The Dahon Eco C7 comes with the old fashion freehub and the most range for this hub is 7 speed. They did came out with 8 speed but have since stopped production or it is getting less, I don't know. The most basic way is get an 8 speed shifter and change the 8 speed freehub. ( I managed to find one and the biggest is 32t). The Tourney rear derailleur supplied with the Eco C7 can be forced to run all the 8 speed. There is enough clearance for it to shift to all 8 gears but it won't be super smooth.

The other option is a bit expensive. You have to change the hub to the cassette type where the freehub is on the hub as opposed to the former where the freehub is on the cassette. This is the most common now. Here's the catch! The rims for the Eco is 28 holes! Very hard to find locally so you have to change the rims also and then the other catch is, if you use the more common 32 holes hubs used by mtbers, it is hard to find 20 inch rms with 32 holes. So, might as well change the wheelset! Then again, if you are changing all this, might as wel go straight to 9 speed. That is from 11T to 34T. Hehehe.

I have ordered a set of rims for my wife's Eco C7 and I also have a 8 speed cassette from my daughter's Speed P8 (her's is now also 9 speed as it is easy to upgrade because Speed P8's rims are cassette type). So when the rims arrived, I can sell off the 8 speed freehub cogs which is rare actually and also the shifter to you. With this 2 items you can directly upgrade to 8 speed.

This post has been edited by etigge: Jun 8 2013, 03:42 PM

What should happen is, when you pedal, you must be comfortable with the effort. Some can pedal lighter and some can manage more effort. It all depends on yourself. No point pedalling so hard that it tires you off in just 5 minutes or so light that you are like a dog swimming in water. This also tires you faster.

As a general guide, I take myself as an example.

I take the bike as a single 52 teeth chain ring. The rear is 8 speed usually common one is 11T , 13T, 15T, 17T, 20T, 23T, 26T and 30T. So, when I start to push off, I might be on the 52T X 23T. This is a light gear and it helps me to roll off without effort and as I gain momentum I start to downshift to 13T or 15T which is my comfortable gearing as I pedal. I will try to pedal 80 to 90 turns a minute (this is cadence) and this is important! You have to maintain it. So, let's say you come to a small slope and it gets harder to pedal, so we up shift to 17T but it still is hard to maintain the 80 round per minute so I upshift to 20T or bigger until I am able to maintain the cadence.

If the slope is steeper than you can even at 30T, then lower the cadence lorr, no choice already and if I can't pedal, then get down and push lorr. No more gears already! That's why, when this happens, on my own bike, I have another front chainring which is 42T, so I shift to this chainring and this gives me more choice.

So, imagine the Tern Verge P30 with 3 chainrings at the front and 10 gears at the back. The smallest chainring is 29T and the biggest at the back is 36T. Imagine the advantage it has over the normal ones!

This post has been edited by etigge: Jun 8 2013, 07:18 PM

The 8 speed freehub is about RM80 to RM90 and the shifter is about RM90 too but for a pair. They don't sell one side! The 7 speed chain can be used back though. Sorry, I can't sell now as I promised someone who wants to buy my Eco C7 with the 8 speed. I can sell you an Alivio 8 speed shifter though for RM40.

Yes, you can. The slim slick tyres are good for speed but at the expense of the comfort and suspension. Also when down hilling, careful of small pebbles as they can also slide when hitting one. I use a BMX issued Maxxis DTH, 1.95 X 20. It's even better than the Schwalbe Big Apple and they are the same price range. But in your case, for the Dash, I think the Schwalbe Marathon. Check it out.

Both the bikes uses WTB Kinetix wheelsets. They are the same size, just that the Dash is a mini velo bike so if the tyres are too wide, they look funny. I think 20 X 1.5 should be the max. But if you put in the Big Apple or bigger, you definitely get a more comfortable ride.

This is the Visc. But we were talking about the Dash P18 which is a foldable mini velo. Mini velos have smaller gauge frame tubes. Anyway, it is a matter of personal perception.

You can find rear mirror. Brands like Zefal makes them. Either they slot into the handle bar's grip ends or some onto your helmet. As for bicycle helmet with visor, the latest Giro design incorporates a visor and the visor is made by Zeiss opticals. This helmet is really suitable for riders with glasses.

