Folding Bikes - New to the f-bike crowd

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olie05
06-15-08, 08:11 AM
Hello everyone!

I just purchased my first folding bike here in China. It's a very lightweight bike, with an interesting polyurethane type damper system instead of the traditional spring-damper setup.

Already I want to upgrade it so I thought I would come here first!

Where can i get a longer seat tube? The one that came with the bike is not long enough.

Also would anyone recommend switching to 16" wheels from the 14" that came standard on this bike? The rear will easily clear a 16" wheel and a different fork can accommodate a 16" wheel in the front. The 14" wheels are not giving me the gearing I want.

OOh. and the gearing. I think its something like 40 gear inches. 14" wheel, and 46x16. Its pretty sad. The gearing is the first thing to go.

anyway i have included some pictures in this post. I hope someone can point me in the right direction in finding vendors for the parts I seek.

thanks!!!

Lalato
06-15-08, 09:22 AM
That's a cute little bike. Have fun with it.

As for the seatpost... you can find options online as well as at your local bike shop. Measure your current post and go from there. If it's just off by a little, you might try getting a sprung saddle or some kind of seatpost suspension. If it's off by a lot, a new seatpost is in order.

I don't know anything about gearing... I'll let others comment on that.

--sam
snafu21
06-15-08, 09:38 AM
Will the rear brake still work if you put a 16" wheel on the bike? Although plenty say the front by itself can provide 100% of your daily braking requirements...

James H Haury
06-15-08, 10:51 AM
I think it might be easier to change the crank but it sounds like you can do both.I run a 53T crank on my 14" rollnfold with a 13t fixed rear cog and use a sprung saddle.Your bike offers more possibilities than mine.
olie05
06-15-08, 11:13 PM
The rear brake will be useless if i change to a 16" wheel, unless I weld in some bosses on the top of the fork (not entirely out of the question)

I was thinking about going fixed on this one, but I'm abit nervous about bieng fixed on such a flexy bike. My steel fixie is stiff as hell... on this bike, the handlebars flex if you put too much juice through the cranks. :(

I would rather have a longer seat post, and a lighter saddle down the line. I prefer weight savings over comfort, especially since the rear is already sprung.

thanks for all the comments! Keep em coming!