Change of direction...
 

Now with 2.10" Maxxis Grifter tires, 180mm front rotor and inverted riser bar...

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...df2ba88f1b.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f5e0f38919.jpg

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a6b0926109.jpg

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https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c80095d374.jpg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6434f4aa10.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...70f843a672.jpg

These 2.10" Grifters were lightly used from another bike so I wanted to go through them first before installing a new pair of these on hand, the 2.30" size version.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...93ec6178dd.jpg

It appears you will find the stem angle problematic for mounting bags on the block. Perhaps a small bag, maybe.

2.30" meat
 

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...252e559e4a.jpg
Swallow Husky 20 x 2.30"

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e5200ffbbb.jpg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...aa6dc09d6a.jpg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ef8213ce27.jpg

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https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3169504be3.jpg
45T chainring now
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Tire profile: ~5.5cm
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https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4dbb075f31.jpg
20-85 gear-inches
45T x 11-46T

Clearance at the rear of the frame is exhausted. I wouldn't go any bigger there. At the fork, there's still room for 2.4".
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This bike is indeed stunning. I like the black/gold combination so much the only thing I would do if it were mine would be to remove the decals from the rims.

...they look absolutely massive. I had mixed results experimenting with BMX tires lately. But i know the Grifter, i have it on my 29+ bike in 29x2.5 - a dream, while a Rant Squad was totally unrideable, being just heavy and stiff. I dont jump against walls. Did you put them on a scale? The Grifters in 2.3 look tempting.

Yeah, those Husky jobs ain't dainty and slim, that's for sure. I wasn't expecting them to be so big before pumping them up. Measured from sidewall to sidewall, they are an honest 2.3" unlike many other tires that cheat in that regard. I don't have a scale to weigh them, but they are not light. I've now swapped tires three times so I think I'm gonna leave them as the initial stock tires on this build.

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11-50T dinner plate
 

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6affa37f7d.jpg
11, 13, 15, 18, 21, 24, 30, 36, 42, 50

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c47ed0be81.jpg
19-88 gear-inches

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...98af02e31c.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8d59517c30.jpg

That will definitely get you up some steep mountainsides... :love:

wow! Great setup for touring! Have you taken it far?
when will folding bike manufactures understand that high volume tires are what is needed?

you need a rear rack on that carry some stuff

Hi...no, it's gone nowhere as it's a build-in-progress. My builds tend to languish incomplete for many months. It's not far from completion though as all it needs is to install the brake calipers, chain and RD cabling, all of which are already on hand. The rig is sporting 2.30" meat now, but I think the sweet spot is probably smaller, around 2.0". OTOH, the wider, taller the tire, the greater the ground clearance of the RD.
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I lived in San Cristobal for a month supporting a project back in 2000, traveled extensively in southern Mexico, and lived in Guatemala City and Mexico City so I used to know your general terrain quite well. In fact, I used to go from Mexico City to Guatemala City by bus, stopping in Tapachula on the 14-hour overnight haul from Oaxaca. Mexico is one of my favorite countries.

wow, we very likely crossed paths back in 2000, although I was in teenage party mode then I did ride my bike everywhere even then.

I’m curre try sourcing 4 folders to go multi-modal touring with my family, and your Storm looks very good. I want a chrimoly frame that can fit 20x2 Schwable big apples - most comfy and durable tire ever! This looks like the ticket!

how small is the fold? Easy enough to take on trains? Can it pack into a suitcase for air travel?

The Storm folds like and to the size of any other bifold. I've never traveled with my bikes in a suitcase. I simply fold them, put them inside a soft or padded cover and wrap them in cellophane plastic at the airport. Never had a problem. Plus you don't have to worry about storing or shipping the suitcase. The bikes have always arrived intact.

On my last tour just last month, I simply rode to the airport, folded and packed the pony at the departure gate and simply rolled the package on a trolley to the check-in counter. No worries, no dramas.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...96b5e1567a.jpg
35-minute ride from Busan

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6db03a6d32.jpg
Helmet and everything normally attached to the bike goes in the white pouch

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3bc3a92a23.jpg
Checked-in bundle on the left, cabin carry-on on the right. KISS.

The other part of this is in some Asian countries, you'll need to put the bike inside a bag to ride the trains. Taiwan and Japan, for example. So, you use the same bag that you use to fly for that purpose.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...855fd7845b.jpg
Taking the train in Taiwan

IMO, the Storm is the best touring canvas among the five 20" framesets offered by FnHon:

• 4130 Chromoly ✅
• FD hanger ✅
• Wide tire capable ✅
• No proprietary parts ✅
• Front block ✅
• Disc brakes ✅
• Vertical rear dropout & RD hanger ✅
• Low price ✅

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lol this is awesome
so I just pulled the trigger and ordered an Fnhon (sorry but the brand name is just awful 😂) Storm frame set!

looking forward to building it up, probably for my wife or son to use on an upcoming tour.

any advice or tips you can offer on the build would be great!

the set includes the frame, the steer tube and the seat post. So I’ll be sourcing the headset and bottom brackets first. Everything else I can scavenge from other bikes I have to do a test build and then take it from there.

