Specifications: DaHon Tournado Cyclesense Road Test Price: $2,200. Price may vary Crank: Sugino XD2L 170 mm with Sizes available: 52, 56, & 60 cm 28/38/48 chainrings very fast wheel removal and insertion, and Size tested: 52 cm (measured as if top Front Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra triple The Dahon TournaDo are designed in a minimalist gram-shaving tube were horizontal) Rear Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra A fine new travel-bike option is now here for cycletourists manner. I applaud the Tektro R556 Weight: 23.10 pounds without pedals Brake/shift levers: Shimano Flight Deck sidepull long-reach brakes, with about 70 FRAME DIMENSIONS: with Tektro interceptor levers by John Schubert mm of reach from the fork-crown hole Seat tube: 19 1/4 inches (49 cm) (actual Cog cassette: Sram 11-12-13-15-17-19-21-23- to the bottom of the slots for the brake- tube measurement) 26, nine-speed mounting bolt. They have room for fend- Top tube: 20 1/2 inches Chain: SRAM 1/9 sheet, and I’m sure many of you will learn ers and a 700x35C tire. It’s a myth that Head angle: 70 degrees Gearing in inches: For well over a decade, the S&S coupler system to beat that with frequent practice. one needs to have cantilever or V brakes Seat angle: 73 degree 30 39 52 has been the darling of traveling cyclotourists who The Tournado’s custom Airporter on a touring bike, and many of us like the Chainstays: 17 1/4 inches 11 69 93 118 II suitcase has some leftover space for svelte profile of sidepulls. BB height: 10 5/8 inches 12 63 86 108 want to take their bikes on airplanes. Many people accessories, as do most bike suitcases The classic Brooks B-17 saddle, Front center: 23 1/4 inches 13 58 79 100 buy them, and satisfaction with S&S couplers has (Santana’s tandem-in-one-suitcase being matching Brooks leather handlebar tape, Fork rake: 2 (51 mm) 15 50 69 86 a notable exception), but it also sports a and pin striping on the frame evoke the Trail: 2 7/8 inches 17 44 60 76 been nearly universal. But now you have a choice. unique feature: at only 10 inches wide, bikes I rode when Kennedy and Johnson Wheelbase: 40 1/8 inches 19 40 54 68 A few years back, inventor/pioneer Tom Ritchey designed it’s a few inches thinner than most. They were president, and they speak of timeless Standover height: 30 1/2 inches 21 36 49 62 accomplish this by having a small bulge beauty. The copper plating on the saddle Frame & fork: Tange Prestige double- 23 33 45 56 what he calls the Break-Away system, which does virtu- with a plastic cap where the one protrud- rails is a gorgeous touch. The Tektro butted chromemoly alloy steel tubing with 26 29 39 50 ally the same thing as the S&S couplers. To summarize, ing object — the cog cassette — can interceptor brake levers acknowledge threaded bosses for two water bottles. bulge out. That little bulge allows a great the reality that we usually ride with our Eyelets front and rear for fenders and Saddle: Brooks B-17 leather the bike frame comes apart into two the down tube (the collar is flat black, and reduction in overall volume. And the hands on the tops of the handlebars and, racks. Slotted cable stops. NVO thread- Seatpost: Biologic Zorin Post Pump; one- pieces, so that after some additional disas- smaller than a front-derailleur seat-tube Airporter II has wheels. With the bike unlike the “brake assist levers” of an ear- less headset. Steel fork with classic forged bolt clamp; 320 mm long, 27.2 mm diameter sembly the entire bike fits into an airline- clamp) and the bottom end of the down inside (but no pedals) it weighs 35.16 lier generation, they are mechanically very fork crown and bosses for low-mount front Brakes: Tektro R556 sidepull legal suitcase. tube disengages from the bottom bracket. pounds. The bike itself (again, without good and they provide full braking force. rack. Vertical rear dropouts Pedals: supplied by the customer Ritchey’s road-bike business focuses That’s it — just like that, your frame is in the pedals) is 23.1 pounds — on the slim Close readers of the spec chart will Rims: Kinetix Pro 622 mm (700C) with ma- Bars & Stem: Ritchey Pro Biomax anatom- on racing bikes and no touring Break- pieces. The only assembly tool required is side for a touring bike. write and ask “what about those 32-spoke chined sidewalls. Measured