Old 01-09-12, 08:23 AM
  #19  
chagzuki
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Join Date: Jul 2008
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Bikes: Brompton, Dahon Vitesse D5

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With an aberhallo type stem (there are other brands available on ebay) angled forward you should be able to tilt the stem + bars upwards when you fold and it ought to all fit on the inside of the fold. In fact you have a range of options in terms of how you angle the aberhallo stem as you can increase or decrease the length (height) of the dahon stem ('handlepost' in their terminology) so that the aberhallo stem is as much in line with the brake levers as possible and therefore will be as flat as possible when folded upwards (downwards when the handlepost is folded down).

I agree that small wheeled bikes don't deal with bumps too well and so I tend to think that a less aggressive position is best with a sprung saddle or thudbuster seat post.

With Dahon bikes you've got to make sure the handlepost (stem) clamp is adjusted perfectly so that when closed there's no play in the hinge at all. The hinge clamp mechanism has changed over the years, post a pic if you want an explanation of how to adjust it yourself. The smallest amount of play in the hinge clamp will be felt as flex when you're riding but in fact a well adjusted / maintained Dahon ought to feel quite stiff, so long as you don't have your handlebars unusually high.
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