They don´t have too much in common, but...
 

Hey guys, I´d like to know your opinion over which one to choose. I´ve done part of the job narrowing the results to a couple of choices, I´d like to know what you guys think of it. My heart is torn between a 08 smooth hound mini bike and a new tern link d8. Let´s assume that I can get both of them at the same price, so my question is, of course, which one would you choose.
The use I am going to give the bike is daily commuting (10 mile ride), going to the beach and from time to time, a several-hour ride on paved road or a good path at most.
I know they are totally different, but I can´t seem to choose one. The link is new, gets awesome reviews and looks stiff and well made, while it being folding is a plus for stowing it at home. The smooth hound is a cutie, and looks like it´s ready to eat the road or just go slow in style, depending on how you set it up. Folding size is not overly important, as I will keep it mainly unfolded at home, but when I carry it on my car, it´s always a plus to have something smaller.

Thank you guys for taking the effort of reading this.

Tough call.

I'd get the Smoothhound if performance is top priority because it rides like a regular rigid frame.
I have a Silvertip and there is no flex in it so its a very fast and nimble bike.
The one downside is its is a big fold.
If you ever plan to travel with it, you have to break the whole thing down to fit in standard luggage and that gets old real fast.
I plan to get another small folder because the Silvertip is too big to easily pack.

I've never ridden a bike like the Tern Link, but I'm guessing there will be a tiny bit of flex in the folding stem area, but it would probably be tolerable since its a one piece stem.
One plus is you have a nice small bike that would be easy to put in a suitcase and bring with you on trips.
You may not think about travelling with your bike now, but when you have one small enough to travel with you start to think differently.

Got neither, myself.. Tern has been spoken of , here, before ..

What's a "08 smooth hound mini bike"? links ? pictures?

Approx like this:

http://www.thorusa.com/dahon/current/smoothhound.htm

That´s the newer version, that folds. The one I mean is this one:

http://www.dahon.com/bikes/2008/smooth-hound-60-0

ttakata's got a point there, although I initially don´t plan on doing any trip that includes putting it in a bag (I expect, of course, to bring it with me on my summer road trips in the trunk)

I REALLY like the Smoot Hound, I guess it is the next one on my list but that is easy to say since I have several folders already.

I guess if you need to fold it often go for the Tern. If you ride more than you fold go with the SH.

I would think that with quick release pedals and quick release on wheels you can fairly easy reduce the size quite a lot. I think a bag would be needed to keep it all together.

For some reason I like that spelling.

Some times I am faaast...

Coincidentally I was at the bike shop today and test rode the Tern D8 you were eyeing.
It rode very relaxed and comfy with the upright posture and fat tires.
The grip shifting was very smooth and fast too.
The wacky rear derailler would concern me if I wanted to upgrade, its not a standard mount.
Tern really stiffened up the folding stem area.
I'm sure it flexed some but not in a worrisome way like the old Dahon Curve I had.
It will never feel as solid as the Smooth Hound but I would not hesitate to buy the Tern if seeking a portable and solid cruising bike.

The nice thing about the Dahon midtowns are the standard size components.
Everything except the front hub width is standard road size componentry so upgrading is only limited by your wallet.

They had none to test ride, but I lifted the Verge X20 and that thing felt pretty light, but it was $3000 in Bangkok.

Smooth hound somehow appeals more to the female cyclists; though male like it too. Smooth hound isn't low end, but an 08 model is a 4 year old bike. The Link D8 has a more modern stiffer frame, so it essentially replaces the need for a diamond frame like the hound. Both are great bikes and you won't go wrong with either. The hound is cuter definitely and if that's what you're angling at, I say definitely go for the hound! Woof woof!

Thanks for the input guys, I will sleep on it and hopefully tomorrow I will make a choice. It´s a pity I don´t have them locally to compare, as ttakata73 was able to.

Hmmm somehow the Smooth is a little bit closer to my taste (talking about the looks), while my wife is leaning towards the Tern. That means she is the one wearing the pants?

