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Dahon mini velos.... my interpretations

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Dahon mini velos.... my interpretations

Old 03-07-22, 04:33 AM
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Fentuz
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Dahon mini velos.... my interpretations

From other threads, I posted my different experiences, with Dahon Curved D3 (my 1st folder), my Dahon Jetstream (which was modified for different needs and rebuilt to equivalent original spec), my Dahon Helios (my favorite folder), my carbon gravel bike, the kids frog bikes. After years, of maintenance, part swapping, upgrades etc., I got a good amount of spares stores in the garage so as the kids grew, I thought that the jetstream was getting overwhelmed; if you add up, my weight, the kids weight, the kids kit weight etc, I was getting close to the jetstream weight limit and the suspensions were sagging (they are all good when I'm on my own).
I had a chat with the CH White in Malmesbury UK who deals with Dahon; I was after and aluminium or Steel frame so that I can used it as a "workhorse", I was after a dash - almost folding mini velo with a classic diamond shape design to handle better children seats.
Although I believe the Dash was not sold in the UK (or at least no marketing push to get sales), CH White had a smooth hound frame (2008) and a fork (2011) in stock so I brought it and went through the parts I had and built a "custom smooth hound" (like a P9). As I have mostly shimano 9 speed (sora/alivio/acera) parts from/for the other 3 20"ers, this one was going to be a 9s for simplicity and, I selected the chainring to match 82% of the gravel bike gearing. The bigger requirement for this built was the possibility to fit my spare dropper post which is really useful when stopping with kids on boards. The result of that built is something more like a flat bar gravel bike:












This is a cool bike IMO and a family member got interested so, I went back to CH White to see if they had more stock and they had another shark frame (Dahon mini velos had shark names: smooth hound, silvertip, hammerhead, wobbegong, Mako, bullhead)...
I got this:


A Hammerhead 7.0


and I started to put it together with the kids (they need to learn)


I'm going to use original part from the Helios (D7), from the gravel bike and other bmx bits. It will be for now a "custom hammerhead D7" and will be more like a hybrid bike. As time goes, if more range is required, I will swap the single 45T chainring for a 2xcompact (50/34T) with 2S left shifter (Alivio or Sora) to convert to D14.
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Old 03-10-22, 08:44 AM
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As the parts came through the door, the kids and I started to build.

Starting with the bottom bracket, litepro crankset and flap handlebar. I wanted a mtb bar with a 30mm rise but I received a flat bar 🙄.

As the hammerhead has a German A suspension, the headset move up by~3” so Not having the rise is not too bad and I had to cut the steer tube 1.5” shorter compared to the smooth hound.



then, chain, derailleur, cables, handles etc.








Saddle, pedals and mudguards are still missing. I might also add a chain tensioner.

Once fully assembled and tested, i ll give it a dip clean and relub everything

the Orange/gold theme is a reference to the original hammerhead which had an Orange frame (and the cables were free &#128517
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Old 03-10-22, 02:05 PM
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Nice looking bikes - I have to say, a 406 wheeled Dahon Dash would be my ideal ride but finding them outside Asia seems very hard.
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Old 03-13-22, 09:44 AM
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The hammerhead is build and pre tested (20k)
I’m waiting for the mudguards.

1st impression, very light build; my helios is 10.25kg and this bike is significantly lighter (a beta tester felt the same). It is fast and nimble, perfect for urban environment.
with the slacker head angle, it feels slower to steer than the smooth hound and because of the suspension, the front is soft even with slicks pumped up to 60psi.
the smooth hound has a dropper post with is very heavy compare to the simple aluminium gravel bike seat post and the difference is noticeable.
the hammerhead is good fun especially when skidding for fun.

between the 2, i perfer the hound but, I built the hound for me and the hammerhead for somebody else. The requirements were much different:
• the hound was build for fun like a bmx that can be used on longer ride and play with the kids.
• the hammerhead was build as a versatile hybrid ready for easy comfortable commutes.


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Old 03-29-22, 01:42 PM
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while I always preferred the hound to the hammerhead, i found that the hammerhead brakes were better; it has adjustable (short or long linear pull) levers from tektro because I needed these for the hound (easier to order 2 sets) and the regular dahon dual pivot caliper which are pretty much the same as the tektro calipers.
when I first built the hound, I fitted some standard side pull dia comp caliper for bmx due to tyre clearance requirement and while they work, they were not are good as the dual pivot.
i fount that dia comp makes a bmx dual pivot caliper (dia comp 806). I fitted one on the rear and it works well with the front v brake (hence tektro adjustable levers).
now the hound brakes very well and i can do skid competition with the kids (makes me feel 30yrs younger)
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Old 05-05-22, 09:26 AM
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As my gravel bike is being serviced - although I do most maintenance and mode myself, I get a pro to look it over once a year - I have been riding the mini velo this week. Because of the rubbish tyres and the 2 kg extra, it does not roll well and, it feels "underbiked" but it is good fun while being a harder 20K work out.


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Old 05-09-22, 03:14 AM
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I took the hound on a more involved mtb ride... I only pushed it once (just after the 20K mark), 12% climb on wet grass with rubbish tyres that would not grip... other than that, it was good fun and actually took some rocky downhill with a lot less care than I would with the big bike. The mini velo is some small, it can go faster through some technical twisty bits. Only time I was smaller was on the big rock as I was just about clearing the bottom bracket.
I ' m going to fit either Conti explorer or Schwalbe Black Jack to see how the minivelo gets on even rougher trails.
With Disc brakes, it would be really good and Mud clogging would not matter; this is the current limitation.

