Perfect bike, Dahon, foldable, electric... ?? questions
Discussion
I live about 16 miles away from where I work, at the moment I either drive or get the tube with the bike ( after 9:30am and 7 pm )
What I would love would be a normal looking bike ( straight bars not drop down ) with 700c wheels for speed, that could be folded occasionally when the weather is crap and I could get on the tube when needed, also i would like it to be electric so i could take it easy if I wanted on the way home/work and actually use it a mode of transport to places without the worry of having to wash at the other end.
Now ideally I would like to get a dahon folding bike as they are the closest thing I can find to a real bike that folds ( not small but enough for tube to let me on anytime I like ). Ideally I would want it to have 700c tyres on it but can't find any of there 26inch wheel models that do that tyre.
Q.1 Can you change a "normal" slick mountain bike wheel for a 700c one ? Also roughly how much would a shop charge to do that ?
Also I would like it to be electric for when I fancy cycling home ( basically cycle 5 miles of the journey myself but there is a boring 10 mile stretch alongside the A40 ) which it would be great to sit back and turn on a electric motor so I could do this viably and not worry too much about having a workout everyday with a 30mile round trip.
Q.2 is this something easy to do yourself if not roughly how much for a shop to convert ?
At the moment I have a drop handled road bike but don't like the bars
Q.3 is it possible to change to straight bars ? how easy or how much for a shop to fix/ move brake levels etc
Q.4 do they do narrow straight bars ? I like the width of the drop down as the bike is kept in a hallway
I might be able put straight bars on the bike I have now and convert that to electric ( solving the long distance ) and then buy a cheap folding bike for bad weather days, but ideally I would like one bike that could do everything.
Sorry about the questions but the only people to ask around me are the local halford boys and I figured I get a better opinion here.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
What I would love would be a normal looking bike ( straight bars not drop down ) with 700c wheels for speed, that could be folded occasionally when the weather is crap and I could get on the tube when needed, also i would like it to be electric so i could take it easy if I wanted on the way home/work and actually use it a mode of transport to places without the worry of having to wash at the other end.
Now ideally I would like to get a dahon folding bike as they are the closest thing I can find to a real bike that folds ( not small but enough for tube to let me on anytime I like ). Ideally I would want it to have 700c tyres on it but can't find any of there 26inch wheel models that do that tyre.
Q.1 Can you change a "normal" slick mountain bike wheel for a 700c one ? Also roughly how much would a shop charge to do that ?
Also I would like it to be electric for when I fancy cycling home ( basically cycle 5 miles of the journey myself but there is a boring 10 mile stretch alongside the A40 ) which it would be great to sit back and turn on a electric motor so I could do this viably and not worry too much about having a workout everyday with a 30mile round trip.
Q.2 is this something easy to do yourself if not roughly how much for a shop to convert ?
At the moment I have a drop handled road bike but don't like the bars
Q.3 is it possible to change to straight bars ? how easy or how much for a shop to fix/ move brake levels etc
Q.4 do they do narrow straight bars ? I like the width of the drop down as the bike is kept in a hallway
I might be able put straight bars on the bike I have now and convert that to electric ( solving the long distance ) and then buy a cheap folding bike for bad weather days, but ideally I would like one bike that could do everything.
Sorry about the questions but the only people to ask around me are the local halford boys and I figured I get a better opinion here.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
first of all i would say dont bother with electric bikes, they are utterly useless and no fun at all for anything other than pavements. they are heavy, slow and because of this not really suitable for commuting due to the difficulty of changing direction. at the moment i would recommend you head over to a dedicated brompton forum and get some advice there as to their suitability for long journeys, i dont know many brompton (or foldable bike) riders but those i do dont seem ot have any complaints regarding long journeys when the bike is set up to their preferences, right some answers...
Tampon said:
I live about 16 miles away from where I work, at the moment I either drive or get the tube with the bike ( after 9:30am and 7 pm )
What I would love would be a normal looking bike ( straight bars not drop down ) with 700c wheels for speed, that could be folded occasionally when the weather is crap and I could get on the tube when needed, also i would like it to be electric so i could take it easy if I wanted on the way home/work and actually use it a mode of transport to places without the worry of having to wash at the other end.
