edelay

Hi folks.

Though I would post a before and after of the conversion of my Curve from having silver components to having black ones. The black look is more in line with the current Curve models. The look is a lot cleaner that the sliver components.

Upgrades done
- Brooks B17 Special saddle
- Ergon GC1 Grips
- Dahon Jetstream handlepost
- Litepro Monster handlebars
- Litepro seatpost
- Litepro seatpost clamp
- Litepro Crankset (47 teeth)
- MEC Citylight pedals
- rear rim (black, though sidewall has worn to silver)
- replaced mixed white and black cables with all black

I put the black Jetstream handlepost on the bike about 6 months ago to get a more aggressive riding position and because the original had a creak and some flex in it. It irked me at the time that I could only find this in black, so this got me thinking about changing the rest of the components. I've had a creak in my bike for a few weeks that I was having trouble diagnosing. I replaced the bottom bracket in an attempt to deal with that. Since I had the cranks off, I thought I would see if the LitePro cranks/chainring from my Crius would work. It worked and it go my top gear inches to over 100. So at this point, I decided to move the rest of the black components over from the Crius.

I guess I could go even further by moving the brake levers and the vbrakes over too. If the Sturmey Archer X-RF8(w) were to die, I would replace it with a black version of that or a black 5 speed model. In the summer, got the front rim and hub in silver... kicking myself for not getting them in black.

I'll order some new black components for the Crius and then will recycle the old silver components.

badmother

Nice! I always liked black components (unless it is a truly vintage bike).

I wish I could test it out with the 8 speed hub. Been thinking of more gears but also thinking maybe getting a 5 speed with nine spline and do a 5x2. It would be important to get a light der or chain tensioner for the two speed or I could just as well go with the all in one 8 (or more) speed hub. In my stable the Curve is the light bike so making it just as heavy as the others makes no sense.

I have been looking at the lighter seatposts for mine too. I fear that my old seatpost pump is going to drop down (again) when I ride it.

edelay

Thanks BadMother.

If I'm ever out your way again with the Dahon Curve, will PM you so that you can take it for a spin.

The noise and friction of the Sturmey Archer X-RF8(w) still irks me, so I can't really recommend the hub without the person going for a test ride on it first. The noise has subsided a bit over a few thousand km's and maybe, just maybe it has slightly less friction now. Don't get me wrong, it is a nice looking hub and the twist shifter has a satisfyingly solid "pop" when switches gears.

There was always something sort of rattle-ly with the Curve before which is now gone with the upgrades. I think that pump inside of the seat post was knocking around.

I should really weigh the bike now that I put these lighter components on it. Was 27 lbs (12.2 kg) before. The Curve is my daily commuter so I don't want to go so light that reliability is compromised. The Crius Smart is my super light travelling bike at 19 lbs (8.6 kg).

tds101 

Wow! Fantastic upgrades. That Curve D8 is beautiful,... especially with all the black bits.

edelay

Thanks tds101, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. The bike has a nice sold feel to it and I swear it also feels a bit lighter. Will have to weigh it this weekend.

jur

Yep very nice upgrades!

edelay

Thanks Jur. Now the fun begins ordering replacement parts for the Crius. Thinking trying out some carbon parts.

invisiblehand

Nice job!

edelay

Thanks Invisiblehand. I'm thinking about touching up the paint a bit and putting some wax on the frame.

L Arnold

Very Nice! Not sure you need it but I do have 16" rack to fit as well. Too bad its "silver" and not black.

So is the Jetstream handlebar post tall enough for you? No matter. Super compact. Nice bike.

edelay

Hi LArnold.

Thank you.

I have a 16" rear rack and a Tern Rack up front. Both silver. I've never used the rear rack since I don't like pannier's rattling when I commute. My klickfix latch on my Tern rack has broken twice, so I stopped using that. Backpack suits me fine for commuting even though it can be a bit sweaty.

I like to have an aerodynamic riding position with handlebars 10 cm lower than the seat. Fun to go fast on that bike. I'm 5' 7" and it suits me just perfectly. The only downside is that it folds to the outside, but I can just flip the front wheel around and it then forces the fold to the inside.

badmother

Tell us more about that part that broke. Pix or a link? Was it trough regular use? Did you stay within recomended weight? Just want to know how much I can trust the ones I bought.

