Folding Bikes - Custom Downtube FS - It's ALIVE!!

After a long winter and months of staring at it I've finally finished my upgrades and customizing my FS. Some were for looks, others were for function.
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/5993/dsc03892ux9.jpg
I had to chage up rims and hubs when I went with disk brakes. I hand built the wheel set on my own, figuring out spokes lengths and the learning the technique of lacing off Sheldon Browns site.
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/9936/dsc03888nh4.jpg
The AVID Disk Brakes are AWESOME. Never had brakes that could lock up so easily with minimal fussing on setup.
Next was the bullhorn bars and brakes and shifters. I personally do not favor grip shifters so went back to Shimano XTR thumbshifters.
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/32/dsc03887vp8.jpg
So far it seems to work ok with the stock JuJu M90 RD. The XTR Dual Shift/Brake combo is pretty trick.
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/7892/dsc03886cp0.jpg
Decided to go with some BMX slicks to round of the project.
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/3628/dsc03889jy9.jpg
Hope to put in plenty of miles on this one this summer. And just in time for our City's pending Transit Strike!!:eek:

Norman

Congratulations bike looks great and disc brakes are ideal. I don't normally like yellow (subjective of course) but your scheme and colour combo really is very appealing. Well done and best wishes using your bike after so much input! Proof of the versatility and upgradeability of the Downtube bike.

<------- drools

Thanks for sharing, its looks awesomely nice!

The XTR shifter thing is slick. What is the diameter of a bull horn bar by the ends? Is it the same size as a MTB flat bar?

That is sweet.

Awesome.. Considering a Downtube for my second folder.

Mmm blue anodising... :)
Sweet ride - you must keep just sitting looking at it...!

Great job! You've turned the humble Downtube FS into a super blingy glamor bike!

Hey All!

Thanks for the kind words! I may not be totally finished as of yet. I know, I may have already gone overboard customizing this ride but it's my nature to change and tweak things to make it my own. I'll be looking into a larger crank and chainring set and a rear shock with adjustable dampening.

invisiblehand (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=31812) - the bullhorn handlebars I got are just a tad bigger than regular MTB bars. Belief me, I wrestled each brake levers to get them on. But after some sanding down on both the bar and clamps on the brake levers I got them in. This part of the upgrade held me back the longest.

LittlePixel (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=18327) - Naw, gotta ride! No time to sit no more. I'm hoping to get myself up to shape to take on the 75km Annual "Ride for Heart" charity this year. Also to ride the 8km to work everyday. :D ..and it's mostly uphill *GASP*

SesameCrunch (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=37229) - Yes, the Downtube is already a very cool looking riding machine. At a great price to start with most anyone can add their own custom bits' and bobs'.

Cheers Everyone!!

Norman

i really like the disc brakes. how much did you spend on all the upgrades?

removing the DOWNTUBE badges is a nice touch also.

Mmm disc brakes - I would be very keen on those...

I hear you about the long winter and "months of staring"...
but I'm only just beginning my own upgrade project :(

Well done! Very sharp looking bike!
I'll keep an eye out for you on our lovely cratered roads. ;)

I will see you at the 75K ride for sure!... except I'll probably try to push 100 or more again. (You just go round again. It's like the carousel... no one makes you get off! Until like noon or something...)

I'm affraid this post is not good to my right hand. I just keep scrolling up and down. Non-stop. And again...

Amazing picture. If you ever go to hawaii, a picture of this bike next to that highly modified downtube we had here a while back could be the cover of a high end bicycles magazine.

Congratulations on your creation!

14R (still wondering about a Brooks saddle)

That is mad cable routing... ;)

That's a damn impressive bike. How do the bullhorns affect the fold?

Thank you for the compliments, folks!

mbnz230 (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=98093) - How much was all the upgrades? More than enuff to get another Downtube FS for sure. The wheels set alone would cover it. As far as "de-badging" the bike it's nice and clean, giving it a more custom look me thinks.

4cmd3 (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=60525) - Yes, if you see me at the ride do come by and say Hi. I may be in need of a tow at the 20km mark... LOL! Cable -wise it is maddening!! Not sure if it's the best configure but it's out of the way (or should I say 'way out') Have to tuck the rear derailer cable each time I unfold the bike. That's the one doing a dippity-doo under the folding hinge.

14R (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=25040) - Another custom Downtube? Ooooooo! Any pics of it? I'd like to see what the other person did.

x136 (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=67201) - Luckily the bullhorns do not affect the fold at all. Imagine my rage after killing myself to wrestle the brake levers on??? LOL! I did adjust the angle of the folding handlebars earlier so that the bars would tuck in a little tighter. Also I find the wheels do not sit parallel to each other so it's a bit of a challenge to roll folded. I'm sure I can readjust it tho'.