Check it out, They already started importing it in BBS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWwFjuiPX8k

You can fit it in but you have to take out at least one side of the brake pads. My 1.95 can't come out of the gap of the brake pads. Even after releasing the noodle of the brake cable.

Check if they have also change the rims. If not then they must have change the freehub to 8 speed and also the shifter. I think that's the only upgrade. He also gets to keep the old parts, ie. the 7 speed shifter and the 7 speed cogs!

You can get a Tern C7 from My Bike Shop in Bandar Utama for 1.2K and I think a guy in Kepong can upgrade to 8 speed for less than RM200. Check his FB page,

https://www.facebook.com/byKeens?fref=ts

I rather get the D8 as I think the rear hub uses a cassette type hub rather than the freewheel hub if compared to buying an upgraded C7. Or I would buy the normal C7 and think of upgrading later like getting a Novatec sealed bearing hubs with Weinmann double walled rims (RM450) a 9 speed cassette (RM80) 9 speed shifter (RM120) and a better RD for another RM150. For RM2K, you get a better wheelset with 9 speed.

The guy mentioned can even custom fit your bike with whatever component you want as he also sells just the frame and fork! No harm checking him out.

14 speeds means GW has added a double chain ring with FD and the FD adapter plus also a right hand shifter. Because Terns are not selling well because of the price compared to Dr.Hons, that's why he is adding the improvement. If it is RM1600, it is actually a good buy too and from the improvements, he gains the old crank and shifter. Tern is a good bike. But I think it better to improve the rear to 9 speed first but this entails changing the wheelset which is the main cost!

I don't know if you are going to understand this formula. In terms of pedalling effort, the smaller the 'gear inches' (GI) the easier it is to pedal. We have the option of lighter pedalling uphill in relation to the loss of distance per turn. I have mentioned before but I will say again the formula.

Gear inches (GI) = diameter of wheel X numbers of teeth on chainring/ number of teeth on cassette.

Your original 7 speed will range from 37.14 GI to 94.54 GI but after upgrading to 14 speed which is adding a double chainring to the front, I presume it is a 52T/42T crank, the figure will improve to 30 GI to 94.54 GI. That's only a 7 inches upgrade! Now presume if you change to 9 speed , so the rear will range from 11T to 34T and the GI range will be 30 GI to 94.54 GI. It's the same improvement. BUT with the 9 speed conversion, you get better rims as you have to change the rims.

After the 9 speed conversion, in future if you add in the front upgrade, the range will widen to 24.70 GI to 94.54 GI. Ironically if you change your crank to mountain bike crank with 44T, the range will drop to 15.17GI lowest! You can easily ride uphill but it will be SLOW! A little downhill, you have to coast as you can't pedal, hahahha.

It's your choice! My choice, I rather go for an old model Dahon Speed P8 (RM1800) or an Dahon MU P8 (RM2100) They are still available in certain shops. Good bike, good frame, good wheelsets, original rear carrier, Biologic seatpost with pump.

The first thing I did was took off the mudguards when I got the Eco C7. Anyone wants to buy mudguards? I got 2 sets brand new.

Actually the Dahon Vector is the same frame as Tern's. Somehow, the father and son team split into two brands. Joshua Hon, the son is managing the Tern brand while the father Dr.Hon is going for mass market. So, as for your question, I think the ride is the same.

I don't know if you are commuting or leisure riding but if it is leisure riding, you can ride in Putrajaya. It's safer there. If there's still daylight, cycle around the lakeside and if it is dark, cycle along the main throughfares.

And I am saying Dahon and Tern are actually from the same factory! So there's no need to compare. As for the design of the Speed, it is a so well designed frame, many other bike manufacturers copied the same geometry except for the 'lock jaw' folding mechanism which is patented. Maybe you can find a fellow biker and test ride it for a while, if you can find. It is hard for me to say whether it's nice or not because you can feel differently even with the Tern after you buy it!

One thing though, the Speed's frame is chromoly and not aluminium and chromoly steel characteristics always rides better than aluminium but aluminium is lighter and won't rust. Another point for your thought.


This is an expert's opinion,


"I guess you are asking 2 different questions. I'll tackle the Chrome Moly vs. aluminum question.