Now ideally I would like to get a dahon folding bike as they are the closest thing I can find to a real bike that folds ( not small but enough for tube to let me on anytime I like ). Ideally I would want it to have 700c tyres on it but can't find any of there 26inch wheel models that do that tyre.
Q.1 Can you change a "normal" slick mountain bike wheel for a 700c one ? Also roughly how much would a shop charge to do that ?
i dont think so, i think hub sizes differ and also the brakes will be out of alignment as 700c wheels are commonly narrowerWhat I would love would be a normal looking bike ( straight bars not drop down ) with 700c wheels for speed, that could be folded occasionally when the weather is crap and I could get on the tube when needed, also i would like it to be electric so i could take it easy if I wanted on the way home/work and actually use it a mode of transport to places without the worry of having to wash at the other end.
Now ideally I would like to get a dahon folding bike as they are the closest thing I can find to a real bike that folds ( not small but enough for tube to let me on anytime I like ). Ideally I would want it to have 700c tyres on it but can't find any of there 26inch wheel models that do that tyre.
Q.1 Can you change a "normal" slick mountain bike wheel for a 700c one ? Also roughly how much would a shop charge to do that ?
Tampon said:
Also I would like it to be electric for when I fancy cycling home ( basically cycle 5 miles of the journey myself but there is a boring 10 mile stretch alongside the A40 ) which it would be great to sit back and turn on a electric motor so I could do this viably and not worry too much about having a workout everyday with a 30mile round trip.
as mentioned, electric bikes are slow and heavy, difficult to maneouvre and rubbish on anyhting abr pavements making its use for anything else limited. seriously, you will be able to pedal faster than the effort of using an electric bike.Tampon said:
Q.2 is this something easy to do yourself if not roughly how much for a shop to convert ?
i wouldnt like to work out the cost or the mechanics behind building an electric bike but I cant see it being cheaper or better in terms of performance than the electric bikes on the market. you have to factor in things like the cost of repairs/warranties should it fail too. i dont know any shops that would do an electric conversion and the power units on those that i have seen are quite large. i cant see the same size unit fitting onto a brompton/dahon neatly or safely.Tampon said:
At the moment I have a drop handled road bike but don't like the bars
Q.3 is it possible to change to straight bars ? how easy or how much for a shop to fix/ move brake levels etc
not really, drop levers are specific to drop frames in their operation. most drop bars now have brake/gear levers integrated into one unit vertically so cant be used on straight bars. look at any road bike, the gears are operated via a horizontal "tap" on a seperate lever, this wouldnt work on a straight bar as you would have to "tap" vertically and you couldnt access the underneath of the lever to push up. also cable lenghts will differ.Q.3 is it possible to change to straight bars ? how easy or how much for a shop to fix/ move brake levels etc
Tampon said:
Q.4 do they do narrow straight bars ? I like the width of the drop down as the bike is kept in a hallway
cut them yourself with a pipe cutter or a good quality hacksaw, we used to do this all the time in the early nineties when narrow bars on xc bikes were the fashion....Tampon said:
I might be able put straight bars on the bike I have now and convert that to electric ( solving the long distance ) and then buy a cheap folding bike for bad weather days, but ideally I would like one bike that could do everything.
i think the folding requirement is the biggest driver here and thus the brompton/daho option is the most suitable but i dont know what riding one for 16 miles would be like, hopefully somone can answer that one....Cheers, i looked into the wheel conversion thing more, your right 700c won;t go but apparently 650c will just a problem with the brakes, need alot of adjustment.
As for the electric bike being heavy, I am not that bothered about it being heavy with the battery pack on, the battery pack would only be on it for when I decided I was going to cycle all the way, so most of the time it wouldn't be there. All other times it would be off, just gives me more options with the one bike.
As for cost of kit to do it seems £3-400 will buy me the stuff needed but I have no idea how hard ti would be to hook it all up, or how much a shop would charge to do the same thing.
