Yep, thanks... already saw what JV Bikes has to offer!

I'm wondering though if the Tern Joe is as good for mountain trails as the Dahon Jack.

'Is there really a difference between the Jack and the Espresso?'

Devil is in the details, I think. The Espresso finishing kit was road based, and the bike used to have a slightly cramped 'street' gear range compared to the Jack last time I saw one. This may have changed. Certainly, an Espresso can be de-prettyfied and made into a Jack. They are fine for mild dirt like rail-trails and forest trails. They get better off-road with sus forks and a sprung seatpost - takes the shocks off the rider and the frame, but sus forks need servicing, and add weight, removing 'Jack-ness'.

The Jack originally was a light straight-fork city commuter bike, 'Jack be nimble' - with much the same stripped out spec as the Tern Joe.

The Jack has been made over by Dahon a couple of times; small changes in tyres: Big Apples instead of Conti Sport-Contacts, 7 speed, 21 speed, 24 speed and so on. There have been threads on here over the years where city-folk chuck a Jack into the trunk and head off to the dirt for the weekend.

I built mine from bits so I don't know if the current Espresso or Jack comes with double wall rims, for instance. My dumpster Jack has single-walls, fine for rail-trail, but it's got street tyres at the moment. The wheels from my MTB drop in if I need more gnarly rides.

I didn't have any frame issues with the Matrix which came with WTB double-wall MTB rims, and I used it off-road cross-country twice a week or more for two years. I kept it lubed up and adjusted, though. Dirt gets everywhere off-road, and eats moving frame parts.

BruceMetras has many pix someplace of his Zero G off-road, which is much the same critter with knobbly rubber, sus forks, extended cogs, and disk brakes.

I haven't ridden either the Tern Joe or the Montague. They both look tough enough, though. Montague fold means removing the front wheel. Tern Joe seems to be in three versions: mean, meaner, and downright nasty. Looks good, for a Jack replacement, I think.

All of these bikes would be fine for XC riding, but perhaps not for downhill DJ (dirt/jumps) or bouncing off fat rocks in Moab. They're very versatile, used my Matrix as my only bike when I lived in London.


Today, with Graffiti dirt/jump tyres. They're 2.4" wide and good on snow. If I was taking a bike to Burning Man, it would be a 26" folder with WTB Graffitis on it.

http://i48.tinypic.com/1ilcnl.jpg


There is someplace in China - a dealer who ships out Montague frames for not much.

Ah! Here.

Thanks snafu... I was reading elsewhere that although the Espresso and the Jack have the same frame, the gearing and componentry on the Jack are more versatile for rougher riding - probably better to go with the Jack if I really want it. As for the Tern Joe... hmmm... I really only see one variant. I'll have to look a bit more.

... it might just be look... I think my wife would flip if I got yet another bike... ;)

Yes, unusually for Dahon, Snafu's Black Jack looks like a Bad Boys Mean Machine, the Tern on the other hand looks like a Comfy Cushion in comparison.

More grist to the mill that certain companies need to spend more on visual design and finishing.

"Snafu's Black Jack looks like a Bad Boys Mean Machine"

Yeah: Eschew Accessories. With a Jack you make it better by taking stuff off it.

Death to the 'Which Cupholder' Thread. What is wrong with these people?

:bike:

Too funny. But I freely admit to loving accessories. ;)

That link to the Montague frames from China looks very interesting, good prices too.

Does the Zero G and the Jetstream share some frame design DNA ?

I happen to love stupid gadgets and accessories for my bikes. And, in general, anything that gets people off of there @$$ and onto their bike, hey, why not? :D

Eschew frippery!

http://i48.tinypic.com/14bnaqt.jpg

Brilliant!

It also helps to enforce the 3' rule for passing. :D

It starts, y'know, with a single cup-holder. Then, you want another. Before you know it, you're up to twenty a day.

Beat the crap out of the grotty ponce!

He was just a Learner then, you should have seen what he did when he got his full license.

When the Revolution comes all bicycles will be painted matte-black and stripped of ponciness.

Except mine.

(The Revolution will not be televised.)

I like the one to the right better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQdhMSEqhfg

Bump update.

Just got back from an enjoyable weekend and the Westminster, MD bike swap, and I've come home with folders.

