Quick Links
Search
SEARCH THIS SITE:
SEARCH THE WEB:
SEARCH THE WEB:
Categories
Sponsored Links
SilverDragon's Pages
Contact
Syndicate this site 
Send an Email Archives
Browse all archives by date
| Recent archives | ||||||
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
Current conditions
Valley Village, California
The last recorded mood of the SilverDragon was:
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Oct 08, 2008 10:46 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Oct 08, 2008 10:46 PM
New folding bicycle acquired!
I've named her "Momo-chan" Photo courtesy
Dahon California, Inc.
OK,
so my younger son is a mildly deranged "Breath of Fire" fan, and I've caught it
from him... hence the name. She's small, cute, mechanically sophisticated, and
has a nasty temper if you don't treat her pedals right. She's already bitten me
once...
She's a Piccolo D3, from Dahon Calfornia, Inc. She has an aluminum frame, and three gears. Mine is actually a nice champagne metallic color, and has a "luggage rack" on the rear wheel. I also had a headlight and a flashing LED tail light installed. She's MUCH more fun to ride than that oversized -- thing I've been trying to ride for 20 years. No offense to the manufacturer, whom I will not name; it's not that the bike was defective or bad, just that a short person like me had no business on a bicycle with 26-inch (66 cm) wheels, no matter what frame size I bought. So on the Dahon I potentially won't go as fast as I might on a bike with larger wheels -- I can now commute on the train with confidence since I won't have to depend on the full-size bike racks on the train or on subsequent buses having a space free. And yes, I've seen bicycle riders left behind because the bike rack was already full. In good weather (not too hot or smoggy, nor yet rainy and cold) I should be able to bicycle to get to my college from the train station in half the time of taking a bus. At least, once I get in shape I'll be able to do that.
Oh yes, the "pedal bite" -- that means that her pedals fold, just as much of the rest of her does. The pedals, however, are spring-loaded, and will snap into position very quickly -- more quickly than you can move your finger out of the way. I know. This seems the only flaw in an otherwise intriguing design - and they appear to be stock folding pedals, not custom-built for this machine. It's not a serious safety hazard, just a risk of a bruised finger hazard.
She's a Piccolo D3, from Dahon Calfornia, Inc. She has an aluminum frame, and three gears. Mine is actually a nice champagne metallic color, and has a "luggage rack" on the rear wheel. I also had a headlight and a flashing LED tail light installed. She's MUCH more fun to ride than that oversized -- thing I've been trying to ride for 20 years. No offense to the manufacturer, whom I will not name; it's not that the bike was defective or bad, just that a short person like me had no business on a bicycle with 26-inch (66 cm) wheels, no matter what frame size I bought. So on the Dahon I potentially won't go as fast as I might on a bike with larger wheels -- I can now commute on the train with confidence since I won't have to depend on the full-size bike racks on the train or on subsequent buses having a space free. And yes, I've seen bicycle riders left behind because the bike rack was already full. In good weather (not too hot or smoggy, nor yet rainy and cold) I should be able to bicycle to get to my college from the train station in half the time of taking a bus. At least, once I get in shape I'll be able to do that.
Oh yes, the "pedal bite" -- that means that her pedals fold, just as much of the rest of her does. The pedals, however, are spring-loaded, and will snap into position very quickly -- more quickly than you can move your finger out of the way. I know. This seems the only flaw in an otherwise intriguing design - and they appear to be stock folding pedals, not custom-built for this machine. It's not a serious safety hazard, just a risk of a bruised finger hazard.
Posted: Sat - June 26, 2004 at 09:47 PM | | | | |