My opinion is, a lady looks good riding a Dahon Boardwalk. There's even a metallic maroon color , limited edition. All within your said budget. You can visit Kimbell Jaya. I saw there's one unit displayed there.

The gap is actually spacers. It just that they don't want to cut the steerer tube of the fork. Rightfully, the steerer tube should be cut and the whole handlebar post sits directly on the headset (headset means the bearings wrapped around the steerer tube) . Actually no harm if you leave it as it is. It will lower your handlebar to 30 mm ( I see 3 spacers there) if you take them off and cut the steerer tube.

This post has been edited by etigge: Jun 24 2015, 01:43 AM

No it doesn't rust easily, Only careless or non maintenance it will rust. It is also a strong alloy which enables designer to use smaller and thinner tubes, hence light. Most long distance tourer bikes are made of these alloy. That proves it's durability. KHS foldies are made of the same material but better quality called Reynolds steel. Dahon Vybe is OK, if you prefer it, go for it. But get the C7a and not the C7s

it's not really affecting your ride, why do it? Just leave it. There's no danger or anything, just the handlebar higher, that'd sll. You were asking about the reason for the gap, and I am just explaning. just ride and enjoy first before wanting to do anything. We are just recreational riders, a minute or two doesn't really affect us. Furthermore, foldies are not really bike fitting critical.

My say, still I prefer ladies riding the Dahon Boardwalk. Smaller looking bike with smaller chromoly tubes. Shorter top tube more fitting for a lad rider. Geometry and ride comfort is comparable to Speed P8. Your activity will require at least 16 speed with mountain bike cassette and derailleurs ( rear gear). Buy the Boardwalk first and then later upgrade another smaller chainring to the front and you have 16 speed. My wife rides the Boardwalk formerly and no regrets.

Did I mentioned you need a new crankset for Dahon Speed? If I did , then I was mistaken. For Dahon Speed, you just need to get a smaller chain ring and bolt onto your existing crank. So long as you see 5 nuts on your crank , you can add another chain ring on it. Get the 39T one, if 42T , the difference will be minimal. That's 01.

02. FD adapter. Kimbell has stock of a new type which can adjust front back, up down and also angle tilt. He don't sell it actually, hehehe but I can get it for you if you want. It's for his own modifications. Yes, Kimbell does modifications too.

03. Then you need a set of 8 speed trigger shifters, L + R

04. Gear cable and housing and the ferrules (the end cap for the housing)

That's all.

Well, Dahons are rated to take up to 105 kgs. Off course the threshold is much higher than this but officially rated is 105 kgs. I am fluctuating between 98 kg to 102 kg and for 2 years, I rode Dahon Eco C7, Speed and Vigor and also the Dash, no creaking or other mishaps.

Like all consumers, many are suckered into getting limited edition or special edition etc.etc. It all depends on your priority, in this case. If you take the Boardwalk as a tool for your wife to get healthy and join you for rides, it better to get the local D8. But as you mentioned , it's a gift. I guess you want it to be special, hence your choice of the Akibo. Yes, the color is unique but only to Dahons, as there are no other Dahons in that color. Spec wise, I think your wife will suffer if you go for further rides.

In the end, I suggest you set your priority first. Function versus fashion

The Tern Uno rear hub mount is for single speed and there's no place you can fix a RD hanger. The only way is to use Shimano Tourney RDs which is the lowest grade RD and also maximum is 8 speed. This is because only this model and some cheap chinese models have the hanger incorporated into the RD. Other than that, there are some special RD mounts but so far I never seen one and it is VERY hard to find. Unless off course you can find someone to machine it for you. Alternatively, Santa Cruz do have this special kind of mount on their 1st Chameleon models and the hanger is still available in eBay but it is expensive. Here's the link,

http://www.ebay.com/itm/derailleur-hanger-...=item20f53e1aaa

That's one lousy shop. Bad experience huh? I am very sure Jimmy won't be like that. When going riding, it is advisible to actually carry RM50 along. Because at times when it rains or lazy or too tired or cases like yours, you can fold and take taxi home. Why didn't you just stop a cab and go home and pay when you are at home?

That's one lousy shop. Bad experience huh? I am very sure Jimmy won't be like that. When going riding, it is advisible to actually carry RM50 along. Because at times when it rains or lazy or too tired or cases like yours, you can fold and take taxi home. Why didn't you just stop a cab and go home and pay when you are at home?

Mr. Kong, it was me that you were talking to that day.

The Dahons are actually 'real use' folding bike. I mean, it was purely designed for use and the concept was to sold for easy storage and carrying. Until today, IMO they still makes the best in terms of form and function, although there are many other brands which have emerged since them. Tern is purely an offspring of Dahon. They were created because of conflict of interest between father and son. If you look carefully, even until today, after several years, Tern only have 2 designs of which one is actually a Dahon top model, the Vector. Since then Dahon has came out with a new Vector design.

The Bromptons are also a very functional bike and it was design for commuting. The strength lies in the compact fold of the bike. But this has also limited their capability because they have to keep to the strength of their product which is the small size and easiness of portering. That said, the British are very traditional in their products, the design has been in existence since eons and the gearings made by Sturmey Archer are also in existence since eons. I rode a Raleigh Chopper in m y schooldays with a Sturmey Archer gear and that was like in the 70s. It's nice to ride, YES but how functional will it be other than for commuting?

