Folding Bikes - Persuade me to stop dithering and cut down my handlepost

I want the handlebar a bit lower on my Dahon for a sportier riding position. Therefore I have to cut down the handlepost a little. For no particularly rational reason I'm hesitant hesitant to do so, I guess because I'm permanently altering the bike. Lower handlebar will mean less flex - good. Do it you fool. Do it.

Do it , do it, that is what hot rodding is all about. If you dont like it, buy a new bar.

If you currently use your bars at the lowest point, you have nothing to fear. After cutting down the post, you'll always be able to raise it to get back to the point you use at the moment.

This is your D7HG we're talking about right? Simply cut down the bottom of the revolve stem then. It's what I did with my Mu.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joseff/sets/72157605937936133/

But then my wrists started hurting from the riding position... so I installed drop bars.

D5 unfortunately,

well, with a sudden undeniable burst of raw masculinity I whipped out the hand saw and hacked away. Bloody tough going, but it's all done now and I've shaved a massive 11 grams off the weight of my ride.

I've taken about 3 cm off but at the moment I can only put the bars down about 15mm as the handlepost Q/R tip hits the seat stay if I go any lower (higher when folded). Actually, I want a smaller q/r lever - any ideas what might work as a replacement?

That's mad the way your drop bars loop around the wheel, joseff. Does that pose any problems during folding; is it fidgety? I'm finding that the more I ride the more I want a dropped position.

Ah, and a Sugino crankset too. I'm going to have to upgrade soon.

You have a problem with the QR hitting the seatstay, I imagine it can't be worse than mine... my bike has fatter seatstays! In my case I took 6cm off the stem, and the lower I go (higher when folded) the farther the QR clears the left stay. There's room to go about 1cm lower, which by your reckoning should take 3 grams off the bike.

Folds fine, the magnetix latch actually works despite the fold pic suggesting otherwise. I went with the shortest-reach, shallowest-drop 25.4mm bar to clear the wheels. By happy coincidence, I don't need to raise the bar when folding. The right brake lever clears the frame/cables by just millimeters, thanks to the Mu's frame shape. Your Vitesse, with the straight (lower) main tube, might not accept this bar/lever combo. Consider bullhorns instead, and mount your shifter on a nitto lamp holder.

PS: If using TT levers, might have to swap V-brakes for mini-Vs

That physically small 18mm handlebar height adjustment has made a massive difference to the amount of flex in the handlepost. The bike feels much more like a bike now compared to the squash and stretch cartoon version of a bike it previously was.