Darn, and it's raining today.... :(

Cheers!!

Norman

A very nice bike .Do I detect a bell?You might be able to keep up on early morning club rides with that( with the scorchers)Oh one last thing appropriate fenders are available from Gaerlan custom bikes and Bike friday for dealing with April showers.

Nice ride Arch!... I'll yell out at ya, if I see you in Toronto. BTW, damn those discs look mean.

James H Haury (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=27237) - Sharp eyes there James. Yes that's a bell mounted on the inside of the rear brake lever. Perfect reach with my thumb. I've been working on making my own fenders......FROM CARBON FIBER!! Just gotta find the materials and time. Thinking of really close, wheel hugging fenders.

psykoocycle (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=77844) - Yeah, I like the "Radial Saw" design. Pretty cool. Hmmm, maybe if I sharpen the edges.....

James H Haury (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=27237) - Sharp eyes there James. Yes that's a bell mounted on the inside of the rear brake lever. Perfect reach with my thumb. I've been working on making my own fenders......FROM CARBON FIBER!! Just gotta find the materials and time. Thinking of really close, wheel hugging fenders.

psykoocycle (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=77844) - Yeah, I like the "Radial Saw" design. Pretty cool. Hmmm, maybe if I sharpen the edges.....

I thought that it was against the law to have a bell on a bike with carbon fiber ... ;)

I thought that it was against the law to have a bell on a bike with carbon fiber ... ;)

Nah, that's only for the Roadie Forum - OCP Division :p.

to the OP, u live in toronto, do you see a lot of folders around?

btw, that is a heck of a bike, I must see this in real life sometime.

trueno92 - Haven't really noticed a whole lot of neat folders. But I haven't been hitting the bike trails yet.

invisiblehand - Ring-a-Ding! "Don't be hating" on bells and yellow shorts :D:D:D

:lol:

I live in Toronto and I see quite a number of folders, both 16" and 20"

- saw one going up Mount Pleasant (kudos but are you insane! - the part between St. Clair and Bloor)
- many many going along the Lakeshore path out to the Beaches
- folding bike out in Liberty Village area
- folding bikes downtown at like King between say Duncan and University
- folding bikes on the lakefront park/paths to the west along the lake towards Palace Pier/Humber
- a Jetstream going under Gardiner south of the Dome

Honestly I see a lot of Avenir, which make me go "Meh" but I get a special glow when I see another true Dahon. I have never seen anyone with a Speed Pro that I recall... and only once have I see a fellow Dahon Helios rider. He smoked me. But this time I am ready... ;)

I have also seen Raleigh 20's... I guess they never die...
:)

Which bullhorn handlebars are those? I like the downward curve of them.

fmattheus - Try the link below. Those are the exact handlebars I bought.

http://cgi.ebay.com/BIKE-TIME-TRIAL-TRIATHLON-BULLHORN-AERO-HANDLEBAR-BAR_W0QQitemZ170214815408QQihZ007QQcategoryZ27951QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

Cheers!

Norman

Archer I was thinking same thing in terms of adding disc brakes to a FS... I need full wheel set to add disc rotors? Is there a cheap way to do that? I'm looking at Avid BB7 mechanical discs which will run around $100 for the set... so I need new hubs and wheels I guess?

Hey KLAW.

Yes, as I discovered AFTER I received my AVID BB7 Disk brake set I needed a new set of hubs and rims. The new hubs are specific to mounting a disk hub. For some reason I thought the disk would attach to the spokes of an existing wheel. If you can find a set of disk hubs with the same number of hole as your existing rim then your good to go. All you may need then is a new set of spokes as there is bit of an offset on the rim to compensate for the disk rotor. BUT I couldn't find a disk hub with 24 for the front rim and 28 for the rear. My current 32 spoke per wheel set is a lot stronger as you would want with a disk brake setup anyhow. The hubs I'm running are the A2Z hubs. They seem ok for now. Hubs will run you about $100 or less off the 'Bay'. Well worth the time, effort and money when you can stop lock 'em up hard.

