atombikes

From your description; the allen screw is loose, thus causing the entire steering post to be loose? So when you steer left/right there is excess movement? This definitely was not the case with my bike. It sounds like you may have to entirely remove the allen screw to see how exactly how the steering post is attached (I have never removed mine).

If you do remove the steering post, post a picture.

Or, you could always return to WalMart.

roving70

atombike,

i think the stem is to low that it rubs the hinge part of the the handle post. try raising it higher or what i did is cut it and now i have a jetstream look a like handle post(9 inch long).

atombikes

roving70,

Excellent idea. I'll look into it today, as well as make a real attempt at figuring out the front derailleur situation.

So you cut down your steering stem, huh? That's a good idea as it is quite long; I didn't even think to do that.

Post some full pics of your bike, would love to see the full effect of the Brompton bars on this bike.

One other thing I would like to figure out is how to make the cap at the top of the stem quick release (so I can quickly rotate the handlebars ala Dahon).

roving70

atombike,

i was so curious on the fd that i come up with an idea of making a regular fd top swing bottom pull(also begining to enjoy bike terms) to fit on the genesis downtube "ghetto". i am so impatient on the shipping schedule on the adapter. i think when you use the fd that you bought, you need two of those. 1 for fd and the other you will use it as an adapter for the pulley(but you need to ghetto). also if 2 teeth would matter, i think the 50/34 crank is better to have enough space. what i am getting for my fd is the cheap shimano tourney a070 fd, 2 speed crank a070, and sturmey archer pulley 31 mm, jagwire cable stop and derailleur cable and shimano a070 rd(planning to fit 7 speed cassette). hope my plan works!!!

for the qr stem i was also planning to change the whole handlepost but when i shorten it, it is stiffer than putting a dahon(but i love the tern 3d physis). i think a dahon revolve qr stem works but you have to put shim to fit it, the revolve qr is 1 1/4 and thorusa has it. also i think you need to cut the portion on the genesis handlepost that protrudes to guide the stem and not rotate. i hate that portion because the screw thread is not enough to hold it. i have a lot of things to post regarding the parts of the bike that needs some works to make it stiffer.

pics coming soon...by the way where do you store the images to paste only the url to make images larger?

hope i make sense!

atombikes

roving,

I upload images off my phone to Picasa, which then makes it easy to right click, copy image url. The Picasa account is linked to my gmail which makes things easy.

Anyway, I appreciate your comments and attempts to stiffen this bike, which I think is a pretty good platform to start from.

Here is a pic of the derailleur adapter held against the frame in the approximate location it needs to be. I understand it is not very clear, but notice how the adapter is not sitting flat against the frame, due to interference with the large rear stay. The adapter cannot go lower on the tube in this area because of interference with the curved stiffener tube that is welded on the backside of this tube.

Because of this, I think the only way to add a front derailleur would be to either modify this adapter bracket to make the vertical part that attaches the derailleur approximately half the current height; or attach this bracket very low near the bottom bracket and then use a top swing derailleur. This bracket would still need to be modified to attach down near the bottom bracket.



Regarding cable management, there is a built-in cable stop in the bottom of this bracket, so it's obviously meant for a bottom pull derailleur. So you can run your cable straight to this bracket- easy (no pulleys, etc).

atombikes

Well, looks like roving70 is correct, the inner stem is too long and may be contributing to the creaking in the handlebar post. Easy fix.

Here's a pic before cutting.

roving70

atombike,

i see...fd adapter is huge! anyway would it be possible to reverse it? clamp on top and the braze on hanging downwards. also i believe putting a pulley would have a smooth cable pull. i've seen that blog from that singaporian guy and i think thor is putting a pulley on the mu p8 that he upgrade. also most of the upgrades on folders are top swing and bottom pull fd.

on the other hand, just so you know this is the first time that i joined a thread and also first time to familiarize bike components. i made research when my bike was stolen and opt for folder, the reason that i choose it because the trolley rack fits perfectly. and this should i say journey is all credited on your post and i think i forgot to THANK YOU. i purchase the bike after your unboxing and i am satisfied with my purchase(not to mention that i've got it for only $160 because of the credit that they gave me on defective wheels). i am excited on making this bike a better and stiffer bike that will last.

atombikes

roving70,

I am glad you found this thread and see the value this bike has.

Also, I just cut 2" off the bottom of the steering stem- creaking GONE. A big THANK YOU to you; it would have taken me a while to figure that one out.



I am hopeful that others who have either already purchased this bike or who will in the future will also share their ideas and photos in this thread.

tds101 

If I had the patience to do all the mods you guys have done I'd have bought one of these bikes awhile ago. I'm still getting some sweet pointers along the way,...

roving70

atombike,

you are welcome...this is how my bike looks righ now.



i don't know how to link the url, it always display a wrong url. i will figure it out!

more to come!

Hinge

Atom,

Great thread! I sure wish Walmart had these a couple years ago when I was traveling extensively! I would have bought one of these every couple of months and then just sold them as opposed to flying with them especially since a 3rd bag runs about $125 on most airlines...which is a crime, but we won't get into that here.

It appears that the main item preventing you from mounting the adapter in the right location is the reinforcement bar that goes between the seat tube and the seat stays. Is that right? Have you compared where the reinforcements are welded on an actual Dahon Mu Frame?

