to spend another $500-600 just to have another gear. it might be easier if I just get a bigger crank wheel or something.

ah, thanks!

Re. your flashlight pix, I've never understood why the modern Dahons have that clamp in the middle of the handlebar. If you wanted to tilt you're brake levers just allen wrench them. If you want to jig your handgrips, just twist them in your direction.

The clamp allows the handlebar to be easily rotated. For some configurations, this can significantly facilitate folding.

That's the easiest solution, just remember if you use a bigger chain ring any hills will require more effort to climb, but on the flats you will enjoy the extra speed. I use a 58x14 set up on my 20" wheel single speed bike and find I can spin comfortably at 30 kmh and spin like a loony at 40+ kmh.

Mu Uno rolling mode 2
 

I've been experimenting with the ways for even easier carrying/rolling the bike when folded, and I think I've found a much better but less conventional way. Here is the YouTube video I just put up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0aMzZf5wLM
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3548/...bb1fa6fb_o.jpg

It is more like lugging a suitcase, where majority of the weight distributions are rest on the rear wheels, I just drag it along with very little effort. There is almost no balancing issues at all & it takes less surrounding space.:thumb:

Nice.

i tried this on my mu xl but it feels i am lifting a heavy object. i prefer the pushing method (pull up the seat post). i will try again later and see if there is any difference.

I found that there're 2 things to adjust to make it easy to roll like that on my Mu Uno:
1) I need to release the front brake(as shown in the video clip), because I adjusted the brake to be very close to the wheel, when the handbar post is folded, it locks up the front wheel.
2) the trick is not to have the seat lowered down all the way till it touches the ground. In fact the height of the seat should be depending on your height. Ideally you should lift it not too much off the ground when standing straight and have your arm straight. The lower the seat is, the more you have to lift up, and the heavier it gets.

try that, hope it works for you :)

p.s. oh, it also works better for me when the bike is on my left side because the seat is closer to my body, so I don't need to extend out my arm sideway.

i will try that.....thanks.

Shinew,
What about staining tan pants, for instance? Is the chain enclosed liked the brompton?

The chain is outside, but it has a chain guard. I wouldn't worry about it for rolling. Both the rear fork & the folded pedal will give you enough clearance from your pants to the chain(about a fist length). However, if the pedals gets really dirty & wet, they might stain your pants from rolling like that.
For carrying, there're ways to comfortably carry it without any of those parts touching the pants.