Dahon Smooth Hound

Price Paid:  $765.00 at Brand Cyclery

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
coast to coast

Bike Setup:
Standard, but I swapped the Brooks saddle for a women's gel model and immediately covered the leather bar tape with cork tape to protect it.

Summary:
This is a compact minibike. With 20" wheels and a small wheel base it's easy to transport in a car or put in a shopping cart at the supermarket if you don't want to drive.

When I saw this bike on the Dahon site for 2007 I fell in love. The gorgeous Brooks leather saddle and matching leather bar tape on the handy moustache-style handlebars made me swoon. It's a perfect commuter or touring bike, with its wide gearing and rack/fender mounts.

Then I found out it doesn't fold. I need a folding bike for easy storage. I focused on a Dahon Speed TR instead. When I went to pick it up at the bike store I saw a demo model of last year's compact bike, the Dahon Hammerhead. One ride and I fell in love again. When you climb aboard you feel like you are on a regular bike. But the pedals come right off without tools and the handlebar stem comes off with one easy turn of the included allen wrench. Take off the front wheel with the quick release and you have a bike that's smaller than a kid's bike in about 30 seconds.

The parallelogram front shock decreases fatigue without brake dive. The bar end shifters are easy to fix and to use. Unlike other Dahons there are no non-standard parts to break and no clunky, heavy folding mechanism. The bike weighs 24 pounds, which isn't bad.

I highly recommend this wonderful bike for road, commuting or touring.

Strengths:
Small size.
Gets smaller quickly.
Wide gear range.
Lots of handlebar positions.
Gorgeous.
Feels like a regular bike.

Weaknesses:
Doesn't fold.
My bike came with a faulty cassette (shop replaced it for free).

Similar Products Used:
Dahon Speed Pro
Dahon Vitesse
Bike Friday (their bikes stink)
Xootr Swift