Bike Friday Tikit

Hi,
It has been many since I last looked into this newsgroup, and I am
glad it is still alive.
Sad to hear about Jobst and Sheldon, they were lovely people.

Anyway does anybody here have experiences or opinions on Bike Friday
Tikiks, or Bike Fridays generally?

~David Schlamowitz

On Friday, June 5, 2015 at 7:07:03 PM UTC-4, go wrote:

Anyway does anybody here have experiences or opinions on Bike Friday
Tikiks, or Bike Fridays generally?

My wife and I have owned two Bike Friday New World Tourists for nearly nine
years now. The NWT is much different from the Tikit, but I've read quite
a few comments on the Tikit via the Bike Friday email discussion list.

Regarding the company itself: Most owners seem quite happy with the company,
its treatment of customers and the products in general. I've heard only
rare accounts of dissatisfaction. Purchase of the bikes (which are sort
of semi-custom, made to your measurements and fitted with your choice of
components) was a very pleasant experience. I spent over an hour on the
phone with a very competent company representative, whose advice on
component choices has been proven quite good. Delivery was as prompt as
promised. One bike arrived with a chainring bent during shipping, but a
new one was sent immediately, no return of the old one required.

The objective of the NWT is different from the Tikit. The NWT is intended
to ride as much like a full-sized bike as possible, while still packing into
a standard suitcase. To achieve this, its folding procedure and "quick fold"
(no disassembly) folded size are somewhat clumsier than many other folding
bikes. But it does ride better than all other folding bikes I've tried.
We've done 50+ mile rides, towing the suitcases as trailers.

BTW, the NWT "quick fold" takes only about a minute. Packing it in a
suitcase requires tools and some disassembly, plus a fair amount of
protective padding. That takes about half an hour.

The Tikit, OTOH, prioritizes a super-quick fold and a very compact folded
size. I believe there have been some minor issues with its unusual design,
related to certain cables (ones involved in the folding action, not just
brake or shift cables), and there were recalls for broken stems. It also
uses even smaller wheels/tires than the NWT's 20" size. Based on my
experience, you will notice more rolling resistance and more harshness from
bumps, despite any claims to the contrary. This is due to the physics of
rolling wheels, but it's exacerbated by the smaller selection of tires
for these less common wheels.

Overall, I'm very glad we bought the Bikes Friday. They go with us on
every vacation, whether we're flying or driving, as well as many short
trips, i.e. just heading out of town for a day. But again, ours are
New World Tourists. I think the Tikit's closest competitor is probably
the Brompton, another super-compact, super-quick-fold design with
passionate fans, and another very nice design.

Let me know if you have specific questions on the NWT.

- Frank Krygowski

Thank you for conveying your experience of the New World Tourist.
Sounds attractive


On Fri, 5 Jun 2015 21:37:21 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On Friday, June 5, 2015 at 7:07:03 PM UTC-4, go wrote:

Anyway does anybody here have experiences or opinions on Bike Friday
Tikiks, or Bike Fridays generally?

My wife and I have owned two Bike Friday New World Tourists for nearly nine
years now. The NWT is much different from the Tikit, but I've read quite
a few comments on the Tikit via the Bike Friday email discussion list.

Regarding the company itself: Most owners seem quite happy with the company,
its treatment of customers and the products in general. I've heard only
rare accounts of dissatisfaction. Purchase of the bikes (which are sort
of semi-custom, made to your measurements and fitted with your choice of
components) was a very pleasant experience. I spent over an hour on the
phone with a very competent company representative, whose advice on
component choices has been proven quite good. Delivery was as prompt as
promised. One bike arrived with a chainring bent during shipping, but a
new one was sent immediately, no return of the old one required.

The objective of the NWT is different from the Tikit. The NWT is intended
to ride as much like a full-sized bike as possible, while still packing into
a standard suitcase. To achieve this, its folding procedure and "quick fold"
(no disassembly) folded size are somewhat clumsier than many other folding
bikes. But it does ride better than all other folding bikes I've tried.
We've done 50+ mile rides, towing the suitcases as trailers.

BTW, the NWT "quick fold" takes only about a minute. Packing it in a
suitcase requires tools and some disassembly, plus a fair amount of
protective padding. That takes about half an hour.

The Tikit, OTOH, prioritizes a super-quick fold and a very compact folded
size. I believe there have been some minor issues with its unusual design,
related to certain cables (ones involved in the folding action, not just
brake or shift cables), and there were recalls for broken stems. It also
uses even smaller wheels/tires than the NWT's 20" size. Based on my
experience, you will notice more rolling resistance and more harshness from
bumps, despite any claims to the contrary. This is due to the physics of
rolling wheels, but it's exacerbated by the smaller selection of tires
for these less common wheels.

Overall, I'm very glad we bought the Bikes Friday. They go with us on
every vacation, whether we're flying or driving, as well as many short
trips, i.e. just heading out of town for a day. But again, ours are
New World Tourists. I think the Tikit's closest competitor is probably
the Brompton, another super-compact, super-quick-fold design with
passionate fans, and another very nice design.

Let me know if you have specific questions on the NWT.

- Frank Krygowski