Kaneko

Hi, everyone!

I don't remember when and how I started checking out this particular forum but I fell in love with all the good looking mini velos you have shown here in this forum. I was all set to check out a Bike Friday Pocket Rocket/Sport and/or Dahon Speed Pro TT at LBS when I shockingly discovered the existance of a Dahon Hammerhead 7.0/8.0 in one year old thread. After checking with e-bay/google, I was able to pick up a brand new '06 hammerhead 7.0 at a bike shop 60 miles away. So far, I have put on only about 100 miles but I know that this is the lighest/fastest bike I have ever owned and I am really loving it. Thank you for this wonderful forum and I sure hope that I will be able to contribute for this forum as many of you have.

Dynocoaster 

Congrats and welcome, I like the Hammerheads also, have you checked out the new lineup from Dahon?

SesameCrunch

Congrats on a very nice bike. You probably got it for a really good deal, too.

I use mine as my training road bike, and have ridden it more than any of my other 7 bikes this year. One nice modification (for my purposes) was changing to a Capreo hub/cassette. This gave me a very nice gear range to support both the climbing and sprinting that I do. I've ridden this bike in very fast pacelines with the local racing clubs and get a huge charge out of keeping pace with the boys in their fancy kits.

Enjoy your bike.

BruceMetras

Way to go!!.. those are excellent riding bikes.. for your first small wheeler, you did great!!

Kaneko

Thank you for your kind welcome. I do like the brand new line of mini velos offered by Dahon but I am not too sure that they will be available in the US market. I still can't believe the amazing deal I got on my hammerhead($549). I would like to install a Sram PG850 11-28(1T over RD capacity) to replace the stock 11-24 for climbing purpose and maybe replace the chainring later on. This will be fun!

vmaniqui

that is an awesome price. let me know if there is a twin...

rlm117

thanks for the great picture. Was thinking of getting one as well but had a couple of questions. Are the front brakes quick release and is there a QR hub on the front wheel so you get it in the trunk easily? Also, how are you finding that the tires hold up - I'm a bit worried about flatting out every time I go over a bump. It does look like a great bike though.

Thanks for any further observations on the bike.

Roberta

Kaneko

Twin? They have more than that....

https://www.safetycycle.com/06-dahon-hammerhead-7-0.html

https://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trk...All-Categories

Both of them offer a free shipping. This is an amazing deal to me

Kaneko

The stock brake is Dual-pivot caliper Kinetix. I am not aware that it has a quick release function but it does have a QR on the front wheel and it comes out very quickly. I have not tried yet but I really don't think the bike fits into the trunk of my Mazda Miata. I hope that you have a much bigger car/trunk than I do.

I am not too sure if Schwalbe Stelvio(or any brands of 20 inch tires) have any issues. I am trying to maintain 120 psi and so far I have not experienced any problems(granted, it has been only 100 miles). Prior to purchasing my bike, I had checked all the information available(this forum, the recumbent forum and some mini velo blog sites in Japan), I did not find anyone having a major issues with 20 inch tires. I hope that this will help!

SesameCrunch

Yes, the front brakes have quick release so you can remove the wheels easily.

No, there is no problems with 20" wheels flatting every time you go over a bump. At least, they won't if properly inflated. Don't know where you got that concern ....

Diode100

A new Hammerhead 7.0 for $549.99 !!!!

Wonder what the shipping to UK would be ?

rlm117

thanks for the brake info. Sorry I'm not being clear about the tire question. it's not so much the 20 inch wheels - I like the small wheels and the whole minivelo concept- it's more that the roads where I am are not terrific and I am way less nervy than I used to be when I rode skinny tired bikes. I guess the questions are: are the tires as skinny as a typical racing tire and how do they do on rough pavement, if you end up going down a curb, etc (both in terms of handling and not flatting out)? Some of the reviews of the hammerhead have basically said, it's really fast (assuming the rider is) but not comfortable and a bit twitchy and some reviews of the stelvios on the speed tt make it sound like don't ever leave home without a patch kit or you'll regret it. leaving aside the folding issue, which isn't a big concern for me, does the hammerhead work for casual riding in less than ideal conditions or is it really pretty much single purpose for fast training rides and the like. or perhaps, what courses is this particular horse suited for? I know it's hard to describe ride quality, but that's basically what I'm asking.

