Dahon Matrix

05-04-2004, 03:27 PM

Hello.

Some time ago I decided I should buy a touring bike. I want to ride
more than I do now.
I started looking for carriers for my car...
After some search I concluded it'd be much cheaper and practical to
buy a folding bike than to buy a nice touring bike plus the car
carriers. And I could easily take a folding bike in a train, bus or
plane and ride the bike (almost) anywhere!

At first time I only found the Brompton bikes. They are nice and
beautiful but... for city, not for touring. I think my choice would be
a 26" wheel bike.

For long time I thought there wasn't such a bike like the one I wanted
until... I found "Dahon Matrix".

I found a dealer and tried the bike in a 5 minutes test. Although the
drive test was so short I was marvelled with the bike.
The only problem is that, here in Portugal, the price is more than
twice the web price!

A friend of mine told me that wouldn't be a problem because her
father, who is also (in a social accepted way) bike addicted, flies
regularly to the US and he could bring me the bike!!! More, in the US
he buys tons of stuff (to his remote controlled cars and helis shop)
which are shipped later, so, the bike would come with his order so...
no shipping costs to me!

Do you think Dahon Matrix is a good choice? I'm particularly
interested in long bike rides and will probably adapt panniers to the
bike.
The local dealer told me they do not give technical assistance to
Dahon bikes which are not bought through them, should I be worried?

Is Dahon "Airporter Suitcase" a good option to ship my bike home?
I could also use it to transport the bike in my car trunk whenever I
went out for weekend. Is it really worth?

I'd like, also, to read some experienced Matrix users opinion about
the bike.

Thanks.
-Z-