HTH,

Norman

I live in Toronto and I see quite a number of folders, both 16" and 20"

- saw one going up Mount Pleasant (kudos but are you insane! - the part between St. Clair and Bloor)
- many many going along the Lakeshore path out to the Beaches
- folding bike out in Liberty Village area
- folding bikes downtown at like King between say Duncan and University
- folding bikes on the lakefront park/paths to the west along the lake towards Palace Pier/Humber
- a Jetstream going under Gardiner south of the Dome

Honestly I see a lot of Avenir, which make me go "Meh" but I get a special glow when I see another true Dahon. I have never seen anyone with a Speed Pro that I recall... and only once have I see a fellow Dahon Helios rider. He smoked me. But this time I am ready... ;)

I have also seen Raleigh 20's... I guess they never die...
:)

wow, the most folders i saw in one place was around the paths at center island.... MANY dahons.. easily the most popular.. more 16" than 20" and all owners said they paid around $500 for them, but then again, all these ppl also owned boats to take them on.

4CM: I think I saw you last year at Dundas and University... I've only seen one speed pro in TO.

TRU: Lots of folders, but for the most part the r20, the avenirs, lower Dahons and $99 chinatown specials rule the roost. Rarely do I see the fridays, DT, Birdy, Moultons... though there are quite a number of Brommies.

I have seen some wicked r20 fully modded going around.

im gonna create a thread in the EASTERN CANADA section for folders.. i gotta see modded folders - this is cool. the fact that we can source these parts in canada makes it even better.

$99 chinatown specials? pics please =) and where? the only thing i have seen around china town are stores now importing electric scooters!

how did you go about putting in the rear disc brakes? there are mounting screws on the front wheel but i dont see any to mount the disc in the rear wheel on my downtube 9fs. will just any disc brake set fit on our 9fs?

Hey MBNZ230!

Do you mean on the hub of the wheel or the frame of the bike? On the wheels you will require Disk Brake hubs with the mounting tabs for both the front and rear wheel. I made the mistake of buying the disk brake set only to find the OEM hubs on my 9FS was not compatible.

If you mean on the bike frame itself then the model year will be a factor in this one. Mine is a 2008 9FS. Earlier models may not have the tabs required for rear disc mounting.

Hope that helps!

Cheers,

Norman

thanks mine is a 2009 model, its got the tabs for the caliber(both front and rear), and the front wheel does have the hub for the disc but i just dont see the hub on the rear wheel for the disc. any ideas?? is there a special size disc brake that it will take??

Ahh, well that's one hub more than my 2008 model. Mine were regular hubs front and back.

You'll have to go out and buy a rear disc brake hub now. OR sell the front one and buy a matching set for front and back. That's pretty much what I did. I even built the wheel set myself. Quite a fun project actually. Not terribly hard.

Shimano has some affordable disc brake hubs you can find on ebay.

Cheers,

Norman

i just email yan for more info on the the spec of the disc size suitable for the 9fs. i hope he gets back soon.

The Downtube 2009 FS ( 9 speed full suspension) folding bicycle is here. Upgrades for the 2009 model include:
Cold forged cranks.
Sealed cartridge bottom bracket.
Upgraded Stem with tighter tolerances and auto closing ( no need to push a button to close it )
Disc compatible front hub & fork tabs. The above are in addition to the 2008 FS features:

Preload adjustable transarch suspension fork.
Alloy lower stem
Rear disc tabs
Lightweight and easy to fold alloy pedals.
Alloy and stainless frame and stem quickreleases
Machined sidewall rims
Lowest price 9 speed folder brand in the world, all others cost over $1000!
Carbon fiber look on the shifter and d�railleur
Adjustable angle removable faceplate stem
24H/28H spoked front/rear wheels for lightweight
1.5" front tire (lighter than 2006 1.75")
Replaceable 48T chainring
Stainless Steel spokesi just double check the spec and it doesn't say the rear hub is disc compatible. like you said i will have to change that out. but right now that seems like a pretty big project for me.

Hello. Just a question: will the discs be safe from deformities due to folding? Can you recommend a safety measure for protecting the discs, if your eye-candy bike already has done so? Planning for any future upgrade for any-very-near-future DT bike :)

R

$99 chinatown specials? pics please =) and where? the only thing i have seen around china town are stores now importing electric scooters!
Hello all!!! Got one of those Chinese import foldie. Not from Chinatown, but somewhere in Woodbine and Danforth. As for Archers Downtube FS, amazing bike. Tell me which trail you go to, I used to live in Scarb, but now in Pickering. I am usually at the Waterfront Trail near Ajax/Pickering.

Another custom Downtube? Ooooooo! Any pics of it? I'd like to see what the other person did.

Archer, nice work. As for the Maunakea bike ... nothing stock except the frame.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=229066&highlight=maunakea+bike

The next project was
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=240400&highlight=m.k+denza

Current project is adding a FD to a 2008 Cadenza-8, now that Shimano is making its own chain tensioner (CT-S500). Should be a good city bike.