Get the smooth hound, it's more bike with the special bars and Brooks saddle which is often claimed as the best money can buy for comfort.
It's also rare and unique, whereas there will always be plenty of Tern bikes sold new or used.

Your wife will still want the Tern so eventually you will have both anyway.

Touche.

A-hah! Maybe she's using little bit of reverse psychology here so you get the hound and then she sneaks behind and claim honey I'm in love with woof woof afterwards! Oh well just trying here -hehheh. I said this because I saw 2 lovely ladies riding an older and newer hound last year on the road and she's very stylish and cute too and I meant the rider just so you know.

As a Citta owner and with a name like Rex, you just know I am going to say, go for the Hound. I love the looks of the bike. I believe that unless you really need the compact fold, the improved ride of the Hound is worth it long term.

It scares me how close you may be to the truth. Anyway, I finally decided I am getting the Hound! I´m ordering it this afternoon. Thanks guys for the inputs

Just to let you know guys, I finally got the Smooth Hound yesterday. First ride to work, and it is amazing! I was kind of worried since I had never actually seen the minivelos in person, just loving them from the other side of the laptop screen. But it is great, it does feel way more stiff than my Speed clone.

Overtaking full-size road bikes doing the same route to work... priceless!

pics or it didnt happen.:thumb:

Sorry for the late answer, I´ve been out of the known world (well, internet world) for a couple of weeks, but I am back to post!
Here you can see my two blue rides, the smooth hound remains pretty standard, just a pair of Reelight SL100 and changed the orange reflector for a white one. Now I am looking for the best way to carry my commuting stuff on the bike keeping its style. In the meantime, it´s a matter of sweating a bit more with my backpack.

Cheers!
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=260881http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=260880

That Smooth Hound has a style which none of the other folding bikes can lay claim to. Quite an achievement by Dahon. I wonder if this one was born in the father or the son's mind...

For commuting, you could get a Carradice bag:
http://www.carradice.co.uk/index.php...category_id=24
Fits in nicely with the Brooks saddle.

The Carradice bag looks great, but I don´t like the fact to sticking either to green or black. I am looking into buying something in the lines of a Rothco bag http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rothco-Vinta...#ht_3220wt_754 and then maybe adding a quick release to it.

I am actually looking into attaching a quick release to the front tube of the frame, like the new dahon luggage truss (thanks for the pick Thor) http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=261039
It´s a pity this model doesn´t have one, but I guess I´ll find out a DIY way.

Personally I would not mess up that frame with a DIY solution. I am sure there is plenty good solutions out there if you are patient.

what about something like this? http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/alloy-fro...loy-prod14021/

Slightly more classic looking:
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/dia-compe...ted-prod26575/

this one is great if you can find somebody who have them in stock..: Traveller front rack http://www.thorusa.com/accessories/racks.htm

The tern rack Spartan front rack on the same site is not so good for you since you have the brakes on the front of the fork. I have this rack an found no way to match it with brakes on the front so I now use it with a hub brake. The rack is worth this change in my case.

Spartan Rack in stock ...... but doesnt go over the tires ... its for panniers only ...
Traveller front rack seems to be unavailable at this time ....

somewhere I have a black rack from JB which mounts on the canti studs, its not perfect but it was super cheap .... those all are not perfect as they are all designed for larger dia tires .... they seem to be alittle off kilter on a 20 incher ...

Geez I like that bag ..looks like a Brooks almost ... with the Brooks distributor in town I see a lot of Brooks bags running around.... lol of course those guys dont pay anywhere retail workin at the place ... but surely more than 30 bucks ..lol

Dahon has this adapter plate, but it only works with the DAHON truss .... not the Biologic one as that one has genuine Klickfix head

thor

Why deal with the mess at the front when you can attach ANY bag to the rear with this light weigh modern seatpost rack!

http://www.arkel.ca/ca_e/all-categor...pa-2-rack.html

They also sell a companion backpack that works with this rack as well.

Link is not working for me. Could you retry? Front or back, not important. I would stay away from something with a plastic or nylon look on that bike but tonns of solutions out there if you are patient and look around.