As for the Bromton, I really just don;t like the looks of them, i would like a "normal" sized bike, I am a 6ft 5 and 18 stone rugby player and really can;t bring myself to ride around on one of the small folders, thats why I like the range that Dahon did, they look like normal bikes.
I am thinking of this as a viable transportation device not just as purist cycler.
As for the electric bike being heavy, I am not that bothered about it being heavy with the battery pack on, the battery pack would only be on it for when I decided I was going to cycle all the way, so most of the time it wouldn't be there. All other times it would be off, just gives me more options with the one bike.
As for cost of kit to do it seems £3-400 will buy me the stuff needed but I have no idea how hard ti would be to hook it all up, or how much a shop would charge to do the same thing.
As for the Bromton, I really just don;t like the looks of them, i would like a "normal" sized bike, I am a 6ft 5 and 18 stone rugby player and really can;t bring myself to ride around on one of the small folders, thats why I like the range that Dahon did, they look like normal bikes.
I am thinking of this as a viable transportation device not just as purist cycler.
sjg said:
Don't want to pedal? Buy a scooter for that sort of journey.
It isn;t about not wanting to pedal, it is about having a option not to pedal hard sometimes on long journeys that I won't normally consider even using the bike for.I have a scooter ( vespa et4 ) but it's not the point, I would like to cycle more but 16miles each way is too long to regularly cycle without it being a major faff. Would like something in between pedaling and a motorised scooter, that can also be used on public transport so I can use it in the p1ssing rain rather than taking the car.
basically a real world alternative to cars and bikes that cost hardly anything to run, don;t have to worry about getting knicked, taxed, insured etc etc , if it breaks down then pedaled it to the nearest tube jump on go home and offers tonnes of options as to how I get around london without sweating my arse off when I don;t want to.
Figure pedaling lightly is better than no pedaling at all and sitting in a box in traffic. Also want a bike that is ridable without the battery on it ( say winter, knowing that I will be using it on tube in cold wet weather to cover most of the distance and cycle a couple of miles either end).
This is a list of the things I want from one bike
1) be a "normal" bike that can be riden at a half decent pace ( not a brompton, I am used to my road bike, thats why I wanted 700c tyres )
2) have the option of using the tube on a whim ( ie foldable ) if it suddenly starts raining, or just plain knackered after work
3) Electric motor so I will be able to use it to get to and from work ( 16mls each way ) regularly rather than the tube in nice weather and not have worry about being sweaty morning and evening if there is something on ( still have the option of riding it all the way for a workout a few times a week )
If you think 16 miles each way is too much,can you store your bike somewhere secure @work
I'm about 18miles away from work in central London and when the mornings start to get a bit lighter my plan is to do one-on/one-off, i.e
Monday bike in, train home
Tuesday train in, bike home
Weds bike in, train home
Thurs train in, bike home
{friday... wfh
}
..and so-on.
Won't save too much on the train fare (single is almost same as return) but its workable and gives the option for when I need to wear a suit or visit a client in the morning I can do it without turning up as a heaving mess
I'm about 18miles away from work in central London and when the mornings start to get a bit lighter my plan is to do one-on/one-off, i.e
Monday bike in, train home
Tuesday train in, bike home
Weds bike in, train home
Thurs train in, bike home
{friday... wfh
}..and so-on.
Won't save too much on the train fare (single is almost same as return) but its workable and gives the option for when I need to wear a suit or visit a client in the morning I can do it without turning up as a heaving mess
The trouble is your incompatible criteria that make such a "perfect" bike impossible.
Anything on 26" (let alone 700c) wheels is going to be very unweildy when it folds. Such things exist, but more for people who want a full-size bike but don't have sufficient storage space, like caravanners. They tend to have just one fold in the middle making them very bulky - attempting to get on a busy tube train with one will make you even less popular than the people with massive backpacks.
Anything electric is going to be heavy. Very heavy - most regular electric bikes are around the 25kg mark, the couple of folding ones I found are only a little lighter, and that's a lot to be picking up and carrying, more so with the awkward shape of most folding bikes. A Brompton feels a bit weighty to carry when it's folded and even the lardiest Bromptons are half that weight.
