Thursday, February 10, 2011

Journey of the Boardwalk: Part 3 (105 Crankset, OTA Seatpost & Dahon Tour Bag)

Went out to buy a Dahon Tour Bag the moment it was available in Singapore. It was the ideal bag for light touring/commuting: Waterproof, strong outer shell, ease of removal, comes with carrying strap, and has many compartments. Note that only the newer Dahon bikes come with the front mounting point required for the support truss.

Also managed to get the lightweight OTA seatpost from a friend, who brought it over from Taiwan. It weighs only 350g, as compared to the original D7 seatpost that weighs 590g. Looks good too! Only problem is the seat clamp, which had dimensions that were slightly off from the seat rail width. Had to do a bit of bending and squeezing before the seat could be mounted properly.
Was in Hong Kong for a short holiday in July, and came across these two bicycle shops along Tung Choi Street in Mongkok.

The shops are quite interesting as they sell many different things that can't be found in Singapore or other places. For example, just for Dahon seatposts, they have like 6 different types of seatposts for sale. You can see the prices on the seatposts if you enlarge the image, and using the exchange rate of SGD $1 to HKD $5.5 at that time, you can get a rough idea of the price. Not cheap. By right photography was not allowed, but luckily I was not caught and chased out haha.

Tried my luck asking for Dahon specific skewers, which has a 74mm front width, as opposed to the usual 100mm. I was in luck as they had one pair in stock, in a nice gold colour. And that was how I got my special, unique skewers for my Boardwalk.

At this point, the only major component that has not been upgraded was the crankset. Read some reviews and found that the Shimano Hollowtech II cranks are really light and strong, and the external bearings make the cranks really stiff too. Decided to look around for good deals. As always, the first stop to look for good deals would be at Gee Hin Chan.

Brought my bike there one day and asked to upgrade the crankset to Shimano 105 crankset, with new Bottom Bracket too. Had a choice of last year's black 105 cranks, or the 2011 version of the 105 cranks, in silver colour. Decided that the black matched my bike more than the silver one. Because the 2011 version has just arrived, they didn't have it in black colour yet. For some reason the newer 2011 version was also cheaper by around 10%.

Of course must change the crank bolts to gold, to match my gold skewers! And as I expected, gold goes really well with black, especially on the 105 crankset. Removed the inner 39T chainring as I didn't need it.

Had thought of changing the BB to also a gold coloured version, probably a Token brand one. But it would have costed 3 times more than the 105 BB. In any case, the 105 BB works well and looks good on the bike, being an intermediate colour between the frame and the crank arm.

Could feel an immediate improvement in the stiffness of the cranks! There is no flexing when you push down hard on the pedals, and it feels smoother due to the sealed bearings in the 105 BB. Definitely worth the upgrade, although it is rather pricey. 10/10 for the looks of the crankset alone!

In the next part of the Boardwalk journey, I will talk about how I changed the bike from 8 to 9 speeds, changed the tires, and customised my own 9 speed cassette.

52 comments:

  1. nice, how much for the BB? :)

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  2. The 105 BB only cost $20+, very cheap!

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  3. Nice blog dude!! Plan to upgrade my dahon eco c7 according to ur ways!

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  4. hi tylsteve,
    is your shimano 105 cransket 53/39t? still with u, want to let go? pls email me if u want to let go, TQ!!
    i from Johor,really impressed by ur mods!
    my email: saiweng721@gmail.com

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  5. My Shimano 105 crankset is 53/39T. have already put it on another bike. thanks for your support!

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  6. Interesting mod! I got an MuP24 and already clocked more than 1000km on it, crashed a few times and the frame's still holding strong. Still a bike parts idiot so what is the best shop to zhng my bike to your specs? Just broke my pedal today and that's prob the first place to start.

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  7. MyBikeShop is a good place to start. they specialise in folding bikes and so they can give good advice as to what parts are suitable, what will fit and not fit and so on.

    You can also check out the other sections of my blog, such as the Dahon Boardwalk upgrades.

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  8. Can check what is the dimension and thread type of the BB for foldies?
    Thanks! Sam

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  9. for Dahon it is standard, BC 1.37x 24

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  10. Hi steve can check did u install ur shimano 105 at gee hin chan or mbs?

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  11. hi steve,sorry to trouble u again.

    Yest finally upgraded my crank and RD to shimano 105.

    However can i check wif u if i dont wanna put bashguard,will e chain drop off easily?

    Cos i realise when i am on highest gear,the chain will rub against e bashguard as e RD now shift outwards.

