Dahon Boardwalk SS upgrades
#1
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Dahon Boardwalk SS upgrades
Got a potentially good deal on a 4 year-old, single-speed Boardwalk. Too good to pass up given that I can get the bike ready to ride for less than the cost the mods my Raleigh 20 needs to be reliable transport. Plus the Boardwalk looks to have a much tighter fold.
So, too good to pass up, but I still might want to make some changes. How upgradable is the Boardwalk? I built up a Sturmey 3-speed hub for the Raleigh, and was hoping I could move it over for better gearing. And I'm a little leery of those straight handlebars. On searching the forums, I seem to pick up on some grumbling about proprietary, non-replaceable, Dahon parts, but I don't know which parts to be on the lookout for and what I can and can't swap out with standard parts.
My dream is a bike that doesn't set off the oversize luggage fees on the airline, and can come along as a carry-on on the train, but is still serviceable to carry me and my touring gear around when I get to my destination. I don't get the impression that the Dahon would be a great touring rig, but it seems like with a couple of tweeks it might be a suitable travel companion for less rigorous travel, where I just use it to explore the area or fill in some transportation gaps. What do the experienced folding riders say?
So, too good to pass up, but I still might want to make some changes. How upgradable is the Boardwalk? I built up a Sturmey 3-speed hub for the Raleigh, and was hoping I could move it over for better gearing. And I'm a little leery of those straight handlebars. On searching the forums, I seem to pick up on some grumbling about proprietary, non-replaceable, Dahon parts, but I don't know which parts to be on the lookout for and what I can and can't swap out with standard parts.
My dream is a bike that doesn't set off the oversize luggage fees on the airline, and can come along as a carry-on on the train, but is still serviceable to carry me and my touring gear around when I get to my destination. I don't get the impression that the Dahon would be a great touring rig, but it seems like with a couple of tweeks it might be a suitable travel companion for less rigorous travel, where I just use it to explore the area or fill in some transportation gaps. What do the experienced folding riders say?
#2
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actually, that's a good choice for modification. boardwalk is such a basic bike, much can be done. a dahon "hon solo" is nothing but a pimped out boardwalk..
#3
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Good to see all the handlebar options as the short, flat bars were my biggest concern, but I'll have to do more research to see how it's done. Now that I have the bike, it's clear that it's not a straightforward swap.
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iya, you will have to lop the top off of that sucker with a pipe cutter, then add your own stem. oooor, you can get a radius v stem assembly:
https://www.bicyclebuys.com/barsstems/Stems/1630410
https://www.bicyclebuys.com/barsstems/Stems/1630410
#5
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Oh, good, so there is an option for a swappable stem. I was concerned when I saw the stem and handlebars were all one piece. But I did ride it around a little and it wasn't uncomfortable, but my experience with flat bars is that comfort changes as you add on the miles. For 'round town riding, though, it might be fine as is. Although I need to try and add my 3-speed wheel for some gearing options.
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slow down ....... any older Boardwalk has a 1 inch or maybe a 1 1/8 steerer tube with the threads on the outside of the fork....
Radius 5 has the threads on the inside for the cap nut to hold the handlepost in place..or lets say to adjust the tension , just like an ahead set system stem on a "regular" bike ....
Yoy cannot swap the old system to the newer stem ....
thor
Radius 5 has the threads on the inside for the cap nut to hold the handlepost in place..or lets say to adjust the tension , just like an ahead set system stem on a "regular" bike ....
Yoy cannot swap the old system to the newer stem ....
thor
#7
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slow down ....... any older Boardwalk has a 1 inch or maybe a 1 1/8 steerer tube with the threads on the outside of the fork....
Radius 5 has the threads on the inside for the cap nut to hold the handlepost in place..or lets say to adjust the tension , just like an ahead set system stem on a "regular" bike ....
Yoy cannot swap the old system to the newer stem ....
thor
Radius 5 has the threads on the inside for the cap nut to hold the handlepost in place..or lets say to adjust the tension , just like an ahead set system stem on a "regular" bike ....
Yoy cannot swap the old system to the newer stem ....
thor
#8
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@Rob_E - I think you should take a look at this thread:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-Schwinn-Hinge
Hopefully this could work for you as well.
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-Schwinn-Hinge
Hopefully this could work for you as well.
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Boardwalk is a Dahon licensed bike and although built and sold through Dahon its outside the regular Dahons .... but if you trust some stuff on the Interweb more than me.... so be it ... go ahead and buy a Radius 5 handlepost ....
