Put a least a 53 spocket on,the standard Downtube cranks beniefit from being upgraded anyway, so i would buy a complete chainset instead of a chain ring you tend to get a better deal. Dual drive hubs can be bought for about £25 on ebay if you need more gears.

The larger dahons with full sized wheels could be altered to fast road bikes, if you are lucky a Bike friday or Chameleon are findable for less than £500 also on ebay.

As regards folding forward reach bars, see "little pixels threads", or a quick release handle bar stem can be improvised. I use improvised low profile bars on my mezzo and Downtube bikes made by turning droped bars upsidedown and cutting them down.
See these bikes for examples on the "name your bike thread"
To fold my Downtube I lossen the stem and turn the bars so that the brakes go in to the spokes. On the mezzo it does not reguire this stage as I wanted to maintain the quickness of fold. I altered the folding angle on the mezzo, (think this can be done on a newer downtube?), and compromissed a little by used more cut down bars. I have not seen a folding bike with dropped type bars that is the same size as standard when folded, both my bikes are less compact now to fold, but I am happy with the slight trade off. I add some photos later.

There is a great looking DT mini on a preivous thread that looks like what you want to do, by "14R"http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2278/...79be547aef.jpg

search for 16" wheel PERFORMANCE oriented purchase: DT Mini, Curve

justs my thoughts.

To revive this thread briefly from the dead, here's the sequel.

I modded up my Downtube 8H with the butterfly bars and MKS EZ AR-2 QR pedals with half-toe clips. I also put a Marathon Racer in front and a Big Apple on the rear.

Riding my 8H felt appreciably faster after this event but... well... I finally sold it this week. I decided to try a full-size road/touring bike (Jamis Aurora) and found it better designed for my purposes (doing a very long ride at a reasonable speed). Yes, I know I could be fitter and spin faster and wring my performance and speed out of my folding bike, but why not use a bike that is really designed for the task at hand? Going fast on my road bike just feels so much easier and more comfortable without killing myself, and that is what I needed and wanted.

Meanwhile, from the folding perspective, I found I was just happier riding my Mini rather than my 8H. The mini is much more practical to fold and store and schlep (8H is bulky), and it has a nimble and plush ride. It's also extremely cute. I get an amazing amount of power and use out of such a small device.

I did replace the stock tires with Big Apples, the 25T rear sprocket with a 23T rear sprocket, and the spring suspension with a Birdy elastomer a la Jur. But I don't need to do any further modding in that direction since I now have my long-distance speed machine and all-around compactness and utility is more what I need for my Mini. Fenders have been a big help. As for further mods, I am considering replacing the one-arm kickstand with a triangular one for more stability, and I thinking of acquiring a QR seatpost rack so I can use it with my Ortlieb Shuttle suitcase.

on my regular bike ride i can do 20mph on my dahon boardwalk. it has a 52T chainring but only 14-28T cogs. i am also planning on changing the chainrings and cogs to 11-30T. hopefully that will give me enough speed. it might do or it might not. we'll see. like you sometimes i longed for the speed but not for 10 hours though. just an occasional speed.

thanks,
vic

Vic,

Where can you buy an 11t-30t freewheel? How many speeds for the 11-30t?

I'm trying to upgrade my Tokyo's gearing to get faster speeds. Any tips or advice?

Thanks! :)

Why are we focusing on internally geared hubs when the original poster wants speed?

My understanding is that internally geared hubs are good because they are easier to maintain, easier to clean and harder to brake under abusive conditions. Clearly, we don't see any IGH winning the Tours, do we? (well, at least not anymore).

Just wondering...

You can get an 8 speed 11-30T here.

Speedo

Thanks Speedo! But I need something that can fit in the same space as my current 6-spd freewheel or is there a way to modify it to make an 8 spd freewheel fits?

kitn,
that's my plan but couldn't find any 11-30cogs. but they have a seven speed 11-34cogs here:
http://www.bikepartsusa.com/bikepart...y/category.cgi

but this is a cassette and not a freewheel. i can't find a freewheel 7 speed though. my plan then is to go 7 speed and just change the hub to a cassette but this will be more work as i need to change the rim and spokes from 28 to 36. let me know how you're doing with your upgrade also. if i find any i will PM you.

thanks,
vic

Glad to hear that you found a solution that works for you. I think you'll find that having a 700c bike for the long rides, and a folding bike when you need one (or just feel like riding something different), will be a good combo.

That link didn't work, btw.

How can you fit a 7 speed cassette onto the Tokyo?? Won't the 7 speed cassette be too big? :eek:

my apology. try this now.

http://www.bikepartsusa.com/bikepart...wheel_cassette

if this doesn't work go to www.bikepartsusa.com and select freewheels/cassettes on the left column.

the 7 speed will fit. the only problem is you have to change almost everything. and not sure if you want to do that. i looked everywhere but couldn't find a drop in replacement. if i decide to do the 7 speed 11-34T, i will have to change the rear hub, derailleur, rim, spokes and lastly the shifter. i am planning on doing this upgrade to my dahon. if you can find a dahon boardwalk D7 that would be ideal as it has a 11-30 7 speed gears and the chainring is 52T. very ideal for the speed you want. sometimes you can find this in CL. not sure if you want to buy a used one tough, but for the price you will be paying, you will have enough extra cash for all the upgrades you want. i am now ordering my parts one at a time and when i have them all with me, i will let you know the progress of my upgrade.

thanks,
vic

Would you be so kind as to list what parts you are buying exactly and where to gt them from? I'd like to do the same upgrades. :)

Thanks!

kitn,

sorry for the late reply. i am upgrading my dahon boardwalk and not my citizen tokyo. so i have with me a shimano 105 52/39T crankset, a 7 speed brake/gear shifter, bottom bracket. i am also planning on replacing my rear deraileur, rear hub to a cassette (11-34T) so will also change the rim to a 36 spokes. if you want to upgrade your tokyo please let me know and i can check online for you.

PM me.

thanks,
vic