tin

Wow, this is impressive. I'd love to see the finished product. Wish I had the skills for this type of thing. I could barely install the suspension seatpost on my boardwalk.

But my all time favorite mod is this one: https://forum.dahon.com/lofiversion/index.php?t7662.html

Wish I had one of those duomatic hubs on my boardwalk, but I wouldn't be able to install it myself. Wonder how much it would cost to have a bike shop install it, I'll need to go check it out. I love the simplicity of the boardwalk, I even considered taking off the front breaks, but then that would be dangerous. And this Mu Uno mod keeps it's simplicity while adding functionality.

Kevinator

I've been cruising around the neighborhood on my Boardwalk and its been really fun. Been waiting on parts and finally some showed up this week.

I finished lacing up my 2nd wheel ever.

Rim: Sun Big ****** - Stephen Murray ltd edition "Stay Strong", YELLOW 20x1.75 36h, stainless eyelets
Spokes: 178mm black Sapim 13/14 single butted spokes, 12mm black brass nipples, 3 cross lace
Hub: 100mm Sturmey Archer X-FDD Dynohub with drum brake, 36h
Tire: Scwalbe Big Apple 20x2.0

IMGA0176.jpgIMGA0177.jpg

I havent widened my fork yet, but will probably get to that tomorrow (steel is great). I'll ry to remember to get some photos of the fork because it may be different for various years, but this 2009's fork looks like it was made for spreading to 100mm. I actually think it started life out as a 100mm fork, and was bent into an hourglass shape and down to 74mm.
)(

I decided to get a different hub for the rear, so I'm waiting on a Nexus to show up so that I can lace up the rear wheel, which will also be using the same rim and spokes.

Kevinator

I did some slight bending today and made room for my new wheels. Here's some pictures of the test fitting. I did not fully tighten down the axle nuts because I still have to check alignment. Looks like unfortunately the front fender doesn't fit with the big apple 2.0 in there. I am not so sure i would of fit even if I hadn't widened the fork. I think it might be the wider rims.

Kevinator

This makes the boardwalk look like its begging to be converted to a SWB recumbentThis makes the boardwalk look like its begging to be converted to a SWB recumbent

kingfish254

Great mods. You should post them over on the Dahon forum.
https://forum.dahon.com/

I see that you call your bike a "Clown Bike". You will appreciate my "Clown Bike" photo below.
Ronald McDonald was at our park when I was riding around on a Dahon Mariner D7 (very much like a Boardwalk). I got him to pose on the bike for me. Shortly after this I used the fenders and rack for my Dahon Jetstream P8 and sold the Mariner on ebay.

Kevinator

Great photo with Ronald McDonald! I can truly appreciate that. My plan is:

Phase 1: Build cool clown bike
Phase 2: Find honest clown (will accept Jack in the box) who won't ride off with cool bike, to pose for photo (exclude self)

When I first started looking at folding bikes, my girlfriend called them "clown bikes". As cool as we know they are, who doesn't dream of making it through a loop-de-loop on one of these bikes.

Kevinator

Today I fitted the Alfine trigger shifter. Unfortunately there isn't enough room on the handlebar to fit a brake lever, Cyclone throttle, and alfine shifter. Even with longer handlebars, I don't think I would of liked that configuration.
IMGA0201.jpg


I had to mount it on the left side, like the 7 spd alivio triggers it replaced.
IMGA0210.jpg


I can't believe how easy it was to hook up the cable to the Nexus 8 hub. No adjustment was necessary. I just put the shifter in 1st, popped the end of the cable into the slot on the hub, and tested the shifting by playing with the triggers. I was surprised....felt like it was already adjusted. I threw on a chain and took it for a ride. Wow, it shifted perfectly! Smooth, quiet, and I was surprised how instant the shifting felt. Its my first internal geared hub, and I am very impressed with it.

The schwalbe big apples also worked great. They roll fast and do provide a much more forgiving ride. I have not hooked up the front drum brake yet, so the brake arm is just kinda hanging there for now.


IMGA0248.jpgIMGA0243.jpgIMGA0223.jpgIMGA0220.jpg


I still have to hook up the front drum brake, install the rear roller brake, and then try to fit the cyclone motor back on.

kamtsa

I like your choice of rim color. It adds nice accent to the bike.

Kevinator

Thanks! I knew I wanted yellow rims, but wasn't sure it would look good. I think it turned out well. I am hoping yellow rims scream "please don't run over my arse"

Kevinator

I had to do some grinding on the cyclone mounting bracket, but I got it to fit. There's duct tape around the mounting area of the frame right now because I didn't want to put too many scratches on it while trying to test fit everything. I have a decent chainline, but it could be improved.

I will have to remove everything so I can paint the cyclone parts all black, and pull that duct tape off the frame, and replace it with something like stay savers.

Kevinator

After only a few runs with the stock front brakes, my front rim is scuffed up. I haven't really looked that closely at it, but there's black streaks all over the sidewall of the rim. Either burnt on rubber from the brakepads, or possibly scraped off paint. All I know is I wasn't able to wipe it away with a napkin. Hopefully it comes off with some simple green.