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    Replies
    1. do you have a spacer between the chainring and the bash guard? maybe you can put a picture on LCSG facebook. you are Wei Ming right?

      Delete
  12. hi steve.Ya i am weiming here.

    No i do not have spacer in bet e chainring and bashguard.

    Does adding a spacer in between eliminate e chain hitting e bashguard when i am at highest gear?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yes of course you need a spacer between the chainring and the bashguard. if not the chain will rub against the chainguard. check out the closeup of the chainring bolt area at the link below.
      http://handsonbike.blogspot.sg/2012/11/modifications-to-flamingo-london-nx7.html

      Delete
  13. oh man.No wonder.

    Steve do u know where can i get e spacers?

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  14. sorry bro.Also how thick spacer shld i get?

    Thx

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    Replies
    1. it should come with the bash guard. if not I dunno where to find either. i think it is about 4mm thick, fits nicely over the chainring nut.

      Delete
  15. Ok gt it. So does that means wif e spacer I need to use back long bolt n nut already? Cos nw have spacer in between. Can I still use back my short coloured bolt n nut?

    Sorry 4 asking so much

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    Replies
    1. i think you will need the longer chainring bolts. just try and see.

      Delete
  16. Hi,

    I'm thinking of ordering and DIY installation of Shimano Ultegra 6600 crankset on my D7. Can you give me advices on the installation and tools needed?

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  17. You can find all the info you need online. You will need tools to remove the existing bb and crank, and also tools to install the hollowtech 2 bb and crankset. Probably not worth buying the tools to use it once. Better to borrow the tools or let the bike shop do it.

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  18. Hi,

    Are the tools special tools or some common tools? Do you know what's the labour charges for installation? Thanks.

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  19. Besides the normal Allen key, you need a crank puller and square taper bb tool to remove the stock crankset. After that you need the hollowtech 2 tool to install the crankset. If you buy a crank from the shop you can expect them to change for free. Not sure how much they charge for labour.

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  20. Hi Steve,

    Thanks for the info. Have you ever come across a 60T Chain ring? I intend to install one but there might be a problem with the chain coming off and alignment of the chain. Do you have any suggestions?

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  21. Yes there are 60T chainrings, but only useful if you have powerful legs and is currently spinning out on your highest gear. Chain alignment should not be an issue, although you might need to join 2 chains together to get the length. As for chain drop, it depends on many things, not just size of chain ring.

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  22. Hi Steve,

    Thank you very much for your precious inputs. Not many shop sell bash guard for the 60T though n the chain guard. I will go for it when I manage to get a solution the chain dropping.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi,

    Can a Shimano 105 5505 Octalink Triple 9sp Chainset use a Shimano Ultegra Bottom Bracket Cups 6600/6603 bottom bracket?

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  24. No, the old 105 crankset uses an Octalink bb, cannot use the Hollowtech bb used for the 6600 crankset

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  25. Thanks for your reply. So a Shimano 5600 can use a Ultegra 6700 BB?

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  26. thinking of upgrade to 10 speed from 8 speed on my tern D8.. what components needed to buy and where to buy cheaper...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You will need the RD adaptor in order to install other RD. The 10 speed components you need are the RD, cassette, chain, shifters and new shifter cables.

      Online is the cheapest to get components, but you need to pay the bike shop for them to install for you.

      10 speed road components such as Tiagra or above are compatible. Any 10 speed road RD, cassette, chain, will do. But need to match shifter to RD.10 speed shifters such as Tiagra 4600 or R780 will work

      Delete
  27. I have a 105 crankset on my Tern D8. I rode it without bash guard on a few rides. I put in a bash guard with spacer today. There is noise when I try to engage speed 7 & 8. Any recommendation? Thanks

    Would using a 9 speed chain work to eliminate the noise?

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  28. Where is the noise from? Is it from the chain rubbing against the bashguard?

    Changing to a narrower 9 speed chain may help reduce the noise, but shifting performance will be poorer.

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  29. Hi Steve, noise from the bash guard. If I increase the spacer to 4 mm, would it affect the drive line? I have to check what is the width of the current spacers. Thanks

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  30. You can increase the bashguard spacer, it may help. However you cannot increase the BB spacer by more than 2mm as the left crankarm will not fit on. The chainline will be affected.

