Hickory n steel

I just received this 5 speed Dahon stowaway bike from my brother who recently had it given to him by a friend.

Everything unpainted has rust, and it's extreme dirty, but other than that the tubes hold air, the break works great, it shifts ok and stays in gear ( can be a bit finicky to shift, but I'm not used to multiple speeds let alone old school shifters so it could be just me )
I figured how to get it to lock open, and it actually rides very well for the condition it's in.

I don't know anything about folding bikes, so I'm not sure what I need to know, but I would like to learn anything I can about this bike that I can.
I will post some pictures of it tomorrow after I take the hose and scrub brush to it.

Miller72

Hey Hickory n Steel!
To funny! I joined this forum last summer I think LOL!

I wish we were at least in the same region so I could take a day a show you what you need to know.
I grew up with bikes, it was my grandfather's business and I use to be his mechanic when growing up.

I have two Robin Hoods and will be turning one into my 3sp campground hot rod...maybe make a sling for the Kelly Works...more likely my craftsman.
Going to convert our old kiddie trailer into a flatbed with cleats for firewood and grey water dumping etc...
You will see the bikes if the pictures post...here I go!





The old school deraillers you will find easy to service. Once you get some pics posted I will be glad to help

Hickory n steel

Here it is basically as i got it.

It looks better in pictures than it does in real life.

Miller72

Definetly a beauty you have there!
I would want to tear that all down but you should start with a little WD40 on your chain, cables, deraillers shift levers.

Than we go to making adjustments after another test ride.

That's a great score

Miller72

Hi Hickory n Smoke.

Can you take a pics of the deraillers, shift levers and brakes etc...?

Hickory n steel

Here it is mostly finished being cleaned up ( still gotta finish the rack and put it back on )

All I used was some cleaner, a wire brush, and some aluminum foil.



Here's the deraileur and shifter


The break is a silent 80 .
Btw I disconnected the shift cable because everything was twisted and preventing full handlebar extension, and I thought I got it having exactly how it was but now it won't shift I to 5th so I could really use some help.

Hickory n steel

Here are some before pictures and forgot to post.
[url=https://postimg.org/image/4lzguj6pp/][/url

Miller72

That rear break was way ahead of its time!

•Small needle nose vise grips.
•Flat and Phillips screwdrivers.
•Small to medium metric, primarily, open end wrenches.
•WD40.

Position the shift never on the handlebar where you want or think it was/should be.
Position the rear derailleur to the smallest cog and pullout the slack if any in the shift cable.
Using the vise grip clamp on the cable flush to the cable tension nut before lossening...when loose, pull the cable taught with the vise grip then retighten the cable to clamp and hold in position.

Test ride.

Hickory n steel

I got it shifting into all 5 gears now, but since I've never had a bike with gears to ride I don't really know how things should work.
So obviously i don't really know if the derailleur is actually working properly

Hickory n steel

Thanks.
I think I got it working as it does shift to all gears now, but I've never had a multi speed bike to ride before.
This may not be an easy question, but what should the gear shifting experience be for me ?

I don't know how hard it's supposed to be to move the shifter lever, How quickly it should change gears, and if it's normal to have to move the shifter back a tiny bit sometimes when shifting .

I'm assuming someo
Things just need some oil.

Miller72

If you need to move the shift levers back you may have slack in the cable that can be taken up by moving the lever position on the handlebar or pulling the cable thru the tension nut...wd40 is your friend to help the cables glide more freely within their casings/housings.

The derailleur you have is an older mid range component group and will have a slight clank or rough change on the extremes, just be sure to always be pedalling smoothly with effort to help the derailler move the chain along the cogs.

When properly adjusted and tuned the change of gears should be near immediate and without struggle...you will need to learn thru use and experience, time in the seat, where and what gear you are in and what gear you want to change to.

Wd40 the chain and any moving part

Hickory n steel

Thanks, that's what I needed to know.

Do you know how hard the lever should be to move and how far I should have to move it ?
Right now I have to pull it all the way over with some force.

Miller72

Should not need much force, shifting should be smooth and theoretically only need one finger or a thumb.

Sadly you may need new cable and or housing but you may sneak by if you can lube the cable inb the existing housing. To do so i usually need to remove the cable and spray thru the empty housing than reroute the cable and readjust the derailler or brake, whatever cable i may be doing this to.
In your case if that is what you need to do, i would recommend new cable and housing.