thanks.

invisiblehand

Well ... there is a front suspension. But the dual pivot caliper brakes will limit the tire size that fit.

datako

Never had a puncture on mine in 3 years.

tim24k

+1 and I have Schwalbe Stelvio on two of my bikes. I these tires.

rlm117

Just wanted to thank you all for answering questions about the hammerhead. After reading your endorsements, I figured, how wrong could I go, and ordered what must have turned out to be one of the last ones at safety cycle (it's gone from their website now). It came about 10 days ago and I've had a few rides on it and am in love with the bike. Even though I had some nice road bikes back in the day, this one is a better fit for me than any of them were and feels very easy to throw around without feeling twitchy. I think this mini velo frame works really well for women - it accommodates having long legs and a relatively short torso. The TT bars are really comfortable as well.

I got MKS ezy promenades for it - they seem good and they're certainly light.

Has anyone figured out an alternative location for a small bag - I noticed that the I-Beam setup doesn't allow for an underseat bag and it would be nice to stash my keys and phone somewhere besides my jacket. Other than that, though, I'm not seeing anything to change.

The LBS guy who put the bike together for me and tuned it liked it so much that I think he ordered one too. He's pretty short and I think he liked the fit. Anyway, I've now joined the hammerhead club and couldn't be happier.

Thanks again for the info.

datako

Congratulations. The Hammerhead is a little masterpiece. I've got quite a few bikes that are much more expensive than the Hammerhead, yet it never fails to put a grin on my face when I ride it.

You can get some I-beam saddles with a fitting for a small saddle bag. Yours may have this, depending on when it was made. (Mine didn't).

BTW if you want to pimp your ride, occasionally you can find the I-Beam I-Fly for sale with a carbon post at bargain prices. This is much lighter (320gms all up) than more expensive titanium setups.

I'm about to weight weenie my bike to see how light I can get.

The bike is good for long rides too

SesameCrunch

Congrats on a beautiful bike!

How about a Bento Box for carrying things. https://www.amazon.com/TNI-BB-LG-Bent...7780441&sr=8-1

Kaneko

Congrats! It is indeed a great bike. I have had it for about a month(about 350 miles), I am having a blast. Also, lucky enough for me that seatpost size was 27.2 mm so that I just removed my favorite set up(moonsaddle, profile bottle cage and a wedge bag) from my other bike(Trek 1000) and replaced a stock set up of HH 7.0. Something to think about!?



PS, I have a bento box too.

rlm117

the bento box looks perfect. thanks for the suggestion.

killagunz

Quite a few big shops still have 2006 Hammerhead 7.0s in stock for very cheap. I just ordered one through Brands Cycle & Fitness for $549... should arrive any day now. If you're interested, email them and as for a guy named Rob O. He'll help you out.

NormanF

I would not recommend a skinny road tire in the 406mm size. The ride would be unbearably harsh. I settled on medium width Greenspeed Scorcher tires. They seem to be an acceptable compromise between comfort and being able to ride with a fast slick.

snafu21

oohh. Another (2009) Hammerhead thread. The last one, a couple of years ago, infected half the tribe here. I only gave up my HH last year, and then with a fight. I enjoyed almost all of mine, the Stelvios though, didn't like gravel or loose surfaces, and spat me off a couple of times. But on tarmac, with them pumped up to 110 psi it was the Daddy. The TT bars made the bike more of a fast road bike than a daily commuter, (for me) and it didn't like potholed British 'roads'. It was great in London though, nipped through traffic like a nippy thing. I put flat bars on mine for a while. Worked very well. I think the Hammerhead is one of Dahon's great triumphs, including the HH 5.0 flat bar model, in acid-brain-doom orange.

Don't post any more pics, you'll drive everyone crazed with lust.

nigelme

Snafu - You must have really valued your Hammerhead 7 - It looks like you kept it in a barbed-wired compound.

I keep mine at HavenCo just to be safe.

snafu21

Ahhh. Nigel. Yes, I loved my HH. That pic was taken at some sort of old military base in Oxfordshire. I let the HH 'go' after trying to live in a London apartment with three bikes. Now, I are down to one 'sensible' bike.

Long live Der Hammerhead. Datako had one in 'Bonkers Orange', didn't he? Had knobblies on it for trudging through peaty bogs.