Last Fall, I bought a new Dahon Speed Uno. I love the bike, but it's too bent over for me. So I have it up for sale on CL. I am looking at a Schwinn Hinge, as I like the straight up riding position. I like the single speed and am going to electrify it.

Does anyone know the front fork dropout measurement on the Hinge?

Also, the Hinge is freewheel, correct, not direct drive?

Thanks!

Tom

Have you ridden a Hinge yet? I think you should stick with the UNO and fit riser bars to it if you want a more upright seating position.

ohh.... getting rid of a perfectly ok bike and getting what ? Its actually a copy of my design from years back, but we used crmo tubing versus gas pipes ...


solve the problem of the seating position with an Aber hallo stem extender instead .


electrifying ... well lets start with the front fork ... I assume a cheap huddled together front wheel kit is in the plans ... for the Dahon you need a 74 mm old motor ..
But you really want to at least upgrad the fork for the additional stress .... Tern has a great fork with 100 mm old and disc brake mounts.. 150 bucks ...
you will need disc brakes 50 to 80
cables 10
most likely a front wheel ( 36 spokes )
50 bucks for a rim, 20 for spokes, ??? labour


at that time you still have a one speed bike ..


Thor

I think you'd run into the same problems with the Hinge once you raise the seat to the same height as the UNO because the handlebars and BB seem to be roughly the same (or close enough) height. Changing the handlbar height on the Hinge would be much more involved and expensive since it uses a one piece stem and handlebar unit.

Nope, have not yet ridden the Hinge. I see your point on the last photos, but also see the seat post/handlebar stems are at different angles. Does that make a difference? I do not know, but what about the attached photos? Dahon, bent over riding position, just like mine. Hinge, straight up and down.

Also, the Hinge stem is adjustable, the Dahon is not.

What am I missing?

Tom

Yes it does but not necessarily in the way you hope. The Hinge's angles appear to set the rider's weight more rearward but as for the distance between seat and bars that distance seems to be pretty similar. But of course it's best to get actual measurements.



The riders appear to be different and the bikes are not set up the same so comparing the photos with regards to ergonomics is an 'apples to oranges' affair, something I had hoped to illustrate with the comparison photo I posted.

How is the Hinge's stem adjustable?

I've watched that youtube video several times. That guy replaced his telescoping stem with the short one piece stem. That's why he looks more hunched.

Yelodwg, I have the opposite problem from you since I'm a short rider. I'm only buying a Speed Uno from Thor if I can get a shorter handle post.

Thorusa.com has an adjustable stem available, and it fits the Dahon Speed Uno perfectly. It's a much better option than purchasing the Schwinn Hinge. The Hinge is much lower quality. It's​very heavy, and the handlebars are NOT ADJUSTABLE. They fold, the same as the Speed Uno.



The Dahon Speed Uno is a much better bike.

yeah no problem I could take the Uno Handlepost and replace with an adjustable one
only a small upcharge


We also have a 2 speed automatic Tern Uno / Now Duo with an adjustable handelpost and go fast tires. Its above the budget, but not by that much either.

Thanks for all the replies! I've been sitting a lot on my Speed Uno this weekend and think BassnotBass has the idea on how I can best deal with the bent over riding position vs buying the Hinge... a 3" riser bar. I should be able to tilt backwards a bit and get me more upright. At least it makes sense to me :-)

My thought is the front handlebar stem on my Dahon is angled forwards. Adding more stem height will help, but I am still going to be leaning forward.

As an aside, and I hope I am able to say this on the forum, but I did buy my Speed Uno from Thor and he is GREAT to deal with.

Tom

A completely different view---Most people new to riding bikes want to be very upright. This puts all the weight on your Behind. If you are leaned forward some it puts some weight on your hands and it puts most of your bodyweight behind the pedals where you are pushing off.

Many people ride with the seat too low also putting more weight on the seat and making your legs much weaker. Bar ends on the handlebars will pull your weight forward and stretch you out more---Probably helping to alleviate your problem also. I have mounted bar ends on nearly all of my Mt bikes and folders---changed position helps a lot.

I do not recommend major changes on a bike unless you have ridden it 3 times a week for 4-5 weeks. You will probably adapt to the bike. Unless you are over 6' the bars on the Uno will eventually fit you fine.

I also have a problem with single speeds because you cannot keep continuous pressure on the pedals (by pedaling) which take weight off both the seat and the bars.

If I were you and was going to change something I would go to the adjustable stem from Thor as they are really handy. Yesterday against a 12 mph headwind I lowered the stem on my Dahon the last 1.5" to get away from the wind. By the way I am 6'3".

I owned a bicycle shop for 30+ years---I have fitted bikes to thousands of comfort bike and mountain bike riders----the background for my advice.

PS I have been playing with an ebike conversion on one of my Mtn bikes---You will want a wider seat for riding an e-bike and a disc brake on the front of your bike and a really strong fork if you are going hub motor. If you go Bafang Midmotor you still gotta have a disc up front----DO NOT GO Ebike without at least a front disc brake.

Rick,

What you say makes sense, but my neck and back cannot take the bent over riding position for very long.

Tom

If your ultimate goal is an electric bike with an upright riding position, why not just buy one now ?

I'm working on it :-)

Tom

Your body will adapt fairly quickly after about 10-15 rides of 20-30 minutes. Adding bar ends will make a huge difference also---it sounds counter intuitive but it is true.

Making sure your seatpost gets your leg 1/2" from fully extended bends you over more but puts more weight on your pedals...


Good luck Yellow Dog...

In the past 2+ weeks, I bought a Schwinn Aerovane cruiser. Very nice, simple bike. But wayyyy to big and heavy. Returned that, and bought a brand new Schwinn Hinge for a song. I have to say, I really like this bike. I have adjusted the seat and handlebar stem so I am riding upright. There's no way at this point in my life (I'm 67) I can ride bent over and get used to it. Anyway, the Hinge is NOT as quality a bike as my Speed Uno, but it has the 100mm front axle dropouts so I can electrify.

As an aside, the brakes, though no name, are completely adequate for my usage. I am very impressed with the bike.

Tom