Is there such a beast as a folding Road bike?

[NoelMc]

Folding roadie ? Sure.
First get rid of the hang-up that small wheels are slower/ inferior. (lighter, lower centre of gravity, less rotating mass).
Small wheels have smaller footprint. Skateboard wheels are capable of 100k/hr.
Tyres! The most important bit. Get the narrowest highest pressure tyre that fits your rim. I have Schwalabe 115psi 1.10in.
Make yourself comfortable if not racing. I dont use clip ins anymore, just nice wide comfy BMX.
Enjoy the ride- it is different.
My folding roadie is a Birdy. It folds at the ends, stem & seat post.
The unique thing is that where the wheels fold, there are nice little elastomer suspension blocks.
Yep a dual- suspension roadie.
It looks a bit weird at first till u get used to it.
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=birdy bikes&client=firefox-a&hs=yBY&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=3s-RUq2FLIKBiQf_t4DwAg&ved=0CDYQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=613
Happy adventuring, Twiz

 

[natsharm]

I've fitted drops + 700c wheels to a Dahon Jack/Espresso frame - No problems. I'm using this in London on sunny days...

The nice thing about this frame is that all the fitting points are standard, only the folding hinge is specific to Dahon... so minimal risk in my opinion for spares. My other bike is a Dahon Jack which I've used for over a year now, so I'm used to the frame and size.

Not sure if these pic links will work (here goes):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/77981342@N02/6999778160/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77981342@N02/7145844537/in/photostream/

Hi

I'm just about to buy components and build up a dahon/road bike like yours and would be very interested in the parts that you needed to convert it. I'm a first timer at building a bike but it should be fun if I can avoid novice pitfalls.

Do you still enjoy the Dahon bike you built?

 

[natsharm]

Just thought I'd post a couple of pics of the folding roadie that I've just converted from a dahon jack d7. Only the frame, saddle and post were kept from the original dahon, everything else has been replaced. Was doing this on a budget.....sora groupset has replaced the old sram bits. Really happy with this......been using it for my commute on the train for a week now and it rides great......a slightly different feel to my standard roadie but still smooth and quick. Many thanks to Schocca for the help and advice on parts.....much appreciated! Just need to get one of the small fixed dahon stands to protect the chainrings when it's folded and it'll be complete.

I'm thinking about converting a Dahon as well. Are you still happy with you folding road bike? Do you have a list of parts that you used and any other suggestions that can make my build easier. I'm new to all this but looking forward to the learning curve.

Nat

 

[Hacienda71]

Don't think either of them have been on the forum since Jan. You might be better sending them a PM which may send them an email alert.

 

[currystomper]

Here is another thought:- A Pacific Reach
http://www.foldsoc.co.uk/Mike/Reach_review.html

Difficult to get in the UK now though

http://www.pacific-cycles.com/

 

[Kempston]

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/montague/fit-folding-bike-ec051407

Stick some racing handebars on that and it's probably the closest you can get. There are other, cheaper alternatives by Montague that look the same too. My issue with Montague folders has always been that the front wheel needs to be removed to fold them properly. A foldup bike should never require part of it to be carried separately in my opinion.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

I'm new to all this but looking forward to the learning curve.

The key things to watch out for, include:
1) If the folder has flat bars with mtb/trekking rather than road components then the front mech and brakes are likely incompatible with drop bar sti, rear mech compatibility depends on #speed and make
2) If you want to be a purist and change 26" wheels to road 700c then you will also have to consider brake reach for rim brakes as well as rear dropout distance - flat bars are usually 135mm and road 130mm
3) the full size dahon folders need top pull front mech
4) putting drop bars on a flat bar bike will increase reach quite significantly - fit can become an issue if it was good before, although playing with stem length and angle can help
5) If you change the forks it affects brake choice, steering can be affected if you don't ensure the new forks' axle to crown distance is similar, and steerer length and diameter etc. become relevant

None of the above is insurmountable, just need a bit of care in picking components, but exactly what you need is of course dependent on the starting point as well as the end point.

I took a different route, changing everything on my Jack except frame and forks to make it lighter and slicker while robust, keeping the bars flat, the wheels 26", and Nx1.

 

[schocca]

Apologies for not checking this thread for a while - If you want to build your own Dahon Jack/Espresso road bike conversion, I have made a simple spreadsheet with the parts you may need...
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/94008535/Jack - going road (and black - lots of black).xls

This is mainly detailing Sora parts. (I initially used Tiagra 2012 10 speed on mine). The primary difference between a regular road bike group set is this:
1) Front D is a top pull device (a Shimano Cyclocross 2 ring FD can be used here)

I'm still riding mine and enjoying every minute - I have upgraded several components to Ultegra + Ultegra C24 wheelset - The wheel set massively improved the ride performance (you get what you pay for). Current mileage is 3500+ and should be adding another 1000 miles this year.

 

[currystomper]

The A Pacific Reach is not available in the UK any more.

But this may be an alternative if you OK with smaller wheels.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1844575826/vello-bike

One of the presenters of the tour de france (Phil Liggett) has / had a Pacific Reach.

Seems He had a Bike Friday too...

http://www.galfromdownunder.com/references/

All very similar bikes!!

One of the problems of small wheels is gearing, you need a whopping front sprocket, this can be over come using the over drive of a hub gear - so something like a dual drive https://www.bikefriday.com/userfiles/DualDriveManual.pdf

Also to echo the other comments, you need a good set of tyres and tubes, high pressure with flexible side walls. It was the horrible tyres that killed the step though bikes of the 70s.

......with the right tyres a Raleigh 20 can be a great wolf in sheep clothing!! :-)

https://hadland.wordpress.com/2012/06/24/raleigh-twenty-r20/

Cheers

CS