There are 2 very common steels in bicycle manufacture. One is called Hi Tensile and one is Chrome Moly (or cromoly or cromo or CrMo). Cr Mo and Hiten steels weigh virtually the same but CrMo is stronger which means that you can use less material and maintain strength. Less material=less weight. OK?

This does NOT necessarily mean it is heavier than aluminum especially with the bikes to which you are referring. In the grand scheme of things the frames of these bikes weigh almost the same.

It's a fact that aluminum is generally 1/2 the weight of steel but it is also 1/3 the strength. This means that you need 3 times the volume of aluminum to meet the strength of steel. This is why cheap aluminum frames tend to weigh more than their steel counterparts. Aluminum also has a limited life- it will eventually fail- while steel has a relatively unlimited life.

Yes, steel rusts, but aluminum corrodes and it can be argued that corroded aluminum is much more risky than rusted steel. Neither of these should be an issue if the bike is maintained.

Aluminum has the reputation of being a stiffer ride which transmits more of your energy to the ground but also transmits road roughness to you. Steel is much more compliant but not quite as energy efficient.

Soooo, if you want the smoothest possible ride, get steel. If you want more efficient use of your energy at the expense of comfort, get aluminum.
Source(s):
29 years in the industry "

Slim tyres ( 1.1 or 1.2 inch ) or slicks are narrower but they need to be pump to a higher PSI and this makes the ride hard while bigger tyres (1.5 , 1.8, 1.95 and even 2.0 inch ) are softer and only need about 70 PSI. The rolling resistance is compromise for comfort but riding downhill is much safer with bigger tyres and going uphill needs more effort though. Kenda makes quite a variety for bigger tyres but I think the most famous ones are the Schwalbe Big Apple. As mentioned earlier, I use Maxxis DTH (1.95) which is actually a BMX tyre. There are cheaper BMX tyres (RM20 each only) but it's heavier but the ride is good actually.

There are no good or better combination, it all depends on your cadence and your pedalling effort. How much you can push your thighs and calfs is totally up to the individual. 2 X 8 is usually 11T - 28T for the rear and 52/42 for the front. If you still struggle uphill with the lowest gear of 28T X 52T then you can find a 50T/39T or even a 50T/36T for the front. Even 2 X 8 or 3 X 9 etc has many variations . It depends on the gearing components. Cassette and chainrings has many variations. You can even find 13T to 34T on an 8 speed but it is hard to find.

The chains shouldn't come off when riding. If the limiter screws are adjusted properly, it won't come off, no matter how you shift your gears. Take it back to a bike mechanic and have the limiter screw adjusted.

As for tyres, it is a matter of choice. Schwalbes are expensive and so are Maxxis. They are expensive for a reason though. Alternatively Kenda is quite popular. Schwalbe Big Apple is about RM150 a pair and Kendas can be bought for about RM80 per pair.

This post has been edited by etigge: Jun 17 2013, 10:17 AM

I rather go for the Volcano Inspire. Better components! The rear is a 9 speed set compared to the Hummer's 8 speed. Check out nycewheels in Youtube. The guy testing the bikes is higher than you. No harm in getting on top of both bikes and get the feeling. Happy riding.

You can go for the above mentioned Volcano Inspire. Really good specs., 18 speed for a foldie is high spec. Java Fit is about 1.6K for the same specs. For the same specs, I am afraid the budget is not enough for a Dahon or Tern but 1.8K can go for 8 speed Dahon Speed P8 or 1.1K for a Louis Garneau POP LGS also 8 speed.

Maybe check this FB page.
https://www.facebook.com/byKeens?fref=ts

The Fuji R1 is a highly spec-ed mini velo. 10 speed at the rear and 2 speed in front, you can't expect it to be cheap. FYI it is also not foldable! Mini velos are like mini road bikes. The only foldable velos are the Dahon Dash. You can check his range of Langtu and the Dema.

If you like velos, there is one Oyama 500 still available at My Bike Shop. It is 8 speed and Johnny is letting go cheap for only RM850. (It is the last unit) Maybe more if you talk to him. You can add a few hundred bucks to modify the front and you can have 16 speed then or just buy it and ride it first and see if the gearing is enough. Also not foldable.

You sourced your Fuji from abroad too? So, how much did you pay for the Fuji 30 speed? Is your M1 , OXford blue colour?


This post has been edited by etigge: Jun 20 2013, 05:44 AM