The Neos are compatible with Shimano and Microshift shifters. So, no problems.

Your criteria for your first bike is getting wider! Now you want one that can do mountain trails as well. First you said Dahons and Terns are too expensive and now you are asking where to find Brompton! Well, Bromptons can be found in GW Cycles.

This post has been edited by etigge: Mar 11 2014, 01:27 PM

I have an 8 speed Shimano Alivio trigger shifter which is suitable for your Boardwalk. If you are interested, PM me. I can install it for you. You just need to pay for the shifter only and make sure you buy another set of handlebar grip.

A fellow rider bought this MIT folding bike which resembles a Brompton but it is not a Brompton. It's sold in Singapore for S$1699 but this one is brought in from Thailand which cost less, RM2700 after conversion. Although there are some flaws, it can be remedied, that's why it was brought to me. I improve on the rear latch so it will latch properly and release properly, else it was falling off everytime the bike is carried!

Also it has been modded to 16 speed already, using 55T/44T chainrings while the rear is modded to Shimano Tiagra RD. Originally it came with grip shift which the riders says is spraining his palm twisting it. Like the Brommie, the wheels are smaller.

It folds real small like a Brompton but I can't fold it now as he has put too many items on his handlebar

You can get a Brommie from Hong Kong for a little over RM4K. Here in Malaysia, so far the usual models are the top end model which is 6 speed and it's almost 7K. Bear in mind though, it's a bike where you either like it or hate it and this is why Brommie riders tend to group to themselves although they do join others for rides. Many says they are snobbish, hahaha but not my few fellow riders. Just that we don't comment on other rider's ride, be it a Trinx or an Alex Moulton. We just ride together. Sometimes I hear them complaining about parts and servicing though and also their tires and tubes are always out of stock!

Yes it is the Flamingo and there's another copy of the Brommie. Look where the top tube is welded to the head tube. There's an extra piece there!

Either disc brakes or V-brakes( the other kind of brake system) has it advantages and disadvantages. It's hard to get a very good V-brakes though but me, I prefer V-brakes as maintenance is much easier and also if you get a good one, it performs better than a disc brake. I won't mind a hydraulic disc brake but I don't trust a mechanical disc brake (cable actuated brake). In a disc brake the braking surface is only 6 to 8 inch in diameter while the braking surface of the V-brake is 20 inch in diameter.

Also there is also the characteristics of both type of brake. I like to feel the braking and with V-brakes you can feel it and also the modulation and feel of a V-brake is more. Ever wonder why a real touring bike never uses disc brake?

Yes, road bikes are going that way and the manufacturers are getting it sanction as well. Then again I have nothing against disc brakes which are hydraulic actuated as in the disc brakes researched by Shimano and they are Ultegra level and above. They won't be using mechanical disc brakes for road bikes.

We are speaking of disc brakes used in folding bikes which are ALL mechanical and cheap sets! It is actually now cheaper to use disc brakes than to use V-brakes due to the large scale manufacturing for disc brakes. It is also hard to come by a good V-brakes now.

You only need to carefully adjust all angles for V-brakes in particular as dishing of the wheels are paramount for even braking. Sadly this is never done by bike shops, they rather just adjust the distance of the brake pads regardless of the wheel dishing and also the they are never parrallel to the rims. It all comes to the bike tech! If it is done properly which needs to be done only once, even braking and distance can be acheived and it is quite maintenance free as well.

There's a second hand Tern Verge P18 in the market. Check at the FB's page. 'Recycle Bin'

Second chainring ! This makes it 18 speed.

First change the RD hanger so you can put in a long cage RD. Then an FD adapter to hold your FD. Cable housing and cable comes next and finally a pair of 9 speed shifter (left and right).

Last is a 39T chainring to add onto your existing crank and chainring.

So, all the needed item is in red!

For the Boardwalk, apart from the parts mentioned before this, you have to change the whole crank and chainring as the original one on Boardwalk is fixed (cannot add another chainring). Here's the picture of my wife's Boardwalk

There's a black Dahon Visc P18 in Kimbell Jaya. Difference though when you upgrade a Vigor is you will get the better Dalloy Vector frame but off course the price is about 1K higher than a Visc P18 after modding. When I had the Vigor (mine traded off already with a Dahon Dash P18), I followed the Vector P20 specs. I change the drive train to SRAM X5 just like the Vector P20 use. Effectively it becomes the Vector P20 which cost slightly over RM4000 locally.

