NJfolder

There are some mountain bike trails in my local park. I've always wanted to try them on my folder but had myself convinced there was no way my little folder with 20" wheels could handle it. Today though, I decided I had to give it a go so I donned my helmet and off I went. It was great! There were other people there on their mountain bikes and I had no trouble keeping up with them or going up or down hills. I probably had to be a bit more careful than they did going down hills since I was concerned with hitting a rock or branch (not sure if that would knock me off the bike or not) but I had no problems. Have any of you done this sort of thing on your folder?

JosephLMonti

I can't say that I've ever taken my folder off-road but have often thought about what I might do in setting up a dedicated off-road folder. What make/model folder do you have? Did you make any set up changes before hitting the trails?

doktoravalanche

I do that a lot - i have BMX knobblies, Kona MTB pedals and i also use off road drop bars just because i like them.. I tend to treat it more like it's a cyclocross bike than a MTB - no big drops etc, but i find it's pretty fun, and suprisingly fast...

NJfolder

Believe it or not, I have a cheap folder I bought from eBay. I was shocked it was able to withstand mountain bike trails without falling apart. I've attached a photo, which is taken right from eBay. The bike I have looks exactly like the photo. I've made no changes or upgrades.

NJfolder

I have the knobby tires too. I suppose cyclocross is probably a better description of what I was doing than real MTB since I was not doing any big drops, but it was fun and a lot faster than I thought. Could you post a photo of yours? I'd like to see what a folder looks like with those upgrades you have.

doktoravalanche

This is it with my 'road' tyres on - Maxxis Ringworms. For off-road i use Schwalbe Jumpin' jack 20x2.25 on the front and 20x2.1 in the back. I'll probably go with something like Maxxis Holy Rollers when they wear down as i can't be bothered to switch them back and forth. I also use a 44t chainring for offroad rather than the stock 52T for ground clearance and better climbing on technical stuff.

NJfolder

Ground clearance was definitely a problem. I got some dirt in places where dirt shouldn't be and will need to clean that off before it gets caked on. Just curious, are those drop bars comfortable for off-road? I was thinking it would be more comfortable to have the other handlebars (sorry, I'm a newbie and don't know the terminology yet) so you're sitting more upright.

JosephLMonti

I like those drops...nice touch. What did you have to replace for compatability purposes?

doktoravalanche

They're pretty good, i seem to spend a lot of time going uphill, which was my main motivation for getting them, i found that although risers gave me a lot of control, they also put me too upright, which i don't like, and not far enough forward. They're On-one Midge bars, which are designed for off road use, and are flared and slightly wider with a shallower drop than road bars. I spend a lot of time on the hoods, this weekend i got totally lost and found myself on some root infested singletrack and still spent most of my time on the brake hoods.

doktoravalanche

I swapped the stock brake levers for dia-compe 287v's for the v-brakes, and went with a shimano ultegra bar end shifter to match the 105 derailleur that the bike came with. I;m still trying to work out how to fit a front derailleur so i can have a granny ring...