I would rather buy them in Europe if it is expensive ones but if then if your choice is Taiwanese brands, you can buy it here but the luggage charges will amount to the same difference. Countryside riding does not entail off roading right? They have tarred road on their countryside as well, my guess is a 20 inch folding bike would be compact enough to carry into trains and tubes. Before buying either here or there, you can check websites for the price difference or maybe hunt for second hand units there. This will allow you to buy a higher end bike at a lower price.

In your case, I wouldn't want to lug around a 26" foldie around.

Go for the KHS. Rather wait then taking the XDS. If you want to ride permanently, meaning seriously go for a better one. You can check this site out.

http://handsonbike.blogspot.com/2011/11/ch...es-what-is.html

It seems that the newer Neos RD is not suitable to pairing with a double chainring setups. I saw another one Visc P18 getting the RD changed to Tiagra. The Neo broke into 2 parts! Those who have bought the Dash P18 and the Visc P18 should send it back to changed to another type of RD.

Let me know how much you want to let go? I have a friend looking for cheaper alternative to Dahons. The shops are selling for RM600 plus minus RM50, depending on how well you know the shop keeper and at the LeRun's warehouse sale, it was selling for RM500 plus.

Seems Dr.Hon going for mass market as said by Samosaurus. You can however go for his son, Joshua Hon's bikes named TERN ! Wonder why the son is competing with his father?

The Boardwalk is OK because it uses a single chainring, ie 8 speed only as opposed to Dash P18 and Visc P18 which have double chainring. I also suspect the Neos are made with cheaper materials now to cut cost.

7 speed is definitely not enough if you want to ride hilly areas. Sometimes we use foldies for touring also. Yes. you may say why don;t you just buy a touring hybrid. Reason is the folding capability. Most important, buy what you need the bike for! If you want to commute around your Taman, then even Raleigh will do. In some instance, we ride and when we reach the destination, we don't feel like riding back, we call a taxi and put the bikes into the boot!

More gears more options on maintaining your cadence and also easier for hill climbs.

I started with an Eco C7 and my wife's also an Eco C7. My daughter's is a Speed P8 so her bike is OK. I started with my bike and I modified to 8 speed and then I got a Kinetix rim and modified to 9 speed and transfer the 8 speed to my wife's bike. We ride in Cahaya Alam one day and it was tough, so I was thinking of getting an 18 speed. The cheapest was Java Fit at RM1600 and next one Hasa's, over 2K. I still prefer Dahons but it's almost 3K for 18 speed.

Then LeRun's warehouse sale came along and I sapu all the Sora cranks at RM80 each. Went around searching for the Octal link BB and finally found it. Went to GW cycle and bought 3 FD adapters for Dahon at RM130 each and also 3 Shimano 2300 FDs. That's the cheapest braze on FDs at RM70 each. Add in shifters and the total cost for the 2 speed front chainrings conversion is RM400 with the shifters and also cable. I saved on labour as I can do it myself.

The weight increase is quite small as the components quality is lighter than the original components but the ride is most definitely better! I got almost 2 sets of original Eco C7s Dahon's components lying around. Harder is to find a frame all all those components.

For those interested, here's the breakdown on the modifications.

Kinetix rims (second hand) RM400 , 9 speed cassette (Alivio) RM80 , LX shifters RM 150, LX RD RM50 ( warehouse sale), 2300 FD RM70, Sora cranks RM80, Shiman0 Octal link BB RM50, Dahon FD adapter RM130, Avid V-brakes and levers RM120, SR saddle (for big backside rider) RM140, Duccas seatpost and handlebar RM 310, sealed bearing headset from GW Cycle RM80 plus cables and colored housing RM60 and that's RM1720 plus the initial cost of the bike 1K, that's 2.7K. If I can sell off the old parts, it becomes cheaper!

Old parts left, 7 speed freewhell cogs, Shimano Tourney RD, 7 speed grip shift, seat post, saddle, original 52T crank, original rims and tyres, V-brakes and brake levers, handle bar.

With your budget, get a Dahon Speed P8. If you hunt around you can get around 1.8K. If you want more gear ratios you can get the Dash P18 which is slightly over your budget but I think it can be bought for 2K.

Take a look at this also. One left, he has 2 in the beginning.

http://bicyclebuysell.com/view_item.php?id=179695

It can be done but the front fork needs to be pulled apart as Novatec (mountain bike hubs) have wider hubs for the front. If you are using Dahon Eco C7 (like mine) the fork is steel and it can be done but I am not sure about aluminium forks though (as in Speed P8). Another hard part is finding Novatec hubs or any hubs for that matter which have 28 holes rear and 20 holes front. As for the rear hubs the quick release can tighten the little gap.

When I bough my WTB rims (original Dahon Dash rims), the former owner already shodded it with a Novatec hub and I don't know where he sourced the 28 holes hub from. If you find any, please let us know!

