Welcome to Green Commute of Seattle !!!

Well its been awhile so I better post something to prove I am still alive!

So far here is my two cents about my Dahon Speed D7:

I would never buy one again for one main reason, all the parts are proprietary! I can not replace them with anything off the shelf. I have an issue with my rear hub and since its a specific size, I can only replace it with another Dahon Speed D7 wheel!.

As far as my Specialized Sequoia Elite – what a fine bike, top notch.

Seth

After taking my bike to the shop to be adjusted, it still shifted terribly. It has been a nightmare to shift because the chain would skip gears or shift going up hill!

As it turned out adjusting the barrel adjustment on the derailleur did the trick!

Seth

I found a great new shortcut while going to the doctor from the south of lake union area to Cap Hill. I went to the convention center and took the escalators up to Freeway park and lala, I was in Cap Hill!

Its been awhile and so here is a general update. I love biking to working. Its easy and faster than driving. I been saving about $100 on gas a month. Its now time to drop the work garage space that I been paying $50 a month pre-tax.

The Dexter bike lane is fantastic and the only complaint is my Dahon Speed D7 is not the most efficent bike. The rear derailleur is mediocre at best. However it was only $300 and it does its job!

It was bike to work day last Friday and that was great. I love seeing more people biking to work.

Thoughts or feedback???? I would love to see some comments. Especially about sharing with road with these gas guzzling SUVs and hummers in the CITY of all places!

Seth

Here is a great article about how the HOV lanes will be shared with single occupant autos who will pay a price!!  Man, we need to get more people to share, not pay to pollute!

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/357858_transpo05.html

Seth

So far I been riding everywhere in Seattle except to my girlfriend who lives in W. Seattle. Its over nine miles away.

I will work up to it however till then, here is a great new tool that will help plan your cycle routes by elevation!

Sanoodi – Route Planner

Seth

I just purchased a new Dahon Speed D7 from Sunrisecyclery from their online retail web site. They are located on the east coast but paid for the shipping. I saved over $100 on the purchase as I paid $340 for the bike.

However I learned the hard way since I do not set up bikes and did not know all the ins and outs, I ended taking the bike to a Montlake Cycle, a local bike shop for a $50 setup service.

Also found out that if you buy a bike online, the Dahon warranty is not valid till a legitimate bike shop sets up and tunes the bike. In other words, without this bike shop receipt and the purchase receipt, you are SOL!

My first impression of the bike is its well made and solid. The folding mechanism works perfectly and the bike does fold down to a nice small package. However I do not know if I would be able to just casually carry it into a coffee shop like their web shows a young well dressed guy doing!!!!!
The other thing is Dahon uses a proprietary back derailleur that is not standard and is all black nylon. No metal. The shifter is the twist type on the handle bar. The shifting is noisy and a little sloppy. I am little disappointed but considering its for commuting 1 mile a day to work , its livable. Another reason to do a test drive first!

I have to say Montlake Bike did a great job setting up the bike!

I would buy another Dahon however I would buy it locally so I could test drive the bike first and then have the local bike shop setup the bike. Even though I paid less for the bike online, the setup and repair fees will eat up the savings

Moral of this story:

Buy local, test drive and Dahon bikes are OK for storing in tight space areas, not for coffee shops!

I bought a Specialized Sequoia Elite back in 2004 from Greggs in Bellevue.

This bike has been a great everyday road bike that is gorgeous and fun to ride. I really enjoy the bike and found that Greggs was a good place to buy from.

The bike has carbon forks and back stays with these Zertz viscoelastic inserts. They seem like silicon inserts and do a great job toning down the road vibrations.

The Shimano STI shifters are a dream to use and are very responsive to my shifting needs.

I would absolutely buy this bike again and get it from Greggs.

The only drawback is because there are carbon forks and back stays, bolt on fenders are out of the question. So I have to use a seat post style fender for the rear tire.

Seth

Hey, I figure what good is a blog if I do not post my personal experiences so other can learn from my successes and failures!!!!!!

So expect to see some reviews coming up!

Seth

SoI purchased a new Dahon from sunrise cycles online for a great price. I took it Montlake to get it set up and ready for daily use. So far I am waiting to see how it goes, they are having issues so I will keep everyone abreast of how well they take care of it!

Seth