Nice conversion - it seems you have implemented what I suggested as possible in
post 13 of this thread!
Questions: 1) Did you have to use long drop brakes? 2) Since it seems they are standard factory road wheels how did you handle the road hub width (130mm) vs rear dropout distance (135mm*) difference? 3) Is the Espresso frame smaller than your Jack's given the significantly extended reach of drop vs flat bars?
Welcome to the forum BTW!!
* that is the case for my Jack, but it might be different to yours due to difference in vintage
Ha, yes you definitely did mention the idea before I bought the Espresso frame. Ok, some background... before Xmas, I saw cheap Espresso and Jack frames on
Ebay - considering the Tern/Dahon issues in play, I thought it wise to buy a spare frame for my Jack (which is an excellent bike BTW) in case the worst happens.
So now I'm tripping over the frame whenever I go into the garage and I'm thinking - can I make a road bike out of this? 4 months later and a load of bike bits are sitting in the house ready to be built up.
The frame
I like the Espresso frame over the jack as it's just laquered alu, I have a 2004 Dahon Presto Lite in the same style and recognised that scuffs are less visible with the bare frame colour. The Jack has this matt black colour, which easily scuffs. As it's Alu, it's pretty light (I'll mention the final bike weight later on in the post).
The kit
To answer some q's:
1) Brakes - I do have long drops on the rear (front brake long drops with the long bolt). The front forks are carbon road forks, so long drops not needed for the front callipers.
2) It has 700c Shimano Road wheels (cheap from Ebay) - 130mm. The frame is 135 dropout, but it easily compresses to 130mm with the QR sqrs. To be honest, the frame seems to sit without the wheel with a 133 dropout distance - so either way - running at 135 would push it out and 130 would compress. Me and the LBS seem to agree that this seems to work ok.
3) The frame is the same medium frame size as my Jack - no problems with reach on the drops (but I am using FSA compact bars).
I've got a cheapish 2012 Tiagra groupset that I sourced from Ebay, long drop brakes for the rear, SDG seatpost and I'm reusing my Dahon SDG saddle from my Presto Lite to maintain the budget. The pedals are detachable MKS Promenade's with PowerGrips - but I may swap these over to clips later on...
As the frame is a MTB frame the front derailleur needs to be a top pull unit, so purchased a Shimano Cyclocross CX60 FD (which is compatible with the Tiagra groupset).
Weight
- With the finished bike, the weight comes in around 10.2Kg. It can go lighter with different components, but I wanted sturdy components and to see how it rode first (i.e. minimal use of carbon). As a comparison, my Jack with commuter bits weighs in around 14.5Kg, so the weight difference is noticeable.
Ride
- It's definitely comfortable - much better than a road bike I owned in the nineties. I suspect that the carbon forks and the hinged frame design have an effect here. It also seems to accelerate faster and need less effort to keep moving than my Jack. From this project, I'm now thinking about changing the wheels on my Jack to a lighter 26" wheelset.
Folding
I've fitted the Espresso/Jack bottom bracket stand for sitting the bike when it's folded. Which means it can sit in the garage or train without damaging the big chainring. Additionally, it seems to sit neatly without falling over.
