Hi Schocca, thank you for the great length you took to answer my question! I am surely in need of a guide as I look for a possible path for parts upgrade for my Espresso! Are both Tiagra and Sora version compatible with the frame? So far I'm a bit leaning to the Tiagra version, as I think I can source the parts easier, the only hard to get currently is the FD.

So for a bit background, I happen to own a Dahon Espresso myself, bought it over 10 years ago. For some reason, I stopped cycling and after years earlier this year, I decided to bring it to my local bike shop and restore it. I have been cycling around the town with it since.

So I notice that the stock parts on Dahon Espresso have become less common these days, like the bike is still using freewheels while nowadays the industry seems to have moved to freehubs. In case I need a part replacement, I figure might as well upgrade the bike. The road bike path would be good for me as I plan to ride the bike within the city (and carry some groceries along the way).

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c1fa2c5f16.jpg
My Dahon Espresso - mostly still using stock parts except for the saddle, pedal, additional rack, and mudguards.

So I did some parts browsing and try to estimate the damage, but it seems the CX-70 FD would be the hardest part to find.

That being said, I was wondering if we can fit a 1x system in Dahon Espresso (say, a Shimano GRX 1x11 groupset)? If I got it right, we can use road bike brifters to pair with the GRX (as the GRX brifters are designed for disc brakes) and also need to find a wheelset that is compatible with 11-speed cassettes (Shimano RS010 maybe?). The downside to this path is that I have to sacrifice gear range as opposed to using 2x systems, but I think it would do for commuting and some planned light touring. Shimano GRX system are also newer so it would be much easier to find.

Bb size type
 

Hi all, great conversions. Can anyone recommend a bottom bracket to replace existing. I have recently converted my Dahon Espresso to a gravel bike. But the bottom bracket has been making some knocking noises. From initial measurements the axle length is 113mm and the bracket size is 68mm. I am not sure what the thread would be. English I expect? Any advice would be wonderful.
Many thanks

You’re quite correct. It’s standard BSA threading.

i upgraded the square tapered standard triple crank to an FSA 50/34 with outboard bearings that I harvested from another project.

It works fine; the top-pull Shimano Cx70 front derailleur shifts sweeter than any of my other bikes.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fb6f29a2d.jpeg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e934a4cb4.jpeg

^ that Dahon’s frame cracked, was welded, cracked again and is now landfill.

The parts are now on this:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6fefa45e2.jpeg

Converting:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4feaa3cc7.jpeg

Project now completed with a Swytch electric front wheel. Awesome fun to ride.

Where did it crack?

seat tube.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e71ae3129.jpeg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9762bf87b.jpeg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e50b6a87d.jpeg
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Seat tube crack: Common on Dahons, usually smaller 20" folders with a much longer seat tube and thus greater moment for the same rider weight. Improvements have been an aluminum (replacing plastic) sleeve ("shim") between seatpost and seat tube, and on aluminum frames a gusset on top between the top tube and seat tube. Your crack originated at the edge of the weld, one of the reasons that premium aluminum frames like Cannondales "dress" (strip-sand) the welds to a smoothly blended radius, this distributes the localized strain and stress on the tubing better. Post-weld heat-treating 6061-T6 aluminum frames also helps, but modern 7005 aluminum developed specifically for bike frames, obviates the need for that.

I had one of their 4130 steel frames crack there, didn't see it until the crack was too far gone, so I frequently inspect there to catch any crack in its early stages, so would drill crack end or grind out, smooth edge well and burnish well (similar to shot-peening) as this improves fatigue life.

Hi everyone, I started working on converting a Dahon Espresso (Pininfarina) to a road bike. I bought a second-hand Shimano FC-4550 (Sora/Tiagra around 2011) 175mm crankset and a Shimano Tiagra BB-RS501 68mm bottom bracket. The problem is that the right crank is max 1mm away from the frame and the left crank is already touching the frame. Can anyone give me some advice and experience with this? I'm not very familiar with Hollowtech bottom brackets, I don't know if there are any spacers that can be put in without negatively affecting the attachment of the left crank? The chainring is also close to the frame, but unlike the cranks, it's not completely touchable.

I´ve tried to write to Schocca about his excel parts list that he posted here for his fantastic road conversion, but unfortunately he doesn't come here anymore. Does anyone have that list from him to shere? I know that he probably had a very similar crank there, but I don't know why it doesn't work for me.

Thanks a lot.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8399c6483.jpeg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...65616b17a.jpeg

I did a 2X crank conversion for my Dahon Speed (turned out fantastic), with a generic brand Hollowtech II copy crank, 50/34; Even with "road" Q-factor, crank arms have plenty of clearance. HOWEVER... because of the FAT seat tube plus thick front derailleur adapter plus large front derailler inner lip, I couldn't get it to shift to the smaller chainring. So I spaced the right crankarm out 4mm; Was able to shift but frequently dropped the chain when downshifting, AND, 4mm less clamping length on the left crank arm/shaft spline, made that come loose after a week. Removed spacers, and took a grinder and ground off the WAY excessively wide FD inner lip, only in the area of interference; Cage was still plenty strong and stiff as material was also thick. Chainline was 43.5 mm as designed, shifts perfect.

So no, don't space the crank out on a hollowtech II. Get a crank with either a longer spindle (but this may mess up the chainline), or a mountain crank with a larger Q-factor (pedal spacing), as fat frame tube interference was the reason for mountain bike crank arms being spaced further out.

