tcs

Discs. 9-speed derailleur. Single sided front fork.

CrimsonEclipse

The Dahon Scoliosis!

(single sided fork was never a good idea. Cannondale out front should have told ya)

Jipe

On a folding bike, a single side fork is usually chosen to reduce the folded width, don't know if it is the case for this new modified Curl?

tcs

The 9-speed derailleur w/ disc is going to be wider than the IGH rear of the present Curl, so it makes sense that going to a single sided fork was to 'buy back' some of the folded width.

CEBEP

Looks interesting. No suspension in the back?

tcs

Nope. Dahon's Curl has never has active suspension.

Schwinnsta

Now if they would just make a 20-inch version.

tds101 

Do you think the 9 speed derailleur will be a better option? I remember some having issues with the plastic chain tensioner Dahon was using (if I'm correct). Plus the disc brakes are more to my liking. Looks nice.

tcs

I think IGHs are the better option for small wheel bikes*. I'm not in the industry but my impression is that the fat slice of the world market disagrees and would rather have derailleur gearing. Even Brompton has expanded offerings in the derailleur direction.



*I'm flexible on this, though. Give me reasonable high gears and keep the jockey pulley out of the mud and I'm okay with small wheels + derailleurs.

tcs

For the definitive look into single sided forks*, see the late Mike Burrows "Bicycle Design" (out of print but your local library should have a copy).


Fun fact: every Vespa ever made (since 1946) has a single sided front fork*.



*Pedantic Sheldon Brown would chastise me for calling this a 'fork'.

Jipe

There will alo be an electric asist Curl with like for the Electric Brompton a front hub motor:

tcs

The electric version has ISO305 wheels//tires and cabling inside the frame.

The above bike has the primary seatpost shoved all the way down and the chain unshipped from the chainwheel. Unfortunately typical sloppy details of a Dahon marketing image.

Do these bikes represent what will actually be offered to consumers? Anytime soon? In North America? It's Dahon - shrug - who can say?

tcs

The disc brakes clean up the front end and allow for a front luggage carrier mount* - which Dahon has elected not to fit.



(*I don't miss it but some folks really get their knickers in a twist about this so why not add one, Dahon?)

Schwinnsta

Would you not prefer that this load be taken by the frame? Strange that Dahon did not put a luggage block lug on this model. Serious omission. Does your bike roll on the rear like as well as Brompton?

tcs

Nope. Touring bikes almost universally have the dunnage attached to the steering axis.

At a cost of pennies in the factory.

Not really. Still at so little cost and something a portion of potential customers think they want, why not?

There's a video by 'he who cannot be named' showing a folded Curl given a push and rolling way across the warehouse floor. The bike tracks straight and takes no discernable effort to push along in trolley mode. Hard to imagine a folded bike rolling better*. The Brompton I rented for my bike&train tour in Scotland didn't have a rear rack so I don't have a basis to compare.




*On a smooth surface. Like nearly all folding bikes, unfold it to roll across rough/unpaved surfaces.

Jipe

I fully agree with Schwinnsta, having the front bag attached to the frame is much better than on the handlebar/steering.

Many bikes and cargo bikes have a front carrier attached to the front frame (Brompton of course but also many Tern bikes, many Riese & Müller bikes, Moulton bikes, Tyrell Yve, i:SY...).

tcs

Well, it just so happens that there's a current thread on the Touring subforum titled "Talk me out of frame mounted racks" about this very subject.

In other news, I've owned and ridden an Alex Moulton bike with a frame-mounted front rack since 1984. Over the last 38½ years, I've gathered some experience with that setup.

Jipe

Me too, I have two Moulton with a front bag mounted on the head tube and a Brompton with a front bag and two Birdy with front bag and a Tern GSD with front bag , actually all my bikes excepted my Pino semi recumbent tandem and my Passoni Topforce race bike do have a front bag attached to the head tube of their frame.

Schwinnsta

I would use the multi quote if I knew how that worked. As for touring bikes, that's because they have larger wheels, lower trail, the frame load would be high up, and the geometry is not conducive. If the load is through the steering fork then having narrow low panniers is better.

Once you are down to 20-inch wheels, having the load on frame is much better. See traditional "butcher" bikes. It does take a little while to get used to the rack not turning. Rather than beat this to death, let's agree to disagree. For the Brompton, with rack and easy wheels, the centroid of the folded bike in shopping cart mode was within the footprint of the easy wheels, but barely. This made it too unstable for easy shopping. It was doable, but you had to be careful, or it could tip over. I tried the wheel extenders and found them problematic. It was not until I modded the back of the rear rack and extended the rear right wheel outward that it really became a very useful shopping cart. The limiting factor of the load is about 30 pounds on the front block. Then stability gets to be an issue. Now Brompton limits you to 20 pounds. I think if you were to overload it, it would failure point would be the top bolt either breaking (ideal) or pulling out and stripping the threads. I would then have to drill out and rethread for 6 mm screws.

Anyway, the shopping cart only works because the bag is carried on the head tube which puts it in an ideal position when folded.