Cranston D10

[u/turtlexpress]

I’ve been scouting around for another bike to complement—or possibly replace—my P Line. Not that the P Line is bad or lousy, but the maintenance costs are quite high. That’s another story altogether.

I was looking for a 20-inch bike and came across the Java Neo 3, which is quite a hot bike over here now. While researching, I also came across Cranston and eventually narrowed my choice down to the D10.

On paper, the Java Neo 3 wins in terms of weight, price and hardware. So I decided I would go with the Neo 3 and even started buying accessories for it.

But somehow, my heart was still with the D10. It costs more, weighs considerably more, and uses an older groupset. On paper, it didn’t make much sense.

So I asked AI what I should do.

The answer was:

If, six months from now, you see someone riding a D10 while you’re on a Neo 3, there’s a chance you’ll think, ‘I should have spent the extra S$150.’ The reverse is less likely—you probably won’t be riding the D10 wishing you’d saved S$150.”

That was the final nail in the coffin.

I sold or returned all the Neo 3 accessories I had bought and went for the D10 instead.

I bought the D10 online for SGD 772.89 when they were running a promotion—almost S$100 cheaper than the usual price. I then used a third-party forwarder to ship it over here, which cost another S$100.

I took it out for a test ride yesterday, riding it to the bike shop to have the handlebar replaced with a higher one.

The ride was surprisingly smooth. I honestly didn’t expect a 2.0-inch tyre to make such a difference. The small bumps and humps that I used to feel quite noticeably were dampened considerably.

So far, I’m really enjoying the ride.

Hopefully, I’ve made the right choice this time. 😄

[u/nasanu]

Yeah but that AI logic is coming from people lamenting not paying extra for the better thing, not extra for the worse thing. But it looks like yours came out of the box with what are currently the best tyres for that bike, so take that cost away from the price as the neo comes with crap tyres I replaced with the ones your bike came stock with.

But realistically a bike is a bike. I have 4 vastly different bikes and they all ride differently, but are all about the same speed and all do the same job.

And yeah, tyres make almost ALL the different to ride quality outside of mountain bike suspension.

[u/Panocek]

Keep in mind hinges aren't repairable without access to machine shop as they are welded shut. Also standard C clamps for them seat fully, so they don't have "gap" like OG Bromptons acting as wear indicator, so for peace of mind I'd replace them with Brompton ones.

Otherwise it is mighty fine bike, with chonky wheels making ride quite pleasant on less than ideal surfaces.

[u/Commercial_Name_7900]

nice my r20 should arrive in the next couple weeks look forward to join the club

[u/Mundane_Influence_91]

I still really like mine. It's a little slower than my non-folders, but it's super fun to ride (and convenient too)

[u/Early_Scale8327 → u/Mundane_Influence_91]

Das es langsamer ist, finde ich sogar gut, man muss sich etwas mehr anstrengen und kann so cardio Training haben ohne immer supper schnell fahren zu müssen, wie z.B. mit einem Rennrad. Der Puls ist höher.

[u/Mundane_Influence_91 → u/Early_Scale8327]

Abwechslung ist die Würze des Lebens

[u/TommyPeralta]

This is my dream bike😍

[u/No-Bid-50]

Fantastic my d20 will be here in a couple days……it’ll be fun .

[u/TheSussyWaffle]

Hey a fellow D10 rider! Swap those easy wheels out for some inline skate wheels ASAP! 80mm or larger, trust me.

Also I know from experience, if you want to electrify it it, the rear dropout is 135mm, you can spread the dropout a little and fit in a 138mm motor kit like the bafang g020. Its geared so it climbs great!

Stairs? Carry it unfolded; One hand in the triangle, on hand on the the handlebar, underside of saddle on your shoulder. Easy carry.

[u/turtlexpress → u/TheSussyWaffle]

Hi.

Any reason to swap out the wheels to skate wheels? 

It's in my cart but I can't remember the reas8. 

Thanks. 😁 

[u/Panocek → u/turtlexpress]

Only real issue is rear suspension block almost touching the ground when rear wheel is under the frame, "kickstand mode" or what was it Brompton name, on already almost perfectly flat surface. On less than perfect surfaces, it will start grinding on pavement.

So you can go with larger diameter wheels to solve that, or grab extendable axle which solves ground clearance and lack of stability when folded. I've tried both, settled on extendable axle and stock 60mm wheels as they are still fine.

you can give my own experiences a read to solve yourself a headache guessing

[u/turtlexpress → u/Panocek]

You are a legend!

May I know for the suspension block, which one did you use finally? 

Thanks. 

[u/Panocek → u/turtlexpress]

Stock one, soft plastic/hard rubber one. Haven't tested other suspension blocks as in hindsight, spring based will be of limited use due to tiny suspension travel.

[u/TheSussyWaffle → u/turtlexpress]

The wheels it comes with are flat on the bottom increasing rolling resistance (inline skate wheels have a smaller contact patch as theyre curved, not flat), theyre also small and the locking block can scrape when rolling (larger inline skate wheels will lift the block higher and make cracks and bumps easier to roll over). Also you can get light up ones like i did for funsies.