You could dent the chainstays where they interfere, but those welds tell me that is an aluminum frame, so don't, and I'd even be careful with a steel frame unless there was no other option.

Thanks for sharing your experience, my cranks are compatible with 68 and 70mm bottom bracket widths. I have a 68mm width, so I hope that 2mm of shimmy is within the product tolerance without negatively affecting the stability of the left crank arm mount. I looked at the road cranks offer, I couldn't find anything with a Q-factor higher than 150mm, only a road triple speed chainring (e.g. Sora FC-R3030-CG with a Q-factor of 158.8mm), but since I want a single chainring up front, it doesn't make much sense to convert it.

For MTB cranks, there is an offer for example Deore MT5100 with a Q-factor of 178.5mm, which is quite a big jump. This one would probably be more reasonable in terms of price, but it only has a BCD of 96mm, it's hard to find large 50T road chainrings at a normal price.

I received a private message from someone, but unfortunately I don't have 10 posts here yet, so I'm blocked from accessing private messages. So please write to me here in the discussion if you can.

Yes, spindle designed for 68 or 70mm, used on 68, should give you at least 2mm to play with.

For my 2X conversion (from 1X), I'm a retrogrouch in wanting a 5 arm spider, symmetrical, not proprietary BCD. I found a generic hollow spindle road crank, 5x110mm BCD in 50/34, so could easily go larger on the big ring, 5x110mm BCD was a common touring bike crank, often with a 5x74mm BCD inner pattern for the low ring on a triple. Mine looks like this:

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...267a124a31.jpg

Was dirt cheap, $60 for crank with rings and external BB bearings, 3 years ago on amazon. I've been tickled with it. Also available with aluminum rings only a few bucks more; Mine was advertised as aluminum, came with steel rings, I told seller as much, they mailed me aluminum rings, just took a month from China.

Thanks a lot for the tip, I see that Prowheel has a lot of road cranksets with a Q factor greater than 150 (I found 158, 162, etc.). They even indicate the I-factor, which is the internal distance between the crank arms, which is absolutely crucial information for my purposes.

Good deal. Just make sure you look deep into all the fine print on it, especially if there are multiple options, make certain on the specs, and take a screenshot of the info before ordering. In my case where it said aluminum rings and I got steel, once I said something and they put new ones in the mail, they changed their web page. The good news is the email replies were all next day, it just took a month to get new rings because that wasn't stocked through amazon, they had to go mail, to their customs broker in Nevada, and then to me.

Thanks for the tips! But now I'm a bit stuck, I found out that Prowheel cranks are almost impossible to order in my destination, the only channel is Ali, where they only have a few models in short arm length variants, which is not right for my height. On Ali there are models with a Q factor of max. 158mm, on the website they have models with 163mm and higher, which would be better for the distance between the shoe and the frame. So I'll either take the compromise Prowheel RPN crankset 172.5mm with Q:158, or I don't know.. It's unbelievable how lacking models are on the market with hollowtech axle, higher tooth pitch and higher Q. If I were to stick with the square axle, there are tons of models, but unfortunately the weight is much higher. I also like the ride feel little better with hollowtech.

I just found a Shimano Cues U6000-1 crankset, which has in variant with 42T BCD 110mm (4bolts asymetric) and is cheap. I still need to find a single chainring around 50T and compatible with a 9s rear cassette somewhere maybe on Ali and I'm set..

Sorry, I meant Cues U6040-1, which has hollowtech, not U6000.

Edit: I was right first time, U6000-1 has Hollowtech also, and it has large Q factor.

If you are willing to tolerate 4 bolt patterns, and especially asymm 4 bolt, you should have plenty of options.

I being retro style, I wanted a 5 bolt spider on a standard BCD.

You may also want to check Litepro, a lot of folks use their stuff, however some of it looks just a little bit too light for me on the rings. But if you need to swap the ring anyway, you might be able to find the right crank only in Litepro, then buy standard rings for it.

My town has one of the best bike shops in the country for their supply bins of used parts, and I might have gone that route, but the Prowheel crank complete with rings and bearings, was cheaper than same in good shape at the bike shop.

Thak you! Unfortunately, the Litepro has only 170mm cranks on Ali for my destination, I am 194cm tall so its not very ergonomic to me.
I know, Shimano Cues not very nice choice in terms of appereance. But I probably don't have many options in 175mm or 172.5mm lengths. I would probably combine the Cues with some full "aero" chainring like KEOS from Ali, and thus shift the look to modern, for this type of cranks it would probably be a better choice.

Do you happen to know how big of a gap between the inner face of the crank and the rear frame is common on road/gravel bikes? In my first post, I have 0-1mm in the photo, but I don't actually know what condition is close to ideal.

Gosh I don't know gravel or mountain, and not even that info on road, I only know my own bike.

Someone else on here has tried Cues and says it's good stuff, shifts well, handles the range it's supposed to, etc. IIRC, I think also designed with electric drivetrains and rental bikes in mind, so supposed to be durable. I think a bit heavier than prior components. Most Shimano stuff is bombproof tough, the failure they had on some bonded construction cranks (to reduce weight) was rare for the company. I just got away from their cranks because I don't like 4 bolt assym pattern (especially proprietary, requiring Shimano chainrings to blend well with the crank spider), and direct mount chainrings even worse. But my USD$13 Shimano Tourney TX rear derailleur has been an excellent and reliable replacement for the original Dahon Neos design at $80 replacement cost, for a terrible design.