Originally Posted by
Abneycat
In the long term if you desire having a low profile derailleur like the Dahon Neos, the Shimano shadow series derailleurs have a very similar profile. I've got an SLX shadow mid-cage on one of my folders, it does a very good job of lowering the profile. I'd recommend them, although they're certainly higher ticket than a Tourney is.
Is the Cyclone going to have room to fit in its normal positioning? It looks like it, although it's hard to say from a photograph, too. It looks like standard mounting would also bring the Cyclone pretty close to the ground too, the bike might not be a great one to hop up curbs on
Thanks Abneycat, thats great info about the SLX Shadow derailleur. That's the kind of info that I need! I took a look at the Neos and it looks like it would be very simple to add to my bike. It would just require drilling a small mounting hole near where the dropout and chain stay meet. My only concerns about using the Neos would be its strength and abillity to remain straight if I laid the bike down on top of it while folded. I am able to do that with my $10 Tourney derailleur, and have done so many times without the hanger getting bent even though the whole derailleur is huge and sticks out a good amount. I'll look into the SLX
I should be able to use any current derailleur using one of these hangers:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00..._ya_oh_product
I just came back from a 20 min test run with the Cyclone motor mounted. I probably ebiked for about 5 miles and it was awesome. I hate to even say this, but the stupid, super long, non-folding eyesore that Dahon put on the Boardwalk is amazingly comfortable if you don't have to pedal all the time. I am a bit under 6' and for cycling, I find the handlebars too high to be comfortable for long term pedaling. However, when you're motorized, it all feels right. Handlebars are at a perfect height, and the sitting position does not put any additional strain on my back, arms or wrists.
The Cyclone motor does hang a bit low, but has plenty of clearance for anything on the road, including speedbumps. It probably wouldn't handle going up a curb, but I always avoided that anyways because I didn't want to abuse the folding stem.