Of course there are extremes where they go for touring, offroad etc but that was not what the Bromptons were made for. Also a non-plus side is it's weight. Still made of steel, it's heavy. BUT, BUT the brand has become such a fashion statement, many has just got to get one. SO much so, Brompton has limited the sales to Korea because the Bromptons has turn into a status symbol there which conflicts their policy of a commuting bike. I guess, it is also becoming one in Malaysia. This comments will also influence you to buy a Brompton , right?

Birdy, I have no comment since I never look at the bike after my first look. The front side looks terrible. Off course, this is subjective to every other rider.

It comes back to your personal choice. I like biking, so personally I would look at the frame first. Will it serve me well. Components to me is secondary because I can upgrade it gradually. I mean, slowly my first suitable bike's specs will eventually be what I need and like. Instead of buying , say a Birdy for 6K plus that comes with just a basic Shimano Alivio doesn't make sense, right. Alivio is fitted onto entry level mountain bikes, factually. Then you go upgrading and upgrading, the bike cost more than 10K. I give you an example,

Let's go the extreme. I want to buy a Tern X20 which is a ridiculous RM10,300 price tag. The Tern Verge P9 is RM3,900 which is actually on the high side already but for explanation we use this 2 models. That's a difference of RM6400 for the same frame. Difference is the color scheme and most noticebly the wheelset. Fine, I also like the wheel set, I can buy it for RM1500 online. Then the 20 speed, I can actually get a whole Shimano Ultegra groupset for RM2600 ( !11 Speed ). Sell of the roadie shifters for RM800 and buy the straight bar road bike shifter for RM400. The groupset is RM2400. I fit it into the Verge P9 and it cost only RM7800. Better groupsets, same frame , same wheelset. If you don't mind the rims and and lower grade groupset like the Shimano 105 ( even the Tern X20 can't compare to this! ) it's like only RM5500 and that my friend is already better spec-ed than the original Tern X20. You know with that difference you can buy another spare Tern Verge X20 and keep as spare.

This post has been edited by etigge: Jun 28 2015, 11:06 AM

Many riders have the perception that disc brake is better. Both systems have their pros and cons. Look at it this way, the V-brakes have a friction surface all around the rims, both side. That's almost 406 cm x2 and that's 800 cm of braking surface. As oppose to disc brakes it is only 46 cm X 2 and that's only 92 cm braking surface on a thin disc. The disc brake works better, stops faster BUT can you wrist pull the levers hard enough? Have you seen brake disc running on cable on cars or motorcycles? Off course not. It needs a lot of force and the only solution is hydraulics! That's why any hydraulic disc brakes works better than the V-brakes. But you can't fit the hydraulic system into folding bike because the hydraulic hose cannot be folded to tight. So, they went for the first generation disc brakes, a cable actuated one which requires you to pull hard on braking.

If you don't fold your FIT often or never, you can actually change to hydraulic brakes, it's so cheap nowadays. Jimmy can put one in for about 200 bucks. Or maybe, fold very carefully, taking care of the hose. It can be bend but not very acutely. You know, you are already praising the V-brakes on the Dahon and that statement actually confirms how bad mechanical disc brakes are. The V-brakes you have , there are actually many more better quality V-brakes and some even cost more than the hydraulic disc brakes.

All types of brakes can overheat. Rim brakes, it depends on the brake pads. Many are harder and this can wear off the rims faster. Yes, that's another disadvantage of V-brakes. You have to change the rims later when the sidewalls are worn off! There's usually deep groove all along the brake lining. Once you can't see the groove, it means time to change rims. It's quite dangerous if you don't. As for overheating, I never encountered it yet but I did overheat my disc brake when I was mtb-ing in Cameron last weekend. The rotors all turned black and I can smell burnt pads!

Go back to Jimmy and get a set of wheels. Since you said the seal bearing makes a lot of difference, it should actually. Then you can go for either 8, 9 or 10 speed. For 8 speed you can still use back the old rear derailleurs. You just need the shifters and cassette. A Shimano Accera systems should be OK but nothing stopping you to go for better ones. I suggest MTB gears as they are cheaper and they have bigger rear cassette. Easy to ride I must warn you though, 9 or 10 speed, the biggest a 20 inch wheel can take is 32 teeth at the rear. Happy riding!

Yes he does. Even Lite Pro ones can be ordered but sometimes he has stock.

I also use the Duranos on my Dash and another mini velo. There was a time, someone released a batch of these 451 wired Duranos. They came cheap. Unknown to me, a friend (so called lah) told me and I bought from him 4 pcs for 80 bucks a piece. I was like so happy. Then a week later, Jimmy got a batch too and he offered me RM60 each. Some friends huh? I think should still have some stock.

Nope, you have to get at lest 8 speed. Once you change the wheelset, the freewheel is cassette type and the minimum is 8 speed. If you don't like the RD, you can change the RD now without changing the wheelset. Changing to 8 speed or 9 speed or even 10 speed gives you more higher gears as the cogs starts from 11tooth as opposed to your 7 speed now which starts from 14 tooth.