# Dahon Vitesse - gear problems



## Morrisette (11 Dec 2008)

Hello folder fellows,

I have had a Dahon Vitesse for a while now (~18 months) and the gears have never been right. It's an older (?) model with derailleur gears (I think the new ones have a hub). But the gears have been a pig since day 1. They clank, they jump, they rattle, they slip.

I've had the LBS look at it, they changed the gear cable - it was alright for about 10 miles and then the clanking started again. I think the chain catches on the higher-up cog (if that makes sense) but not every time - it's like the whole thing is twisted somehow. Now it's got to the point where it's almost unridable. I don't know how to proceed - had anyone else had this problem? How did you solve it? Would a new chain/cogs set make any difference (I don't want to pay x-amount of £££ for that only to find it's still wrong).

I'm in East Anglia so no real hills, so in desperation I'm wondering about getting it converted to a single speed, but don't know if this is desirable/possible. 

Help!!


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## spandex (11 Dec 2008)

We have some at work and they do the same thing I have just given up on them as I think it is some thing to do with the frame? but I just can not put my finger on it and have tried every thing I know to fix it.


Sorry for not helping but if you do find out tell me please so I can fix the ones we have.


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## mickle (11 Dec 2008)

Pictures?


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## spandex (11 Dec 2008)

They will not help?


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## spandex (11 Dec 2008)

But saying that you do have a good eye for spotting things


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## Morrisette (11 Dec 2008)

Thanks for replies - I'm not sure what I would be taking a picture of - you can't see anything unusual. Nothing LOOKS twisted or out of alignment.

Spandex - When you say the frame, do you think that it's flexing or something? I'm disheartened to hear you've got the same problem with more than one bike! 

I had a look on the Dahon forum but couldn't find much. There is talk on there of gear problems with the Vitesse, but people were talking about 'axle flex' and 'chain tensioners' and I'm pretty sure they are talking about the 5-speed hub geared Vitesse, rather than this one?


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## spandex (11 Dec 2008)

I think the frame is not in line?


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## Morrisette (11 Dec 2008)

It _looks_ straight. The wheels turn freely. What it looks like (when you turn the bike over and twirl the pedals) is that the chain is not feeding from the front cog to the back at the same angle (sorry, technical terms :?:!). The clanking is worse in the easier gears, maybe this increases this angle? 

Given that you've tried to fix this as well and not got anywhere, I wonder would a new chain/cog set solve this? Or a single speed conversion? I don't want to bin the bike, and I do occasionally need a fold-up (today for example). But it's sounding like I could throw money at it in the LBS and still end up with a turkey .


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## spandex (11 Dec 2008)

Do not give up yet


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## Morrisette (11 Dec 2008)

I won't give up, might take it in for a 'discussion' at the lbs...

Spandex, what did you try on your work bikes that didn't, well, work? Might give me a good starting point at the shop....

Thanks :?:


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## spandex (11 Dec 2008)

Ok what did I do

Checked the cable, mech, mech hanger, shifter, chain (and lobed), chain alinement, wheel / axle spacing.

Changed the cable, mech, mech hanger, chain


All one by one and retested to see if it had worked and nope none did the only thing I did not do is check the frame?

I do not think there is much more to be done?

BTW if you do not know I have a full workshop set up at work to deal with all most any bike you can think of as my work has over 700 bi, tri and quadricycles with seven seats from 1.8kg up to 389kg.


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## tyred (11 Dec 2008)

This might be a silly suggestion and I don't know how many gears you have, but if it was mine and all else failed, I'd try an old school friction type shifter so you could select your gear and trim it in your desired gear so the chain isn't catching on the other cogs...


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## spandex (11 Dec 2008)

Good idea but it would not fit on any where


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## tyred (11 Dec 2008)

Surely something could be made to fit with some inventive engineering.


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## spandex (11 Dec 2008)

you are right but how much would it cost and for us at work it is not worth it.


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## Morrisette (12 Dec 2008)

spandex said:


> Ok what did I do
> 
> Checked the cable, mech, mech hanger, shifter, chain (and lobed), chain alinement, wheel / axle spacing.
> 
> ...



 Hmm sound like you have tried pretty much everything. Thanks for the replies! 

It's frustrating, because it's a nice bike, I need a folder and don't want to buy another one, and even with the clonkling noise, it still rides smoothly.

Ah well - at least people can hear me coming


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## spandex (12 Dec 2008)

If you wish to check the frame your self

Just get a long bit if string and tie it to the QR on one side of the back wheel then take it round the headset and tight down to the over side of the back wheel. Now get a ruler and see if the string is further out on one side then the over if the frame is all right both sides will be the same.

This is the old school way of doing it.


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## mickle (12 Dec 2008)

I wasn't aware of this issue with the Dahons since Spandex manages and maintains our Commuter Support fleet.

There is a solution, we just haven't found it yet. It can only be one of a few things, and in order of likelyhood;
Poor cable adjustment
Poor rear mech adjustment
Poor rear mech alignment
Rear mech spring too weak to cope with the job of returning; itself, the cable and the shifter internals. Or the combined drag of all three. Very long gear cables on Dahons, also folding and unfolding can put a kink in the cable. Since there is no way of increasing the spring tension and one would expect a rear mech to be able to cope with even a long run I conclude that the problem is in the shifter. It might be compounded by the long cable but I reckon the shifter internals aren't returning.

It's a rotating shifter, Gripshift? or is it a Gripshift clone? Years ago Gripshift addressed this problem with some of their top end shifters (8.0, 9.0 and 9.0SL) by incorporating a spring loaded mechanism which actually propelled the cable back down the outer during an up-shift.

First fix is to spray some light lube into the shifter, if that doesn't work replace it.

Spandex replaced the shifter in his attempts to sort the problem but if it's a problem with the model rather than an individual unit replacing it with the same cant fix it.


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## spandex (12 Dec 2008)

Maybe it is some thing to do with the Dahon Neos rear derailleur and the low-profile design of it that is meant to protect it from damage ?


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## spandex (12 Dec 2008)

I think it is a Gripshift clone mickle


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## mickle (12 Dec 2008)

Sunrace or some sh1t??


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## Morrisette (12 Dec 2008)

Pass! You've gone a bit technical for me


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## mickle (12 Dec 2008)

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. You need to upgrade to a better shifter. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.


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## jay clock (13 Dec 2008)

put the cahin on the middle cog at the back (if 7 speed use the 4th one). Now look from the back down the line of the chain. Does it look straight, or is it twisted slightly in towards the bike? ie if you could move the cogs away from the wheel, would the line be straighter? If so, it sounds like the cassette needs a spacer to move it outwards. See if you can post a piccy here so we can advise. if it is badly aligned, then it may catch on the teeth of an adjacent cog when on the larger ones


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## spandex (13 Dec 2008)

jay clock said:


> put the cahin on the middle cog at the back (if 7 speed use the 4th one). Now look from the back down the line of the chain. Does it look straight, or is it twisted slightly in towards the bike? ie if you could move the cogs away from the wheel, would the line be straighter? If so, it sounds like the cassette needs a spacer to move it outwards. See if you can post a piccy here so we can advise. if it is badly aligned, then it may catch on the teeth of an adjacent cog when on the larger ones




That is one of the first things I looked at.


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