width, 19.6 mm ic handlebars, 42 cm wide, with NVO stem Away was initially offered, but I wanted a wheels?” Indeed, I still ride on 36 spokes Spokes: 32, 14-gauge, cross-three Contact: touring-bike configuration to test. It took myself. But the Tournado wheels have Hubs: American Classic high-flange Dahon California, Inc. a few years, but I got one. Ritchey has a what appears to be high and uniform Tires: Schwalbe Marathon Racer with 833 Meridian Street licensing agreement with folding-bike pio- spoke tension from good factory wheel- reflective sidewall and generator strip; Duarte, CA 91010 USA neer DaHon, and DaHon manufactures building technology. Good materials and 35-622, 700x35C, 55 to 95 psi; measured Email: [email protected] the $2,200 Tournado for riders like us. quality wheelbuilding are more important width 31.9 mm www.dahon.com The difference between S&S and than spoke count alone. Break-Away is in some intriguing details. Loaded tourists will want to swap out enough (mine weren’t), you’ll have to I notice any ride difference from the fact S&S couplers are unobtrusive, with only the small chainwheel and a couple of the resort to a more humble (and shorter) that the frame comes in two? Absolutely those silver swellings on the frame tubes larger cogs to get lower gearing. The bike’s seat post to get the bike to fit. not. In fact, within a minute, I had com- to give it away, but the patented Break- stock low is 29 gear inches. We mature With the post question taken care of, pletely forgotten about that and was just Away system is almost invisible. A Break- folk get tired at the end of a long day and the 52-cm frame will accommodate a wide enjoying the ride. Away-equipped bike has two minuscule want low gears between 20 and 25 inches. variety of riders. The 20.5-inch top tube If you want a really gorgeous touring “tells” — there are two binder bolts on Another component that may raise an is as short as is commonly seen on bikes bike, the Tournado will make it onto your the seat lug (because there are really two ULERY KREG eyebrow or two comes from the “no good with full-size wheels, yet it’s not too short list. If you want a coupled travel bike, the seat lugs) and there is a tiny flange-and- deed goes unpunished” file. The Biologic for average-size blokes like myself. And Tournado is less expensive than the high- coupler system at the bottom of the down a common Allen wrench. Thoughtful touches abound. The Zorin Post Pump gets thoughtfulness the 56- and 60-cm frames will accommo- end handbuilt bikes that dominate the tube. Oh, and there are threaded splitters To actually fit the bike into the suit- handlebar stem adjusts up and down — a points for including a good quality air date really big people. coupled-bike market. DaHon and Ritchey on the brake and gear cables. case some additional steps follow: remove feature we thought we’d lost with thread- pump inside the seat post. And in what With 2 and 7/8 inches of trail and a are both very innovative companies, and To disassemble a Break-Away frame, the pedals, remove the handlebars, and less headsets. The drivetrain is a retrog- is usually a good thing, that post is extra 70-degree head angle, our test bike was their partnership in offering the Tournado you unscrew the two binder bolts and remove the wheels and quick release rouch 9-speed, the cable stops are slotted long. But since there are threaded bosses a touring rider’s dream: stable, predict- is something we are very glad to see. pull out the seat post. Now the top tube skewers. It’s all quick and familiar — or for easy disassembly, and, yes, there are for a water bottle on the seat tube, the able, and easy to control. Those big fat and seat tube are disconnected. Then you it will be after you’ve done it a few times. threaded bosses for rear racks and low- pump can’t be inserted any farther than Schwalbe tires gave a buttery-smooth Technical Editor John Schubert awaits your rebuttals unscrew the tiny collar at the bottom of DaHon says 15 minutes in their spec mount front racks. The dropouts allow the top boss. If your legs aren’t long ride on the gravel road where I live. Did at [email protected]. 32 a d v e n t u r e c y c l i s t j u n e 2008 adventurecycling . o r g a d v e n t u r e c y c l i s t j u n e 2008 adventurecycling . o r g 33.