First cam to my mind was the tyres, Schwalbe Big Apple 20x2.0 got to be replaced. At first no idea what type of tyre I should be getting to have lighter weight. Then thinking of reason to get lighter was to go faster, then I shall look for tyre that can go faster. And it would be easier by just try to find out from Schwalbe since I had Big Apple on my bicycle. After further survey, I decided to go with Schwalbe Kojak 20x1.35. It is sleek which gave me speed, smaller size means lighter and it came with Kevlar technology that minimise puncture.
Next I go for cylindrical parts, handle bar and seat post. Found some attractive bar yet not able to decide which to go with. Then after massive survey I ended up with the choice I and happy with. Having carbon fibre handle bar which is made for MTB. Although the length was longer than original bar but the diameter matched to mounting. Thought I would get carbon fibre seat post but found out it cost more yet not lighter than a Aluminium Alloy. With these two replace I am taking away few hundred gram from my bike.
Later heard a cyclist complaining about original foldable pedal was not good and easily break. Without compromising the feature of folding bike I insist to get a pedal which is easily fold yet stronger then the plastic type I had on the bike. I was not able to find any good replacement except MKS removable pedal. Some may say it is not a good decision to choose removable pedal since you may forget to bring along your pedal after removing it. But to me this is all about how you handle your belonging. Once I remove my MKS pedal I will make sure it is bagged and hang to my bike.
While browsing on Dahon site admiring some other higher end bike recommend by friend, I found out Dahon Pro TT having different type of fork which is made for speed. Further research shows it is not just narrow but lighter with different material used. Immediately without thinking twice I acquire this fork for my bike. When fixing it to my bike found out several problem (just small matter) with the material used to make this fork as well as the length of the mounting rod. I am pretty sure seller in the shop says it fit perfectly on my bike but probably he forgot to mentioned with minor modification. The width of the fork is smaller than my original fork which make removing wheel with Schwalbe Big Apple 20x2.0 a little harder. Since I will be using Schwalbe Kojak 20x1.35 then this is not a problem anymore. The material used (Aluminium Alloy) was softer which is not good when I press hard on brake. This tells me to start learning softer braking as well as earlier braking to avoid accident. The reward for all this is reducing the weight of fork by half!
Last part of my modification which I later decided not to go any further modification was my saddle. It is hard decision to make when a friend offer me his saddle after he got another better saddle. My original saddle was so comfortable unfortunately it contribute lots of weight. After much thinking I make up mind to give this light saddle a try. First ride was not so easy to adapt to this saddle and my body was rejecting this saddle in a very bad way. But second ride was much easier and smoother, even with longer distance ride. With the amount of weight I could remove I could withstand the changes I have to bear with.
There are plenty of part to be replace but some of it was just too much work for me. And furthermore I do not see the point of spending more money for a bike that has a limit of what it capable of doing. Thus final weight recorded on my work on this bike was 10.6kg which I am very happy with.
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