My fastest folding bike!

The Dahon Speed Pro - surprising slower roadies!

24 Speed Dual SRAM Drive - all the gears you ever need!

My mango orange Dahon Speed Pro has been lend out to Chris and Paul, two very experienced and powerful riders recently. I'm usually very guarded with my foldies esp this beauty but I wanted Paul to try it out and more importantly, do a friendly challenge with a young roadie friend of mine who remains very skeptical about the performance of small wheels.

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Unfortunately, due to this and that, the friendly ride did not happen but Paul was so blown away with its performance that he bought a brand new 07 Speed Pro. I finally got it back a few days ago and took it for my Sat morning ride with my cycling kakis.

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I have forgotten how fast this orange speed demon is. Just coming down Anak Bukit pass BT Plaza, I was registering nearly 50kmh without really trying. Along BT road, 30-32kmh is easy and I managed to draft a fast roadie doing 37-38kmh, surprising him. Along Mandai Rd, I have clocked a personal best of 61.8kmh (the record at Dahon Riders is 63+kmh). Just in case I give the impression that the SP is as fast as a roadie, let me say its NOT. Its about 10% slower, save for acceleration and hills where small wheels have an advantage, and 1000% more practical than a roadie in terms of storage, security and the wonderful ability to go into the MRT/bus/taxi or car.

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Its too bad Dahon has stopped production of the Speed Pro but the SP TT (drop bars version) continues. But that only means my baby has instantly become a collectors item. Its definitely a keeper!

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.* lovely pics courtesy of Chris Wee