Folding Bikes - Stubborn as a Mu?

I have a Mu P 8 that I bought two months ago. I bought it for when I travel and so far it's been a delight in every respect save two.

1. It doesn't fold or unfold easily. The frame hinge is very stubborn and I always have to struggle with it to fold/unfold the bike. The YouTube videos I see make it look like it should easily fold/unfold but it takes me a lot of muscle and time. Is there some adjustment I can make to make it easier?

2. The seastpost slips. After a few miles I have to stop and raise the seatpost. Is this normal? I've tried tightening the clamp as much as I can but to no avail. I still get that sinking feeling when I ride. How can I adjust this?

Thanks for your advice!

** mp **
[also posted on the Dahon forum]

I've had the seat post problem with my Vitesse. The shim is clearly too small, and all I can do is use a lot of force with the clamp, but that means I can't entirely close the clamp and it catches on my trousers. Very dodgy.

About the folding/ unfolding - I have 2007 Mu P8 and the folding mechanism is super easy, the hinge is smooth and simple - if you have the 2007 maybe the hinge should be adjusted, if you own the 2008... mmm i am not sure... i remember trying to fold the 2008 at the shop and it was for some reason harder to fold than the 2007 .... the 2008 looks smother but folds harder IMHO.
I found it easier to twist down the handlebar and lift the post almost all the way up, When you fold the bike make sure the handlebar is close and parallel to the front wheel as possible.... also make sure the pedals are in the right position.... it should be fine... also, you may need to adjust the magnates if they are not staying together.
About the seat post, i am not sure... i didn't have that problem but if you need to stop every few miles something is not right.

T

MU SL owner - if the fold is stiff, you need to either take it to your local LBS/Dahon stockist to fix, or do what I did which was just chuck a load of lube in the frame and then by muscle power open and close the frame until it was opening and shutting a lot more smoothly.

In relation to the seat post - you need to tighten the clamp by turning the disc side until it forms a tighter clamp. The only other thing I can suggest would be to clean your seat post and the inside of the frame where the seat post fits in case you've got some crap in there.

There is probably more advice you can find on the dahon.com forum site too - just go to technical or do a search.

Cheers

Get some Ritchey friction grease for the seat post. Makes a big difference.

Wouldn't that just smear when the bike is folded & end up on your hands/clothes when carrying?

Wouldn't that just smear when the bike is folded & end up on your hands/clothes when carrying?

Surely it must.

Good point. Use very sparingly, only near the clamp, on the inside of the seat tube. Don't put any on the post itself. The amount of grease you get in a tiny bag goes a very very long way.

I found that if you clean the post really well, it will stop the post from going down. I think that over time, the post makes indentations in the post that hold it up.

I do not have a Dahon but remembered see a upgraded replacement seatpost shim and seat clamp. They are on the Gaerlan cycle web page http://www.gaerlan.com/dahon/misc.htm They are less then $10 us each. Maybe they would help the problem?

interesting. apparently i either need to add friction grease or clean the post. or maybe a new shim. i'll try cleaning the post first. it doesn't appear i have a shim, or it's not obvious if there is one. equally irritating to me is that i have to muscle the bike open and closed when folding. i was hoping there would be a simple adjustment but it sounds like a return visit to my LBS is in my future.

** mp **

cheapo solution to the seatpost problem is.... get some gaffa tape and tape it together as much as you can but then you cant drop the seatpost when folding it and the tape is a pain to get off :D

I've measured the ID of the shim and OD of post and there's a 0.1mm difference. I don't know if that's considered standard, but it seems functionally to be slightly too large. Something like 0.06 would be better.

I'm going to make my own seat post extender in the next few weeks so I can use a standard suspension seat post. I reckon it'll be cheaper to make than to buy the telescoping seat post, and besides, nowhere stocks it in the UK. Should I decide to stick with the standard seat post I may try adding a bit of thin tape around the outside of the shim to tighten the fit, though getting it out in the first place looks tricky.

In the process of getting ready to remove the shim I've put lube between the shim and frame (the shim is really firmly wedged). Lo & behold, the clamp is working nicely now. Seems the problem was that the shim wasn't able to contract and distribute the force evenly around the seat post. Problem solved.

In the process of getting ready to remove the shim I've put lube between the shim and frame (the shim is really firmly wedged). Lo & behold, the clamp is working nicely now. Seems the problem was that the shim wasn't able to contract and distribute the force evenly around the seat post. Problem solved.

This is pretty interesting because my shim is too big (too thick) for some reason the seatpost doesn't go in easily at all...
I have got 2 Mu p8, one is totally fine and the other one is giving me a very hard time... i am wondering if this is something to do with the seatpost. I also pulled out both shims and they look different, the upper side looks different... very weird, i am not too impressed.. i have informed my dealer and he contacted Dahon, they told the dealer that there is only one type of shim they use, so i took some pictures and the dealer sent it to Dahon... you can clearly see they are not the same, now i am waiting to hear from Dahon.

equally irritating to me is that i have to muscle the bike open and closed when folding. i was hoping there would be a simple adjustment but it sounds like a return visit to my LBS is in my future.

** mp **

put some lube in all hinges / mowing part and then mowe them for some time like somebody said. Is there nothing about this in the manual?