invisiblehand

https://jnyyz.wordpress.com/2016/09/...ues-the-tikit/

https://www.bikefriday.com/folding-bikes/bikes/tikit-3/

Joe Remi

I checked the site a couple days ago and was shocked at tikit prices. I guess the trick to not having to build anymore is to raise the price to some impossible number. Marketing!

fietsbob

Bought a Season Tikit 2nd hand, from someone
who was buying a 2nd Brompton..

Sram i 9 IGH, grip shifted, 24 spoked 36 hole hub.
I got rid of the cast crank arms soon after getting it
due to thread failure.. on pedal end..
got rid of the Kalloy uno seat post.

Upgraded V brake pads to Kool Stop cross..

running Primo Comet tires , now.. P/V tubes ..




Well Made in USA, custom parts menu, and sized for the Customer ,
does cost more

than mass produced one size only folding bikes shipped in from Asia..

but as a Customer focused pick your components and size and color, Bike
You can choose: want an 11 speed Alfine Belt drive, or a 1 speed chain drive ,
You Choose .




./.

linberl

It's official on BF page. It is discontinued

smallwheeler

i had a feeling this was going to happen.

R.I.P world's greatest 349 platform folding bike.

tds101 

OK,...that really sux. It's one of the best folding bikes available.

fietsbob

Order one ASAP, then ..

linberl

Did you check out the "new" price? Yikes.

fietsbob

Since You live in the SF bay area You are already used to paying more for just about everything.

linberl

That may or may not be true for stuff bought HERE, but it does not apply to things made in Oregon. I guess BF just doesn't want to make anymore so they priced it up accordingly.

fietsbob

Eugene home of the University is not cheap either, population 2nd , behind Portland.

invisiblehand

I'm guessing that they moved their production line resources toward the pakit making any tikit production more "custom" and labor intensive.

tds101 

You're so sweet,...how about buying each of us 1, before they're all gone!

Abu Mahendra

I chuckle at your defense of BF prices based on 'Made in the USA'. Then when actual Americans living in the Homeland complain about their prices (two on this thread alone), you change the topic with lines like these. This fetish means that BF faces less pressure to continually explore cost reduction for the consumer because it has a captured, complaisant audience. For example, why does BF not explore high-quality manufacture of their frames in Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand,etc., you know, those countries that already manufacture for the likes of Intel, Apple, Canon, Toyota and Shimano? This fetish ignores the interests of the American consumer for they are saddled with the high costs identified here. This fetish is a nationalist figleaf for intellectual laziness, and self-congratulatory complaisancy. 'Make America Great Again' on bicycle manufacturing? Right, Donald.

smallwheeler

sad. you live in "paradise", have money to burn, post everyday about all the chinese bikes you own without hindrance, yet you still feel the need to chase senior citizens around an internet chat forum sniping at their heels. shameful.

Joe Remi

Nobody is complaining about BF prices in general: They're handmade bikes made in USA, and we have other alternatives if we don't want to pay the price. The topic is the astronomical increase of one closed-out model, which is also not a problem. They can charge what they want for a bike they've clearly lost interest in building.

linberl

You are missing the point of Made in America. It means a job for my neighbor, food on his table, and a decent education for his kids. Even if I have to purchase fewer items, So NO it does not "ignore the interests of the American consumer" since they can't consume if they don't have jobs. I make a point to try to buy American made products for that precise reason. However, in this case, as already mentioned, we are talking about a discontinued item where the price has gone UP considerably. That's not normally the case when something is discontinued; usually a manufacturer will close out stock at a discount. However, since BF builds to order, it makes sense.

Abu Mahendra

My vision is of Americans owning bike business, designing the bikes and selling them. My vision is of employed Americans, working in higher tech/higher wage enterprises of the 21st century. My vision is not of American workers earning a steel-welder's wages (do you yourself want to earn an American machinist or welder salary? No, you don't.) while Asian manufacturing chomps at their heels, and eventually gobbles them up.

Abu Mahendra

Perhaps, bro, but I don't hide behind empty nationalisms, or class badges of honor like 'Made in XXX'. I do agree with you that there is likely a generational, and perhaps even a racial aspect to the angst about the decline of American manufacturing.

linberl

I don't want to turn this into a political thread, so suffice it to say that your view of America is irrelevant. Not every American is going to work in tech, etc., as there are plenty of people who simply do not ENJOY that kind of work. They want to build and use their hands and craft things. Thus, the Makers Faire, Etsy, etc. The nice thing about America is that there is a huge variety in terms of types of employment, and people have the option to pursue what makes them happy. Crafting a Bike Friday is nothing like standing on an assembly line in Asia welding all day. Nor is it like sitting behind a desk, or in a cubicle. And FYI union steel workers, etc., make damn good money here! The $140,000-a-Year Welding Job - WSJ

Abu Mahendra

Why is my view of America irrelevant? I am an American citizen who pays taxes to the IRS.

You are living in the past. You ride the Asian juggernaut, or you get trampled. Your choice.

linberl

...because you made a blanket statement about what all American's should want and do. Speak for yourself but don't presume to speak for anyone else.

Abu Mahendra

All we do here is speak for ourselves. This 'don't presume to speak for anyone else" is just a red-herring. You don't want higher wages? Ok, keep welding bikes.

Joe Remi

I want to read about folding bikes on a folding bikes forum. You've hijacked this tikit/pakit thread. Let it go.

DeadGrandpa

The intent of the following is to address economic issues advanced in earlier posts, and not political rhetoric.

I have a new Bike Friday Pocket Llama, which I selected after due diligence. One of the factors I took into consideration was the support of small businesses in the US. I also considered the off-paved road (wider tires) and luggage carrying capabilities unavailable, AFAIK, from any other manufacturers. I upgraded the headset and front hub, paying more for those US made components because I perceived higher quality/more value for the money. Several of my other bikes were made in other countries (China, Japan), but I found value in buying locally this time. I have (I believe) a high quality, custom-equipped, traveling bike for touring.

Replacing the Tikit,
Bike Friday is simply rolling out a new,improved model, and discontinuing the older model so they won't compete with themselves in that segment. General Motors made that mistake of marketing similar models that competed with each other, creating huge inefficiency. If Bike Friday substantially improves the PL design, they'll end production of the PL when they introduce the replacement.