Carry Me Delight! Avid Brake Levers and Ergon Grips

A new addition to the bike family! In addition to the Dahon Boardwalk X20-R, Dahon Vitesse P18-TT, and Flamingo London S7R, we now have a Carry Me!

If you don't already know, the Carry Me is a folding bike with tiny 8" wheels that folds really compactly. It is made by Pacific Cycles in Taiwan. When fully folded, it has an extremely small footprint and can literally go on any public transport at any time. It rides surprisingly well and it always brings a smile to someone who is riding it for the first time.

I got the bike second hand, but the condition is practically new! The previous owner did not really use the bike a lot and so I got a really good deal. Best of all, it was a really nice blue colour!

Overall view of the Carry Me

Front knob for locking down the main frame. I tried using a QR lever instead of the knob, but found the knob easier to use.

Came with upgraded Ezy Wheels! Very smooth rolling indeed.

Rear caliper brakes. Not of high quality, but it works.

Front caliper brakes. Seems that this bike needs long reach caliper brakes and thick but short brake pads.

Special drivetrain system, with half-pitch chain and gears. Crank arm is only 160mm to minimise pedal strike.

Front chainring with 84 tiny teeth. The bike is in such good condition that the plastic wrapping is still on the frame!

Rear sprocket with 14 tiny teeth.

With the 84T in front and 14T behind, it gives a driving ratio of 6. Together with the 8" wheels, the gear inch for this single speed bike is 48". This is not a high ratio, equivalent to about 52/21 on a 20 inch bike, but it feels just right for the Carry Me.

I have already started to zhng the bike! There wasn't any investment in components needed, thus I just made the switch. Also, I checked every bolt and nut on the bike to make sure that none of them are loose.

The stock brake levers are pretty bad, thus I switched in a pair of Avid FR5 brake levers that I had lying around as spare. At the same time, I also installed a set of Ergon grips which were previously used for the flat handlebar Dahon Vitesse.

Original brake levers and grips

Upgraded Avid FR5 brake levers and Ergon grips!

It is now more comfortable to grip the handlebars, and the brake levers seem to feel less squishy. Other accessories added are a set of small front and rear blinkers for night riding.

Riding this bike can be quite fun, as the turning radius is so small that you can practically keep turning on the spot. It takes a while to get used to the narrow handlebars, which makes the steering more twitchy. But it is very useful for getting through tight spots! Riding on the roads is not really recommended due to the slow speed and also small size which makes you less visible.

The small wheels means that you will feel every little bump on the road! But when pumped up to the recommended 80 PSI, the bike is surprisingly comfortable given such small wheels.

Some pictures of the folded Carry Me below!

 Only occupies one small corner

Takes up only 6x6 dots on the MRT platform!

Express fold, only half folded. Handlebar and seatpost not lowered.

Fully folded view. Tucks in anywhere discreetly.

Takes up less space than a rubbish bin!

This bike is perfect for mixed mode commuting. With a bike this small, you can go onto the MRT at any time. Very useful for getting to places within 3km of an MRT station/bus stop. Any further than that is still possible, but be prepared to sweat a little more and take a while longer!

Overall pictures of the Carry Me! Note where I wrapped the rear light.

Qbicle Folding Bike Roller Wheel on the Dahon Vitesse P18-TT

Have you ever had trouble rolling your Dahon bike around when folded? Most of the time, it is difficult to roll the bike when it is folded because the front and rear wheels are not parallel. Trying to pull or push it along on both wheels will just cause the bike to unfold itself.

An alternative way is to roll the folded bike on just a single wheel, on either the front or rear. This can also be tricky as it is difficult to balance the bike on only one wheel, and the bike often ends up unfolding itself.

If you have a double kickstand, you can fold and roll the bike this way. But not everyone has a double kickstand, so what to do?

Enter the Qbicle Folding Bike Roller Wheel! This is an innovative roller wheel that is attached to the bottom of your seatpost. This was bought at the recent lelong sale!

When the bike is folded, your seatpost usually only acts as a leg to help the bike balance. However, with the roller wheel, your seatpost becomes much more useful!

The Qbicle roller wheel. Comes in different sizes for different seatpost diameters.

This is how it attaches to the bottom of the seatpost.

Roller wheel that looks good and rolls well.

Installation is as easy as it can be. With the seatpost already inserted in the seat tube, just put on the roller wheel and tighten the bolt with an M5 Allen key. Done!

Some points to take note regarding the usage of this roller wheel. During normal riding, at the proper saddle height for the rider, the seatpost must protrude below the bottom of the seat tube by at least 3cm in order to use this roller wheel. If not, the roller wheel cannot be attached. This means that taller riders that extend their seatpost higher up cannot use this roller wheel.

