kridershot

Hi!

So, recently I bought my second bicycle, after getting a lot of very good advice here on the forums, thank you everyone!
I am a newbie when it comes to bicycles, so I wanted to share a bit about what the experience has been so far. Feedback is welcome!

My first bike was a Speed D7, so there's a few things about the Visc that I like better, and others that I still have to get used to. I mostly use the bike on the street for commuting and cycling in parks.

This is what the bicycle looks like: freshly taken out of a big bowl of tomato-y guac!

I like the green, but the mixture with red is a bit much for me. I am looking into at least replacing the seatpost clamp for a black one. I don't know what I will do about the red wheels, maybe I will just leave'em like that, it sounds like a lot of work to paint them, but I think matte black would look better.

One of the things I have to get used to is the aluminium frame, it seems to break easily. It already got chipped under the folding hinge during transport, and the Dahon logo in the front as well, probably just chipped by small rocks I guess. I don't really feel the difference in weight as far as I can tell, so that's kinda like a meh feature for me at least so far.

This bike doesn't have a telescopic Handlepost like the D7, which honestly I like. I felt like the with the D7 I always had to mess with the height of the handlepost, to choose between a better ride or a better fold. The D18 folds the handlepost to the outside, and it has a pin to keep it attached to the frame when folded, like many Terns. But where the Terns usually have an elastic band to hold the handlepost, the Dahon has a small plastic piece that the handlepost pin connects to. Unfortunately the small pin broke very easily after just two days, so I am looking for other options to hold the bar together when folded. I read that velcro is a good option, so I may try that.

One thing that is a bit annoying is that, since the brake and gear cables run inside the frame, when the bike is folded they get pulled, so rolling this bike when folded is not an option because the brakes are on. I understand this is a trade-off, and the cables in the frame is definitely nice.

In comparison, I really like is the shifters on the Visc, they're much better than the grip shifter on the Speed D7, much more responsive, even though the grip shifter has numbers for each gear and these ones don't. One slight annoyance is that the shifters are bulgy enough the clash with the brake levers, limiting the angles in which I can place them on the handlebar, but I still have to mess with it a little bit more, maybe get better, more adjustable levers, and make it work.

The Shimano Tiagra derailleur on the Visc is amazing! I was skeptical that I would notice the difference to the Neos on the D7, but it's much more efficient! I took a few rides where I was really pushing it, changing gears fast, and it responded really well, I am impressed!
Also, being new to a bike with 18 speeds, I gotta say that I am enjoying that a lot too. When I am riding I have many gears to choose from, and it is like a small game on itself: which gear is the most efficient for this moment and for the next, and I find this optimizing game really fun.

I also like that I can adjust the position of the handlebar easily, since it has a T-shaped handlepost, unlike the D7. I may change the stem to an Andros 2 in the future to make it easier to adjust, without the need of tools.

I think the bike still needs a few more things, like fenders and possibly a chainguard. The stock grips also are still killing me. I bought Ergon GP4s online, and I can't wait for them to arrive to finally install them. Besides that, I really like the bike so far. It's fast, it's responsive, the 18 speeds are great, and it's a lot of fun to ride!

tds101 

Nice review, and even with the color scheme (which I actually like), it's a beautiful bike.