Here's a little review, based on my shoddy breathing after having Covid 19 at the beginning of the year.
Straight out the box, all I needed to do was install the pedals, tighten a few screws and such, adjust the brakes & tune the shifting. Took me a few minutes to figure out how to tighten/loosen the lockjaw hinge latch. Simple enough,...
Folding/unfolding is definitely, different. The Deltec cable has the other cables wrapped up with it, making it a slower process. The handlebars need to be unlatched to be able to move, so you can get them into the correct position, then close the latch, locking them in place. Otherwise, it's almost the same. The latch on the underside of the frame's lockjaw hinge does need to be watched , so you don't catch the cables when opening or closing the thing. The magnets are fantastic, so far. I carried the bike a little, to see if they felt like they'd separate. Feels good.
I immediately swapped pedals for some Wellgo folding pedals I have, and the seat/seatpost was removed also. I think the current seat would be just fine, but there's one small issue with the seatpost. Most folding bikes that I own use the seatpost to stand on, as the bottom of it is designed be utilized in such a manner. This seatpost is stamped with an advisory that there's a maximum insertion point, and apparently it's not supposed to be used in such a way. And to top it off, there's no end cap, which would protect the end of the seatpost from being damaged on the ground. Now, some bikes have an extra part attached to the frame on the bottom bracket, extending past the chainring, that's used to stand the bike on when folded, preventing damage to the chainring. This bike doesn't have it. Why Dahon decided to omit the proper seatpost is beyond me. Luckily I have a few in the basement,...
Ride quality wasn't what I'd expected. It rides like a minivelo/non-folding bike. There's no frame flex (as expected with the 250lb weight limit + Deltec cable), but it's something I was pleasantly surprised about. I'm used to some flex/noise, and this was a solid feeling ride. The handlebar stem does has the standard minimal flex, but it so small it's something I probably should have just stayed quiet about it. The Schwalbe Citizen tires (
20"x1.75" w/K-guard & reflection) seem decent enough, and I didn't feel bumps and such all too much with them. I thought I'd be having my teeth chattering, but combined with the aluminum frame, it's a surprisingly plush ride.
Lastly, I will discuss the gearing. As mentioned, the chainring on the Mariner i7 isn't the largest, but adding a bigger chainring isn't necessarily an option here, at least not for me. The gear inches are 30" - 90", so a larger chainring would mean that hills would be a chore (again, for ME). The speed is decent, but this is no speed demon, that's for sure. I find it acceptable for my needs. I'd been dying to acquire an internally geared Dahon for YEARS. This is a total WIN for me. When riding it's a nice, easy experience. The Mariner i7 also coasts fantastically well. You really don't experience excessive drag from the Shimano Nexus 7 speed IGH. That was another welcome surprise. It's not [size=13px]excessively[/size] loud when coasting, and that's another plus. And after a few squeaky minutes, braking was quiet too.
Overall, I'm pleased with my current new addition to my bike family.
If I missed anything, please ask. I'm techie enough to answer some questions, but I'm not well versed enough to discuss the minute details.
