Dahon Tournado
 

I've been reading up on this joint venture between Dahon and Ritchey.
Pretty intriguing. A 700 cc breakaway touring bike. Anyone seen one of these ?

Link?

The marketeers have already got to it, it seems. Why not just Dahon Touring instead of some hackneyed torture of the English language?

More to the point, though, I wonder what the gearing will be... does the link indicate it?

http://www.dahon.com/images/bikes/standard/tournado.jpg

Here is the link - the bike was cunningly hidden on the Dahon site under "Touring"

Specs:

SPEEDS 27
FRAME SIZES 52/56/60 cm
FOLDED SIZE 23 x 66 x 73.5 cm (9” x 26” x 29”)
WEIGHT 10.3 kg (22.7 lbs)
PACKING TIME 15 minutes
MAX RIDER WEIGHT 110 kg. (242 lbs.)
FRAME Ritchey BreakAway, patented Ritchey BAB technology, Ritchey drop outs, Tange Prestige tubing
FORK Tange chromoly with lugged crown
HANDLEBAR Ritchey Biomax II ergonomic drop bar, 31.8
TAPE Brooks leather bar tape, antique brown
STEM NVO, patented InfiniteAdjust technology, 3D forged 6061-T6 aluminum
HEADSET FSA Orbit-X, 36 degree angular contact sealed bearings
SADDLE Brooks B17 Champion leather saddle, custom antique brown color
SEAT POST BioLogic™ PostPump, 27.2mm
BRAKES Tektro forged aluminum, dual-pivot caliper, alloy cartridge pads
CABLE Dahon LiveWire, slick cables
BRAKE LEVER Tektro interrupters, forged aluminum, reach adjustment
FRONT HUB American Classic HiFlange 32H
REAR HUB American Classic 32H
RIMS Kinetix Pro, Niobium alloy, CNC machined sidewall, 32 hole
SPOKES DT Competition, Double-butted stainless steel, Brass nipples
TIRES Schwalbe Marathon Racer 700c x 35, with Raceguard puncture protection
SHIFT/BRAKE LEVER Shimano ST-R600, adjustable reach, non-series Ultegra grade
FRONT DERAILLEUR Shimano Tiagra, Triple
REAR DERAILLEUR Shimano Ultegra
CRANKSET Sugino XD triple, 48/38/28T, CNC finishing
CASSETTE SRAM 9 speed, 11-26
BOTTOM BRACKET Sealed cartridge
CHAIN SRAM PC-971, PowerLink
SUITCASE Airporter II with in-line skate wheels
ACCESSORY Reflective pants clip

There is a Dahon on Craigslist right now. Would be interesting to see what he wants for it.

I understand that Surly will also be coming out with a factory frame that can be taken apart. This one will have S&S couplers and is called Travellers Check.

Maximum dimensions to get on a plane without the oversize surcharge is 10x26x26. Too bad.

Any idea how big the typical 700c S&S coupled bike packs down to?

10x26x26

http://www.co-motion.com/travmenu.html

I wonder about the gearing combination. The granny is worse at ~30 gi than the ~26 gi for a normally offered 30T ring and 32T cog. They have the Ultegra rear derailleur, so obviously don't want to go to a bigger rear cog. Oh dear... they really don't know about touring.

OK, let's go further with this. A google search of Kinetix turns up a whole host of stuff that isn't bicycle wheels. The rims are 32H, so that means the bike is meant for lighter weight touring than expedition (much lighter). Do you really need Nobium wheels? I doubt it (have you checked what nobium is?).

Double-butted spokes (now, I don't necessarily mind these, but I have serious doubts that in small-town middle America, you'll find much in the way of DB spokes -- I know in small-town middle Australia and even some of the big-city suburbs, you wouldn't). No mid-fork braze-on for a front rack. No spec on the BB cartridge, which to me needs to be good quality from the get-go. It doesn't say what the TOTAL weight capacity is, but assuming most bikes are specced at rider weight before things like wheels start to cause hassles, that 110kg might well be the TOTAL weight as well -- no good for clydesdales nor people like me who at 85kg can carry up to 30kg of stuff (including food). By the way... what do you do with a big and valuable suitcase if you aren't leaving at the end of your tour from the same location as you arrived? Tow it along on its in-line skates? And in the context of recent Schwalbe threads, does anyone know the durability of the Marathon Racers? I'd also be keen to know if the dimensions have been pinched enough to create toe overlap with the front wheel. And what about a rear rack?

Being less sarcastic and cynical... has anyone tried the Biologic tyre-pump-in-a-post and judged its durability and practicality for touring?

I don't know, but here's a pic of one on tour:

http://www.pbase.com/canyonlands/image/88886974

You're right, of course, that we don't know until we get the feedback from people who actually tour with one. And that certainly looks like an extended tour version. One thing does look right -- the added height of the stem.