The shift lever itself may have a tension adjuster nut...if so you can try loosening to see if this improves your shifting action...if not and as I suspect, your cable and housing is most likely all original and causing you most to all of your friction problems.

Hickory n steel

Hmm, well the cable is not routed through th guide and there's no way to get it though it so I'm thinking it's not original.
It also seems kind of long, but this is a folding bike after all.

I've adjusted the little thumb nut which is what got it shifting into all of the gears.
Maybe I'll take the derailleur off and clean it really well.
As you know I left it on there because it was at least working and I didn't want to mess with it.
I'll also clean and oil inside the cable housing.

Miller72

I know amd was/am hoping you can do minimal so you dont have to take things off and apart.
You can leave the shift cable attached to the derailler if removing from the bike frame, this will also allow you access to the rear wheel if needed. Be gentle and aware of the rear brake system...I am not sure how to talk you thru that without pictures of your unit specifically or at least a way to look it up.
I say do what you can without disassembling the cables.
I would hate, if you got it apart and or back together, but either way I want you to be able to ride it when you get the urge or need and not have a bike in disarray, not functional and discouraged.

Worst case scenario, a local bike shop repair/bare minimal to make it ride safely and dependable.
Maybe an hour, two max of labor.
If that route is needed I can give you a list of need only to address now to make a dependable rider.

It's a sweet classic folder!

Hickory n steel

Got the derailleur off and am about to soak / scrubbing it.
I don't know if this was good or bad, but I trimmed the cable housing back so it can actually go through the guide.
The last 8 or so inches of the cable has 1 unraveled strand which created lots of friction inside the housing anyways so now this part won't be inside the house ( as I think the original cable would've been anyways ) which should keep that from being an issue.
I don't think the condition of the cable will really cause an issue with strength, but it can always get replaced if it fails.

Hopefully cleaning the derailleur will free things up and get it shifting properly.
Worse case scenario I can see is it working as it has been in which case it's still rideable and I'm fine leaving it in 3rd where I like it anyways.
I'll update after I clean it up or tomorrow if it gets too late.

Miller72

Sounds like you are getting right in and getting on top of things very well.
Only one concern have is by trimming back the frayed end of cable, you possibly have shortened the cable to much to be fed thru entirely for the function of the derailler.
The frayed cable ends are a real birch every time!

Good luck and keep me posted!
I will help all I can.

Hickory n steel

I didn't trim the cable, but the housing which it's messed up end wasn't moving easily through.
I don't know what kind of bike it came off of, but I'm pretty sure its not original as it's pretty long.

Now over all the derailleur wasn't as stiff as i expected but I think the cleaning and some lubrication will have helped.
I definitely need to get some more wd40 so I can really soak it after I get in installed, don't know where it needs it so everywhere will do to really help loosen things up.

Hickory n steel

I got it all back together and while the derailleur is moving more easily now it's shifting hasn't improved.
Some WD-40 and some use may get things freed up some more and working better.
If not it at least functions and is good enough for me.
The bike was free so I won't be putting any money into it besides eventually tubes / tires.

rhenning

I would invest the $10 in a Bell cable kit from Walmart and just replace all the cables. You will be amazed at the difference if you do that. Roger

Hickory n steel

But would they actually be the right length for this bike ?

rhenning

I forgot you know nothing about bikes. The kit comes with 2 brake and 2 derailleur cables and housings that you cut to size. Each cable will have different fittings on each end and you cut off the end that is not the same as your bike uses. Same with the housing you cut it to the length you cable housing is. A sharp side cutter will work but if you are going to continue to work on bikes buy an actual cable cutter as it will be good for years. Bike shops or E-Bay are good places to buy cutters. You can even cut the housing with a Dremel tool should you have one but the cable cutter will also do the job. The housings at Walmart are black in color. The kit is in the bicycle section. I forgot generally you do not go into a shop and ask them for a cable for a XYZ bike with the exception of some 3 speed bikes. Roger

Hickory n steel

Ok thank you.
Now I think I would need to determine the proper length, I have downloaded the 1987 Dahon manual so I'll look to see if it has any of this stuff in it.

rhenning

Do not worry about the length. Just make sure it is routed like the manual shows starting at the lever and ending at the brake and allowing room for the bike to fold. The same is true with the gear shifter to the rear derailleur. Please stop quoting me or I will stop helping you as everytime time you do quote me I get an email notification. I guess I am getting to be a crabby old man. Roger

Hickory n steel

Alright, thanks.