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  31. Had recently changed to 10 speed on my D8. Encountered drop chain outside the crank ring. May I know what the issue? Had already fine tuned.
    Parts using: 105 RD, 105 Chain and tiagra trigger shifter for 10 speed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are a few factors which makes the setup prone to chain drop.
      1) Short chainstay increases the cross chain angle, which makes it more likely to derail the chain.
      2) Chainring teeth are optimized for shifting, which means the teeth are shorter than those single speed chainring. This makes it easier for the chain to ride over the teeth.
      3) Tiagra 10 speed shifter has Instant Release, where the gear is released immediately at the shifter, instead of by two half steps like those without instant release. Although the release is faster, the releasing action has a higher shock which tends to throw the RD and chain around.
      4) No FD chainguide to act as chain guard.

      Delete
  32. Hi! Thanks for all the information in your blog. I read through them and really learnt lots of things. Emm... I got a bit confused for few things. May I ask you? My bike has a 7-speed freewheel, 1x7 speed.

    i understand that if i wanna upgrade to 1x10 speed, i need to change RD, rear shifter, shifter cable?, 10 speed chain, cassette and wheelset with freehub.

    1. are all wheelset with freehub able to fit 10 speed cassette? there isn't any difference between 8 speed and 10 speed wheelset right?

    2. Do i need to change the crankset? Why are some cranksets stated to be suitable for 10 speed etc. Can I use back my Single chainring crankset if i upgrade to 1x10 speed?

    3. if i decided, at the same time, upgrade to tiagra 10 speed double crankset, how do i make it to a single chainring? just take out the small chainring of the crankset? Will there be any problem with this action?

    Sorry to ask so many questions. Thanks for your help!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you want to upgrade to 8/9/10 speeds, you will need to get a new rear wheel with a 8/9/10 speed compatible freehub.

      There are some old freehubs that are 7 speed compatible, but those are not common nowadays.

      If you want to go 8 or 9 or 10 speeds, you will need a new rear hub, shifter, RD, cassette, chain and chainring/crankset. Shifter cables will come with the new shifter, although you will need to get your own cable outer casing.

      1) 8/9/10 speed freehubs are the same width.

      2) Chainrings have different widths, which are suited for different chains. It is normally OK to mismatch the chain and chainring a little (Eg. 10 speed chain on 9 speed chainring), as the widths don't differ too much. In your case, 7 and 10 speed chain widths are very different and so you should change out your chainring or the entire crankset to a 10 speed crankset.

      3) You can just take out the inner chainring. However, you will need to get shorter chainring bolts.

      Delete
    2. Oh! Okay! Thank you!

      Delete
  33. Hi Steve,

    Considering upgrading the stock crankset of my Tern P9 to a Shimano 105 + BB. Looking to cut weight as well as upgrading the 'look and feel'.
    I plan to emulate what you had in the pictures above. ie. single chainring with no bashguard.

    Besides from the chain grease getting on your pants, did you have any chaindrop issues without the bashguard? Or any other issues with this setup at all?

    Your blog has given me incredible amounts of inspiration to mod my bike as I'm sure it has to many people. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had the occasional chain drop, thus I eventually added the bash guard.

      Or you can get the Tern Mainstay Chain Guide to prevent chain drop.

      Delete
  34. Hi Steve, just because you have those two nicely upgradet Dahon's: How would you describe the difference between the ride of the Boardwalk compared to the ride of the Vitesse? I'm mainly interested in the characteristics of the frames (stiffness / weight / but also folding etc.). The Boardwalk seems to be sold much cheaper than the Vitesse. If you also have some experience with the Speed the same information would be highly appreciated.
    Thank you! George

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Vitesse has a more lightweight frame and is also stiffer. This additional stiffness can be felt when powering up a slope. The weight difference can be seen here.
      http://handsonbike.blogspot.sg/2012/01/are-you-weight-weenie.html
      Main difference between Boardwalk D7 and Vitesse D7 is only the frame. Other components are mostly the same (depends on batch and year).

      Delete
  35. Hi,
    Very helpful blog, keep it up

    just want to ask, thinking of changing my crankset from square tapered 52t to hollowtech 53t. Would there be other component that i need to change like chains??

    Thank you in advance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The bottom bracket also needs to be changed to match the new crankset.

      Delete
  36. Hi Steve

    Thank you for the good work sharing with us on folding bikes here.

    I am currently riding a D8 with 10 speed Ultegra RD, and was looking around for a new crankset for a single 10 speed set up. Went to hup leong 3 weeks ago and they commented that the single speed set up is not likely to work due to potential chain drop in absence of a FD. saw from your other posts of adding the bash guard to overcome the problem. can I check if providing a Tern Mainstay Chain Guide to my setup helps to solve the chain drop issue? it does seem more direct over finding the bash guard, but not sure if the chain guide will solve the problem completely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes using the Tern Mainstay Chain Guide will help to prevent chain drop. Bash guard is not necessary.

      Delete

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