duke_of_hazard

I commute with my Dahon D7 everywhere. I put thousands of miles on it since 2007. My only problem with it is that strong headwinds of greater than 20 mph really slow me down. I'm thinking a bike with a more aggressive posture may be faster.

If my top speed on the Dahon on a flat road with no wind is 25 mph, how fast can I go on a decent road bike?

SesameCrunch

1) 20 mph headwind will slow anyone down, so don't think drop bars are a panacea. You'll still suffer.
2) With a good road bike, you'll probably average 2 or 3 mph faster over your Dahon D7, at least that's my experience.
3) Your top speed will be much better with higher gearing on a road bike.

duke_of_hazard

are you sure that gearing will make that much of a difference? On my Dahon D7 I hit 25 mph on gear six. I almost never have enough power to use gear seven. The exception is going downhill of course.

jur

10% improvement is probably the most that you could hope for.

SesameCrunch

If you feel you don't have the leg strength to use gear 7 on your Dahon, then you're certainly right, getting better gearing with a road bike is not going to help at all. In that case, maybe getting drop bar-ends to put on your Dahon may be sufficient to help you reduce wind resistance.

I have a set of these:
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product.a...S&currency=USD They'll fit easily on your Dahon bars.

duke_of_hazard

thanks, that does look quite interesting. Are they easy to attach and take off? I probably only need them one day every two weeks. Can they be put on top of the existing rubber grip handle bars?

stevegor

To the OP......simple anwser...YES, you need a full size roadie.

Folders are slow, heavy and uncomfortable. They can't climb, tour or go anything but SLOW, no matter what anybody here says..........

JOKING They're a blast and can do all types of cycling quite well.

caotropheus

You mean, folding road bicycle, right?

Longfemur

I don't know what speed you can do or could do, but when it comes to headwinds, getting your body down to lower the front you present to the wind will make a world of difference in your ability to ride into it when you have to. But you have to be able to do it... that is, it won't happen unless if you have too much abdominal fat, and unless you have or develop the needed flexibility. It does take some adaptation.

It is also influence by your position on the bike. To ride low in the drops, you might need to be able to sit a little more forward on the saddle, and the saddle needs to be high enough that your knees aren't coming up as high.

All in all, if you're satisfied with the folder you have, the simplest and certainly cheapest solution might be to just get bar-ends... not the little stubby straight ones that mountain bikers might use, but the longer ones that have a bit of a curve towards the end. Install them fairly close to horizontal, so that you can stretch yourself out forward. To lower your aerodynamic profile, it's almost just as effective to stretch out forward as it is to drop down low into drop bars. With bar-ends, your hands are still close to your brakes, whereas that isn't the case with the add-on drops.

Gotte

I used to get a painful neck from riding dropped, and in general never found it confortable at all. I'd try and get hold of one for a day or so, and take it our to see how you fare (I'm assuming you've not ridden dropped before, if I'm wrong, disregard the above).

puppypilgrim

Use chopped and flopped drop bars to make mini-bullhorns. Works very well.
https://www.bikeforums.net/folding-bikes/537715-dahon-helios-short-bullhorns.html

I tested drop bars on my Dahon but realized that I mainly used the straight part and the hoods of the bar. This can be duplicated by bullhorns which preserves the compactness of the fold. Road bars won't allow the same fold.

duke_of_hazard

Thanks for all the information. Will something like this do the trick:

https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...1&category=344

It says just 150 grams per pair. Will this interfere with the fold? I only fold my bike once in a while, so can I just remove them for those occasions? If I remove them, can I stll ride the bike or will the handlebar grip be all messed up?

stevegor

Origin 8 make a DROPS bar end which you could use without changing your shifters or brakes, that way you could get more aero-dynamic into the wind.

duke_of_hazard

would these be the ones:

https://cgi.ebay.com/Areo-Drop-End-Ba...QQcmdZViewItem

How unsafe is it to not have the brake levers close by?also can I remove these easily when I have to fold the bike up?

puppypilgrim

It is doubtful that you will use the Origin 8 drop bar extensions during the majority of your normal riding requirements. This because the position isn't very comfortable to maintain unless your first priority is speed at the expense of comfort.

In all likelihood, I think you will get a wider range of benefit using either the Titec L-shaped bar end which will allow you to stretch out and aid when climbing up a hill or use bullhorns which will allow you to do the same thing. Short bullhorns like mine will not interfere too much with the fold. L bar ends and drop bar extensions will interfere unless you can rotate them sufficiently.

It would be an inconvenience to mount and unmount the drop bar extensions each time you want to use them.

stevegor

That's them, If you want to do it properly remove your existing shifters and brake levers and install STI shifters on the Origin 8's, you will probably have to use travel agents if you've got V-brakes.


[QUOTE=puppypilgrim;8893965]It is doubtful that you will use the Origin 8 drop bar extensions during the majority of your normal riding requirements.This because the position isn't very comfortable to maintain unless your first priority is speed at the expense of comfort.

In all likelihood, I think you will get a wider range of benefit using either the Titec L-shaped bar end which will allow you to stretch out and aid when climbing up a hill or use bullhorns which will allow you to do the same thing. Short bullhorns like mine will not interfere too much with the fold. L bar ends and drop bar extensions will interfere unless you can rotate them sufficiently.

It would be an inconvenience to mount and unmount the drop bar extensions each time you want to use them.[/QUOTE]

That depends on what sort of riding he/she does. I'm a roadie...riding with drops is normal and very comfortable to me

duke_of_hazard

I have ordered the Titec bar-ends, a little pricey at $38 for everything, hope they are worth it ! If it can give me an extra 3 mph in 20 mph headwinds, I will be satisfied!

duke_of_hazard

Forgot to update the thread after I ordered the Titec bar-ends. For sure they made a big difference. I was able to get an extra 2 mph of top speed by using them on the flats. I noticed these are no longer made. So I ordered this one instead just now ( Profle Design Boxer Bar Ends ) for $21.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265197536165

rhenning

You do realize your last post on this was 12 + years ago. Roger

chaadster

OMG. They “forgot to update.” That’s pretty nuts.

Jipe

And 12 years later, if I understand well, the Dahon D7 is still riding?

Congratulation!

tds101 

Better late than never, but funny all the same!

CliffordK

25 MPH is a pretty decent speed, depending on whether that is a 100 yard sprint, a couple of miles, or the entire ride.

Perhaps find someone who will loan you a nice road bike, or perhaps rent one for a few days.

tds101 

Read the thread,...he solved the problem 12+ years ago.

CliffordK

Are you sure the OP isn't still dreaming of updating the Dahon for a 15 pound road bike?