Twist mods

[JohnInStockie]

Hi all

Can people post ideas or info for mods to a Twist Comfort Gts please. It has front suspension forks, front hub dynamo, rear SRAM P5, front and rear roller brakes, 38mm tyres M+.

I want to make this much more efficient, in fact as efficient as I can and would like some links to replacements that people recommend, I'm thinking

-new forks
-maybe get rid of the dynamo
-thinner tyres
-perhaps change the brakes to V's

Ive already got rid of the suspension seat post and huge saddle. Please can people give me some tips and ideas.

Thanks

John

 

[flecc]

Rigid forks isn't an easy job, but a competent cycle dealer can do it for you John.

I'd still stick to the MP tyres, but narrower ones help only fractionally with rolling resistance and the higher pressures with rigid forks may not suit you. I use a 28 mm MP on the T bike front, running at 80 lbs and it's a hard ride, but I don't mind that. Most people would object.

For V brakes you'd need mounts welded onto the frame and forks if they aren't already there, and alloy welding of thinwall tube is difficult, few wanting to do it.

Changing the wheels for standard hub wheels is no problem of course, plenty of ready built high quality wheels available at all prices.

You would have been better off with the lower price standard Twist like mine, for that is already there with the features you want, hence it's legendary efficiency. That's the model I prefer, but A to B prefer yours.

However, it's still got hub gears, and derailleurs are quite a bit more efficient. A bit difficult to add later to a hub gear bike, but not impossible.

If you really want to go the limit, derailleur gears and large diameter front hydraulic disc brake with rigid disc brake forks (or V brake and plain forks) and new wheels, rear with hub or roller brake, Add the the 28 mm Marathon Plus and feel it roll.
.

 

[prState]

If you can stand a more forward leaning position, perhaps a handle bar set that allows that. You don't necessarily have to go for a full racing position, but dropping forward should still help some with aerodynamics (even if you can't attain high speeds, the days you're riding into the wind, you should acquire an improvement)

The first thing I did with my Twist is to roll the handles forward and away as much as possible. From the picture of the Comfort I've seen, you have a different type than mine though.

 

[JohnInStockie]

Thanks very much for that Flecc and prState, I DO want to do almost all the changes you have mentioned.

Flecc - A to B are simply wrong, the best version of this bike was yours, I suppose as Brompton riders they must'nt have really given it the mileage it needed (whereas my 1,000 miles have).

prState - I do NOT want any suspension at all, I do want a more forward position, so thanks for that advice.

Please keep any tips anyone has coming, I will probably try to incorporate them all

Thanks

John

 

[coops]

Hi John

Really sorry to hear what a nightmare week you've had .

I may be on the wrong lines here, so apologies if I am, but did you sort out that "lack of freewheel" problem I recall you once had with one of your wheels? That would make it harder work to pedal your bike along if unresolved? I'll try to trace the thread to see, but thought I'd mention it anyway .

Found the thread, my post here in reply to yours, 2 posts up.

It certainly looks like you have/had something causing an abnormal lack of freewheel which could be significantly increasing resistance & making harder work of moving, for you and the motor, and most likely reducing your range per charge too, given that you found it increases resistance noticeably when you're pedalling... your first job must be to diagnose & fix it, if you haven't already done so . Sounds like your bike will be much more efficient if you can solve the problem though .

Stuart.

 

[Ian]

As prState has said a lower riding position would be a big help. It is said that air resistance accounts for something like 80% of the energy expended on the level at 16mph, I've also heard it said that a rider in a low racing posiition has half the drag of an upright rider.
So, aero bars (not the chocolate type ), streamlined helmet and smooth Lycra is the way to go .
If you really wanted to take it to the limit you could convert to a recumbent.

Seriously though, some lower bars, or bar ends on your existing ones should give better aerodynamics, bar ends have the advantage of a choice of riding positions.

 

[JohnInStockie]

Coops - Ive not fixed that problem yet. I have disconnected the roller brake and its just the same, so I think it must be the front hub dynamo. I assume it must naturally have internal resistance or something, so I think getting rid would be a good thing.

Ian - I dont think bar ends would work on the Twist and its 'postman' style handlebars, it would have to be a complete change. I would prefer not to have the drops bars, so if I could attach an MTB bar, and maybe get a longer stem (if they make them longer) then I could be lower and get less resistance hopefully.

John

 

[JohnInStockie]

Forks

Flecc recommends taking the bike into a shop to have them changed. Is it that hard to change the forks? Isnt this something I can do myself? If so, are these any good?

Butted (whatever that means??)

Disc/Canti (whats low rider vs standard??)

Not quite sure what I should be asking/looking for.

John

 

[Ian]

It's perhaps because of the variables that Flecc suggested it's a shop job.
I would guess that butted is the joint between the steerer and the arms, ie. a butted joint rather than using a separate crown but I could be wrong. As for the brake lug option I'm not sure but standard seems the obvious choice.
Other things to consider are the steerer tube diameter, and threaded or threadless and the fact that if the existing forks have suspension then the replacements may be shorter.

 

[flecc]

As Ian said John, there are so many variables that a professional job by someone familiar is best. The stem may have to be cut to length and threaded, and a dealer with current experience of suspension forks would be able to help with the choice. I've had no experience with working on suspension forks on pushbikes since I've avoided them like the plague.

Butted ends refers to having fork ends for the spindle made separately out of thick plate and welded into place, some cheaper forks have the end formed by stamping the end of the tube flat and shaping that.

Low rider forks you definitely wouldn't want. They are the extremely swept forward curved leg forks that are used on the US chopper style bikes and motorbikes like some custom Harley Davidsons.
.

 

[allotmenteer]

Butted ends refers to having fork ends for the spindle made separately out of thick plate and welded into place, some cheaper forks have the end formed by stamping the end of the tube flat and shaping that.
.

I thought butted in the context of bike frames meant that some of the metal has been shaved off in places where there is less stress, in order to save weight. Thus the thickness of the tube (either frame or fork) is not constant along the length.

Paul

 

[flecc]

You may well be right Paul, because I've also heard yet another definition regarding the join methods, so there seem to be at least three versions in circulation, not the first time this has happened in the cycle world! It's an expression I never heard in the early trade so wouldn't necessarily think the one I've picked up is right.
.

 

[allotmenteer]

I got my info from Marin Bikes UK - 2007 (click on the custom butting link on the left of the page) as that is where I first heard of the term. As you said though, it may also be used to describe other things too.

Paul

 

[flecc]

My original understanding outside of the cycling world is the engineering sense of butting Paul, as in welding. Just one piece end on to another with no added mechanical joining elements, and that accords with the meaning of the word in English. As the OED has it, "meet or place edge to edge".

These cycle meanings are mainly distortions, and tend to jar with me. Some are just plain peculiar, my favourite weird one being "noodle", meaning the curved metal tube that takes the brake cable inner away from a V brake to the outer cable. I suppose someone had in mind the tubular pasta macaroni, though in Italy that was originally only straight in long lengths.
.