JJ1330

If reliability and ruggedness were the top priorities, my choice would be the Montague Paratrooper or Swiss series. Frames only are available if you wanted to roll your own.

tds101 

PS: my son's BMX wheels fit on my Lombardo minivelo, and that means the BMX wheels FIT ON A 20 INCH WHEELED FOLDING BIKE - JUST AS I'VE STATED.

And my folding bike wheels fit HIS bike. But, they're useless, and there's no derailleur on his bike.

chrisx

Many a long distance bus in Mexico will take a bike in the cargo area. At times the bus is full and there is not space. A little patience and perhaps a different bus company and yes you will make it. The local buses may run 50 miles or more. Perhaps to avoid a stretch of highway that is particulary dangerouos. Example, Ensenada to Ojos Negros. Or, riding the back roads of Baja south. A local bus for 40 miles would keep you off the narrow and dangerous HY 1. A folder would help on a crowded local bus. In Guatemala it is on top of the bus, and perhaps under a 100 pound bag of coconuts.

Puddle jumper?


Couplers for flying, check, Did you see the price of the case? OUCH
What about the Ritchey coupler system? Any complaints about them?
How do you get a case without spending $500

Chris Pringle

Hi Chris,

Puddle jumper = term sometimes used to refer to small passenger aircrafts. They usually limit the size of luggage to 62 linear inches maximum.

The Ritchey "breakaway" method is also good. I've only seen it used on 700c road bikes. I've heard the bolted collar on the downtube might be a little questionable for rough off-road purposes, but I haven't heard of any actual failures (again, maybe because they're mostly used on road bikes?) A custom builder familiar with this method should be able to you a better insight on this. The other drawback is that, unlike S&S couplers, you cannot retrofit a regular frame with the Ritchey breakaway method. My understanding is that the frame must be built from scratch for the use of the Ritchey breakaway. So that forces you to have a custom frame built for 26" wheels.

I suggest buying the S&S soft case at almost half the price. The advantages is that it is light, it doubles as a backpack, the bag itself folds down, and plastic interior panel (in a pinch) can fit in a pannier. Make sure you get a couple of compression members to protect the wheels and frame. I have used mine with good results.

chrisx

Have you flown on a commercial airline with the soft bag? I mean the lugage monkey can toss a case 40 feet with 1 finger. a frame + couplers is like $1,267.00, plus more than that for parts. I noticed my bag is always on the bottom of the cart that brings the bags from the plane tothe belt. On paper this sounds good, (back pack), I am scared, my bicycle, yikes. Oh, where to stash the case for a month, have to fly back from the same city. yep

chrisx

I am looking at this one
Dahon Flo XC Hardtail Reviews - Mtbr.com
dahon flo, frame only

Chris Pringle

Sure have! No issues as far as damages. The compression members do an amazing work of protecting the content. The frame, as it's already separated into three major pieces (fork + two pieces for the frame) and packaged in padded velcro fabric, is almost impossible to get damaged. It might be hard to envision until you package one yourself. The worst case scenario could be a couple of broken spokes, but I haven't even had that issue. YMMV.

MichaelW

I have the dahon cadenza in 8spd. You can run them as singlespeed, derailleur, hub gear, because they have eccentric bottom bracket chain tensioning.
Frame comes with disc or V mounts.
They have a track record as touring bikes. I use mine as everyday commuter /utility and they are durable.
Folded volume is not small and they are quite heavy.

CliffordK

I mentioned to the OP that I had a line on an S&S Coupler frame. I went ahead and drug it home today.

60cm seat tube
57cm top tube.
126mm dropout spacing.
Short horizontal dropouts.
DT Shifter bosses,
Above BB Cable Routing
FD Braze-on mount.

Frame only, No Fork, headset or BB. It appears to have been powdercoated black, and the original ID is unknown, although the main frame is fairly lightweight.

AND IT CAME WITH THE HARD CASE.




Tire and brake are for comparison, and not part of the frame. 700c x 25mm Marathon tire on Aerohead rim, with wheel set all the way back in the dropouts.

Anyway, if the OP (chrisx) wants the bare frame and case, then we'll work out a deal on it.

To be built up for the above project/trip. Not to be parted out, scrapped, or sold on E-Bay. I'd encourage finding a "donor bike" for the missing pieces.

Otherwise, I'll build it up here, and probably work on building a custom trailer to go with it.

(oh, and an ID would be nice for the frame).

Dahon.Steve

You can buy the Montague in a frame only. I don't know how long the frame will last but aren't most mountain bikes today made of aluminum? What I like about this frame is the derailleur do not touch the ground when folded. It's a quick fold but I would make it an 8 or 9 speed and skip the front derailleur. If you can use an 8 speed internal hub, you might want to go this way since the rear derailleur could get damaged.

