imabeliever1

Since the likelihood of finding an affordable Raleigh 20 is pretty slim, can those with HANDS ON experience , recommend any of the Dahon 20" 3 speed wheeled bikes?

Are there any to stay away from?
What about weak points with the Dahon design?

Also anyone have a picture of the Dahon Classic 3?


Thanks

Robert

James H Haury

I like my 20 inch boardwalk(a 6 modified to)7 .See if you can get a hold of a 2005 boardwalk single .It should cost right around 200 dollars. For a fixed wheel it is important that you have horizontal dropouts . in my opinion my boardwalk 7 handles well and the frame is stiff enough.The single as far as i can see is the same frame albeit with horizontal dropouts . Obtaining a Boardwalk single should make conversion to a fixed wheel easy.All projects seem to have little glitches which must be worked out in my experience, so do not become discouraged.Also go to the Dahon bike forums and pose your question there. I have two 16 inch fixies and a 14 inch, but have not modified a 20 inch into a fixed wheel. I think the single will present the least amount of complications for you and still have a modern stiff frame at the lowest cost.I recommend you determine the rear triangle width of the single and then see what Bike nashbar has available in the way of single speed and flip flop hubs.You may be able to go with a flip flop and have a 2 speed or possibly even use a double chainring for a 4. Also check q bike for a used single or 3 speed you can convert.These should be able to be converted to a fixie with a minimum amount of trouble as the rear dropouts should be about the same for a 3 as a single. You can do a single with a derailluer frame but i do not think you can do a fixie with a good chain line without extra work.My fixies work well enough but none have a lockring, lock tite does that job for me .I might be able to fix that with the judicous application of extra cash. Unfortunately i do not posess this useful tool in sufficent quantity at this time .I have a classic three converted to fixed(16"best chainline, more money invested than the roll n fold) a roll n fold (14" this is my least expensive fixie with a very good chainline) and a 16 inch yeah.This is the most expensive ,as it started as a 6 became a 7 and then a fixed.It has a decent chainline and,I am applying some dinero ( As small of an amount as possible)at REI to try to make an okay chainline better.That is my experience .I hope you can benefit by it. Check e Bay or the pictures section of dahon forums to see a classic three .I think there are two kinds one with a three piece crank and one with a one piece also i have seen one in stainless steel. I recommend the one piece crank as on sunday while riding to church the bolt fixing the right crankarm fixing bolt kept coming loose.The right crankarm pivots for folding and the bolt kept working out. I therefore had to keep stopping to tighten it. Do not worry about the wieght of the one piece as opposed to the three piece the three piece is a heavy beast and probably wieghs as much as the one piece anyway.The one piece should give you less trouble .You will need a folding pedal if you decide to purchase a classic three though.

folder fanatic

I too was thinking about attempting to locate a Twenty to clean up and use as a folder in my bike collection. I wanted another internal geared hub bicycle that was dependable. I chose not to go that route due to the possibility of not locating the parts since that make is not manufactored anymore. I instead chose a very simple Dahon Boardwalk one speed to convert to a three speed. This proved to be much more satisfactory to me since the bike basically reflected the technological improvements that happened over the last 30 or so years (lighter weight, improved handleing characteristics, improve frame sizing, available parts, improved quick released latches) and yet still had the best of the old Twentys (sturdy, dependable, non-derailleur orientated, minimalist steel frame that can be easy to bend and repair-within safe reason to accept whatever enclosed rear hub you want.) This is a great bike to modify and play out your bike fantasies on!

Sincitycycler