I removed the rear sidepull brake, and unhooked the stock front brakes. I hooked up the front drum brake and got it adjusted. So far, I think its great. The feel is somewhat spongy like others have mentioned, but gives good control. It takes more effort than the stock cantilever brakes, but I can still lock up the front wheel if necessary (not really desirable anyways when you're holding onto the lever of a catapult).

I also installed a new kickstand since I cant use the stock one anymore. Its one of those universal ones that bolt to your chain/seat stays. I cut it down to proper length and it works great, but looks huge on my bike.

I'm still thinking about what to do with the handlebars. It would of been great if Dahon used standard headsets and had their proprietary folding stem bolt on top. Then customers would be able to fix their current or older bikes for continued enjoyment, instead of having to junk them when the frame latch or folding stem breaks.

Kevinator

Its no fun without pictures:

Kevinator

The cyclone motor works great with the nexus hub. I can't shift under full throttle, but thats probably a good thing. If you try, the hub will not shift until you let off on the throttle. Thats actually not a bad thing because its like having the ability to preset your next shift, and quickly blip the throttle to activate it.

Its fun because the throttle now works like a clutch. With a 16T cog, I was able to hit 20mph by 7th gear without pedaling. This is with the 360w cyclone motor. At that speed, I still have enough gearing to keep pedaling even in 8th gear.

vmaniqui

nice...how much have you spent so far on these upgrades ?

Kevinator

Excluding the cyclone kit, I've got almost $800 into this project. That includes the cost of the bike, but no labor as I've had to do all the work myself. Its been really fun learning how to work on a bicycle, and well worth the effort since I plan to continue riding long-term. Compared to working on a car, this is fairly simple and easy enough for anyone to learn.

My upgrades will swap over to another bike once I a stronger, nonfolding frame...possibly a raleigh 20 or custom frame.

Kevinator

My roller brake for the Nexus came today. Haven't had a chance to install it yet, but here's a picture. It bigger than I thought it was going to be, and reminds me of a car's disc brake rotor. I measured to make sure, but the brake arm will bolt right up to the bracket on the frame that was used for the stock coaster brake.

megavovan

Cool upgrades, I will be watching you: I may motorize my Dahon one day also.

-MegaVovaN

Kevinator

Thanks MegaVovaN! Your thread had inspired me to build a Boardwalk.

Kevinator

My progress has slowed down because I started up a 2nd bike project. Yesterday I tried installing the roller brake, but decided to keep it off for now. Unfortunately my kickstand blocks the brake cable, and for the time being, the kickstand is more useful. Also, I need to grind a small notch in the arm for the roller brake in order to bolt it up.

I decided to remove the 360w cyclone motor, and install my 900w motor. For reference, the 360w motor can do 21mph (unassisted) with a 16T cog on my Nexus 8, but takes a while to get there if you don't want to pedal. It zips around fine and would allow the average joe to cruise comfortably.

After I got the 900w motor installed and adjusted, I put on a helmet and blasted up and down residential streets on my clown bike. I was able to ride right down the middle of the road because I could accelerate faster than the cars. The 900w motor is a freakin monster. There is gobs of torque, and it pulls hard at all times. On a bike this small, its a weird and scarey feeling because the bike disappears. It literally feels like you're being forced through the air in a sitting position, while you're holding onto handlebars, and your arse is somehow attached to the seat. Pedaling helps alleviate this weird feeling of weightlessness.

I spun it up to 30mph for a while, but I have to admit its pretty stressful. Its like Man vs 30mph chain between your legs and the chain is more intimidating I think I was only in 6th gear and half throttle when I was cruising at 30mph. I have no doubt that 35mph is obtainable, but I probably wont try that anytime soon.

Kevinator

I've been thinking about using dewalt battery packs to power my bike. It will allow for a modular battery system that will make it easy to swap out packs and free up my cargo rack.

vmaniqui

how long does your battery last ? and how long do you need to charge the battery ? it's battery operated, right ?

Kevinator

Yup, its electric. Mileage all depends on how much voltage and capacity your battery pack has, as well as how much you want to pedal.

At the moment, I'm using about 36v/15ah's worth of LiFePo4 lithium batteries (~17 lbs), which will take me 15 miles (without pedaling) on the flats. You can easily double that by pedaling up to speed and only using the motor to hold your speed. My Boardwalk doesn't offer an aerodynamic riding positition so you feel the wind resistance when you get above 20mph.

I'm using a 5A charger, so it would theoretically take 3 hrs to fully charge up my pack from empty. Bigger chargers are available, so long as your batteries can take higher charging current.

I've found that 95% of my rides only use about 3-5ah, so thats why I'm going to rig up a modular battery system using the dewalt packs. Each pack is 2.3ah, and will recharge in under an hour using the dewalt charger.

Kevinator

I forgot to mention that the 900w cyclone motor is probably twice as loud as the 360w motor. Its actually not that big of a deal because whenever I get to about 23mph, all I hear is wind in my ears anyways.

Most of the sound is from the chain moving so fast. In 1st gear, it'll pop a wheelie if I'm not gentle with the throttle.

vmaniqui

impressive....great job kevinator....

ahsposo 

Uh, Never Mind.

Cool project. I shudder to think what would happen to us if you have an evil twin.

"I'm building a death ray from a pop gun. Anybody have a suggestion for a small but powerful stepping transformer?"