show me your custom fb!
12-02-23, 02:30 PM
#1
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Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: South Italy
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Bikes: BMC SLR01; Cannondale Trail; Lot's of project and vintage bikes..
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show me your custom fb!
i have a folding bike since 6-7 years. now during my freetime i'am going to repaint and customize a bit. i would like to see your piece of art.
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12-18-23, 01:48 AM
#4
BeastMaster
This project started 7 yrs ago w/ a Retrospec coaster brake folder. Upgrades were installed as original parts began to fail. Currently, only the frame, fork, folding stem, handle bars & seatpost are original. I pretty much ride this bike and my other folder (Dahon Mu P8) majority of the time.
Last edited by Need41speed; 01-09-24 at 02:50 PM. Reason: Add pictures
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12-18-23, 07:16 AM
#5
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IMGP3900 by pinholecam02, on Flickr
Raleigh MV8 mini velo which was in white which I find hard to maintain for a beater bike, so I sprayed it green.
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12-21-23, 05:02 PM
#6
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FnHon Gust 16", 2023
I built this myself in 2023 on a Fnhon Gust 16" frameset and a mix of new and old parts.
- 4130 Chrome-molybdenum steel
- 336% range, 1x Shimano drivetrain
- No proprietary, non-standard parts. Nol.
- Schwalbe Big Apple 16 x 2.00" tires
- Under 10kg
- Under $600
Last edited by Ron Damon; 12-31-23 at 06:42 PM.
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12-21-23, 05:16 PM
#7
Full Member
Not really a piece of art, but I replace the stock folding pedals with Crankbrothers wide pedals (any brand of wide pedals will do), as and when I want to ride my Dahon folding bike faster. I keep a 15mm wrench handy. It improves the folding bike's speed, noticeably.
12-24-23, 09:32 AM
#8
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Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: Montreal
Posts: 392
Bikes: 1999 Bike friday NWT, 2009 Bike Friday Tikit, 2023 silverock Dewy, 2008 Dahon Smooth Hound, 2023 Litepro Trifold
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This was my Fnhon custom bike. Stolen a few months later. I got over it by building a minivelo.
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12-26-23, 11:05 PM
#10
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Join Date: Dec 2023
Location: Fountain Hills, AZ
Posts: 189
Bikes: 1995 Trek 990 (configured for road), Hotrodded Dahon folder, Trek 1400 (not ridden any more), Iron Horse 3.0 homebrew e-bike, 1984 Trek 770 (trying to resurrect)
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This is Phase 1 of my Dahon StowAway folder modification project to make the bike workable for my 8+ mile commute. I did this back in the late '80s or early '90s. I forget exactly when.
I had purchased this bike on a whim from a Target store in California.I later decided that it needed higher gearing in order to be practical for my use. So Mr. Bill at Landis Cyclery in Phoenix, AZ went through catalogues with me to find parts. He found a six speed freewheel that had an 11 tooth and I made this 72 tooth chainring from a piece of 6061 aluminum using a bandsaw and a drill press. It sorta worked but needed an idler wheel so the chain could clear the seatstay. Scott AT4 handlebars gave me better positioning and would still allow the bike to fully fold. There's an Avocet speedometer on there.
The huge chainring was problematic. The idler wheel was annoying and under a lot of stress being on the drive side. The chainring wasn't exactly perfect either. So I'd sometimes thrown a chain. And there were other issues. So on to Phase 2.
Kept the AT4 bars. Loved 'em. Improved the brakes with Aztec brake pads and some heavy duty mountain bike housing and mountain bike levers. This improved the braking a lot. Got rid of the Avocet in favor of a wireless speedometer. Got an adapter to change the bottom bracket to square taper and found a 63 (or 61? I forget) tooth chainring (Mr. Bill again). I simply drilled holes in the smaller chainring and bolted the larger chainring directly to it. This size just barely allow the chain to clear the seatstays. Not shown here are the SPD pedals I use to run. Changed the tires to something with a 50psi rating.
This thing rides like a rock. That steering column stabilizer always made me uncomfortable. It rattled. That said, it never failed or came unlocked. The best thing about this bike is that it could accelerate like nothing I'd ever ridden or have since ridden. I could zip up to 30 mph and be spinning out in a few seconds it seemed. When I got to work, I'd fold the bike up. Stow it in the carry bag and bring it up to work and stow it under my desk. It isn't light. So that was a good workout. I can't quite bring myself to get rid of it even though I have little use for it these days.
I had purchased this bike on a whim from a Target store in California.I later decided that it needed higher gearing in order to be practical for my use. So Mr. Bill at Landis Cyclery in Phoenix, AZ went through catalogues with me to find parts. He found a six speed freewheel that had an 11 tooth and I made this 72 tooth chainring from a piece of 6061 aluminum using a bandsaw and a drill press. It sorta worked but needed an idler wheel so the chain could clear the seatstay. Scott AT4 handlebars gave me better positioning and would still allow the bike to fully fold. There's an Avocet speedometer on there.
The huge chainring was problematic. The idler wheel was annoying and under a lot of stress being on the drive side. The chainring wasn't exactly perfect either. So I'd sometimes thrown a chain. And there were other issues. So on to Phase 2.
Kept the AT4 bars. Loved 'em. Improved the brakes with Aztec brake pads and some heavy duty mountain bike housing and mountain bike levers. This improved the braking a lot. Got rid of the Avocet in favor of a wireless speedometer. Got an adapter to change the bottom bracket to square taper and found a 63 (or 61? I forget) tooth chainring (Mr. Bill again). I simply drilled holes in the smaller chainring and bolted the larger chainring directly to it. This size just barely allow the chain to clear the seatstays. Not shown here are the SPD pedals I use to run. Changed the tires to something with a 50psi rating.
This thing rides like a rock. That steering column stabilizer always made me uncomfortable. It rattled. That said, it never failed or came unlocked. The best thing about this bike is that it could accelerate like nothing I'd ever ridden or have since ridden. I could zip up to 30 mph and be spinning out in a few seconds it seemed. When I got to work, I'd fold the bike up. Stow it in the carry bag and bring it up to work and stow it under my desk. It isn't light. So that was a good workout. I can't quite bring myself to get rid of it even though I have little use for it these days.
Last edited by Jay Turberville; 12-26-23 at 11:08 PM.
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01-09-24, 12:08 AM
#12
Senior Member
Jay, that's a darned impressive build on an original Dahon! I can see you get a tall enough top gear, but now you lack a low enough low for steeper hills. I had an original Dahon, finally got tired of the limitations, including the seat post would not go high enough for me (and I'm only 5'8" but I like a high seat position), and handlebars too far aft, my knees would hit when climbing. But darn, those tiny steel rims are absolutely bombproof for strength.