Mine was, RM2000 for the bike, another RM800 for the SRAM X5 cassette, chain, X5 RD, X5 shifters and SRAM Apex FD. Add in another RM160 for the FD adapter and RD hanger. Total cost less than RM3000 plus also the old 9 speed components can be sold to offset a few hundred Ringgit. So, roughly about RM2600 for the Dahon Vector P20.

I can get the SRAM parts at the price mentioned. Yes, after modding it, it's the same specs as the Vector P20. 2 X 10 speed. If you go to V2, there's a picture of the Vigor modified there. When I traded the Vigor for the Dash, the whole groupset is taken out and it is now on the Dash (which is really not my choice as I wanted Shimano 105). If you are interested, I can transfer all the SRAM X5 to your bike, off course it will be cheaper larr. since it is used but mileage is still very low or at the price mentioned, get a new set. I can arranged it from a friend's bike shop.
PM me if interested.

Here's the url for the Dahon Vector P20.

http://dahon.com/mainnav/foldingbikes/sing...ctor_p20-4.html

Hard to say now, many of the parts are discontinued already like the Sora triple chainring crank and the LX RD. The Boardwalk is modded gradually and it's almost over 3K plus the bike itself. I am like that If you ask me to buy a bike straight for 4K, cannot afford! So, buy a good bike, mediocre components and ride first. Then slowly change the components. I started with 9 speed mod first, needs to change rims also for this. Then later end of the month to 27 speed. After that to Avid V-brakes. Slowly change the tires to Schwalbe Marathons and then lighter seat post, Selle Royal saddle. Later Fizik grips and finally Moon headlight and tail light.

There are some points in your comment but it takes many types of riders to make a community just the same as there are many types of people in this world. But I will start with why I always mod my foldie to the max, especially on the drive train.

Once you join a group or groups and ride very frequently, you most definitely will improve and the rides will even be longer. If you say extra gears is not really a rational or sound moves, I will beg to differ in my case. The rides I ride with a few groups may last the whole day and in some occasion continuous 3 days. When I was riding Genting Peras, I started with an Eco C7 and the amount of effort to ride up , it's possible but it's also killing. While others did it in an hour or so, I did it with my wife in over 2 hours. Later when I added another chainring, I am able to improve on my time and later when I did Fraser's Hill, I added another one after I came back from the first Fraser's ride.

Sometimes, when we are tired, we just need to 'cruise uphill'. We need to rest our legs a bit although we are still riding uphill. So we tend to ride easy but it is slow. We are like resting but still moving. If we are still on 8/9 gears, we have to stop as the lowest ratio, we still need to push hard! So, if we stop and rest, our muscles will relax and it will be hard to start again.

To sum it all, I have 3 chain rings on my Speed and 2 chain rings on my Dash. BUT I use the biggest most of the time and very rarely I use smaller chain ring (this concurs to your comments) BUT I also need the smaller chain ring there, just in case. Least but not least, there's a reason why folding bike companies comes out with 18 speed and even 30 speed folding bikes. It's just that, you need to figure out WHY do you need the foldie for? Off course if it is just to ride around the park and sweat it out, a single speed would suffice already. If you go on long rides, unfamiliar routes, the more gears I have the better prepared I am for it!

The shop mentioned must be Joo Ngan Son. I was looking around the other day and saw this nice looking Volt V-brake set and the price.............RM600+ per pair They look like it's made by Ridea which is selling RM250 except the Volt set is painted white.

Point here is, I don't think Volt has their own manufacturing facility. They just get someone who does and paint their colour and stick their decals. The same goes to many other brands, I might say. If it is around the price mentioned, I second the comment to actually look at other more proven brands. I saw the bike but did not really scrutinize it closely so just to be fair, I can't really comment.

One point for sure is Joo Ngan Son don't sell cheap. That. I know!

On the handlebar near the folding lever (near the head tube) , there's an allen nut. I think it is 6mm nut so you need a 6mm allen key. Loosen two to three turns and then use your leg to grip the tyres (standing in front of the bike). Adjust the handle bar till it is up to your satisfaction and then tighten back the allen nut. That's it!

Sometimes they do! But you will feel it if it does. If it does just adjust it back. Dahon handlepost do get loosen especially after hard bumps but not in all bikes though. For this you need a 6mm wrench and turn the small little nut a little bit (only if it is loose). The nut is the one inside the handlepost and you can see it after you fold the handlebar, there's a small nylon piece and a nut there. Don't touch it if there's nothing wrong though

This post has been edited by etigge: Mar 20 2014, 11:58 AM

The RD wise, I would advise for a change but as for the crank, I think the original 2 chain ring is OK already. You will need an RD adapter for it though. The Dash has no conventional RD hanger for the normal Shimano or SRAM RDs.