Sneak Peek: One-Off Belt Drive Dahon Mu XL Sport
Thor at ThorUSA sent us his *one-off Dahon Mu XL Sport outfitted with a Gates Carbon Drive to play around with for a couple of weeks. We just received the bike, but we’ll have more details once we’ve put in some time…
*NOTE: This is a prototype that Thor built for himself, NOT a Dahon prototype or future model. If you’d like more information about belt drive Dahons, contact Thor at ThorUSA.
14 Responses to “Sneak Peek: One-Off Belt Drive Dahon Mu XL Sport”
Seems like a good idea for a folder because of the lack of grease.
How will it perform, if it gets dirty? I think those belt drives are nice toys, but will never become standard on serious bikes.
@Supp
“How will it perform, if it gets dirty? I think those belt drives are nice toys, but will never become standard on serious bikes.”
Belts are well-proven and becoming more widely accepted everyday. Here are some serious bikes with belt drives:
James Bowthorpe’s Santos Around the World Record Holder
Oskar Blues MTB Racing
Co-Motion Americano
Tout Terrain Metro
Civia Bryant
The first photo shows a Stronglight crankset. Haven’t seen SL since the 70′s when they were found on most of the French bikes. Dahon’s site lists the Sugino XD crankset. I wonder if SL will make inroads back into the U.S. market?
Hi Alan,
Your interest in folding bikes has even inspired a ride here during Portland Pedalpalooza. http://clevercycles.com/2010/06/15/pedalpalooza-the-brompton-ride/
Notice the picture? :)
@Logan
:-))
Terry S
yup an old Stronglight 1000 crankset on that particular bike…. the one and only reason to put such an expensive crankset on it, is …….
drumroll……..
it was laying around the shop.
For future belt conversitions I use less expensive more generic cranks….
I have some black ones which look great on the bike
Thor
Interesting! The original MU has a special cover for the chain that makes it look like a belt drive. I’ll take one for a spin when I’m in Taiwan this July. Btw. Does anyone have tips on cool commuter bike shops in Taipei? I’ve only seen very race/touring minded shops on my previous trips :(
Hello Gee
only the IOS models from Dahon have that plastic thingy on the chain. I am not sure if indeed this will make any kind of difference, it looks cool, but just might trap more dirt and grime and and and… the real live results are not …… yet in….
But all Mu models do NOT have this ( although on the SIngle speed it would certainly fit )
I am sure you will be able to find a commuter store in Taipeh, I am not familar but I am sure they exist. :-)
Thanks Thor
According to the Dahon website it’s there: http://www.dahon.com/bikes/2010/mm-xl
I was looking at the Raleigh Alley Way, another fine machine with a belt drive in our local bike shop, while my wife was getting her new ride. Fortunately for some bizarre reason Raleigh is not bringing my size (small) into Canada. Nice looking machine, I suspect perfectly suited for around town errands…
@Brian C
It was my understanding that Raleigh sold many more than expected and ran out of stock.
Alan
[...] Kool-Aid” so to speak. It’s been a load of fun though, comparing our little M3Ls to the tricked out belt drive Dahon Mu XL Sport that Thor loaned us, as well as evaluating these bikes in the context of our experiences earlier in [...]
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