Dahon MuEX: Kinetix Pro Wheelset

Recently, my friend upgraded his Tern folding bike to a 1x11 speed setup, and the rear wheel had to be changed to be 11 speed compatible since the original wheelset cannot accomodate an 11 speed road cassette. As such, I had the chance to buy over the original wheelset from the Tern bike. This wheelset is the high quality Kinetix Pro wheelset, originally seen on top end Dahon bikes such as the MuSL or MuEX. It is my dream wheelset for a Dahon folding bike, having first seen it through the glass facade at a bike shop many years ago. This wheelset is compatible with 8/9/10 speed cassettes.

This second hand Kinetix Pro wheelset is still in great condition as it has not endured high mileage or heavy loads. Due to the low spoke count, there is greater chance of spoke breakage than other wheelsets, although they claim that the stronger rims and spokes make up for the lack of spokes. Nevertheless, I wanted to get the wheelset and install it on my Dahon MuEX.

Kinetix Pro wheelset with red rims, black hubs and black spokes

With smooth rolling Kinetix front hub...

...and the high quality American Classic rear hub. Aluminium freehub body has steel inserts to prevent damage from the cassette splines.

Kinetix Pro wheelset, the top level 20 inch wheelset available in the market. Spoke nipples are hidden within the rim.

Front wheel weighs only 408 grams

Rear wheel weighs only 590 grams!

This reminds me that I need to do a wheelset weight comparison. This will be between the Wheelsport Smart 1.0 wheelset, the custom Novatec/Chris King wheelset, and this Kinetix Pro wheelset, all of which are 20 inch 406 sized wheelsets. All the weight includes cloth rim tape.

Wheelsport Smart 1.0 front wheel: 452 grams

Wheelsport Smart 1.0 rear wheel: 692 grams
Total weight of Wheelsport wheelset: 1144 grams

Novatec front wheel with LitePro rim: 494 grams
Chris King rear wheel with LitePro rim: 658 grams
Total weight of new custom wheelset: 1152 grams

Kinetix Pro front wheel: 408 grams
Kinetix Pro rear wheel: 590 grams
Total weight of Kinetix Pro wheelset: 998 grams

As you can see from the comparison above, this Kinetix Pro wheelset blows the competition out of the water with the total wheelset weight of only 998 grams, below the magical 1000 grams. This is one seriously light wheelset!

Putting on fresh cloth rim tape

Comparing the Kinetix Pro with the Wheelsport Smart 1.0 front wheel, which is also a good wheel.

Rim width is almost the same

Kinetix Pro front wheel with Schwalbe Kojak tires

Kinetix Pro rear wheel installed

Red coloured rims stand out from the rest of the bike components

The red rims really stand out from the rest of the black components on the Dahon MuEX!

Loving this Kinetix Pro wheelset on the Dahon MuEX!

Full specifications of the Dahon MuEX after upgrading to the Kinetix Pro wheelset

With this upgrade, the weight of the Dahon MuEX has been reduced to just 8.7 kg without pedals! Even with pedals, it is a relatively lightweight 9.1 kg, which is the lightest that has been achieved on this bike throughout all the modifications.

Bike Testing After the Rain

Finally had a bit of good weather today! Ground was still wet but at least it was not raining. Decided to bring out the newly upgraded Vitesse for testing. Major upgrades include Kinetix Comp rims, Kinetix/Avid brake set, Ultegra RD and XT shifters, 9 speed cassette and chain. With so many changes at once, it is important to test out the bike nearby before going on longer journeys.

Went to the nearby Bukit Batok Nature Park for testing, because it has a long straight for me to test out the high gears (and top speed) and also a steep slope for testing the lower gears.


With the newly added fenders, I no longer have to worry about small puddles of water! I used to slow down to a crawl to go through the puddles, so as to avoid splashing the bike with water. However I can now go through at a good pace and the fenders will block everything. Although the fenders means the bike does not look so fast or lightweight, its really practical, especially if wet roads are expected. Saves a lot of cleaning too.

The XT shifters on the Vitesse are quite amazing. On the bike stand there was a bit of hesitation when shifting from gear 5 to 4, but during actual riding there was no problem at all. The chain shifted smoothly up and down through the whole range of 9 gears. Some of the upshifts are so smooth that I'm not sure if it has shifted, the only indication that it has shifted coming from the increased resistance at the pedals. The shifts are really crisp and fast and silent. Fantastic upgrades.

Next it was the Boardwalk's turn to be tested. Rode the Vitesse home and brought out the Boardwalk. However it started to drizzle again when I went downstairs. Thus I just rode circles around the void deck testing the gears. Somehow the shifting of the X9 is not as crisp as the XT, even though it was the other way round on the repair stand. I believe its because I was pedaling very slowly, thus the shifting was hesitant. Have to test it in a proper riding condition before conclusion.

Hope to go for a ride tomorrow (Wed) before the Chinese New Year weekend!