FS : Bike Friday New World Tourist

[Tri Girl]

I was secretly wondering the same thing as Meg. They must be comfortable, tho, as I see people riding them for long distances. I've read two online journals of people who rode cross country on their BF's. They must be doing something right. And the packing up small without removing all the major parts (handlebars, pedals, seat, wheels)- gotta love that!

[Blueberry]

Paris Brest Paris on a Friday: http://www.mile43.com/peterson/pbpstory.html

[Fredwina]

I was secretly wondering the same thing as Meg. They must be comfortable, tho, as I see people riding them for long distances. I've read two online journals of people who rode cross country on their BF's. They must be doing something right. And the packing up small without removing all the major parts (handlebars, pedals, seat, wheels)- gotta love that!

Not quite!
Yes they do fit in suitcase.
But they usually custom 2 piece handlebars, and you do have take the pedals off(unless your chainring has more then 60 tooth, the you have take the chainring off). They do make folding pedals.
But, it does ride like a real bike and you don't have to worry about extra airline charges, or space on the train(which is why i bought it in the first place), plus the suitcase converts into a trailer for training

[Blueberry]

I think the biggest thing are the oversized baggage charges you get to avoid. You take off pedals and front wheel, split the handlebars, take out the seatpost, take off the stem, and fold it up. Probably about 4-5 bolts + pedals, and the pedals. It really doesn't take long (except the first time) - probably 15 minutes for me now.

CA

[tulip]

This thread has morphed in to a Bike Friday thread, which is neat. I love morphed threads.

CA in NC--my Friday comes in just a few more weeks, then I have to ride it with the fit stem, send it in, and get the real stem. I'm very excited about the bike, and about the trip to Europe later in the spring. Having the Bike Friday will simplify the trip in so many ways, from the airplane to the train to staying in B&Bs and hotels.

I also travel alot for work, by car and by train. It will be great to bring the bike with me (I have a small car--VW Rabbit--and no roof rack) on business trips and ride after work. Some of my clients are cyclists and it's very cool to discuss business and make deals while on a bike ride. Sure beats a cubicle!

This bike will by my most expensive, so I have high hopes that it will be up there with my Luna in comfort. Can I count it as a business expense if I do work while on the bike (and I have done that before!)?

[Thorn]

Continuing the thread hijack....I read a negative review on the Bike Friday that said after reconstituting it, that the derailleur always needed to be readjusted. In y'all's experience, any truth to that? My guess is not, but I've been trying to find opinions, both positive and negative.

Background...I just bought a custom bike. The fit is wonderful and very much non-standard. I take 1-3 bike vacations a year so I figure I have 3 options...take my beautiful new custom in a big box, paying upwards of $250/trip and risk TSA and baggage handler damage, continue renting bikes that can never fit for upwards of $250/trip, or, seriously contemplate a Bike Friday. I have to admin the latter idea is intriguing. This thread has me thinking it should be a plan and I should start saving the pennies.

Any negatives?

[tulip]

Continuing the thread hijack....I read a negative review on the Bike Friday that said after reconstituting it, that the derailleur always needed to be readjusted. In y'all's experience, any truth to that? My guess is not, but I've been trying to find opinions, both positive and negative.

Background...I just bought a custom bike. The fit is wonderful and very much non-standard. I take 1-3 bike vacations a year so I figure I have 3 options...take my beautiful new custom in a big box, paying upwards of $250/trip and risk TSA and baggage handler damage, continue renting bikes that can never fit for upwards of $250/trip, or, seriously contemplate a Bike Friday. I have to admin the latter idea is intriguing. This thread has me thinking it should be a plan and I should start saving the pennies.

Any negatives?

Thorn, I'll give you a full report once i have the bike and post-vacation. I, too, have a beautiful custom bike. I would love to bring it on vacation, but it's so cumbersome, not to mention the extra airline charges. Plus, this vacation I am flying into Paris and out of Barcelona, so it's kinda hard to be lugging a big bike box with me. You can always find cardboard boxes, but I don't want to put my nice custom bike in a cardboard box for the airlines to abuse. I want the flexibility to be more mobile on my bike vacations.

Stay tuned..should be start a new thread in the first category or keep it here?

[Triskeliongirl]

I owned a bike friday and rode it as my only bike for several years until it was stolen. I toured with it as well, riding it from Chiapis to Guatemala. I had a pocket rocket pro. While I enjoyed the bike tremendously, and the portability, I did have issues with poor shifting and frequent adjustments. I had a mechanic tell me its a problem on the smaller framed bikes with sti shifters, there is just not a lot of room between the rear hub and bottom bracket, and the lack of a top tube comprises stiffness. So, one solution is to use bar end shifters. With that being said, the ride was very comfortable, could easily ride 100 miles and my body felt no differently.

I have since replaced the stolen bike with a terry titanium isis as my go fast bike and a terry steel isis that I retrofitted with s/s couplers. My favorite of the 3 is the titanium isis, because it is the lightest and fastest. My second favorite is the steel isis, because it performs flawlessly, but it is heavier. My least favorite is the friday since it was also heavy and had performance issues.

Taking everything I now know, I'd try to get as light a full size bike as I could, ideally built with s/s couplers. The only downside to the s/s coupling, is that while it packs into an airline legal suitcase, it requires more technical expertise to reassemble/tune and doesn't quick fold to go on a bus or train, so it depends on your travel needs. I have friends very happy with their Ritchey Break a ways, anohter option, but they have longish top tubes so they don't work for a lot of shorter women.

[tulip]

Thanks for sharing your experiences, Triskeliongirl. I'm getting a Pocket Rocket Pro with bar-end shifters. My thinking is that they are alot easier to repair than STIs, which is an important consideration for touring. It's nice to hear that yours was comfortable. So sorry to hear that it was stolen.

I considered getting a bike with S/S couplings. I couldn't add them to my Luna because the tubes are not round. Timing is an issue for me, too. I don't have six months or a year to wait for a custom-made S/S bike (and I need a shorter top tube). I don't know how light your Terrys are, but the PRP is about 17 lbs, which is pretty light, although not titanium light.