In which I become the owner of a third bike
July 24th, 2011 at 8:44 pm ET
So I’m still waiting for my new bike, which is due Friday. But in the meantime I went out today to take a look at Dahon folding bikes, because when I stopped in at 6th Avenue Bicycles to get new pedals put on my old bike last week (after twelve years, the factory originals were cracking), I watched someone playing with one and I was curious.
I rode past Gotham on West Broadway and they only had one folding bike (although their stock of Globe cruisers is gorgeous), so I rode on up to 6th and 15th to see what 6th Avenue Bicycles had in stock.
They’d just sold a really nice-looking Mu Uno but there were several more on the floor, including an Espresso (which is, basically, a full-size bike that happens to fold) and a bright red Speed P8. A super-helpful salesman named Ben helped walk me through a comparison of the models. Presto, he folded the Espresso, which did come together into a package pretty fast, but didn’t fold up small enough to really interest me.
He folded the Speed and I was more impressed; we unfolded it back out and I gave it a lift, impressed at how light it was (it’s around 25 pounds, I think). With those 20-inch wheels, I was concerned that a tall person like me wouldn’t have a good riding experience, but Ben offered me a test ride, and how could I say no?
I took it up 6th Avenue to 20th Street, then across to 5th and back down again. I stopped into the shop and asked if I could take another ride, and they said “sure,” so off I went. And I have to say that in some aspects it was an easier, more comfortable ride than my much heavier Gary Fisher. Certainly it’s more nimble, easier to maneuver in tight quarters, and it’s geared really well — you don’t feel like you’re riding on tiny little wheels, it feels completely normal. It felt really natural even for a tall person like me, because both the seatpost and the handlebar post come up really high, for a comfortable upright riding position.
In short, it’s a great utliitarian city bike — lightweight and fast, and stable despite the lightness (because of its low center of gravity), with reinforced tires and regular-stock 20″ tubes. It folds up into a size small enough to drop in a car trunk or carry on a train, and you could drop it into an ordinary piece of hard-sided luggage and take it with you anywhere. The one downside is that because everything on it is quick-release, you can’t really lock it up outside ever, at least in New York City. But all the rest is upside.
And so, dear reader, I bought it, and made it street legal (bell and lights), and rode it home. I’m going to use it as my commuting bike for a while and see how I like it. At least until my other new bike arrives, that is.
For the record, the people in the bike shop didn’t seem to see anything unusual about having three bikes. So there!
Below is the only extant photo of my new red bike (don’t worry, I’ll take more)…
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Rich Mintz blogs on online fundraising and social media, American history and culture, bicycling and urbanism, food, technology, and other topics. Professionally, he's an expert in fundraising, constituency development, and social media for nonprofits, cultural organizations, cause-related marketers, and corporations. He is based in New York, where he serves as Vice President, Strategy, for 
