tds101 

It is smooth. I just don't like the drag,...and it's quite heavy.

TheLoneWolf

Origami Bicycles new CRANE 8 model: 8 speeds, aluminum frame, aluminum wheels w/ quick release ... includes fenders & rear rack. A bonus ... Crane 8 frame has brazed-on front derailleur mount for the more advanced DIY'ers that might want to upgrade in future to 16 speeds. Origami does not mention the mount but you can see bike pics at their site. Right now, it is priced at $349. I just received this week delivery of the Crane 8 and I am IMPRESSED IMO, off the shelf & out of the package, for the generalist cyclists, it is ready to ride & roll. I only just received it and not fully ridden it yet but just quickly around the neighborhood block ... I LIKE it! Later, I may post more on separate topic and maybe pics.

Steely Dan

always a good idea. The experience that prompted this whole thread was me perusing an LBS and coming across a Mu Uno and checking it out. After admiring it's stripped down simplicity, my next impulse was to pick it up, and i was like " holy crap! This is SO much lighter than my old dahon speed P8."

I didn't put it on a scale to get a precise figure or anything, but it felt really, really light to me. It might be worth trying to find a Link Uno in stock somewhere and give it the same old unscientific "pick it up" test.

Bill Wilby

Hi Steely Dan, one thing for others to consider when reading this thread is that a new Strida with 18 inch wheels and either of the two new wider handle bar options, rides considerable different than an older Strida.

Good luck with your quest, Bill

[disclaimer, I am the Canadian Strida distributor]

Steely Dan

well, i couldn't find a Tern Link Uno in stock anywhere nearby, so i just went ahead and ordered a Mu Uno from amazon. it was on sale for $524, and i had over $150 bucks in amazon credits that i had totally forgotten about, so i was able to pick it up for $370 + tax. should be delivered by next week.

with the savings, i also went ahead and purchased a carbon seat post to replace the post that comes with the bike, which according to the specs, should shave nearly a pound of weight off the bike. the Mu Uno comes with the standard dahon seat post with an integrated pump. it's nifty, but heavy, and the whole reason i'm upgrading here is to get as light of a folder as i can economically get, so the carbon post seemed like a good investment to get a relevant amount of weight off of the bike.

now, if can sell my old dahon for some cash (hopefully $100+), this upgrade will not set me back that much at all.

danduva1

I am thinking about a new Crane 8. Have you had a chance to ride yours any more? Do you still like it?

ThorUSA

its something I would call wonderous at best .... in any way .. in the last container from TErn was another Eclipse Uno and I have it. This is such a cool bike I am wondering why the tern importer in the USA doesn't usually bring them in.
I don't understand why not most of the higher end foldies come like that, meaning without all the fluff but otherwise good components and totally upgradeable ...

thor

Steely Dan

^ Thor, i see that my Dahon Mu Uno that i purchased from amazon was actually shipped by you, so thanks for the extremely timely delivery. i would have ordered directyl from you, but amazon's price was like $30 lower, so following my wallet.....

in any event, i love the bike. part of me wants to take the front brake off and let the bike live in all of it's stripped-down cable free glory, but i don;t know if i trust myself with just a rear coaster brake. maybe it'll just take more time to acclimate myself to it and build trust in it.

Also, the bike seems a little under-geared for me. in thinking about upping the gear inches, i also got to thinking about possibly converting to a gates belt drive.

Thor, how difficult is a belt drive conversion to a standard Mu Uno? what do i need? what's a good place to source the necessary parts?

Azreal911

Steely Dan

Just a heads up. I ride a Link Uno and my buddy rides a My Uno. We have both derailed our chains at least once before, For me it was because I was messing around on changing out the rear cog and the offset was off by like 1mm! Luckily I was on a flat and had my hand brake. My buddy on the other hand, his chain was stretched a bit over lots of riding and that day he was going downhill toward a four way stop sign when the chain fell off! But lucky for him he has a secondary front brake also and was able to safely stop and put the chain back on. But after that experience he would never even think of removing the second brake ever again, even though it's rarely used it's always nice to have an emergency secondary brake.

dynaryder

Yeah,I've had a couple coaster bikes,but always with a front brake. Really nice for when that taxi does a swoop in the middle of a traffic circle.