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Old 06-08-22, 07:26 AM
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Riding a terrible bridleway (deep large horse marks in dry mud), I broke a spoke on the 20 spoke rear wheel so I decided to fit a new 28 spoke wheel and there was a new 9s 11-40 cassette for £23... so we had to try it

I have a sora short cage derailleur which is specified for 30 teeth max but the cage has the same dimensions as the altus M310 specified for 32 max... In the past, with these derailleurs, I rode without any issue with a Sora 11-34 cassette and Sunrace or Acera 11-36...
With 11-40 I knew I was pushing the limits but ..


11-36 silver and 11-40 black

Once the cassettes were swapped, no real drama; it worked well but out of conscience, I adjusted the "B" screw to improve the jump between 34 and 40 (V1 and V2).



Then, ~22Km of mountain biking just to test. The first 5 minutes, I made some adjustments with the cable tension screws.
Then, I went for it ("shredded" as the trendy kids say) in the mud




Result, it works well for me... better for big muddy hills, I have better grip.
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Old 07-01-22, 04:44 PM
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I've owned and sold many bikes, but the one I regret selling was my Dahon Dash.
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Old 01-26-23, 03:30 AM
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Back in october, I decided to train for hill climb so, I looked at my parts bin and things I could swap. I decided to see how light I could make the smooth hound on a budget. So I stripped it a rebuilt to the following spec.
I fitted "old" gravel bike parts, namely: Stem, handlebars and seat post.The transmission is a big mix of what I had in the garage: Shimano Sora 9s brifters RT3500 (side shifter cable) and Sora 9s "small cage" derailleur coupled to a Shimano XT 11-34 cassette because it is lighter than the Sora equivalent (235g vs. 450g) and has the same weight are a ultegra 9s 11-28.
A Praxis carbon crankset with Sram force1 50T chainring. It is also fitted with a 4iii power meter

Front brakes are mini V brakes and the rear kept the Dia comp dual pivot caliper.

Kinetix pro front wheel and Frog team sky rear wheel. I initially used kojak 35-406 tyres



The bike weighed 8.3kg with the "big" cassette, "big" chainring, Frog wheel, Kojak rigids and butyl tubes.

I thought the the Hill Climb version would have a "small" cassette and "small" chainring (-135g), Kinetix pro rear wheel (-330g), Revoloop Race ultra tube (-120g), spider saddle (-150g)




Since then, I rode 1500k and had a crash in the snow which wrote or the shifter, bent the derailleur hanger and caused minor damages to the derailleur... it looked like that 5min before crash.



The current version is fitted with pedal ES600 (-250g)which are light, comfortable and , Ritchey Venturemax comp handle bar with later Sora RT3000 shifter (look like 105 with shifter cable at the back by the brake cable). I fitted a superstar component headset (light MTB kit) because the Tange kit was dead due to low quality bearing and for some reason, the fork was fitted with 2 crowns preventing the frame to seat properly on the fork under load.

I am waiting for a set or litepro aero wheels too.

I ride faster, the bike received continental contact urban tyres which are heavier (+ 100g for both) but have a rolling resistance of 16.4W per tyre vs 24.8 w for the kojak.
The gain from the continental is mega noticeable (i ride able 5kph faster and have to produce 10 to 20W less).

i d like the whole Hill climb racer to be ~7.2/7.4Kg but I might be a tall order so I will see what can be done
It should be noted that a classic hill climb bike with a weight between 7 and 8kg costs more than £3000 minimum (700C wheels and carbon frame)
The goal of the project is to see if I can build a "competitive" bike for the cost of a "budget" bike; As wheel weight is a major factor, going with 20" sport wheels could be an advantage. So far, the total build would cost less than a pair of carbon Hunt wheels ("would" because I had most on the parts on hand).
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Old 01-27-23, 08:27 AM
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I need to fit the 42T ring for next cavendish road challenge…


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Old 02-15-23, 04:44 AM
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So, early Jan, I decided to order a less expensive wheelset and thought I d give a try to AliExpress. The result is a set of 42mm deep litepro and they are pretty. At the moment, I am not pushing (bad knee) so I am not sure if I can notice the Aero thing but, the bike rolls well.



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Old 02-20-23, 09:06 AM
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200kms on the new wheels... They're not bad; they seem more rigid and are certainly faster.
Although the rear wheel is lighter, the Rim dynamic weight must be greater (42 instead of 20mm depth) so even if litepro uses a lighter aluminium (density), the density of that alloy won't twice lighter that the Frog one. So I think there's an aero benefit and flywheel effect, these wheels roll nicely and easily.

They are very comfortable.


Having said that, I had to be careful is the field openings/gate ways. In the Cotswolds "bocage", we are a little sheltered from the winds or to be more specific, there are fewer changing winds but, if we pass in front of a field entrance, the crosswinds rush in and the front wheels go off as the rim surface area is almost twice the dahon kinetix pro rim area. ..

Maybe I'll take another game for the Helios :mrgreen:
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Old 02-15-24, 11:25 AM
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After 1 year in this configuration (5000km), the bike is still very enjoyable and is the bike I ride the most due to low maintenance cost (components are cheap):
- 2 chain sram 971
- 1 BB Praxis M30
- 1 sora derailleur
- 1 derailleur hanger
- 1 bottom headset bearing
- 1 set of tyres
- 1 set of tri-compound brake pads
- 1 cassette 9speed XT

and I swap the 50T force chairing for a 56T Miche CRONO.

total cost is ~ the cost of the rival derailleur of my CX/Gravel race bike

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