My bicycle is a Dahon Piccolo, and - for the most part - I've been happy with it. It has a fairly compact fold, which I value highly, and it's nippy. Its rear end, however, has caused me some problems.
The first problem was a series of broken spokes on the rear wheel, when the bike was around two years old. I had the wheel rebuilt (at some cost!), and this stopped the spoke breakage. Unfortunately, the shop mechanic who rebuilt the wheel messed up the rim tape while doing so, and also left some burrs on the spoke nipples inside the rim, which caused me a series of punctures until I figured out where the problem lay and fixed it myself.
Next came a crack in the seat tube. This necessitated a new frame, though fortunately this was covered under warranty. Still, it meant the substantial hassle and expense of shipping my bike back to the original dealer for repair, and hiring a replacement for the interim.
Now, about a week ago I had my bike serviced. I thought it probably needed new pedals - or maybe bottom bracket, or both - because I could feel a clicking/popping/grinding when I was pedalling. It turned out it probably did need new pedals, but the clicking and popping wasn't due to the pedals, it was due to a crack in the rear rim. The staff at the shop where I'd had my bike serviced said they hadn't been able to source any suitable rims and suggested that I try elsewhere.
Naturally enough, I tried the dealer I originally bought the bike from. They told me that a lack of rear rims for Dahon Piccolos and Dahon Curves was a longstanding problem, but that entire rear wheels (spokes, hub gear and all) were available for £145. That's half the new cost of the bike! Asking some other Dahon dealers the same question produced the same answer.
So, I had a choice between buying a whole new rear wheel or a whole new (or second-hand) bike. Blech.
A bit of spread-sheeting later, and I eventually opted for the new rear wheel. None of the second-hand bikes I enquired about had their original receipts available, which made me suspect they could have been stolen; and the new bikes I looked at worked out a little dearer than the Dahon per year of warranty remaining, since my Piccolo's frame, forks and handlepost are still under warranty for about another year and a half, and presumably the new rear wheel will be covered for a year.
Still, I'm disappointed. All bike manufacturers should recognise that it's in their interests to do what's in their customers' interests; and it's in their customers' interests to make spare parts readily available. Brompton does this, and so does Bike Friday. Why can't Dahon?
Next time it comes to a crunch like this, chances are it'll be more economical for me to get a new bike instead of repairing the Piccolo. And I don't think I'll be buying a Dahon again.
Incidentally, I think the rear end problems all stem from the fact that 16″ wheels – which the Piccolo has – are very rigid, and the cromoly rear triangle is, because it is so small, very rigid too. Since the Piccolo’s seat post is nearly vertical, it’s not able to do much to absorb vertical shocks. (Compare it to Bike Friday’s astonishing Air Glide!)
This means that the stresses on the rear wheel and the parts of the frame around the rear triangle are great; great enough to break them, or to turn a little bit of wear – as in the case of the rim – into a failure.
Many of the more highly-regarded bikes with 16″ wheels have longer rear triangles, or rear suspension, or both. If I were in the market for a new 16″ wheel bike, I’d be looking for those features, to minimise the chances of mechanical failure of the rear end.
Ah now if you were looking for a new bike, I could point you very favourably in the direction of the Pashley Princess, which has never caused me any such problems. The website wold have me believe that this is because it has been “hand lugged and brazed” in the home of Shakespeare since 1926, but I happen to know it is because a) I don’t ride it and b) all I ever wanted it to do is look pretty, which it does marvellously!
Also, bicycle innuendo? Tittering trouser-clipped helmet-haired cyclists wave their allen keys with glee … dear oh dear.
While I’m glad someone got the joke, I’m a bit disturbed that it was you! I think perhaps someone’s been spending a bit too much time in WBB whatever-it-is
No, I went to a rural comprehensive full of unpleasant Young Farmers …
Oh arr.
The new wheel arrived, but unfortunately, it has no sprocket. To move the sprocket from the old wheel to the new one, I will need a locknut remover.
More unfortunately, my local bike shop staff say that without me bringing the wheel in for them to see, they can’t tell me which of the many locknut removers available is the right one for the Piccolo, because Dahon’s distributor in the UK don’t make the specs readily available, even to Dahon stockists.
Double grr!