The roller wheel also cannot be attached if the seatpost is lowered too much, such as when children are riding the folding bike. The roller wheel needs to have some clearance off the ground in order not to hit road humps.

Lastly, the seatpost cannot be pulled out from the bike when the roller wheel is attached to the seatpost. This can be a problem if the seatpost needs to be removed for more compact storage.

Roller wheel lowered to the ground

Roller wheel resting on the ground

With this roller wheel, rolling the folded bike around is easy! I find that the best way to do it is to tilt the bike such that only the seatpost roller wheel and the front wheel are touching the ground. Rolling the bike around is then very easy and balanced.

This roller wheel will be very useful if you have to wheel your folded bike around often, such as in MRT stations. Other than that, the roller wheel is not very useful. Depending on your usage and situation, the roller wheel may be a godsend or it may just be additional weight.

Modifications to Flamingo London NX7: Flat Handlebar

In my previous post, I had attempted to put on a riser bar onto my Flamingo London NX7. However, it was not possible as the bends on the riser bar could not fit through the clamp on the handlepost.

Someone then suggested using a special stem to raise the height of the clamp area, and then insert a straight bar through. That is actually a pretty good idea! The special stem is actually the same type that I had used on my Dahon Boardwalk, to increase the reach of the handlebar. Check out my bling bling gold stem here!

Alas, I could not get a stem in silver colour to match with my handlepost. Also, I was worried that with the clamp, there is a chance that the stem will rotate around the clamp when the handlebar is pulled hard.

At the recent lelong sale, I chanced upon a very nice flat handlebar! It was in fact an original Brompton flat handlebar. Since it was going for a good price, I decided to get it first and think later. Thanks Wei Shuan for offering it for sale!

With that handlebar, I thought I would just install the flat handlebar directly onto the handlepost! No need for any riser bar or stem to increase the height. Just go for a low sporty position! The clamp area on the Flamingo handlepost is 920mm off the ground, which is quite similar to the Brompton S2L (935mm, as seen from the brochure).

Also, I managed to get bar ends during the lelong sale, thanks Desmond!

Nice bar ends with grippy soft rubber, and very comfortable support for the palm!

 

The bar ends as mounted on the flat handlebar

Installing the new handlebars was not difficult, but quite troublesome as I had to remove and reinstall everything on the handlebar. I wanted to try the riding position with the flat handlebars before shortening the cables, as it will be quite troublesome to shorten the cables.

New flat handlebar, with lots of excess cable slack!

The ride feel is definitely very different! With the low handlebar position, there are both positives and negatives for me. But first, let us look at some more pictures of the transformed bike!

All accessories on the flat handlebar.

Front view. The brake levers have to be tilted down this way so as not to have interference when the handlepost is folded down

Great bar ends. Really really comfortable shape and texture! Although some bits of rubber does come off and stick to your hand. Not an issue though.

The flat handlebar when folded down. Much further away from the ground!

Some clearance between bar ends and the front tire

Some clearance between brake lever and brake caliper

 Handlebars, before and after. The handlebars have been lowered by about 16cm! The cable housings have also been shortened to remove the slack.

Positives:
Very agile and light feel to the bike. Transforms the bike into a sporty bike.
No flex even when pulling hard on the handlebars, due to the low handlebar position.
More aerodynamic position. Not really important for me though.
Lower weight compared to the original M handlebars. Not so important and significant anyway.
Bar ends are great for improving the comfort. Usually I will just set to gear 5 and pedal on!

Negatives:
Low body position might not be comfortable over longer distances. But then again, I wouldn't use this bike for long rides anyway.
Body weight shifted more towards the front. Got to be more careful when going down slopes.

This is a pretty big modification to the bike, as I have totally changed the riding characteristics of the bike. Quite an interesting mod, and it really livens up the ride! If I may suggest naming this Flamingo after the Brompton model naming norm, this would be a Flamingo S7R? More pictures below!

Modifications to Flamingo London NX7: Brompton Firm Suspension Block + Riser Bar

What suspension block does your Brompton or Flamingo use? If you have not changed the suspension block on the bike before, most likely it will be the stock suspension block with standard hardness. This is good for most people on leisurely rides, where the pedaling is smooth with low torque. 

However, some people do use their Brompton for fast rides and they do pedal hard in order to go fast. In this case, the standard suspension block may not be suitable for this type of riding. This is because when you push down on the pedals hard with high torque, the chain tension tends to pull the rear triangle forward/upward and compress the suspension block. When this happens, the bike will start bobbing up and down in sync with your pedaling motion. Not only is this motion uncomfortable, it actually saps a lot of your energy by repeatedly compressing the suspension block instead of powering the bike forward.

