Finally the Tourney rear derailleur had been replaced by a road-oriented component. The Shimano Claris is an adequate replacement as it is not as complicated as its professional-tiered brothers, yet modern enough to be long lasting and reliable. It is an 8-speed rear mech, just two gears above this bike's 6-speed cassette, making it somehow within range.
The Claris rear derailleur has a glossy grey color.
Using the same grip shifter, the Claris felt a little heavier to shift at the cockpit. You'd have to get a good grip and a big push at the wrists. This is something you have to adjust to if you are used to the indexed shifters widely used now. The Tourney rear derailleur probably has weaker springs inside it as it is very easy on the grip. You just need two fingers to get it turning.
In the Dahon SUV's case, you have to buy hanger for horizontal dropouts.
On the rear, it shifts quite impressively. Take note that this folding bike's rear hub is a late '80s Shimano Dura-Ace 7400 series, with Uniglide cassette. Compatibility issues are expected in this setup but apparently there are none. Now, there are no stubborn shifting problems or skipped gears. It just changes gears in one click.
The latest version of this Dahon SUV folding bike.
The only thing quite sour to taste in this method of customizing your bike is that you get components from different tiers that have different color schemes. The current Dura-Ace 9000 series sports a two-toned piano black and brushed aluminum design, which looks sleek and sexy. The Tiagra has a more warm grey look with subtle hints of blue. The Claris' grey is on the cooler end of the spectrum. Put them all together and you get a very weird looking bike. But as long as you take pleasure on the ride, the looks just come in second.
So far, here is the mash up of components for this Franken Foldie:
Crankset - 10 speed Shimano Tiagra 4700
Chain - 9 speed Shimano HG-53
Rear Derailleur - 8 speed Shimano Claris 2400
Cassette - 6 speed Shimano Dura-Ace 7400
Shifter - 6 speed Shimano Tourney SL-RS35
Most of the miles I've earned on the saddle are during at night. Right now the only lights mounted on the folding bike are Cateye brand and it is the 3 bulb type which runs on AAA batteries. It's not really bad but when you occupy a large road space with reckless cars in the evening, you'd want something proportional to your road presence.
Enter the Raypal 2263. Here are a couple of photos of the Raypal 2263 light compared to the 3-bulb Cateye. I mounted one on the chainstay and another at the seat post. On the second shot, I just switched their positions. All photos are taken through a phone camera in manual mode with the same settings for both shots.
Raypal 2263 mounted at the chainstay.
You can definitely see how clean my bike it with the Raypal light. It is because I just washed it.
Raypal 2263 mounted at the seatpost.
Notice how little light was projected by the Cateye compared to the Raypal's wide throw. Impressive. I was blinded when taking these photos. The chainstay mounting is a good idea to get a huge pavement area lit for multi directional visibility. I was planning to place one light per chainstay and two for each fork leg to get that U.F.O. effect. The price per piece, however, was the only thing keeping me from being that irresponsible blinding prick you see on the streets.
Battery life for the brightest 100 lumen overdrive setting is very unfavorable. If you plan a long night ride, never use this setting. It only lasts for over an hour. You can use the blinky or the strobe features which extends the battery life.
Only time will tell when this light will last the 5 years stated in the manual.
A clean bike is equally satisfying as getting that weekend long ride done. I just love the sight of a grease-less cassette and chains that are dry to touch. That hub looks like a garbage dump next to the squeaky clean cassette. No one would think that they are cleaned at the same time!
The rear hub before I applied chain lube.
But wait. What is this? Could this be the answer to the garbage truck style of shifting of my folding bike? Stay tuned to find out.
The Shimano Claris 2400 Rear Derailleur weighs 255 grams.
I just discovered that you can add parts to your bikes on Strava. This is an awesome feature that lets you track the mileage of your parts. It will be definitely easier for you to monitor your maintenance intervals. If only I knew this sooner, then I could've kept track on my Road Bike's components.
I still have so much in my mind for this bike but upon consultation from my wallet, I have to slow things down. Probably a little.
No Litepro Parts
As much as possible, I try to stay away from Litepro parts. Locally, at this moment in time, there is no other component brand to cater to the folding bike scene than Litepro. Everybody I've come across hails Litepro to be the best and the lightest.
Your Litepro equipped bike looks like everyone else's. We need competition. One whose logo has a better typeface. This is why I resorted to using Shimanos. Other than the fact that they make fine, reasonably priced products, it is a Japanese brand much like the origin of Dahon bikes.
I might soon be promoting hypocrisy though, as the only option I have to upgrade my stem is to purchase a Litepro one. This will get rid of the unfavorable Tbar that came with the bike. There are stories in public forums about the Tbar breaking at the weld. I do not want that to happen while pushing the pedals hard uphill or coasting very fast down hill. If I can get a non-Litepro replacement, why not. My mind is practically open to anything as I have entertained the thought of Litepros.
Shifting
Switching gears is not buttery smooth in this machine. As of this writing, the bike has clocked in about 140kms with the Dura-Ace hub. For info on the Dura-Ace hub acquisition, kindly click this link. For the first update of the custom wheelset, kindly follow this link. My current drivetrain combination are as follows:
It's an odd combination but it works. This system is relatively silent. It is only when you shift that you'll hear a sound. It is kind of what you expect in a uniglide system where the chain completely disengages the sprocket before it can enter the next one. Unlike the present hyperglide system where the chain meshes with the next sprocket before it disengages with the previous one.
However you'll hear noisier drive sounds when you pedal real hard. I can definitely feel a bit flexing in the frame as it faintly squeaks while on sprint. But what do you expect from a bike that is marketed as an urban commuter.
