My friend Robbie is no slouch on a bike. He is a former Mass-Rhode Island district road race champion, he has been beaten by the likes of Steve Bauer and Davis Phinney. The man can always get on a bike and haul ass, he always will. He drove by two days ago and was hot to go for a ride. I looked in his car to see only cycling shoes, a helmet and a small lumpy bag, he removed the bag from the car and looking like an off-duty magician, pulled out what appeared to be the remnants of a bad kid's-bike-versus-snow-plow accident but was instead, a Dahon. A Folding Bike unlike any folding bike I've ever seen. This magic trick continued as he unfolded this little transformer into the most unlikely thing that would still fall under the definition of €bicycle.” Everything was hinged and telescoped and yet it had a serious racing saddle on it. To my eye this was an inexpensive, carbon fiber free, heavy duty-commuting machine.
Robbie is an old school racer who rode a fixed gear track bike everywhere in the off-season to improve his spin. He rode his track bike through the Callahan Tunnel in Boston, a highly illegal feat I suspect never done before or after, for every reason.
But I digress.
Now he prefers to get across NYC on bike rather than wait for the next crowded subway car but his commute into NYC requires a trip on the Long Island Railway and having wrenched his back man-handling his regular bike around, by necessity, dove into the world of miniature bikes. Robbie is also a silversmith and unafraid to work some metal. This Dahon is now a fixie and to make it a smaller package it needed smaller 14€ wheels, which meant a larger chainring, which meant a modified chainstay, which meant a modified shorter front fork, one thing leads to another you understand.
We did go for a demonstration spin. His position on this bike is his regular road position in the drops. He easily whipped up to 23mph and claims he has hit 35mph on this contraption. With the tiny wheels he could draft me so close he could put his hand forward and touch me. Road riders are quite horrified to be unable to get rid of Robbie and his clown bike on a 40-mile ride. The bike can be checked at a coat check! He rides much more now because he always has this portable bike that is fun, fast and safe to ride.
This has changed my thinking. I always assumed the S and S coupling of a standard bike was the only serious way to get portable. I guess it's my 700C paradigm. It's nice to see it from another angle.
[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo%20Galleries/j.andrews3@comcast.net/Folding%20Bike%20Photos/”/]
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@Rob, @Andrew
It's so fucked. It is so fucked. I love the matching blue cranks. I think this thing defies The Rules. Kinda like when we land on one of Jupiter's moons and some slimy pustule rolls up to us, pulls out a pen and paper and draws a picture of a puppy, we'll be like, "That defies explanation." It's pretty much the same thing.
What is really unsettling is that my road bike shows about the same amount of seatpost.
The MTB cranks were a gift from a friend who helped with the gearing, he had them on his shelf and since they matched was kind enough to donate them to the cause.
What's cool is that there are so many equipment choices these days one can put together many different configurations. This seat post combo is more about getting the smallest fold thus the big to little post with the quick release - more weight but a necessary compromise.
I would make one of these with 14" wheels for an even smaller fold but that does not work from 2 points - one the gearing, you would need a 60+ tooth chain ring to get a decent gear (this one is 56X12 X 16" wheels = 71 gear inches) and that messes with the folding and two as far as I know you can't get good 14" rims and tires. This bike has bulletproof 16" wheels and high-pressure tires.
Lovin' it! My current commuter/everyday-get-around-with-the-kids bike is a five- or six-year old Montague. It's a legitimate hardtail MTB, but thanks to a quick-release on the top tube, it folds in half along the seat tube (so it doesn't compromise the bike's structural integrity). Bit on the heavy side, but it's one tough machine, gets a lot of looks and comments, and I've never been dropped with it out on the trails. And it fit in the trunk of my car and/or a small closet when we lived in Center City Philly. These days, I don't fold it much, but it still provides a great ride and I've never thought of replacing it.
Yes folding is cool and the technology only gets better, lighter and stronger. I have been seriously pounding around on the Dahon for two years now and have had no problems. I can't wait for the next generation.
I heard they were going to start making the Dahons in the Philippines. They're going to call it the Manilla Folder.
@Cyclops
Shut the front door!
nicely done, have a similar sweatpea conversion myself, I made it left side drive side in order to put a decent chainring on and maintain a good chainline, how do you find the chainline as your running it?
@Rob
thought you might appreciate
sam
@shall
Sam, that is the urban camo stealth folder! That left side drive is clever, is the fold the same with it and is it the image or is that a mono fork?? I did some cutting and welding to fit the 55 chainring on what gear are you running and I assume it's fixed? Where are you using it and do you have a bag for it?
By the way this article has been buried since Cyclops's lame joke and not many know how badly I (now we) transgress the Rules so I hope this does not jeopardize my standing and participation in the 200 on 100?
@Rob
Hell no! We need all the wind breaking fodder we can get! Although if you're riding one of those foldies, it is going to be a looonnnggggg day, Brother.