Unless you leave your bike outside in the rain and sun, a steel bike could outlast you! :-)

My 30year+ old steel bikes have no rust whatsoever. Look after it and it will look after you!

Very smart advice and likely to put bicycle shops out of business! LOL

I spent some time tinkling with my Miss Tikit today. Wanted to increase gearing and was considering changing to a larger chainring. Was about to do that and then I remembered this bike had 165mm cranks and I really preferred 170cm. Tried a set from my Surly bike but the chainring did not fit. Then I remembered having a spare set of 54T cranks for the Brompton. Had to in the end replaced the bottom bracket for a slightly wider one, and they all fitted! Now my American bike is part English, hahaha!




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I have both Durano and Marathon on my bikes. Marathon are much better suited to normal riding even on gravel tracks. I doubt Duranos can outlast Marathons.

For me I would prefer more puncture protection than speed. I may be slower, but if you get a puncture, I'll overtake you!

You are correct. If you are after 451 sized tyres, very few options

As a folding bike, it is quite good. Mine has the Hyper fold, which means no levers or knobs to worry about and the whole bike folds in seconds. Can you see a cable running along the bike in the picture? That cable is under tension, holding the whole bike in place. Downside is there is more flex compared to a Brompton and Dahon. But if you are catching a bus or train, you won't miss it as you can get the bike folded so quick.

If you don't need the quick fold, I would rather a 20" wheeled bike. I regretted selling my Dahon Speed, but maybe I'll get another one day. If I sell my Vitesse or Giant Halfway maybe?

In any case the Tikit will remain in my collection

Hey Sifu,

You want something similar? Like this? I'll bring over for you! NuVinci N360....

Must weigh a ton though.......

This post has been edited by desastar: Sep 8 2015, 07:45 PM


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These hubs would be fantastic if they are lightweight. Variable ratios, who wouldn't want that. At the moment the weight of the rear wheel means it will crash through any imperfections on the road, esp the smaller wheels.

Paul
Riding a folding bike is a compromise. Just work out where you normally ride and determine the gearing you need. Forget the extremes as it is easier getting another bike for those conditions.

When you see a steep hill find alternate ways. When you go riding with roadbikes, grab the roadbike.
I'm now building a single speed, so it can only be ridden on flat roads, which is silly, but hey!

Not sure if there are any single speed fans out there, but I thought I'd share with you my latest build. Built up from parts I have left over from previous purchase, swaps and taken off bikes along the way.

Recently found this new Soma Rush frame advertised for sale. I already had the set of wheels from another bike, so I thought why not? The problem is the rear dropout spacing. This track bike is 120mm. However my wheels needs 130mm. This is a Tange Cromoly frame and the owner thought it would be too difficult to spread 10mm. Anyway I bought it and researched the best way to do it. The threaded rod method was too slow and too much work and I was only able to get about 2mm after a long time. Decided to try Sheldon Brown's method as I had a long wooden post. I carefully stretched both sides a bit at a time and after just a few minutes, I got 130mm !!

It is raining outside, so can't test it, but I'm sure it can be hard work as I'm used to having gears But the crazy Americans even go off road using this setup, so can't be that bad. In any case, I've got another bike instead of a pile of parts.







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Good morning!




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That is so sad. What is happening to M'sia? Hope the lady is OK.

I think you'll be better off getting a "real" pump. That seat pump is quite heavy from memory.

For me a good hand pump would be best. I can take with me no matter which bike I decide to ride. CO2 if you are lazy Don't use them so can't comment.

If it was me, my boss sure find out, LOL

Nice!

May it not be your last addition

Those are 451s ya? How heavy is the bike roughly?

The bike market is so overcrowded now. They have to be really special or priced right for someone to buy. These look very ordinary don't you think?

Paul

What about using this sort of stay? I'm sure a slight mod will fit. Much easier than fabricating?




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Search for it on the web, should be very easy to find. Would be much neater for your fenders too.

Mighty Dahon!

Red = Fast