Does anyone know where I can get Schwalbe Marathon or Kojak in 24"?

Thanks in advance!

This is for my wife's Dahon foldie. Currently has Schwalbe Big Apple and they are a little out of shape.....
24inch is not that common unlike the 26inch.

Not sure how true this is, but many of these bikes are from China via Taobao and are fake Dahons. There was a report a few days ago on Wall St Journal (?). Be careful if the price is too good.

Hey, anyone thinking of upgrading their 74mm/130mm hubs? I am interested in buying your old ones if they are in good condition. Quality must be better than original ones of course. Must fit 9 or 10 speed cassette.
PM me with your offer.

Has anyone here bought wheels from Taobao before. Curious how to pick the right seller and product. All fakes I wonder??

Hi all,

Recently I was able to buy a new Dahon Vitesse frame at a reasonable price and decided that I will build my own bike rather than buying a new one. The initial plan was to use good quality secondhand parts so that I'll end up with a bike that is reasonably priced with better than stock components. Found suitable parts but most sellers want a bit much, plus by the time I pay for postage, I might as well get brand new ones, as a few overseas vendors will include free shipping after buying certain $ value. Please note that I am building this bike in Australia, so what I can get shipped for free may not be the case in M'sia. This bike may end up in KL if I decide to bring it over.

So over the last month or so, parts started arriving from all over, mainly UK (via CRC and Wiggle) and TaoBao agent (Agreetao). Delivery has been amazingly quick from UK, order Friday parts delivered to me Monday!!! Bought many standard Dahon parts via Taobao and shipping via EMS was not shabby too, took 5 days all up. I have tried keeping most stuff standard Dahon and where it counts (cranks, cassette, RD, shifters, they were upgraded to mostly Shimano 105s)

I compiled the list of parts without any knowledge of their weight, didn't really care so long as the final whole bike would weigh no heavier than an equivalent new Dahon. I decided upfront that I would build the bike as a 9 speed as I wasn't planning on climbing hills. In the end I decided that a 53t front and a 11-30 rear would give me ample gears. However when I ordered, I made the mistake of ticking the 52t (doh!!), but I think it would still be ok....

Now that most of the parts are here, I have decided to weigh each component just for the fun of it, and because I can. You may or may not be surprised.....that the final total is just under 11kgs. So it is only marginally lighter that an equivalent fully built up 8-9 speed Dahon (11.5-12.5kg) Bear in mind though, this is fully equipped, with fenders and rack.

If you are interested....

Litepro Monster handlebar 204g
Dahon rack 401g
Chain 10pd Shimano 295g
Schwalbe tubes (2) 180g
Shimano 105 Hollowtech BB 120g
Shimano 105 RD Short 225g
Shimano Tiagra 10sd trigger shifter 107g
Shimano 105 crank (52-39t) 761g
Schwalbe Durano tyres (2) 490g
Dahon alloy fork 804g
Velo Plush saddle 438g
Dahon handlebar stem 875g
Avid brake levers 178g
Giant grips 110g
Jagwire Brake/gear cables 300g
Ashima Brake pads 150g
WTB Dahon rear wheel with Shimano Tiagra HG50 cassette 1226g
WTB Dahon front wheel 524g
Dahon mudguards 210g
Skewers 108g
Avid Single Digit 3 V brakes 420g
Dahon seat post (no pump) 649g (heavy!!!)
Dahon Vitesse frame 2224g
Litepro Headset ???
Pedals ???

Have not yet added up the cost, but I don't think it will exceed the price of a 9speed Dahon. This will have far better components, and I can still add a FD if I need it later. This is the wife's bike, so it should be more than adequate.

I can start building soon, but can't install the fork and handlebar as the Litepro headset has not arrived. Will try and post some pics later. Can't wait to see how it rides. May change the seat post over as the standard one is too heavy! Also the saddle!!

Hope the above info may be useful to some of you. Certainly, upgrading parts does not necessarily mean saving lots of weight!

This post has been edited by desastar: May 29 2014, 09:52 PM

Was told by the TaoBao agent that shipping goes by weight. Be interesting to see if the weight of a thousand LEDs would be similar to a folding bike?

Personally, a foldie is for fun. It will do kms so long as you don't expect constant high speeds. 20-25kph might be ok under perfect conditions, ie no head wind, not too hot.... If you want higher speed and doing longer distances, you still need big wheel bikes. If space is an issue, then make sure the foldie you buy has decent gears, otherwise you will upgrade, or worse, not ride the bike. If you are buying an 8 or 9 speed one, just make sure it has a larger crank, ie 52t upwards, and a casette at the back with an 11-30 or 34. That will give you adequate range. But if you need to climb hills, then you'll want a second chainring. I've learnt the hard way, my first foldie had 48t at the front and 12-34 at the back, completely useless.....can't climb, can't speed. And it did not have a cassette but a free-wheel
which is very limited in options. If you are un-familiar with some of the terms used here, just google.

I'm still learning, but I'll let you know if what I'm preaching will work for me in a couple of weeks when my bike's ready, lol !!

The foldie I was using before was a Giant Halfway, only 7 speed.... I'm now building a Dahon Vitesse P9 using Shimano 105 parts. My other bikes are full size road bikes.

Buy a good one and you'll enjoy the ride, and it will be much easier to sell if you want to later. Buy a cheap one, you may not enjoy the ride and no demand when you want to sell. Only buy a cheap one if you don intend to sell and you only want to ride once in a while maybe.....

I once bought an Aleoca foldie for $300 thinking it will be fun, etc etc. Impossible to cover decent distant, can't go up inclines, I couldn't even sell for $80. Someone offered me $20! I decided to give to my friend's kid.

You are on the right track. Just don't go for the 7 speed ones. They are cheap even for Dahon and Tern because they have the cheap gears and can't upgrade.

Think of what riding you want to do first. If you like longer rides, definitely a road bike. But if space to store the bike is tight or want convenience to take bike with you in the car, then maybe foldie. If you just enjoy bikes generally, then you may end up with all different types like me... :-)

You are right, but more $$$$. You may even need to replace the crankset! Dun play play, lol !!

It's true esp if you want better parts. However changing from 7 to 9 speed will only give only a slightly higher top speed but ratios closer together. as most road cassette only go down to 11t. Hence the only solution is to change the chain ring to a larger one.

That's adding a smaller chain ring to reduce gearing to go uphill. More speed you need a larger chain ring. More gears doesn't mean higher speed, you just have more ratios, maybe the ones you don't need.

More speed means you have more gear ratios to play with, but depending on what chain rings and sprockets are in that 21 speed, it may have too many low range and not one high enough for decent speed. 21 speed will probably mean 3 in front and 7 at the back. Im sure being 7 speed at the back means it is unlikely to be a cassette type cluster, means cannot upgrade if the ratios are wrong.

Also more gears doesn't mean smoother gear changes, it depends on the quality of components.

These are all based on my experiences.

Go test ride the bike. If the speed that you get from the gears are satisfactory FOR YOU then very good!!!

This post has been edited by desastar: Jun 6 2014, 06:10 AM

You are right, but I was referring to bikes with 7 speeds and like the one I had previously, the front crank was 48t.....so you can imagine what top speed this will give you, lol !!

That's it!

I've learnt the hard way ..... after $$$ spent, lol !

Not so much the different type, but Freewheel has very few options as they are no longer popular.

This post has been edited by desastar: Jun 6 2014, 10:32 AM

Haha, I dare say that on the flat you will still be spinning using the 44T !

302% range is quite decent, but having only 6 gears mean there is a big jump between gears, so harder to find the right gear to keep momentum going.

Started life as a frame in a box........