ThorUSA

Curve..... I like that bike a lot and lets see.... Just incase I bring thatbike backinto the Dahon program.
what color ?
IG 3 speed or derailleur bike like the SL used to be ?


Lets hear


thanks thor

edelay

Hi started a new thread on this at https://www.bikeforums.net/folding-b...-solution.html

edelay

IGH 8 speed for sure. black or Red.

tds101 

Bring it back in an 8 speed IGH,...it'd be PERFECT!!!

ThorUSA

8 speed....yup.. I do hear you guys .... Problem is that if and when it comes back it needs to hit a certain pricepoint ... otherwise I sell 5 and have 200 in stock
it has to appeal to many ...


we willg et a high performance 16 folder in shortly .... pricey ...though

jur

Yep that's the perennial folder problem. A niche product that is seen as a toy and therefore has to be cheap.

badmother

I am not a potential costumer becouse shipping cost would be crazy from where you are but I would say that the option to upgrade/ rebuild is important. My Curve is a three speed IGH. I know I can upgrade to 5 speed 28 h hub (as long as they can be forund) and a 8 speed hub.. Maybe the OLD and the option to easily install a chain tensioner or der is more important than selling it with 8 speed hub. If you buy a cheap(ish) bike with a good frame and several options for upgrading the gears It would be easyer to sell them I think. Ask if they can add that piece on the left chainstay that makes it easy to install a IGH with coaster but keep the option for other brakes.

If you read the forums the stems and headset is something peopel often worry about. Especially becouse they may want to remove the stem to put the bike in a suitcase. I would consider going back to a quill stem to be an upgrade on any folder for this reason. Much easyer for peopel to deal with both for maintanance and traveling.

Edit: Forgot to mention a crank set that makes it easy to change the gearing (chainring) without buying a new set.

After reading about the click fix breaking in another thread I looked at the new Dahon luggage and luggage system on your site. It looks great but the prices are "stiff". I would hope we soon see somebody making a strong good quality "closetotheframe" adaptor for Dahon to Brompton and Brompton to Dahon luggage so that peopel who own several folders (or buy and sell different folders) do not have to invest in new luggage for each bike. It is about available space in peopels houses and also about money. To hope for the option to get the Brompton weld-on on Dahons is much to hope for I guess...

This may not be what you asked for but this is what comes into my mind. I only buy things that have more than one purpose so knowing the bike is flexible both in gearing, packing and luggage is key IMHO.

L Arnold

Good point about the desire to have a simple/single standard to attach luggage to bikes. This is a problem through the bike world.

The new Dahon Front Truss System do have 2 nice carriers... one the Luggage Carrier and one the Basket are quite nice. My quick math says you can get one or the other everything (from me anyway) for about $90. More for sure than a back rack but not that much more than the Dahon Traveller or Ultimate rear racks. You can sure carry a load with the two together.

There are 3 components to the front system: Truss, Quick Release and Basket or Luggage Carrier.

My personal take on this is that the Truss seems a bit long, though I understand it is long to accommodate for the cables that stick into this area. I definitely think the carriers themselves are really nice however.

edelay

Fantastic! A Dahon version of the Tern/KlickFix truss/connector/rack.

L Arnold

Perhaps you forgot the Sarcasm emoticon. I like the Dahon luggage carriers themselves and they do fit nicely. May fit to the other mounts as well. Also the Dahon Truss system is quite strong it appears. The Brompton ones I have seen I like in that they fit quite closely to the bike but to my understanding they do not fit on the Dahons.

Many racks. Next thing we'll start talking about how much Bike Packing is better and who needs a rack anyway. I like racks but I like tying things to the Handlebar as well.

edelay

Sorry, not sarcasm, just enthusiasm.

edelay

Just an update, finally weighted the Curve. Before the parts upgrade it was 27 lbs (12.2 kg) and after the LitePro/Brooks/MEC upgrades, the bike had dropped to 26.5 lbs (12 kg). Pretty nice that the cosmetic upgrade also meant a drop in weight. Bike is also quieter after the upgrade, because I now realize that that weird rattle noise was the pump/seatpost combo. As well the bike feels more solid or tight now that the adjustable handlepost has been replaced.

rjenks

Nice bike, quick question - is your litepro seatpost an aluminium one as seen on various ebay pages (very reasonably priced)? How are you finding it? Looking to change my biologic pump/seatpost combo as I feel it's too heavy