The frame flexing, however, only came up when I stepped up to the Tiagra 4700 crankset. The new cranks were definitely a worthy upgrade to the stock flimsy armed Dahon cranks. The Tiagras are stiff enough to deliver power to a frame of this caliber. The Shimano 105's and up probably won't give anymore advantage at this point. With precision engineered components installed, I just hope that the steel frame can keep up.
Chain
I'm running with HG 9-speed chains on modern chainrings designed to easily drop chains. There needs to be a chain guide of some sort for this work if I should maintain the 1x setup. There's an abundant options out there for 1x conversion on different kinds of bikes but they are all expensive. I was contemplating on getting a cheap Front Derailleur to act as a chain guide. Fortunately after about 100kms of test riding, the chain has not fallen off. The 6-speed setup at the rear probably made a less bent chainline for the chain to not drop. The smaller 36T chainring on the crankset stays on for now so it could catch the chain, should it fall. Once it does, I'll update my blog.
Fat Tires
The most I can get inside its metal crotches is 20x2.10 tires. Disappointing as it will not be the same as that behemoth Tern tourer. I can get over the lack of girth the 2.10's give as it does complement the size of the main tubes of the folding frame. The tires, Maxxis Grifters, performs well for my intended use. It grips the uneven city roads of Manila on its shoulder. It gets uncomfortably stiff when pumped to 95psi but when softened to 60psi and below, it becomes annoyingly sluggish. Probably perfect for that leg exercise. I've yet to find my perfect sweet spot with those tires.
Yes it feels a bit heavy, relatively. You'd be turning a small round mass with the gearing designed for 700C sized wheels. It doesn't make any difference unless you'd be racing the folding bike. But for maximum speed for every effort produced, it will be the road bikes you'll pick.
Maybe sometime in the future, I'll realize that I'd get a better ride with the original 20x1.50 tires for this clown bike. But that won't happen. I have other bikes for that.
For updates on my rear derailleur, follow this link: http://quezongritty.blogspot.com/2016/01/claris-2400-rear-derailleur.html
The missing puzzle piece are the rims. Since I am going to use the stock Dahon hub in the mean time, I would need a pair of rims with different hole counts (28/36). After much research, the only shop left that can supply such a special order is Tryon in Makati.
I got the Newson Sportec 406-P24 rims. Black color to get that stealth look on my components. Both rims do not have the same decals on the side.
This is the 28H version. This goes to the front.
A far away look
This is the 36H version at the rear. Why can't they make a uniform logo on all their wheels?
In its entirety
Checking out the Newson Sportec website, based on the decals, the monochromatic logo comes from the RD-S24 family. This is a simple double walled, sleeved rim design. The succeeding photo is from the RD-P24 family. It is also the same double walled construction but with holes for the pins. But no one will notice the which is which as all the decals will be peed off.
One crazy thing that almost derailed this project is that these Newson rims only accept Presta valves. With my current tire, a Maxxis 20x2.10 (check out in this blog entry), there are no available tubes this width that uses Presta. We had to drill the rim to enlarge the hole. This, of course will weaken the rim but it has been done before in the mountain bike forums and there were no reports of rim destruction after going through trails. The short valve of my Schrader tube is just enough, in this 24mm high rim, for the pumps to get air into it.
I had to ride through three cities just to get home from the shop so pardon the dirt on the bike.
The braking surface of the Newsons are quite nice.
The most exciting part of the build was the Dura-Ace hub. The sound is different from the Shimano RS-11 hubs that I'm used to. It's a little bit high pitched and loud. I could definitely get used to this.
Shifting is not really something worth writing about. With all the technology all these bike companies churn out year by year, this felt primitive. The shifting is sluggish. Sometimes it does not shift at all at command. The chain really does jump from one gear to another, the cassette being a uniglide model, unlike the hyperglide model where the chain meshes with the next gear first before completely jumping of the current gear. Once you are cruising at your favorite gear, the pedaling feels awesome.
This is a close-up of the Uniglide teeth of the cassette.
Here's how the Cassette looks like on the other side.
Wheel building at Tryon
For comparison, I shall show you the latest look of the folding bike prior to wheels upgrade:
The current Dura-Ace (DA9000) line up is really a sin to own. I hoped that one of these days I could treat my road bike to at least one Dura-Arce part. It will happen, eventually. I did, however came across a Dura-Ace hub when researching about the wheel build for my folding bike.
My current Dahon S.U.V, is six speed. Hey why not use this Dura-Ace hub for your rear wheelset build? I don't have to change anything in the drivetrain.
Let the experiment begin.
Here she is in her sealed package.
Dura-Ace FH-7400 6-Speed
I got this from Roosevelt Bicycle Center for Php 1,950.00 or US$ 40.91 as of this writing. If you are interested, you can find some of their items here in their online shop.
This hub is 126mm, perfect for my Dahon S.U.V., which also measures 126mm at the Over-Locknut Dimension. Sorry for the use of plastic caliper. I have a metal one somewhere. It sucks to know that I'll be stuck with 6-speed for a while but I've gotten over it and if I wanted to go faster, the weapon of choice would be my road bike.
The only thing unfavorable for me is that I will be limited to use the Uniglide cassette it came with. I cannot switch to the hyperglide version because the freehub body cannot be swapped out in pre-1997 Dura-Ace shells. Some forums, however, said that you can use the Hyperglide cassettes but you must retain the smallest cog since it will be the one to lock everything in place.
Dura-Ace FH-7400 6-Speed
You'd need to source out a Dura-Ace 7403 free hub and axel so you can swap it out with the 7400 free hub. Only then you can use Hyperglide cassettes. It's impossible now to look get a NOS 7403 hubs and you have to make do with what you have.
