UPDATE: MG decided to change the gearing and brakes on her Hon Solo. See the story on the changes Here.
MG recently succumbed to temptation and tracked down a new Dahon Hon Solo to buy.
MG with her Hon Solo at the National Gallery of Art. No, she’s not donating it!
It’s a folding single-speed with pretty much everything you could ask in a classy Rivendell-style build: wood chain guard, wood fenders, mustache bars, leather grips, Brooks B-17 saddle, Sugino crank and Suzue hubs with 406mm Schwalbe tires. According to Dahon, it was built as a limited edition and something of an homage to Rivendell founder and owner Grant Peterson. If that means anything to you, you get it.
The HS is a perfect town runner for MG, who is fascinated with small wheel bikes and single-speeds. Unlike her Bike Friday, this is a true folder that can be bundled up in a hurry. (Friday does have a new folder, the Tikit).
The bike arrived from a shop that MG found on the net, still packed in the box from Dahon with no touchup work done by the shop. The front wheel promptly detensioned on the first ride and MG is sadly without her new friend while the shop rebuilds the wheel. The rear was not properly tensioned either, but the shop was able to true it without a rebuild.
The only thing missing, on the way from Olde England, is a Carradice Pendle saddlebag.
I just won the bid for one of these on Ebay. I saw it last year on the Dahon website and fell in love with it. I came into some money and decided to buy it, but found it was no longer available. Glad I randomly checked Ebay. There were only two hours left, and I sat by the computer till I won. This is brand new in the box. The seller says he has one more in the box and another new but w/o the box and a small defect on the fender. If your looking, watch Ebay in the coming day/weeks/months.
It looks even prettier in the picture on the blog! I will take a hint and have my wheels looked at. I can’t wait for it to arrive!
Cool bike! :) Just to let you know, Mary, and others on this site, that there is a DC Bike Friday Club, which I started a couple of years ago. We have about 30 members, and we ride once a month – doing relatively easy rides – we’re a social bunch and just out to enjoy bicycling…taking it easy – life is hard enough as it is. Non-folding bikes are welcomed as well!
Check out the DC Bike Friday Club page:
http://bikefriday.com/clubs/washingtondc
Have a good day!
Charmaine Ruppolt
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