chucky

So after about 7 years of marital bliss I've finally killed my Downtube 8H:


FYI I don't have any oil on the chain of this bike (or any of my other bikes) and, in the tens of thousands of miles ridden, the chain only had to be replaced once (along with the bottom bracket once)...so unoiled chains last a long long time. The rear Sturmey Archer 8 hub also works just fine (the version that was supposedly misdesigned).

I would like to replace it with something similar:
-Internal gear hub
-Horizontal dropouts with UNIFIED REAR TRIANGLE (essential for proper chain tension and efficiency)
-Fenders, etc.
Doesn't need to be a folder (for which I find my Pacific Carryme to be ideal), but I do prefer 20" wheels for the extra cargo-room and lightness of fatter tires, plus I already have all the components...so I'm thinking either:
1. A used Dahon Boardwalk (toss the components and keep the frame)
or
2. A Xootr Swift frameset.

I'm leaning heavily towards the boardwalk because it's cheap as dirt, but is there any way for me to replace the handlebars (which are a combination "T" handlebar+stem that telescopes into the riser)? Stock handlebars would be a showstopper...also the model I looked at for-sale had an older style of Dahon hinge, does that mean it's hi-ten steel instead of chromoly?

HGR3inOK

Where are you located?

-HANK RYAN-
Norman, Oklahoma USA

chucky

~30 miles from NYC border on Long Island, NY

chucky

BTW the Dahon Boardwalk I saw for sale locally looks like the same design as this one:


Does anyone know if this vintage of frame is hi-tensile or chromoly steel and also if there's an easy way to make this stem compatible with standard (24.5/26mm clamp on) handlebars?

HGR3inOK

If it's chromoly is should have a sticker that says "4130 Chromoly". The single-speed Boardwalk S1 models that have been available in the USA the past couple of years are high tensile steel. The Dahon Revolve stem (see https://www.thorusa.com/accessories/handlebar.htm) is 28.5 mm. I think the stem on that Boardwalk is smaller.

-HANK RYAN-
Norman, Oklahoma USA

chucky

Thanks for your help...after looking at some pictures online I believe this might be the older Boardwalk "D1" rather than the newer "S1" (though it seems the very latest ones are just being called "1" and marketed as "Dahon Licensed Technology" rather than officially made by Dahon).

Can't say I noticed a "4130 Chromoly" sticker, but I'm not sure where it would be located or if it might have been removed (which wouldn't surprise me because the bike had some god awful knobby white tires like they have on the little girl bikes at walmart).

I also unfortunately forgot my calipers and my magnet so I can't say whether the seatpost is steel/aluminum or what is the exact stem diameter...through I'm pretty sure the T shaped handlebar had no tapering (and appeared awfully slender) so I betcha the ID of the "stem" riser is 22.2 mm.

Does any of that info help? Anyone?

chucky

Yep here's another pic of the same bike (that shows the "4130 Chromoly" sticker and was taken circa 2006):

The one I saw definitely had the same design of frame hinge and handlebar/stem-riser...so I guess it must have been Chromoly?...but I can't say I noticed the sticker.

phillybill

Go for the swift

chucky

Does anyone know if Dahon headsets/headtubes are compatible with standard 1-1/8 fork steerers? If so then I could just replace the entire fork/stem/handlebar assembly with the one from my old bike.

I also would rather not splurge for the Swift because one of my motivations for cycling is because it's cheap...but if I can't find a cheaper replacement then a Swift would surely suit me nicely.

Dynocoaster 

How about a Speed Uno?

Dynocoaster 

Downtube 8H on ebay
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Downtube-Fol...item416f4185cb

chucky

Sure...do you have a used one to sell me at the same price that used boardwalks are going?

Thanks for bringing this to my attention...though boardwalk is still cheaper if it works.

Dynocoaster 

I recommended the Speed Uno as it is Cromo and a bit upper end over the Boarwalkand half the price of a Swift. Have you considered a Raleigh 20?

chucky

So I bought that used boardwalk I was looking at and it DOES NOT have the 4130 chromoly sticker...though it is otherwise identical to the bike pictured above (other decals, seat, fenders, handlebars, etc).

I'm feeling a little buyers remorse b/c the headset needs to be replaced and I'm thinking about giving up on 20" wheels to ease my maintenance burden...but I can't stand to waste my existing "gruppo" and I only paid $85 for the boardwalk.

HGR3inOK

I'm not positive, but I think the high tensile steel Boardwalks have a small welded-in reinforcement where the seat tube and the main tube are joined.

-HANK RYAN-
Norman, Oklahoma USA

chucky

Thanks again for your input Hank...I think I see what you mean here on the top side of the main tube:


But my newly acquired boardwalk DOESN'T have that gusset and the rear stays also aren't curved like that...it looks exactly like the following with ALL the same exact decals (including the one on the chainstay that says "designed in the USA" and the same wave graphic around the word "boardwalk" on the main tube) EXCEPT the one saying "4130 Chromoly" is missing:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/leoprie...n/photostream/

EDIT: A few searches on bikeforums revealed some claims that chromoly and hi-tensile steel are actually the same density and, thus, would have the same weight if made with the same tube dimensions, but since the hi-tensile one would be too weak they need to be speced with thicker tubing, etc...so considering that my frame is visually identical to the chromoly one in the pics I find it highly unlikely that it would be hi-tensile because why would Dahon go through the trouble to make this bike absolutely identical except for tube wall thickness?...it would require way too much attention to detail for a cheapo version of an already cheapo bike; So I think it's chromoly.

chucky

Here's a pic of one that's really identical to mine (including the missing 4130 sticker):

https://sfbike.blogspot.com/2005/08/d...k-s1-2005.html
...the blog writer (who is also apparently forum member "skyfish") says in the blog it's a 2005 boardwalk (vs the pics I posted above of a 2006 vintage with the "4130 chromoly" sticker) and he also includes a spec list that claims the frame is chromoly (although the fork, seatpost, and cranks are hi-ten steel...which could explain why this chromoly singlespeed is so damn heavy along with the remedy )

Skyfish's thread on Boardwalk upgrades