Maximum Tire Size for Dahon SUV

Before the acquisition of the Dahon SUV Folding bike, I found myself endlessly browsing through BMX photos on instagram and in Facebook groups. I was once an owner of two BMX Bikes (a Haro complete and a custom built from a Skavenger frame) and up to this time, partially recovering from the heartache brought about selling them. To ease the pain of loss of a bike that is so impractical of my adult needs, I wanted to get some BMX elements built into my folding bike.

#animalbmx MTT

A photo posted by Mark Arce (@arcemark) on Apr 30, 2014 at 9:11pm PDT

One of my BMX bikes in the photo above.

My current road bike came in with 700x23c tires. Lessons from the days of car racing dictates that the best first upgrade are tires. It also goes the same for cycling. With better tires, you can corner faster with confidence, use less effort with lower rolling resistance, and get better grip. The problem I had was choosing between the 23c and the wider 25c. Literature around the internet suggests that you can go faster with 25c even though it is a bit heavier of the two. Talk around bike forums say that the bigger tires are more comfortable and can diminish the shock from uneven roads.

Why not get wider tires for my folding bike? It will be the best for comfort (not that the steel frame is comfortable already) at the same time feed my desires to relive my old BMX.

While browsing for wide tire'd folding bikes, I came across a Tern touring bike. The Verge S27h. This is one awesome machine. I bet I can cross the Isle of Skye with this while carrying all my gears. Soaring north of Php 80,000 for the bike, I had to look elsewhere.

I checked and measured the Dahon SUV's frame for clearances to see what size of tires would fit best. I got 2.25" at the fork so the biggest I could fit is a 20x2.20 tire. I was browsed through my usual BMX sellers to check what they had in stock. BMX Cycle Center had Animal tires at 20x2.20. Perfect!

Photo from BMX Cycle Center

Photo from BMX Cycle Center

 I have many Enemy Component parts and The Project parts (from BMX Cycle Center) in my BMX and Fixed Gear bike (both already sold). Check out their page for cool stuff.

Unfortunately the Animal TWW tires did not fit in the frame. It would have been awesome to have those tires mounted on the folding bike. But this is not the end for me. The shop owner brought out a set of Maxxis Grifters (Php980 at BMX Cycle Center). Prior to this blog post, I had no idea about any Maxxis tires nor where does the Grifter fall into the greater scheme of tire things. According to the Maxxis site, the Grifters are made for Flatland, Park, Street, and Vert, and are light. Okay then.

The Grifters are 20x2.10 in size. The fenders have to be taken out to accommodate the huge width. Only a few millimeters left for clearance for both the chainstays and fork.

Photo from BMX Cycle Center

Photo from BMX Cycle Center

Photo from BMX Cycle Center

The tires are pumped to about 90 psi

The tight clearance at the fork. There is no rubbing though. 

Small gap at the chainstay.

Small gap at the seatstay.

For comparisson, I shall present a before and after photos. Follow this link for my previous entry about my initial review of the Dahon SUV folding bike. Prior to tire replacing, this was what my bike looked like:

If storm troopers had bikes, this would be it. Ewok for scale. #dahon #dog

A photo posted by Mark Arce (@arcemark) on Dec 28, 2015 at 2:47am PST

How it looks like after installation.

The bike felt a bit stubborn on the short test ride. There are no heaviness felt at the pedal stroke. The thick tires could probably dampen the agility and response of turning. Tomorrow will be a day for a greater test ride.

In conclusion, the maximum tire size for the Dahon SUV is 20x2.10. But be aware that not all manufacturers produce the same tire size as mentioned on paper. I had an Odyssey Chase Hawk Slicks in 20x2.40 and it was smaller in actual size than the Animal MTT 20x2.35.

Next up on my list are black rims, spokes and hubs. I could've gotten an all black wheel setup but I'm not rolling on disc brakes. Before all of that, I have to get a custom made rack that can carry a laundry basket, the real purpose of this bike's purchase. LOL

Update: My initial review of the Maxxis Grifter tires.