More updates

So since my last post, I've made a few tweaks to the bike:

I bought a new rear wheel at the Portland Re-cyclery. It is an aluminum rim and much lighter weight as its not steel. It was for a BMX bike, so I had to put in a different sized axle, this took about 45 minutes, not too bad.

The original rear wheel had a drum brake that I didnt like. So, I bought another cheap single pivot caliper brake and mounted it upside down within the bike's rear triangle.

For the front headpost, I reworked a higher end skewer quick release mechanism to secure the folding aspect of the headpost. This took much longer than I had planned as I had to make a new skewer bolt out of a regular bolt. I'm not really describing it accurately, needless to say it upgraded the security of the folding headpost.

I also got a few reflectors from the Re-cyclery that I mounted on the front as well as the seatpost facing rearward.

What I have planned:

• a new front wheel that is lighter
  
• new tires
• maybe a new handlebar that is aluminum
• plastic fenders
• ????
  

Seats too low

After riding the bike to the local coffee shop, I realized the seats too low. The seatpost is 28.6mm and is about 430mm long. Thats a very long seatpost, but still its too short.

To remedy the problem, I bought a piece of 2024 aluminum from onlinemetals.com that was 2 ft long and 28.6 OD. If I were to do it again, I'd save some $$ and only get 1 ft of tubing.

Next, I bought a 28.6 seat tube clamp at the LBS for $15.

Lastly, the aluminum tube I bought has an ID of 26.8. I bought a silver seatpost that is 26.8 x 400mm.

I sanded down the aluminum tube because it had a weird brown colored coating on it so that it shined like shiny silver aluminum. Next, I made a cut out in the tube that was about 1.5-2 inches long.

Essentially what I did was create a telescoping seatpost, custom for my bike.

The beginning

So I bought this folding bike off of eBay for about $150 shipped. Its a Taiwanese cheaply made bike called a Zensx. Most of the components are crap. So I began taking off items, and making tweaks.

When I first got it, there was definitely a tune up needed. The brakes rubbed, some of the bolts were loose, the rear tire wasnt seated on the rim, etc.

I made the tune ups and went for a short ride around my house.

What I noticed is that the bike didnt really fit me. I am about 6'3" and it just didnt feel right.

So I began making some tweaks.
First, I removed the quick release lever on the seatpost and replaced with a metric nylock nut to curb thievery.

Second, I went down to my local bike co-op and bought a used handlebar and 150mm stem for $20 total. I cut down the headpost below the binder area and instead am able to use this 1 1/8 threaded stem in its place. This is great, because otherwise, I couldnt get the handlebars low enough. Also, with the 150mm stem it puts me into a much more comfortable position. I dont like having my handlebars above my saddle.









Third, I replaced the cheap cranks with a set of Shimano 600 172.5mm ones. The stock cranks were all steel and only 150mm long which is way too short for me. I added a 52 tooth chainring to the 600's. While changing cranks, I noticed the BB barely spun. I loosened the left cup and then it spun very smoothly.

Fourth, began removing misc items such as the kickstand and rear derailleur guard.

Fifth, the front brake was a piece of crap. I got a cheap steel BMX style caliper brake from the Bike co-op for $5. The "new" brake was much more sturdy and even lighter than the original. Plus, I found a pair of brake pads that were much better than stock ones they replaced.