I’m after a budget folder. Must be able to cope with at least 14% gradient hills and must have disc brakes (certainly at the front). Would prefer torque sensor. Quite happy to put a fair amount of effort in myself. It’s for transport and I’m a busy person so want to get from a to b with moderate speed. I have a TSDZ2 powered mountain bike conversion that is great but it does not fold. The roads around here are rough and potholed but I’m not especially heavy. Because i don’t drive i want the flexibility of a bike i can stuff in friend’s boots or in a push put in a bag and take on a bus. I have a Tern but i don’t think it’s a good donor option due to frame problems. Would consider a steel Dahon but not sure about disc variants with steel frames. A hub folder isn’t my preferred option but as Ii have the mountain bike for longer rides it may be ok. Woosh Rambaletta with a torque sensor BB might work if Woosh sells such a thing?
Folder recommendations
- Thread starter Bogmonster666
- Start date
Quoting stuff from the Internet when you have zero or close to zero experience in these matters. If I were you, I'd stop trying to score points, which only makes yourself look silly. Instead, grab some spanners and start experimenting with stuff, then come back here and tell us what you found out, not what some guy on the Internet said,
Haha, exactly like you! Every single topic on here you have to chime in and say ‘don’t do it like that, do it like this because I say so’ with no reasoning or explanation at all.
If anyone has anything different from what you have then it’s categorically wrong… torque sensing, mid-drive etc etc.
What you don’t realise is that you’re driving people away from the forum, every time someone asks a question or gives an opinion you state your own opinion as if it’s fact when it’s clear to all it’s not…. You’re think you’re the big fish and this is your forum… fair enough mate… enjoy your power!!
Meanwhile or your own projects are utter shite… fancy getting your chain line so wrong that your chain keeps falling off and you have to bodge it with a chain guide??
The biggest factor to the weight of a bike is the rider. An e-bike is 10kgs at most more than a normal bike, whereas the rider can vary by 50kgs and yet when designing the bike this will be within the envelope for the brakes.Nowhere in that article does it mention E-bikes, which weigh more and have higher average speeds. Consider that mass going fast downhill.
Let me ask you a question, how would you fancy cable operated brakes on your car or motorbike?
Anyway, enjoy getting torn a new one by saneagle
People were competing at the tour-de-France with rim brakes not that long ago… does a folder need hydraulic brakes to pop to the station and back??
On my car, do I need 6 pot pistons and carbon brake disks all round, change the fluid after every 1000 miles? No… single piston disks and drums at the rear is just fine.
Cable operated disks are just fine…the stopping distance will be the same with the same pads and disk size as hydraulic. You could see the maintenance as less than hydraulics and the failure mode as more progressive than getting air/water/dirt in hydraulics.
Thank you for the warning of san eagle tearing me a new one, I assume you’re one of his playground gang… next you’ll be telling everyone meet behind the bike sheds at 4pm!!
I can't help it if crank-drives and torque sensors are shite and you haven't a clue what you're talking about.
If you know so much, can you make a suggestion on how to improve the chainline on my bike?
not quite. Cable operated disc brakes have only one piston, pushing only one side against the rotor. The other side is static. Hydraulic brakes have at least two pistons and the pads are usually larger too.
I’d be happy to help… post up some pictures of your frame and motor fitment? These things do need to be considered properly when selecting a frame and motor combination… if you just go with what you’ve got then it may be fundamentally wrong and only minor fettling possible.
With my project, the first thing I bought was a brand new frame, a 29’er from Evans Cycles that was only £90 in the sale. It has through axles and wide chainstays for a 1x cassette. So I had to do a lot of planning to select a motor and chain ring to optimise my chain line. Used a lot of cardboard cutouts to get it right. I went with a BBSHD because this was the one that fit the best but also kinda wanted that one too… I fettled the bottom bracket face and the motor casing and used an offset Leckie Bling Ring but achieved the results I wanted to, my chainring is bang on central to the 11 speed cassette.
Yes, but some envelopes are better than others.
"Not that long ago" But not now of course.
But you'd still prefer it if your front brakes (at least) were hydraulic disks.
I don't think any of that is true.
That's pretty funny, I'm pleased we can enjoy some friendly banter
In other news, you'll be pleased to hear I shortened my rear brake hose by following Youtube stuff. Piece of ****. Went out for a ride, marvellous, I'm never going back to rubbish brakes.
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In our house we have about 6 bikes… some have hydraulic brakes, some have rim brakes, some have cable operated disks. All of them work just fine and if squeezed hard enough can lock up the wheels… I don’t think any of them have ever needed any maintenance at all…Yes, but some envelopes are better than others.
