Modifying Vigor P9 to be faster
 

Hi

Is there a way to modify my new Vigor P9 to become faster?

Thanks

..lose weight..work out hard in the gym..put in more cycling mileage....fit a larger chainwheel..pump the tyres up to the correct pressure..fit 1.25 inch by 20 tyres or even 1inch by 20 ..Make sure you have an 11 tooth sprocket in the rear cassette..

As I recall you stated earlier you have not ridden much in years. You will get faster as your body relearns to develop power in circles. I always suggest to ride for 20 minutes or less and get off the bike. Don't do long rides until your body starts to adapt to riding again.

Your fitness level will come up quickly and even if that doesn't change much you will be able to power bike much better with regular time in the saddle.

Enjoy your new bike. You made a good choice.

All great ideas. You can also cut your wind drag by lowering your hand position.
One way to do this is to get drop bar bar ends and another is to use a flipped-over riser bar. As you approach 20 mph air drag is what is slowing you down. If you adopt a more bent over position you may find a narrow hard saddle is more efficient.

Optimal saddle height and position, optimal tire pressure, learning how to use your gears and body position too is a great way to improve speed. Only things I'd change if you're not comfortable is the pedals. Bar ends do help a lot too like what someone else said, there are also grips that have bar ends with them or baby bull horns as I call them. A cycling computer is also a nice way to track your speed, apps like strava are also options to track them. Enjoy the ride and you'll be faster before you even know it with just being more familiar with your ride.

I also have a P9 (but I converted it to a single speed..). I'm thinking about upgrading my pedals... an overwhelming amount of choices out there! Anyone have a any good recommendations for lightweight good quality pedals?

MKS FD7 pedals, they come in silver and in black. Not sure if the vigor p9's come

good reviews but a bit heavy... and I don't care if my pedals fold. thanks for the rec!

Oh, thought you wanted folding pedals as well. Is the stock pedals from the vigor plastic foldings as well?? If they are the mks are still lighter than them, the other pedals I have on my other folder is a pair of generic platform pedals which can be had for $20 at my REI store. Are you looking for just platforms or cleats?

i'm thinking some bling worthy alloy platforms. I ride the Vigor around my beach community in flip flops!

XLC RL Lo-Profile Platform Pedals this is probably the one i got, but these kinds of platforms comes in all sort of brushed colors if you just search for them in amazon. I feel like these kinds of platforms grab my vans slip on nicely hence i almost don't feel the need for cleats/toe-clips, even though i've never been on them. Do let me know if you have any lighter pedals in mind.

perfect... thank you!

faster with flip flops ... ??
Oh two different peeps ..lol


OP easiest way is to put a bigger front sprocket on the bike ... we have good results with our 56 tooth rings from Litepro . but every 130 mm ring will work ( you will need a longer chain to make this work correctly )


thor

My recommendation is to just ride your bike. At the speeds a bicycle is capable of, the difference between faster and slower on any given ride is negligible.

Quite true. The difference in myself in terms of sweat and fatigue or a comfortable easy ride, only amounts to a paltry 10% or so in time commuted. Generally, one rides as fast as the wind and the incline allows. The bike has very little say in the matter, assuming it's a decent enough bike.

The bigger sprocket only helps if she is spinning out in high gear. With high gear on her Dahon Vigor P9 at about 90 gear inches I would be very surprized if she spins out except on steeper downhills.

true

Thank you all for the recommendations. The issue I have is that I try to ride with one of the Strava clubs and almost everyone has a road bike and I'm having trouble keeping up. When I posted the thread I had imagined I would get recommendations to increase/modify the gearing but it sounds like it is more my fitness level more than anything. According to the Strava app I averaged 11.43 mph and I got left behind. It seems that others were averaging 15 mph + cruising speed, although admittedly a good portion of the ride was up wind.


So my next questions are:
1- Where would I be able to get a drop bar that won't get in the way of me folding the bike? Any suggested brand?
2- What are flipped-over riser bar? are these better/more comfortable than the drop bars?
3- On cars, one would find the suggested tire pressure stamped on the driver door. Where would I find the suggested air pressure on my bike? what if I change the tires at some point? is there a rule of thumb?
4- I bought a cloud 9 comfort saddle. Would this get in the way of me picking up speed? I have not installed it yet.
5- And one last one: With the factory setup, would I be able to get up to 20 mph speed on my vigor without maxing out the gears and wiouth vigorously peddling?


Finally, thank you all. This is a great community and very happy to find people like you taking to guide beginners like me. The tips and the tone is very constructive. Great mentorship. You guys are awesome!!


Have a great day

You don't really need drop bars on a folder because they will compromise the fold..Easier to cut a few cms off each side of the flat bars and add bar ends....That will narrow your frontal profile and make it similar to a drop bar profile..You could get some drop bars and turn them upside down and cut off the bottom parts..to make a kind of bull horn bar..This will give you extra reach like drop bars..You might need new brake levers though ..
I have fitted thinner tyres on one of my folders from 1.5 to 1.25 ins..Not sure it makes any difference but it should make it marginally faster to accelerate because the tyres and tubes are lighter..
Another way to get faster is to just ride your bike and enjoy it..speed will come in time but don't forget to smell the roses on the way..There is more to life than riding fast with your head down and you bottom in the air..

But going back to speed..a 52 chainwheel to an 11 t sprocket should give you plenty of speed..perhaps a 54 or 56 t will help when you are very fit..

Hate to be a buzzkill, but you are probably at a disadvantage, compared to your road bike friends.


I would try or borrow a road bike and try it out first before attempting to make your existing bike faster. Folding bikes with 20" wheels combined with stem and seatpost flex, plus poor weight distribution makes them less efficient in my experience. You'd have to be a very fit rider to average 20MPH on your bike in its stock form.

You just started riding and you're doing group rides with road bikes? You're gonna need a road bike for that.

Tyres can be a very important upgrade, the best one can make. I don't know the Vigor specs; I assume it had 406mm wheels. Get a set of light 28mm tyres and matching tubes, tyres with little or no tread. Schwalbe Kojak comes to mind, and my own favourite from experience, Primo Comet, but these are not 28mm btw. I can't think of a 28mm tyre offhand, perhaps a Schwalbe Durano. Pump to say 80psi.

Then if you find yourself limited by the gearing, that you have to pedal too fast, get a bigger chainring. Also, loose any excess weight by stripping off mudguards, racks and non-essential equipment. Keep the chain clean and test the drivetrain drag often by backpedalling by hand; if giving a backwards impulse, the cranks should keep spinning for maybe half a revolution at least.

Fit lightweight barends and cut the handlebar width to be fairly narrow to give a more aero position. Don't let your elbows flare wide, keep them close to your body. Practise to ride with a smooth pedaling action, spinning. Aim to get lightweight clipless pedals and cycling shoes.

That's about it from me.

Saudi Arabia roads are not bike Friendly. I've biked alone early morning on weekends with no issues. But if I want to do it on week days in evenings and not limit myself to Pedestrian areas, I would think it is best to do it as part of a group. Perhaps as I get more familiar with riding on the street I would be able to break away from these groups. They do say it is open for all bike, btw, it just seems that everyone has a road bike.


Thanks

Pump the stock tire to 80 psi or is this specific to the type you are recommending?


Bike is not in front of me, but it says online that the stock tires are 20″ Schwalbe Marathon Supreme tires


Thanks

No I don't mean the stock tyre, I have no idea what it is. What is the stock tyre, and how wide is it, what it the max pressure marked on the sidewall?