Have you actually tried a Brompton? A flatmate of mine used to regularly do a 16 mile each-way commute on one at a fair old pace, and IMO nothing folds better either. They handle surprisingly well for the size of wheel, and feel far more spritely and stable than you might expect.
ps. 700c is a wheel/tyre size (typical road/hybrid size), a little bigger than the 26" used on most mountain bikes.
Anything on 26" (let alone 700c) wheels is going to be very unweildy when it folds. Such things exist, but more for people who want a full-size bike but don't have sufficient storage space, like caravanners. They tend to have just one fold in the middle making them very bulky - attempting to get on a busy tube train with one will make you even less popular than the people with massive backpacks.
Anything electric is going to be heavy. Very heavy - most regular electric bikes are around the 25kg mark, the couple of folding ones I found are only a little lighter, and that's a lot to be picking up and carrying, more so with the awkward shape of most folding bikes. A Brompton feels a bit weighty to carry when it's folded and even the lardiest Bromptons are half that weight.
Have you actually tried a Brompton? A flatmate of mine used to regularly do a 16 mile each-way commute on one at a fair old pace, and IMO nothing folds better either. They handle surprisingly well for the size of wheel, and feel far more spritely and stable than you might expect.
ps. 700c is a wheel/tyre size (typical road/hybrid size), a little bigger than the 26" used on most mountain bikes.
sjg said:
The trouble is your incompatible criteria that make such a "perfect" bike impossible.
Anything on 26" (let alone 700c) wheels is going to be very unweildy when it folds. Such things exist, but more for people who want a full-size bike but don't have sufficient storage space, like caravanners. They tend to have just one fold in the middle making them very bulky - attempting to get on a busy tube train with one will make you even less popular than the people with massive backpacks.
Anything electric is going to be heavy. Very heavy - most regular electric bikes are around the 25kg mark, the couple of folding ones I found are only a little lighter, and that's a lot to be picking up and carrying, more so with the awkward shape of most folding bikes. A Brompton feels a bit weighty to carry when it's folded and even the lardiest Bromptons are half that weight.
Have you actually tried a Brompton? A flatmate of mine used to regularly do a 16 mile each-way commute on one at a fair old pace, and IMO nothing folds better either. They handle surprisingly well for the size of wheel, and feel far more spritely and stable than you might expect.
ps. 700c is a wheel/tyre size (typical road/hybrid size), a little bigger than the 26" used on most mountain bikes.
Cheers, I think the point is being missed sightly here, it is probably my fault.Anything on 26" (let alone 700c) wheels is going to be very unweildy when it folds. Such things exist, but more for people who want a full-size bike but don't have sufficient storage space, like caravanners. They tend to have just one fold in the middle making them very bulky - attempting to get on a busy tube train with one will make you even less popular than the people with massive backpacks.
Anything electric is going to be heavy. Very heavy - most regular electric bikes are around the 25kg mark, the couple of folding ones I found are only a little lighter, and that's a lot to be picking up and carrying, more so with the awkward shape of most folding bikes. A Brompton feels a bit weighty to carry when it's folded and even the lardiest Bromptons are half that weight.
Have you actually tried a Brompton? A flatmate of mine used to regularly do a 16 mile each-way commute on one at a fair old pace, and IMO nothing folds better either. They handle surprisingly well for the size of wheel, and feel far more spritely and stable than you might expect.
ps. 700c is a wheel/tyre size (typical road/hybrid size), a little bigger than the 26" used on most mountain bikes.
they bike I want is like this
preferably converted to electric
I want a full sized bike that can fold occasionally ( preferably just in half as the dahon do ), I don;t mind about the size as I go from Fulham to Uxbridge in the morning and back in the evening, ( from London out then out of London in ) against the flow of commuters so it isn't so busy that a bike that size folded would be in the way, also I would only do this in the odd instance anyway as most of the time I get on the tube will be out of restricted hours anyway so folding it won't be necessary. Uxbridge doesn't have stairs and most of the time I will be getting out at Barons court and cycle the last couple of miles myself for a easy journey. The ideal world hardly using the bike on the tube due to being able to travel with leg power and battery power.
