Folding Bikes - dahon vitesse, from derailer to internal gear conversion??

dear all,
I just acquired a used dahon vitesse, equipped with a 6 speed derailer.
I am planning to convert this into an internal geared hub, just for the sake of a cleaner look.
as I searched the web, it seems that this version of mine is not on the us nor global dahon catalog.
but I see available was a d3 d5 version with internal gear (In Indonesia, I haven't seen them)
What I want to ask is: how does dahon do it? If my frame has a vertical drop out, what do I do with chain tension? I guess horizontal drop outs is best for singlespeed, FIXED, and internal geared hubs.
I feel reluctant to add some more weight by adding a chain tensioner.
also: the hub I already bought prior to the bike, is a sram t3. with a COASTER brake. I am planning to remove all the v brakes. Has anyone done this? How NOT recommended will this set up be? ( I hear noise coming.............)

Please help, dahon vitesse owners!!!
thanks in advance...

tedi k wardhana

-transport, not sport-
-commute, not race-
-vehicle, not toy-
-not just weekends-

just saw the pictures from another thread.
Mu uno!! (look ma, no brakes!!!!)
hope I can do the same to my vitesse.
(I am not a idea-hijacker, I guess I already had this thought a while back)

Tedi,

To begin with, you might also take a look at the forum community on the Dahon board for more thoughts and advise. I have a USA Dahon Vitesse D7, and have some literature from Europe from a recent business trip. Don't remember seeing a D6, but that's not to say that such a beast couldn't have been built at some time in the past.

On the subject of conversion, a few things come to mind.

Swapping hubs will require new spokes, as the flange diameters & dishing will be different. That's worth around $25 USD, and you will need some exact measurements to get this right. There is a program called SpoCal on Sheldon Brown's site that I used when making a hub change recently.

The dropout spacing will be different going from a cluster to an internal hub. Some of the 3 speed hubs are as small as 110 mm, and you are probably a bit above that now. Aluminum doesn't like to be cold worked - it tends to crack rather than bend. Spacers may be in order. If the dropouts are truly vertical, you will be dealing with either luck or a tensioner to get the chain tight.

You will need good anti-rotation washers on the hub. This was a problem on some Dahon models with internal hubs. I'm really not sure what the whole issue was on this. And you will need a new shifter & cable arrangement.

I can see possibly dropping the rear handbrake, but please (!) keep the front. Proper technique for shortest distance stopping requires modulation of both the front and the rear brake.

dear all,
I just acquired a used dahon vitesse, equipped with a 6 speed derailer.
I am planning to convert this into an internal geared hub, just for the sake of a cleaner look.
as I searched the web, it seems that this version of mine is not on the us nor global dahon catalog.
but I see available was a d3 d5 version with internal gear (In Indonesia, I haven't seen them)
What I want to ask is: how does dahon do it? If my frame has a vertical drop out, what do I do with chain tension? I guess horizontal drop outs is best for singlespeed, FIXED, and internal geared hubs.
I feel reluctant to add some more weight by adding a chain tensioner.
also: the hub I already bought prior to the bike, is a sram t3. with a COASTER brake. I am planning to remove all the v brakes. Has anyone done this? How NOT recommended will this set up be? ( I hear noise coming.............)

Please help, dahon vitesse owners!!!
thanks in advance...

tedi k wardhana

-transport, not sport-
-commute, not race-
-vehicle, not toy-
-not just weekends-


You can do it without a chain tensioner, but you need to juggle the chainring/sprocket combo and perhaps incorporate a half-link for the chain to attain proper tension .. otherwise, you'll need a chain tensioner (singulator or the like) or change to an eccentric bottom bracket to allow precise chain tension.. here's my JetXp (vertical drops) at one point in it's life..

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1304/726768307_b340b9739c_o.jpg

Another point: You can't use a coaster brake with any kind of chain tensioner.

Another point: You can't use a coaster brake with any kind of chain tensioner.

How very true! I had to think about this for a minute in order to see the obvious.

If you loosen the hub, the chain will come right off. Then you simply have to loosen the spring flange.
It shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to get it apart.

A rough measurement of the dropout spacing measured at lunchtime shows around 125 mm (one and a half photo ID cards, or so...). Not as wide as I thought it would be, but still wider than the last internal 3spd with coaster hub I mounted. I was thinking about a standard sized bike that would have been quite a bit wider.

Another point: You can't use a coaster brake with any kind of chain tensioner.

How very true! I had to think about this for a minute in order to see the obvious.

I had to think for a while too.
thanks!

so, we have come to a temporary conclusion, NOT to use a chain tensioner.
but the question still remains, and I hope vitesse d3/d5 owners can answer:

how does dahon officially do it?
does it mean that they make TWO versions of the frame?
one with a vertical drop out, the other with a horizontal one?
or they use eccentric bottom bracket?

You can disable the coaster brake, use a chain tensioner and use the T3 just for the gears.
See:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=272580&highlight=brake+coaster
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=259309&highlight=brake+coaster

Some hubs make dis-/reassembly difficult apparently, see:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=324142&highlight=brake+coaster

You might want to contact dober, he seems to know his stuff.