If you can find a 28 hole Novatec rear hub, it can be fitted on the Dr.Hon. Kinetix rims are sold at Rodalink for about RM800 per set with the rims. Then the front is sealed bearings but the rear is not but better than the stock wheelsets. It's the narrow front hubs that is special to Dahons. GW cycle in Kota Kemuning also stock wheelsets suitable for Dahons but be prepared to pay high prices. GW Cycle can also modify your bike to 16 speed or even 18 speed.

Another option is to order 20 inch rims (get a double walled) from Taobao with 32 holes. After getting the rims, you can practically use any mountain bike hubs, even American Classic or Chris King.

This post has been edited by etigge: Apr 30 2013, 12:42 AM

There's a trip next month!

Starts from Kepong ETS station. Hop onto train, with folding bikes in bags only!)
Alight in Rasa but I think KKB is nearer! Got to be discussed.
Set up and cycle to KKB and then straight on to Chilling Fish Santuary.
Back to railway station to take the train back!

Anyone interested? I will post it here once it's official.

The Boardwalk D8 is quite a good bike You will loose trying to sell it off. I ride the Eco C7 which is an even cheaper version but have since modified to higher specs components. I have no problem now riding up even Genting Peras. As for yours, changing your front to double chainring is not hard as you don't need the expensive FD adapters as the Dahon C7s. You can get a 34.9mm oversize clamps for the FD. You need to get a left hand side shifter for it. I saw many in GW cycle. But the left and the right will be different though or get another trigger shift set which will be easier to shift. Hunt for a cheap double chainring like FSA or even a second hand Sora. With 18 speed after modifications, should be easier to ride hilly roads.

Here's a nice looking Dahon Boardwalk D8

I started mine,(I have to upgrade 3 bikes as I have 3 in the family), when I went to the LeRun warehouse sales where I bought 3 sets of Sora triple chainring cranks for only RM80 each. It's an old model but suffice. Let's talk about per bike here. I have to source the BB and I manage to find it for RM50 each. Add another RM120 for a pair of shifters and another RM70 for a Shimano 2300 FD and finally an FD adapter for RM130 from GW. As for yours you don't need the adapter as your seat tube can accomodate a clamp style FD but the Eco can't. Another RM10 for the cable. In total RM460 to upgrade the front crank.

It's cheaper if you upgrade yours to 16 speed and not touch the 8 speed at all. If you go for 9 speed it's going to cost a bomb because the rims are hard to source and expensive. For 9 speed it's only available in cassette type hubs and I thinks yours is a freehub type. when you factor in wheelsets, cassette, RD, you might as well sell the Boardwalk and find another bike.

No offence either here also! If I want to ride mostly on the tarmac, I don't really advise suspension at all. It just makes another point for maintenance. The rear sus has pivoting points which can become loose in the later years but off course it depends on how long you want the bike to last. As why I choose Dahons is, they are under warranty for 3 years and as warranty for components, that's not really important as they are mostly entry level components and I can't expect them to last anyway. I have changed most of it anyway! The joint is where it's important and Dahon's patented joint is why I choose to invest in it and also the guarantee of withstanding 105 kg rider!

Have you tried riding your friends MU or Speed? If you haven't ride it, you can't really compare. Everyone can reach the destination given time and also the fitness of each rider or the type of bike. Even my grandfather used to ride from Pulau Betong to Bayan Lepas frequently on a single speed monster in the yesteryears. It's a matter of your determination but mostly, I have to admit it the pride of owning a branded bike also. It's part of making us enjoying the bike.

Johnny, the owner of My Bike Shop in Bandar Utama is selling his trusty Dahon Dash 18. He has also modified his rear hubs to sealed bearings. Call him

I second this ! Johnny is probably in Putrajaya or somewhere in a race.

I try not to buy at Rodalink though. Their service is lousy! Also no flexibility at all. Their technical knowledge is lacking also. This is what we called " Sei Pan Pan ". Although I have bought quite a number of components especially Biologic components, I still refuse their membership card.

Their knowledge is at par with the bike shop in Bdr Mahkota Cheras where I once wanted to change my 7 speed to 8 speed and he adamantly says , " it cannot be done ! He proceeded to explain a whole lecture on technicalities which I can't understand! " Then I asked him to just change the freehub that I have brought along. Then he cannot undo it! I then said, " it's OK" and went home and do it myself. He was the reason I bought the bike tools kit!

This post has been edited by etigge: May 18 2013, 06:33 PM

Just the el cheapo 'Bikehand' . I got it for RM180. I think can find in any bike shop or if they don't have just order from them.

This post has been edited by etigge: May 18 2013, 08:07 PM

Check the number of spokes. If there are 32 spokes, changing the hubs is easy as most mountain bike hubs are 32 holes. If it is 28 like Dahons, then a bit hard to source. There are 28 hole hubs but needs to be hunted. As for the width, my wife's Eco C7 fork can be widen to fit in a normal width hub. I did that to install a quick release.

The most expensive part of a folding bike other than the frame/fork is the wheelset. Also check if the original hub is a freewheel or a cassette type. If it is an 8 speed, then it is usually the cassette type and changing it is easy.