The weight of the bikes are around the 12kg mark, this is nothing for me to lift, I was thinking that with the battery and motor then weight would go up to around the 25 mark, again I am a big strong second row rugby player, lifting that up a flight of stairs once or twice a week won't be an issue at all. Also the simple fold in half of the Dahons would mean wiring the bike up for electric conversion would be alot simpler than something like a bromton.
Bromtons, I have never tried one, I have tried decent folding bikes and they were fine, I would imagine the the bromptons would be even better, but I don;t need a primarily folding bike, i want a full sized bike that I can convert to electric, with the extra benefit of it being able to fold to save me buying an extra bike for the times I need to catch the tube at certain times. I don't like the look of the bromptons and again being a big guy I look silly on them and with all the extra folding/collapsible parts, converting it would be harder I would imagine.
Now hopefully that cleared it up, my main thought is if I am traveling mainly by pedal power over 16 miles every day then a motor would help for the long 10 mile stetch along the cycle path by the A40, straight and boring but quick. Thats why I wondered how much it would cost or how easy it would be to do to convert a bike.
Next thought, to help the motor and average speed I though 700c ( or 650c as I have found out ) tyres would mean I travel faster whether on the pedals or on batteries. That's why i asked how much or easy it would be to change them over for slick mountain bike tyres ( also would it make a big difference ?).
Finally and least of all important ( therefore not willing to sacrifice any of the above for ) I would like it to fold simply so I could occasionally get it on the tube, ( weight of carrying nor size really matters due to the lack of folding compared to the time spent riding under motor or pedal power).
So I still wonder if anyone knows/has done themselves, changed the tyres for thinner ones, made a bike electric or had one converted and knows rough costs ?
SaTTaN said:
If you think 16 miles each way is too much,can you store your bike somewhere secure @work
I'm about 18miles away from work in central London and when the mornings start to get a bit lighter my plan is to do one-on/one-off, i.e
Monday bike in, train home
Tuesday train in, bike home
Weds bike in, train home
Thurs train in, bike home
{friday... wfh}
..and so-on.
Won't save too much on the train fare (single is almost same as return) but its workable and gives the option for when I need to wear a suit or visit a client in the morning I can do it without turning up as a heaving mess
That is a good idea, but I am looking for the "perfect bike", not the perfect system, I ideally want to use the bike every day, even if it mean riding in the morning when I know it is going to piss down in the evening with snow ( ala last two days ) and not have to worry about how I get home etc. Basically get the bike to work around me rather than the other way.I'm about 18miles away from work in central London and when the mornings start to get a bit lighter my plan is to do one-on/one-off, i.e
Monday bike in, train home
Tuesday train in, bike home
Weds bike in, train home
Thurs train in, bike home
{friday... wfh
}..and so-on.
Won't save too much on the train fare (single is almost same as return) but its workable and gives the option for when I need to wear a suit or visit a client in the morning I can do it without turning up as a heaving mess
pablo said:
sadly i cant see how you can fit all the necessary components to a Dahon to make it electric and not struggle with cumbersome parts. most electric bikes utilise the downtube for the battery pack etc but this wont fit on the Dahon as when folded, it will foul against something.
I have seen loads of battery packs under a specially designed rear rack, using the downtube is not going to be a problem.
Once again I just wondered if anyone had fitted a system on to either a normal road bike or a full sized folder and if any one had fitted thinner tyres and wheels to a mountain bike with success ? or could give rough costs for any of this ?
Edited to add, I just found this http://electricmountainbikes.blogspot.com/2008/04/...
Awesome the dream is one step closer !
Edited by Tampon on Tuesday 3rd February 16:25
JPJ said:
The Airnimal Chameleon has a weight limit of around 90kg unfortunately, so my 16 stone is over the limit. Manufacturers don't seem to build that many bikes for rugby player builds. Ho hum!
It looks like a awesome piece of kit though. if I can find something that can take me I will give you a shout 
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