"Not that long ago" But not now of course.
But you'd still prefer it if your front brakes (at least) were hydraulic disks.
I don't think any of that is true.
That's pretty funny, I'm pleased we can enjoy some friendly banter
In other news, you'll be pleased to hear I shortened my rear brake hose by following Youtube stuff. Piece of ****. Went out for a ride, marvellous, I'm never going back to rubbish brakes.
If any, it’s the hydraulics that I have the feeling I’m neglecting…probably supposed to bleed them again sometime or change the fluid.
I’m sure cable operated brakes are just fine on a folder! Shimano know their ****… Sure if building a bike from scratch I’d opt for hydraulics but if buying an existing bike I’d be happy with cable, there is nothing wrong with it.
My v-brakes certainly are. They stop me sharpish and I am going to stick with them. Totally given up on the idea of disc conversion. There are at least a zillion 20" wheeled bikes out there, and a market of a zillion is hard for manufacturers to ignore - I'll continue buying new rims and brake pads.
I'm always having to go slow downhill myself, but I don't get why you need to adjust your brakes so often. Are you not tightening the brake pads in position enough? Small drop of 3 in 1 on the thread, holding the pad stationary at the right angle, and making fast short and sharp hard turns with the allen key works for me. Slow turns turn the brake pad. Then the only adjustment needed is tightening the brake cable every so often, as the pads wear down. When positioned tightly enough, they won't change angle when you brake.
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Same with the brakes on my Bromptons, they work just fine, not much maintenance really.
The rim wear is a pain though, I have never needed to replace one, but the front wheel rim on my sons Brompton failed after only 9 years of regular use.
9 years?!? Is his not electric? Are Brompton rims steel? Before I converted my bike, it was still on it's original rims from 2006... now I get through them every year or so. When I can't quickly find the right rims, I buy entire wheels. Fortunately my latest rear wheel was a sweet deal from Banruptbikeparts. Haven't installed it yet, hope it isn't squeaky.
No, 6 speed manual, standard alloy rims.
But only 9 years !!! clearly rim wear is a serious issue.
The rims on my non-electric folder are wearing badly and hardly use it. On my electric mtb conversion I think the rims also won’t last too long. A lot really depends on the hills and speed one can safely descend said hills. I’m down to 10mph on very steep hills because single track, bends, high hedges, gravel. If my brakes stopped me better I might go a bit faster, but not much. The rims take a lot of wear like this… It’s not like stopping at a few traffic lights.
I can just about live with the poor stopping, the constant adjustment is a real bore.
I rarely touch the brakes on my Bromptons. Thinking back the last time I touched the brakes on the electric one was this time last year.
Just ordered some new pads for my Tekrto Auriga disk brakes. Rear ones are pretty worn down and handlebar lever movement is unacceptably long. I never had hydraulic brakes on a bicycle before, but they are very nice - even these entry level sort.
£1 a set??? I just paid £15 for two Tektro Auriga ones. Hope you are not going to tell me I could have had the same sort as you have......
I bought a job lot on aliexpress well before brexit so they were dirt cheap, BS01 Shimano type which are pretty much foundon alot of bikes that use obviously entry shimano line brakes as well as some tektro and clarkes brakes£1 a set??? I just paid £15 for two Tektro Auriga ones. Hope you are not going to tell me I could have had the same sort as you have......
. Can't complain at the braking performance and have no issues with last minute braking, they lock up a treat if one want's them to.
The cheap Chinese ones are fine. I use them on my bikes and they last 4-5,000 miles of hilly riding. These are the last ones I got. The price is creeping up, but think these 4 sets will probably see me out.£1 a set??? I just paid £15 for two Tektro Auriga ones. Hope you are not going to tell me I could have had the same sort as you have......
Reliable and Durable Resin Disc Brake Pads for Shimano Deore M596 M595 LX XT | eBay
For shimano: XTR M975/M966/M965, SAINT M800, XT M775/M776/M765, SLX M665, HONE M601, LX M585, DEORE M596/M595/M545/M535/M505, BR-R505/BR-S501/BR-S500 /BR-T665/BR-T605. Material: Resin. 4 pairs Disc Brake Pads.
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Right. This bike has done nowhere near that mileage and the back brake pads are almost shot. It is the 300 vertical foot descents in less than 1 km that does it, I think. Part of it is 20% to 18%. Anyway - they will be delivered tomorrow - Amazon Prime. I'll fit them later in the week - only the rear though, for now. Looks like a five minute job.
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