The rear suspension block and the rear triangle on the Flamingo

For myself, I have been quite happy with the original suspension block on my Flamingo. Just as an experiment, I got the standard Brompton suspension block and installed it on the Flamingo a few months back. After quite a bit of riding, there does not seem to be any noticeable difference between these two suspension blocks. Both work well, but are also soft enough that bobbing occurs during hard pedaling.

My recent riding style on my Flamingo has changed, from a more casual riding style to a slightly more sporty style. I used to only use my Flamingo for mixed mode commuting to work, riding from my house to the MRT, and then riding from the MRT station to my workplace. After work, I will ride to the nearest MRT station again and take the MRT home with the bike.

 Size of the folded Flamingo that goes onto the MRT

This used to work very well, until the MRT timings in the morning changed. The trains used to arrive every 2-3 mins at 630am in the morning, which means that there is no problem for me to get on the train with the bike. However, a couple of months back, the train frequency decreased for some reason, and the wait stretches to 4 mins or more half the time. This means a very crowded train that makes it difficult and inconsiderate for me to squeeze the bike onto the MRT.

That was when I decided to just try riding my Flamingo directly to work. It is about 12km one way, and it takes me 40 mins to ride to work, door to door, on my Dahon Boardwalk, including grabbing the newspapers along the way. With the Flamingo, it takes longer even though I have to ride harder, because the Flamingo is not built for speed. 

To solve the bike bobbing issue, I decided to try out the firm suspension block that is used on the Brompton. It is said to be designed for use for heavier riders or for riders with a strong pedaling style. 

Swapping out the block is easy, as I was already using the Brompton standard suspension block. After installing the firm suspension block, I did some riding to test it out by cycling all the way home, riding reasonable hard. I found that there is actually a lot of difference! Not only does the bobbing problem disappear, the bike also feels more rigid overall. When you lay down the power on the pedals, more of the energy goes to driving the bike forward and not to compress the suspension block. 

Brompton firm suspension block shown on the right

I do not have any numerical data to say how much more efficient it is, but the pedaling feeling has been greatly improved. At the same time, the comfort level of the bike has not been affected significantly. Theoretically speaking, the ride should be harsher due to the harder suspension, but it does not feel that way. The ride is still very comfortable, even though the suspension block is now much firmer. This may be due to the fact that I am still using the original Flamingo tires, which has a max PSI rating of 55, giving some degree of suspension. Another reason may be because there was too much suspension in the first place!

My initial aim to convert the Flamingo into a sportier ride was to change out the suspension block AND also change the handlebars. The stock M handlebars are a bit too tall for faster riding, with a grip height of 1080mm. For comparison, my Dahon Boardwalk has a grip height of 1000mm on the flat portion, and it is already considered higher than average for a drop bar.

To lower the body posture and to reduce the flex on the handlebars, I bought a 60mm riser bar to lower the handlebar height. Since it is a MTB handlebar, it is very wide at 680mm, it needed to be cut down to an appropriate width. For comparison, the stock M handlebar has a rise of almost 160mm, and are about 580mm wide.

The new riser bar would have lowered the grip height by this much

Comparing the handlebar widths

About 80mm difference in grip height 

After removing the shifter and brake levers and grips from the handlebar, I took out the M handlebar from the handlepost clamp. This is actually quite difficult due to the bends in the handlebar. I managed to hold the clamps open by using a bolt to help push open the clamp and hold it open, while I wriggled out the handlebar.

Inserting the original bolt from the other direction. By placing a metal plate in the opening, tightening the bolt will push open the clamp, making it easier to insert or remove the handlebar

Upon inserting the new MTB handlebar, I realized that there was a big problem! The handlebar can’t fit in the C shaped clamp. Only upon closer inspection I found that the reason the original handlebars could fit, was that only the handlebar centre clamp area is 25.4mm diameter, the rest of the handlebar is a smaller 22.2mm diameter. This was how the bends of the handlebar can be wriggled through the clamp.

But for this new MTB riser bar, the diameter starts to increase from 22.2mm to 25.4mm at the bends, making it impossible to squeeze it through the clamp. The increased diameter together with the bends means that the clamp would probably have to be at least 30mm wide in order to put the handlebar through.

This was something that I overlooked when I bought the new handlebar. There is no way the clamp can be opened this wide without breaking it. The only consolation for this error is that the new MTB riser handlebar is a relatively cheap one. 

The riser bar cannot fit through the clamp!

 Reason is because the riser bar starts to increase its diameter at the bends

A straight handlebar will work, but it will be too low for comfort. The only way a riser bar will work is if the handlebar is narrow all the way, and only widens to 25.4mm at the middle clamp area. Otherwise, if the diameter at the bends are more than 22.2mm, it will not fit.