Thor
Thor
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this is complete and descriptive documentation of a dahon boardwalk being seriously tricked out:
https://handsonbike.blogspot.com/p/da...alk-x20-r.html
although, the writer indicates he started with a dahon boardwalk d7 that originally came with a radius v handle post that he subsequently changed to a one piece handle post (mu uno style).
https://handsonbike.blogspot.com/2011...lk-part-7.html
https://handsonbike.blogspot.com/p/da...alk-x20-r.html
although, the writer indicates he started with a dahon boardwalk d7 that originally came with a radius v handle post that he subsequently changed to a one piece handle post (mu uno style).
https://handsonbike.blogspot.com/2011...lk-part-7.html
#11
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If the radius 5 is not compatible, I wonder if there are options other than hacking up my existing bars.
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rob make me a picture of the headtube and the stem you have now ( when its folded open ) and I can possible tell you what fits and whats not
thor
p.s. Monti ..its a grey area, for years Dahon didnt list the boardwalk in their dealer pricelist, they have started to list it since about 2 years now .... Its a political marketing strategy at the time, its always was a real dahon , just their entry level model
thor
p.s. Monti ..its a grey area, for years Dahon didnt list the boardwalk in their dealer pricelist, they have started to list it since about 2 years now .... Its a political marketing strategy at the time, its always was a real dahon , just their entry level model
#16
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The hinge is a different design, but the hinge gets replaced with the new stem. The attachment method looks to be similar, but I might have to dismantle it to verify the measurements and threading. I got the impression from what Thor said that the deal breaker would have been some sort of nut/wedge assembly like a threaded headset, but maybe I understood that wrong. We will see what he says.
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Go towards the bottom of this page and this appears to be the same
https://www.thorusa.com/accessories/handlebar.htm
https://www.thorusa.com/accessories/handlebar.htm
__________________
Speed Uno
Dawes Kingpin 2speed
Speed Uno
Dawes Kingpin 2speed
#19
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weird .... its inbetween ... but I still think it doesnt work ...
https://www.thorusa.com/dahon/technical/recall.pdf
page 3 ... look at the cap bolt ( 8mm allen wrench) The Radius have the thread INSIDE the fork
By the way the Radius V is hard to find much more common is the Fusion version .. works the same way than the 5 ...I have some of both but not always the correct one if it gets specific ..like jetstream or silver or black or or or ...
thor
https://www.thorusa.com/dahon/technical/recall.pdf
page 3 ... look at the cap bolt ( 8mm allen wrench) The Radius have the thread INSIDE the fork
By the way the Radius V is hard to find much more common is the Fusion version .. works the same way than the 5 ...I have some of both but not always the correct one if it gets specific ..like jetstream or silver or black or or or ...
thor
#22
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#23
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Yeah, I'll have to open it up and see how it goes together, see if the fork stem is threaded internally and if enough is showing to add a different stem.
As for the Uno, it looks nice, but if I were buying new, I'd be looking for a gear hub model. But a new folder isn't in my immediate future. That's why I jumped at the chance to buy a cheap, 2nd hand one that I could improve (hopefully) over time. I have the 3 speed wheel I built for my old 20-inch bike, so I'll try and install that for now. I'd like to upgrade to 8 speeds at some point, but I need to poke at this frame some more and see if the rear dropouts will handle an 8 speed with coaster brake or if adding a rear rim brake is an option.
And, yes, a larger set of allen keys may be in my future. I haven't checked yet to see if the largest in my current set will fit this bike. Also I need a little alone time in the apartment to fiddle with this bike because my wife isn't down with the whole "N + 1" theory, so I haven't figured out yet how to introduce her to the latest addition. ;-)
As for the Uno, it looks nice, but if I were buying new, I'd be looking for a gear hub model. But a new folder isn't in my immediate future. That's why I jumped at the chance to buy a cheap, 2nd hand one that I could improve (hopefully) over time. I have the 3 speed wheel I built for my old 20-inch bike, so I'll try and install that for now. I'd like to upgrade to 8 speeds at some point, but I need to poke at this frame some more and see if the rear dropouts will handle an 8 speed with coaster brake or if adding a rear rim brake is an option.
And, yes, a larger set of allen keys may be in my future. I haven't checked yet to see if the largest in my current set will fit this bike. Also I need a little alone time in the apartment to fiddle with this bike because my wife isn't down with the whole "N + 1" theory, so I haven't figured out yet how to introduce her to the latest addition. ;-)
#25
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Well, I took the headset off this weekend, and the results looked promising to me. Of course I have never seen the replacement part in person, so it's all guesswork, but the headset was held together exactly as specified in the documentation: the upper, handlebar-part of the stem bolted down on outside of the fork stem, and it was all held tight by the compression nut which was threaded into the inner part of the fork stem.