Yes, folders. Plural. It's amazing what you can find for a total outlay of $200.00

First off, yes the vintage buff in me came thru and yes, I know own a Raleigh Twenty. Found a green one is original, unmodified (down to the tyres with cracking sidewalls), and complete with the tyre pump. Needs about 1/2 hour with cleaner wax and chrome polish to put it in show condition, shorted only by a serious chrome deterioration on the left crank arm, and a spot of rust on the headlight bracket. Also found a gentleman clearing out some Kenda tyres in the Twenty's size for $1.00 apiece. Will swap them over tomorrow, and the test ride showed me I want to add a couple of teeth to the rear sprocket, just like the Ranger. That was 80% of my outlay.

The remaining 20% was spent on a clean, somewhat scratched, almost-complete Montague CX. A bicycle shop selling there had impounded the bike for a non-payment of a bill, ended up stripping off the derailleurs, shifter and chain (all of which I'm in good supply at the shop). Replacing said parts, restringing the control cables and replacing the knobbies with street tyres should have that back on the road by next weekend.

Which means my work problem is taken care of, one way or the other, and I've got a spare to toss in the trunk of the car for occasional use. Thanks once again to everyone for their assistance.

and there we have it. now we will wait for your ride reports. ;)

And pix! :thumb:

Of course. I'll have the Raleigh photographed most likely later today once I've got it cleaned. The Montague will probably follow in about a week, once I've got it back together.

Excellent deal... nothing beats a folder... except a great deal on a folder. My faith in humanity has been restored.:thumb:

As promised, the Twenty:

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps8926f534.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps2deb3e7c.jpg

Riding it made me feel (for a moment, anyway) like I was 24 again. I found I had an 18t SA sprocket on the shelf left over from my gearing change on the Ranger/Phillips roadster, so I swapped it for the stock 15t sprocket. It dropped my gearing enough to get me up the hills around my house. Except for my driveway, which is a straight up Cat2 climb, of course. Then again, none of my IGH bikes climb that hill. I'll be using the bike for occasional runs to the post office (3.4 miles one way on very hilly rural terrain) when I don't feel like using the Schwinn CrissCross (my main commuter).

And I've started work on the Montague. Frame, wheels, bars and brakes have been cleaned up (the paint is beautiful with only a few small scratches, the alloy is virtually perfect), a set of Shimano STX derailleurs have been installed, and I'm starting to look at how I can mount a Blackburn rack on it without affecting the folding function. Already figured that the rack will be hard mounted to the dropouts, with the third mounting point being a slightly loose locating point around the seat post. Probably will use 3/8" aluminum bar stock bent around the seat tube and located in place with a bolt thru the bend and a spacer holding the ends apart. Picking up tyres and tubes tomorrow, maybe even a set of new Shimano 7-speed triggers, hopefully will have it on the road by this weekend. While I'm holding hard and fast to mounting a rear rack (one of my mandatory requirements on a commuter bike), I'm going to pass on mounting fenders (usually my other mandatory) so as not to compromise the folding function.

However . . . . . . in the "best laid plans of mice and men nee aft do gang aglay" department, late last week my job decided to move file storage of some of the stuff that I regularly work on into my office. Which means there is now a file cabinet sitting where I was planning on storing the bike. I'm still going to go ahead with the plan to replace the Ranger/Phillips at work with one of these two (most likely the Montague, the Twenty is way too useful for days I have to drop the car off for service) because I'll still be able to store it more out of the way in the service department.

Looking good!!!!

The Twenty will be much happier at your place instead of on my cold porch... :)

Here is a "before" picture of your bike on Raleigh Twenty tune-up day, back in October...

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps5058c95a.jpg

And here is my Twenty...

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps352e4a61.jpg

These were taken on the day the two bikes met and I found out that the blue bike is hateful and jealous. The green one gave me no problems and was happy for the attention. The blue one fought with me on every task I attempted. I think I own the Highlander of folding bikes. There can be only one.... I hope it never sees that I have a Strida tucked away in the upstairs bedroom...:rolleyes:

Great bikes both! For the blue one: That is the first time I have seen a R20 with drum brakes front and rear. Makes more sense to me than crappy rimbrakes. I want one!!