So, the only change that was made to the Flamingo is the new firm suspension block. I’m really happy with the firm suspension block, as it enables more efficient pedaling without energy loss, while at the same time the comfort level is hardly reduced!

Bicycle Lights for Night Riding

For night riding, it is always a good idea to be well lighted. The more lights the better, as you can be seen more clearly by other vehicles on the road. There are two main types of lights for bicycles:

1) To See
This will refer to lights that you mount on your bike/helmet, for the purpose of enabling you to see the road clearly. These type of lights will have powerful beams, with spot lighting to light up the path ahead. For on-road riding in Singapore, these are usually not necessary as the roads are generally well lighted.

For off-road riding at night, these are essential. You will need a light that is powerful with a good spread to see the terrain ahead. The drawback for these type of lights is that it usually requires a separate lithium battery pack for the power, and the runtime is usually limited to only a few hours at the highest setting.

2) To Be Seen
It is very important to be well lighted during night rides. The aim of being well lighted is so that the drivers can see you and your bike. To be seen clearly is not that easy, as there are a lot of other distractions and lighting on the road, such as from traffic lights, street lights, other cars' lights etc.

A good blinker will be able to draw the attention of road users and announce your presence. The brighter the blinker, the better. If you have a bright flashing light, drivers will be able to spot you from further away, giving them more time to avoid you. No point having a weak blinker that can only be seen when the driver is 50 metres behind you. This gives them too little time to change lanes completely, and indirectly contributes to close encounters.

Front Lights
For me, I have many many lights on my bike. At the front, I have two lights, a S-Sun 1 watt blinker and a powerful headlight in the form of a Busch & Muller IXON IQ light.

S-Sun 1 Watt light

Busch & Muller IXON IQ mounted at front of frame.

The IXON IQ light serves as a dual purpose light. On dark roads, it will be used to light up the path. On well-lit roads, I also turn on the light, as it becomes a steady headlight that can be seen from a good distance. A steady front light plus a front blinker makes you very visible from the front.

Rear Lights
As for rear lighting, it is even more important as you cannot see what is coming up behind you. Therefore you will need to make doubly sure that you are seen and highly visible from the back.

The main rear light I have is the Bontrager Flare 3, which has two 0.5 watt LEDs flashing alternately. This is a good bright light with an attention-grabbing flashing pattern. It is fixed onto the hook on my Topeak saddle bag.

Bontrager Flare 3

Supporting the red rear light is a blue rear light that also flashes to catch attention. This is a Cateye-lookalike light, and is mounted on the light bracket on my rear rack.

Blue coloured rear light fixed onto the rear rack

Additionally, I also have an Infini helmet light to improve visibility. This light has an elastic strap which can be used to fit on almost all helmets.

Infini helmet light

With these 3 lights, I have lighting at my head height, saddle height and wheel height. This should make me quite visible from far.

In order to further improve night visibility, I recently added two more lights at the end of my drop bars. Since these lights are further apart left and right, it will give me more width and make me and my bike even more visible.

Q-Lite Bar End Light

These are actually bar end lights meant for flat handlebars. The design is such that there will be bright beams coming out from the side of the bar end, such that when installed on a flat handlebar, the lights shine backwards like a rear light. It happened that this model has a transparent tip that also glows red, although it is not as bright as the main beam.

Another point to note is that MTB flat handlebars have a slightly narrower internal diameter compared to road drop bars, and thus does not fit snugly on my drop bars. However, with the bar tape on my drop bars, the lights fit nicely. Although they are not tight, it is sufficient to ensure that it will not drop out easily.

Bar End light fitted at the end of my drop bars

Glowing bar ends!

The main beam is rotated such that it points downwards towards the ground

Main beam creates a bright spot on the ground, while from the back, the bar ends glow red.

As an added advantage, the main beams point to the ground and creates a bright spot, which is actually quite visible even on well-lit roads. Not too sure about the visibility from a greater distance, but is an added advantage nontheless.

I prefer my lights to use rechargeable batteries, so that I can recharge the batteries whenever they start to get dim. I don't have to get stuck in the dilemma of throwing away half-used batteries, or continue riding with dim lights. Apart from the small helmet light which uses 2 x CR2032 batteries, my other lights uses standard AA or AAA batteries.

S-Sun: 3 x AAA
IXON IQ: 4 x AA (comes with built in charger)
Bontrager Flare 3: 2 x AAA
Blue rear light: 2 x AAA
Q-Lite Bar End Lights: 1 x AAA each

Overall view of my lighted bike from the back