The second thing you need to worry about is how are you going to pack this bike on an airplane?

Montague Bikes | X90 Custom 26" Folding Bike Frame

chrisx

23.62204724 seat tube
22.44094488 top tube
That might be to much seat tube for me. I usualy get a 20 in seat tube. Over the next couple of days,(with measuring tape in hand,) I will look for an old 27 inch bike of similar size, and see if it is to tall for me. 1 or 2 cm more top tube would be good for me. Do you know what type of bottom bracket it takes?
Sir, if you would, stand in front of the head tube and look down at the rear triangle. Does it appear to be properly centered? What about the drop outs, Are they straight as they should be?

If I find the bike is too tall for me, would you sell just the case?

chrisx

https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...&category=2713
This, and a 3 speed are the only hubs I see in 127mm

CliffordK

Ahhh... $&^&*&*%&^%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm still not quite sure of the brand of the frame, but it looks like it has Nervex Professional 49/162 lugs which were primarily used in France.

The left side of the BB more or less fits the 1.37x 24.
However, the Right seems stripped.

So, I assume it has had the wrong BB put in at some time in the past

I'm going to try sourcing some French cups to try out.

I think there may be threadless external bottom brackets that might also be considered. But, I wouldn't go on a round the world tour, nor would I send anybody else on one unless I was 100% sure the frame wasn't going to self destruct.
At this point, I would rather not separate the case and the frame. And, the case is only appropriate for the S&S bikes, and not for other folders.

And, until I get the BB straightened out, the frame is off the market. Sorry to get your hopes up.

chrisx

I helped restore an old 27 inch bike last summer. We used an external cup ultegra bb on the french threads. Not correct, but it can be done. After I thought about it all day, I concluded, that bike is not good for traveling to third world countries. To use the case, you must remove the fork. The tools needed to do this include a monkey wrench, and a 31mm? wrench. I am looking at a 26 inch wheeled frame with a 1 1/8 fork. A 5mm allen wrench is all that is needed to remove the fork.
Plus the parts are not readily available all over the world. 26 inch wheels and canti brakes are.
You might find the parts you need at Bike Farm, or City Bikes up in Portland.
I wanted the bike because it has style. I like that kind of bike. I am going to buy sensable shoes, er, bike. One with the most common parts available world wide. My best bet is a 26 inch wheeled mt bike with couplers and rim brakes. I might get a Dahon flo with Ritchey breakaway couplers. If you want to sell the case send me an email and let me know. It will get used on international flights as I explore the Mayan world. and maybe Egypt. My travel plans for the next few years revolve around exploreing ancient ruins by bicycle.

cpg

Sounds to me like you have just described the earlier Montague model, Bi-frame. 26" wheels, canti brakes, etc. Not sure how well it will fin in a case though.

CliffordK

I can find the bottom brackets...

But, the threads on the right feel smooth
The left feel reasonably crisp.

It might still work with a good French BB, but it may be risky. I'll just have to see what it is like.

My guess is that either someone forced an English bottom bracket into it, or perhaps tapped it for English.

Anyway, at this point I'm not separating the frame from the case. And, won't sell the frame as-is. It will be added to another project list

chrisx

cliffordk
Have you opened the couplers yet¿? If it were me I would open and check the couplers before I spent any money to have the bb tapped or buy a french bb.

cpg
reread the post
there exists in the world more than 1 kind of couplers

CliffordK

I might just buy a set of Swiss cups to use as thread gauges in general. But, I'm giving it a week or two to let the dust settle before I do anything rash.

The frame feels solid as it is, and not to much wear on the wrench teeth of the couplers.

I need a hook wrench to open the couplers which unfortunately didn't come with the frame, but should be easy enough to purchase, or perhaps make. Ideally it would be a multi purpose wrench, and I just have to decide what I need on the other end. Perhaps a headset lock nut wrench or BB wrench??? Or... if only there was an all-in-one tool. S&S, Headset, Pedals, BB wrench, Chain Whip... And the kitchen sink too

I should have the technology and equipment to braze lugs... shortly, which would give me the option of either replacing the BB, or moving the couplers to a different frame. The Stainless Shogun BB might complement the Nervex Professional lugs.

I'm not too worried... disappointed, yes, but the price of the damaged frame PLUS Case was less than I have ever seen used couplers for sale on E-Bay, and S&S clearly is restricting access to the parts. I'd like to play around with making a trailer anyway, and this gives me a nice sturdy box to start with if I go that route.

gdlerner

Anybody know the Bickerton Portables Docklands, is this bike better then the Dahon Espresso? I think montague paratrooper is overprice
[h=1][/h]

cpg

I might be wrong but I think its a Tern Joe frame re-branded and with a different spec.

gdlerner

But cheaper?