There are FnHon Storm with and without front blocks. Caveat emptor.

As for suggestions on how to build it, look at this thread or at my Thrill Volare Minivelo build thread for guidance.

yeah, so after speaking with the vendor, he informed me that his Storm frames do not have the carrier block. This is a feature I am very interested in, so he offered to change my order to a Gust, which seems almost identical to the storm, except for the chromoly fork.

The Gust seems to offer all the same advantages you attribute to the Storm above, or is there some other difference I’m not aware of?

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...73be74286.jpeg
This is what I’ll be getting, plus they will be pressing a Silverock sealed bearing headset into the frame for me before shipping.
upon comparing the photos, I now notice the major difference in the lack of a rear triangle in the Gust…

Well, the FnHon Gust has a single cantilevered chain stay rather than the triangulated seat and chain stays of the Storm. In addition, the Gust fork is not only Chrome-molybdenum steel unlike the Al-alloy fork of the Storm, but also, crucially, is a lot narrower, and therefore cannot take tires wider than 2". Finally, the Storm has a longer top tube so it's able to provide a roomier cockpit and hence accommodate taller jockeys. So, they differ significantly in those three regards. How do I know? Cuz I own a Gust 20" frameset too.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...cab5997bc6.jpg

To my eye, that looks like a Gust 16", not a Gust 20". How do I know? Cuz I own several Gust 16" too.

hmmm yes I see all that now.
I think I will stick to my original order and take the Storm, despite the tragic lack of a front block carrier.

Ron knows best, but I think it's a stronger frame design, to my eye. You can always just add a front carrier adaptor, but get one that ring-clamps at top AND bottom of head tube, not just one, two point clamp is much stronger.

Ron, that 19-88 gear inches is the sweet spot! Just a couple inches wider at both ends than my setup.

Like Ron said, pretty much all 20" bifold bikes fold to very similar dimensions, given same tires. If you look up Dahon Speed (no longer made) or Dahon Mariner D8 (aluminum frame but very similar dimensions), and check the folded size of either, you'll be close. As Ron has said, in Asia, they seem to be liberal with checked baggage size, but other places, perhaps not. I have a bifold 20" Speed, and my calculations show that it will be just about impossible to get it beneath 62" max luggage girth (L+W+H) in one suitcase, and that's with the wheels taken off and beside the frame. (A 20" wheel with "swinging rear triangle" like a Bike Friday and others, can make 62" max with disassembly.) HOWEVER, I should be able to easily get it all in 2 parcels, both well below the 62" limit, and pack other traveling goods in each. Now, used to be, anything over 62" incurred huge oversize charges. But now, some airlines transport bikes (even normal bikes, oversize) with NO oversize charge, however those airlines also charge for each checked bag (often $35+), so in that event, put it all in one bag or cardboard bike box. I'd like to travel on Southwest airlines who has no checked bag fee, but no free oversize, so I would do 2 bags within size limits. So start checking rules on airlines that you might fly on.

Oh, and the Storm: Disc brake envy!! That's the main thing lacking on my old Dahon Speed. Big plus if serious hills, both to keep rims cool, and not wear the sidewalls. Just be aware, front fork is 100mm spacing to accommodate that, whereas most 20" folders with rim brakes use 74mm front fork. Disc setup is better in every way, in my opinion, though you need calipers with good modulation because powerful 26" mountain calipers will lock up easier on the smaller 20" rims (less wheel torque for same ground thrust, so easier to overpower (lock up) with brakes).

TBH, I'd be satisfied with an 11-46T cogset and 20-85GI. This 11-50T cogset is proof of concept only.

Oh well yeah, my 21-85 has been perfectly adequate on mine. But exactly that, I need it all. But I often have heavy cargo loads.

Three ways in which disc is not better is weight, complexity and price.

I've got 180mm rotors on my minivelo. Love the awesome braking power. What you lose in modulation, you gain in increased caliper bite, heat absorption and wear/durability.

All true. I think your wider tires are a better match for the discs. I had a very short test ride on a 20" disc folder about ten years ago (might have been a Dahon Formula S18 but can't remember), and on the downhill next to the bike shop, the brakes locked pretty easy, but those were skinny tires, and I think not the best mechanical disc calipers.

Since then, I haven't been worried about the issue because if I bought a disc bike, a) road discs are now a thing, and my perception is they are less grippy than mountain discs (although with my hand strength these days, I might like more power), and b) I saw locally a Bike Friday All-Packa equipped with discs and cable-actuated hydraulic calipers, very clever, my guess is not quite as smooth as all-hydraulic, but a lot easier service, and less hydraulic stuff to go wrong. I'd be curious if anyone here has ridden cable-actuated hydraulic.

A factor that impacts modulation on disc brakes is the type of brake pad. Resin will modulate better but fade quicker. Metal will bite quicker, but fade less.