How to get Dahon bicycle to use 100mm front hub?
 

I feel stuck having to use 74mm hubs on my Dahon Speed. Being able to use the same 100mm hub standard that the vast majority of non-folding bicycles uses would widely open up the choices in wheels (and make it easier to get replacement parts for them). I have come up with the following solutions:

1. Get a disc brake fork. Until I find one with a thru-axle though, this option is out.

2. Get a mini-velo fork with 1.125" steerer tube, cut it down to fit the folding bicycle and then tap a thread inside that is compatible with the compression bolt.

3. Persuade Dahon (or the like) to start producing forks that accept the 100mm standard hub. If disc brake, then include the thru-axle.

Option number 3 would be most-preferable to me, assuming that it would include the magnet holder.

Any other way to do this?

What's wrong with a disc fork with a QR? I ran this for years on my mountain bike before through axles. It works fine with a good QR and if you clamp it correctly.

Or just buy a Bike Friday :) One thing I really like about BF is their use of normal bike parts.

I own a bicycle with disc and thru-axle and it never has the problems that I see people having. That tells me that disc brakes without thru-axles are not ready for public consumption. People should not buy disc bicycles/frames/forks until thru-axles become the norm.

I considered Bike Friday before I got the Dahon. I like everything about BF, except that they are a disassemble-folding hybrid model, instead of rolling-while-folded model. My priority for a folding bicycle is more about keeping the bicycle with me when in establishments, etc, and less about being able to pack it into a suitcase. If BF adopted the non-patentable folding system that Brompton employs, it would be a winner, especially if it was for a 20-incher with drop-handlebars.

Or: Option 4

employ a frame builder to revamp an existing fork or custom make a fork to your specs.

just an idea. I have the same go around with getting a better fork for my Nano but my specs involve lightening it up.

Buy a BMX fork and install. This Ciao was rescued by this method. Its long gone from my fleet.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f1c5d6739f.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ffc5a49a7e.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...cabd83dd92.jpg

If your priority is 100mm hubs, then why focus on the thru-axle? 100mm disc-brake hubs have been used successfully for years, and will be for many years to come.

That's great. Did you have to modify the BMX fork at all to get it to work? Also, do you have a source for that fork you used? I've found almost no BMX forks that facilitate a V-brake.

Its been a while, the fork most likely was from Niagara. It was a traditional external threaded fork tube. The Dahon Ciao and some other Dahons use a proprietary system similar to a threadless headset, but instead of a star fangled nut, they internally thread the fork tube and use a large nut with a flat top like a top cap. The BMX fork could be clamped by the stem (Like a threadless system) but obviously had no internal threads so I used a BMX headlock.

The bike was given to family in Guatemala City and I wanted it to be safe durable and low maintenance. It was a solid fix and worked well. Were planning to go back this summer, I may get a chance to ride the bike and report back.

But Dahon are already doing this. My recently acquired Hemingway is on the 100mm standard up front (I know that because I measured it,) and it's got QR, disk brakes, and the magnet. The brakes do squeak, yes, but that has little or nothing to do with the fact that it uses the venerable QR as a wheel retaining system and everything to do with them being budget-oriented (to avoid using the word cheap) entry level brakes and my own failure to bed them in properly on day one. So...

5. Sell the Speed and buy a Hemingway/Horize, Launch, or any other modern Dahon with disk brakes that you like.

It's probably only a matter of time before even the likes of the Speed and Mu shift to disk brakes (and, more likely than not, abandon the 74mm standard made famous by Brompton for the universal 100mm standard, and - who knows? - maybe even thru axles) and you won't feel stuck anymore.

You conveniently cut out the part of my post that mentioned I will not be considering disc brake with QR. Thru-axle is here, I have a bicycle with them, I know how good disc brakes are with them and therefore will never fall for the QR w/disc-brake scam. It's better to keep using V-brakes until folding bicycles catch up with reliable bicycle tech.

Whatever makes you happy!