Steely Dan

picture time: here she is out of the box with the carbon seat post and some shimano combo SDP/platform pedals.





the flat black paint job really makes for one hell of a sharp looking bike. it'll be interesting to see how it holds up over time.

invisiblehand

After a few years with the STRIDA and a belt drive, I've warmed up to belt drives. Especially for bikes where the chain is exposed when folded.

I wondered about a MU Uno with belt drive too and saw the following on Thor's website ...

Gates Belt Drive

Steely Dan

^ yeah, that's a cool belt drive Mu conversion on Thor's site, but it's got an 8 speed IGH which i'm not interested in.

however, it does clearly demonstrate that belt drive conversions are possible on Mu frames with horizontal dropouts.

i just don't have the familiarity with the gates belt drive system to know what a conversion entails in terms of difficulty, parts, hub/crank compatibility, etc.

BruceMetras

Good you're not interested in an 8spd hub because it won't fit the Mu Uno with 120mm drop out spacing.. I've done lots of playing around with the Mu Uno through the years.. last incarnation was 2 speed SRAM Automatix with belt drive seen HERE .. for info on converting to two speed in general, navigate HERE .. If you ever do want to go the belt drive route, I can set you up with what will work relatively inexpensively..

Steely Dan

^ thanks bruce.

i'm definitely interested in converting to gates belt drive. i'm not interested in converting to a 2-speed hub or any other kind of IGH. i want to keep the single-speed/coaster brake hub the bike came with.

i just want to replace the chain ring, chain, and sprocket with a gates center track belt drive system.

can that be done with the existing hub and crank that came with my Mu Uno?

what are the compatibility issues that i need to be aware of?

how do i source the necessary parts?

BruceMetras

Not if you want the Gates Center Track .. you'll probably want the 70t/22t combo to get a high enough gear ratio, and that 70t comes as 130BCD only, so you would have to ditch the 104 crank that is on the bike

One would be whether or not there is room for a 70t without ruining the belt line.. the other would be if you could get a belt to work with the chainstay length ... you'd find that info on the Gates site after entering the cogs you want to run based on the gear inches you want to obtain.

Lots of Gates retailers, pick the one you want to use and have them order the parts for you..

Steely Dan

i agree that the 70/22 is the ratio that i'll want (as big as possible), however, my Mu Uno came with an FSA Tempo 5-blot 130mm BCD crank, so i don't think i would have to ditch it to put the 70 tooth belt ring on, right? or akm i missing something?


the gates gear calculator says that a 70/22 combo with a 120T belt will work with the Mu's chain stay length, but is there any way to figure out if the 70 will fit the Mu frame without first buying it?

also, how do i verify which 22 rear sprocket style to buy to match the SS/coaster brake hub on my bike (hub style is not something i know much about)?

fietsbob

Too bad the Speed Drive Overdrive Planetary cranks are @ Swiss -Euro Prices , they offer Gates toothed cogwheels ,

and make a smaller Gear bigger by 1,6X without Physically being so Large.

and still need no shift cables..

BruceMetras

Mine had 104, lucky you, 130 should be a piece of cake..



I forgot there is no chainstay to deal with, so there shouldn't be a clearance problem.. other installations I've done have been on bikes with more conventional chainstays, so clearance was an issue... to be safe, have them give you a diameter of the 70t and do a cardboard mock up..

You'd want the Nexus (3 dog ) style

Steely Dan

^ thanks for all your help and info, bruce.

in looking closer at my Mu frame, the clearance between the chain and the "seat stay" is already fairly tight with a 53t chain ring and 18t rear sprocket. i have to image that a 70t gates belt ring is significantly larger than a 53t chainring. if that's the case, then i have pretty serious doubts that the belt line would not be impeded by the "seat stay" on the frame with a 70t belt ring. bummer.

i guess that's why belt drive mods on these Mu frames utilize some sort of IGH to get the gear range up to a reasonable level.

oh well, i'd still like to up-gear the bike a bit, so i'll probably just slap a smaller sprocket on the back and live with the chain for now.

TheLoneWolf

Just in case, I do not want to possibly Hi-jack this topic which is about 'lightweight folders' and I may have previously & mistakenly posted here. To the moderators ... I deeply apologize . I have posted follow-up about Crane 8 at this other, perhaps more relevant topic ....

Topic - Folder Recommendation