Dahon Rear Wheel Removal Procedure
 

What is the procedure to easily remove the rear wheel on a a Dahon that has the the Neos rear derailleur.

I can get the rear wheel off, that is not the issue, the problem is that because the Neos derailleur sits further forward I seem to have to fight to get the wheel out of the frame.

Are there any tricks like placing the drivetrain in a certain gear or which side should come out first. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I tried the search option but didn't find anything.

not really.... just wiggle ..thats what I do .... The NEos is a super nice derrailleur but it has those two downfalls... taking the wheel out... and adjusting the max and min screw ....
the better shifting makes up for the downfalls in my opinion however

thor

Just grabbing the chain and pulling it back is the thing to do. Keep a few latex gloves in your saddlebag if you don't like the idea of getting filthy doing a rear tire repair on the road.

-Warr

Thanks Thor, i was afraid that was going to be the case. Maybe with practice I will get better.

Warr, I think you have a good point there with pulling the chain, like I said above, I need more practice, preferably in the warmth of the living room and not on the side of the road, in the rain, and the sun going quickly down into the horizon.

I find it works better if you move the RD into the middle range when taking the wheel off. You also have to push the chain out of the way, but you have to do that anyways to slip the axle past. On normal RD bikes, it's best to put it into the high range, because it's easier to slip the axle past, but that inflexibility doesn't allow the RD to be bumped out of the way.

Actually, I found that the easiest way to remove the rear wheel is to unhook the chain in the front chainring (where the crank is). that extends the chain length considerably and makes it very easy to pull out the rear wheel.

It's also very easy to just put the chain back on once you have the wheel back in.

My issue doesn't seem to be with the chain, it is with the interference of the derailleur since it doesn't sit in the usual position.

Good tips as usual ... I do a combination what AEO and RVD are doin .... its much easier to deal with it if there is no pretension on it from the chain...
Its really no big deal....a little annoyance maybe.

thor

This really bothered me with my Vitesse. I finally removed the stock derailleur and replaced it with a standard Tiagra from my parts bin. When I purchased my bike, it came with a spare dropout which allowed me to fit a standard derailleur. I'm not sure if all Dahon bikes come with the alternative dropout.

I also replaced the shifter while I was at it, so I don't know if the stock shifter is shimano compatible

Mine didn't come with a spare hanger, but at least it is a replaceable part on my frame. When this derailleur wears out I will consider a regular one, but for now I will learn to work around the Neos.

If the rear derailleur gets in the way, did you try shifting gears to get it to move in or out? I usually put the bike into a high gear to move it out of the as much as possible.

I have been busy and haven't really had the chance to play with it, so I need to try with the chain in different positions.

The situation is aggravated by the design. The NEOS is mounted in front of the dropout instead of behind. Not only does this make it difficult to get the axel and wheel past the derailleur, it makes it very difficult to adjust the H & L screws while it is installed.

So now that I have had the chance to practice and experiment a bit, i realize that some of my problem is visual confusion with the placement of the derailleur.

Instead of trying to move the wheel forward as in a normal bike to clear the derailleur, the wheel needs to go towards the rear and then you only need to bring the chain over and around the axle.

Video: Removing the Rear Wheel with Neos Derailleur
 

Yes, I am posting onto a thread that is five years old. I just googled this subject because I am wrestling with removing the rear wheel on my Dahon. Tern has published a nice video for this.

It is on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYjP8lrisEY

It is on the Tern website at www.ternbicycles.com/support/videos

Jesus, that involves handling the chain way too much for my taste, considering the fact that mine is usually pretty dirty and messy.

I can get the job done with a little wiggling and much more judicious chain touching. It's not a briliant design from the perspective of wheel insatall/removal, but it gets easier with practice.

Carry non-latex gloves. I do for messy things or if I were to come across someone who's hurt. Also,you can use a stick,leaves,or a piece of paper to manipulate the chain;there's almost always going to be something in your immediate vicinity that you can use.