Looking at pictures of Dahon MU frames, the Genesis does not look different enough to prevent you from being able to mount an FD, but as usual, I could be way off on this. I think you've seen these pics but check out these from Thor's site:

Overview

Right

Left

As TheGlutton pointed out in post #97 , my next suggestion would be to get a LitePro FD adapter made specifically for the MU frame, like This One. You've obviously seen this since you found the adapter you bought on Ebay as well. However, this one is specifically designed for the MU frame and I don't think the adapter that you have is. The "correct" adapter appears to have a cut out to accommodate for the reinforcement bar which might enable you to mount it lower on the seat tube. If you do go this route, I wouldn't worry one bit about the fact that it's hinged. These are really well made and the amount of force needed to adequately clamp the adapter to the frame isn't anywhere near enough to do any harm to the hinge.

If there is no way to get an adapter to fit, my next suggestion may sound a bit absurd, but here goes. Since you paid so little for the bike and it really is primarily about function, what about having a frame builder braze/weld an FD hanger on the seat tube? I'm not sure how much paint would have to be stripped but if it wasn't too much, you could probably touch it up without it looking too bad. OK I said it...flame away!

Anyway, I hope this has been helpful. I've really enjoyed following your progress.

atombikes

roving70, thanks for the pic. It looks great, and very functional.

atombikes

Creak not gone- ugh. I thought it was but it came back with a vengeance during my afternoon ride. So I finally decided to remove the entire stem. It is a 1" quill type folding stem. Will grease everything well and re-assemble and see if that makes a difference.

roving70

atombike,

i also spray a little bit of wd40 at the hinge lock...but i know that when i cut the stem my squeaks is gone.

roving70

more pics...

the image with a close up on the hinge are the ones that i would like to give a heads up for genesis owner. the lock ring is not permanent and will possibly pops out during a long period of folding and unfolding. what i did is soldering it from the outside to permanently hold it, only from the outside portion so that the spring will still function. that way the lock ring will not pop out from the bolt. also the bolt from the handlepost, make sure you protect the base that holds it. any small dent will deformed the base and stop the bolt from moving and you can't close the handlepost anymore. the image with the trolley bag cover is good only for bus travel and i wrapped it with a car sun visor to protect it. if you look closely on the image that the bike was folded with the tire facing front, you can see a plastic that covers the nut. that plastic is from the first time you unbox the bike, save it and it will serve as a clickfix like the one from dahon. it's just to cover the metal nut that scratches your handlebar or fork when you fold it.

hope this could help.

2 speed front coming up this week!

Still Pedaling

Well I'll be! About a year and a half ago my wife and I bought two folding bikes from Camper's World. They sold the Adventure brand, which I'm sure it is their label. I went through an exchange with them due to the same ticking sound that you noticed and fixed. The second bike, from the exchange did the same thing. That ticking noise drove me crazy. I ended up taking them both back.

I'm glad you are happy with your bike and was able to locate and fix the problem. When it comes to purchasing an inexpensive bike like yours, I'm somewhat gunn shy, so-to-speak. Perhaps if I had located where exactly the noise was coming from and was able to fix it, I might have kept them.

I do like the looks of your bike. I would say you got yourself a very good deal there.

Cheers
Wayne

Edit. Can you believe that thy covered up my entry for gunn with stars. So in order to make the word known, I had to misspell it (gunn). Could this be a little paranoia on their part?

alexaschwanden

Nice bike.

atombikes

roving70,

That's a good idea to save the plastic nut cap so the axle nut does not scratch the frame while folded. Wish I had thought of that before throwing out the packaging!

Great pics of your bike. Where did you get the bag with Genesis written on it?

It's good to see an innovator using this bike as a starting point.

roving70

atombike,

thanks...the name is photoshop, it's the trolley rack from tern i've got from a local bike store and it has a cover being folded in a pouch(the rack comes with a cover).

roving70

still & alex,

thank you!

atombikes

After pulling the entire stem out of the fork and greasing, the creaking was still present. But after spraying PB Blaster on the hinge itself, the noise is totally gone. Verified with 2 separate rides. So it seems there is something (perhaps the delrin/plastic part) that needs lubrication in the hinge to keep it quiet?

Foldingbikefan

Hi there. First time poster. Thanks for all the informative posts on this bike. I'm finding that my bike is really bad at gliding. Any diagnoses would be greatly appreciated. I'm still under the 90 days. Maybe I should get the same bike again? I did pay $179 for it though and it's now $199 as you might have noticed. I don't know if I can do an exchange. Or maybe I should take it to a bike shop? I noticed that some of you mentioned the freewheel being bad, but it doesn't seem like that's the problem. I made a video out of it. Let me know if you want photos of specific things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc0KYZkLloU

Some background: I own a Trek 820 that I got in the '90s and don't know much about bikes. I have basic tools, but nothing specific to bikes. I use this bike to go from the parking lot to my desk everyday. It's about a 1.1 mile ride.

roving70

i'm no expert but it looks like the break pads is touching the rim on the rear.

Foldingbikefan

Actually, I know it's not the brakes because I took it off without seeing any difference. Good suggestion though.

roving70

installed a new double crankset and sks pedal...before installing the crank i find it necessary to overhaul the bb. as i was turning the bb i feel it is so gritty, just found out that there is an opening on the non-drive side which accumulates dust or sand. after overhauling bb(thanks to youtube bb overhaul) i feel i have a smoother ride today. however i thinks it is necessary to change sealed bb for a consistent smoother ride. also installed clikfix, dropped my plastic cap somewhere.