Dahon Cadenza Reviews

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The Dahon Cadenza which I bought in November 2008 is a good design but is let down by some poor components, especially the wheels. The Kenetix hubs are especially poor quality and are not sealed, which is a bad idea in Scotland where it is constantly wet! I was advised that the rear wheel straight radial pattern of spokes on the rear wheel would not last, so I had the rear wheel rebuilt when I bought it. The rear wheel has been replaced 3 times since November because of freewheel failure and the lack of standard freewheel components, the distributors replaced the hub with a bog standard replacements twice and on the third time the cycle shop owner who was so exasperated with the distributers service, replaced the hub with a shimano deore sealed unit, however after a holiday light touring the spokes pulled right through the wtb rims and the wheel was rebuilt for a fifth time with mavic 317 rims with reinforced double eyletted rims, the front wheel has been retrued 3 times and the bearings rusted up over the winter and had to be replaced. The bottom bracket has also worn out in 6 months and the gear and brake cables have been replaced as they constantly wear against the split cable guides under the frame, especially when the bike is folded. I take it in the car about 3 days a week. The cable guides should not be split so that the cables cannot squeeze out of them and get damaged. The gear hanger is also so weak that it frequently gets out of alignment which affects the performance of the shifting in lower gears. The front derailleur is also a poor design and has an inadequete return spring which rusts in winter and had to be steeped in oil to get it working again. The tyres are too thin for their intended town use and get cut easily and I have replaced them with larger tyres by Schwalbe which are much better quality.
On the plus side the bike handles well with stable steering and the long wheelbase suits the carrying of panniers. The biologic saddle it comes with is soft and rubbish and I have replaced it with a Brooks B17 Leather saddle.
The Folding aspect works very well but has had to be adjusted a number of times as the jaws of the split frame stop coming apart correctly after a while. I have a proper bag for it and I have taken it on the bus when my bike was in the garage. The bag is a bit big and hgeavy for touring so I improvised with a large garden furniture cover from a hardware store. This was very usefull when trying to get the bike on a train which was already had a full complement of bikes (4) The conductor let me take it as luggage.
I could take my bike on a train in Italy last year and this was one of the reason I got a folding bike. I wanted to buy a tournado but £1700 was way beyond my budget. If I was in the same position again I would reccvoment buying the Dahon Matrix Mountain Bike, as it looks better and has a wider range of gearing for every eventuality. The Cadenza has radial spoked wheels to presumable look trendy but these are a weakness. The whole wheel package is very poor and they should rather have shimano and mavic components and charge more for the bike rather than let the brand down with inferior components.

I hope that this review of my experience with the cadenza is usefull and I have tried to be as honest and objective as I can be about this bicycle.

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The Dahon Cadenza folds up like a dream, rides like a hybrid and really light!

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I like this Dahon Cadenza bike very much and find the convenience of being able to put it in the back of a car really useful. It is a bit large when folded to go on a bus. Folds easily; rides nicely and looks good.

Came supplied with loose spokes and needed cycle shop adjustment. Also to meet the terms of the guarantee it must have a checkout before riding. You will scratch the frame when folding, it is unavoidable that sometimes the pedal will collide with the frame. Bits were loose when it ...

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It's a shame that it's not built to a higher standard. I love having a 26" wheel folding bike, and is great to ride, but next time I'll look at getting an Animal