Hi all

I am new to this forum, and for that matter new to folding bikes

I am going to purchase the Dahon MU P8 bike soon as I can get it cheap through my work.
The question that I have is, I know there are upgrades to make the bike lighter ie change the seat post pedals etc.
Can anyone advice me on the best upgrades to make this bike lighter? I am based in UK if that helps?

Also I have seen bikes with white rim around it, this looks nice, but is there any benefits?

Thanks

zincee

bike to work scheme? how does it work? and why a Dahon MU p8?

At 11.2 kg the MU P8 is pretty light and I don't think that changing the plastic pedals or aluminum seat post will help enough to offset the expense.

yes thats correct!
You pay the company back by each month and you get like 32%-50% off a bike and accessories.

My company only lets me pick form Halfords, so the Dahon MUP8 is the best on there I think.
Plus its got good reviews

Look into how to carry luggage. A front rack maybe?

Also we just upgraded two bikes to detatchable pedals https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDwAb...eature=related

understood. its a great deal. my god, i wish we had that sort of scheme in NYC..

I have an MU P8 and it is probably the only bike I own I have not modified. It has excellent parts, even the tires that came on mine are still on it, Marathon Supremes.

I did put SPD pedals on it because I wanted clipless and I changed the seat because I wanted a different one, not because the stock one was heavy.

The seat post has a built in pump inside it, which prolly does add some weight, but is very convenient to have.

I would definitely recommend the bike, but would urge you to ride it some before making any mods.

Depends if 11kg is considered too heavy for you to pick up and carry around.
When riding a bike, weight doesn't matter much.
You won't feel +/- a few kilos when riding, but when carrying, that's a different story.
You can probably drop 5 kilos off it but it will cost you 2000 quid.

I found the cost/weight value decent when swapping the seatpost, handlebars, grips, pedals, saddle, and levers.
You might want to start researching how much those parts weigh and cost to swap on your bike.
There are no hills in Bangkok so I went single speed and lost a few hundred grams for free.

thanks for the advice! i never thought of a front rack!!
obviously this will go againt my ideal of making it as light as possible but if needed...

yes one of VERY few benefits of working in UK.

surprised you heard of this scheme being frm NYC

some very sound advice given here, I think you guys are right I will give it a go and see how it goes before I upgrade anything.
The main reason why I want a lighter upgrades is I live on the 3rd floor in a block of flats without any LIFTS!!
So i guess every little bit helps!!

But if I do upgrade, I will just do the basics ie. saddle, seatpost, and pedals.

interestingly, i learned of the bike to work scheme while i was in my local bike shop (B-Fold) purchasing my Brompton S6L. had a nice chat with a lovely english girl who was getting her M3 tuned up. after hearing about the UK bike scheme, i gulped as i handed over my visa card...

If you're not interested in the pump in the seat post then swapping that out for one of the fairly cheap alternatives that appear intermittently on ebay will cut something like 350 grams, that's the biggest bang for buck change at around 20 quid. The bottom bracket might be a little overweight too though the specs have probably varied over the years, you might cut 100g there. . . a change of saddle might cut another 150 grams.
If you don't mind narrow tyres you could go with folding kojaks and lose another 240 grams. . . not cheap though.
The folding pedals probably weigh around 350g a pair and so non folding replacements might shed another 130g.
All in all you might cut 1 kilo at some expense.

You can easily take out the pump off the post and save some weight if you don't need that pump.
There are also a lot of nice parts you can get cheaply via ebay from Hong Kong, for example, this Tuner saddle posts: https://www.ebay.com/itm/TURNER-Seatp...item3a7adbb9b9
These are even lighter: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2012-GUB-Sea...item51a2fcbe20
I recommend Wellgo MG1 QRD (Quick Release) Pedals, light and strong:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/Wellgo-QRD-MG...item2576d33186

Extensive list of Dahon parts and upgrade options with weights: https://handsonbike.blogspot.de/2012/...ht-weenie.html

One needs to be vigillant with weights and measurements from Ebay sellers of course ( by that matter from every seller or manufacturer) sometimes seatposts are also quite a bit shorter than standard equipment. Or they are way thinner... the same thickness which would be used for regular short ( 220 mm )seatposts... That might work for some, but it sure spells disaster for others...
just sayin ....

not in the Good ol' USA. they want us to use our cars so that we buy more gas. in fact at work they use to give us bart tickets. then they cancelled it. instead they make us pay for it and there's a $360 limit tax deductible. then suddenly they changed the tax deductible to $100. so i guess you guys are lucky that your government support bike to work scheme.