willydstyle

As someone who lives in the U.S. the sad fact of the matter is we just don't have the same kind of choices the rest of the world has. So when someone asks for recommendations, I think we should first ask where they live before we start recommending Birdy or Fnhon, or other brands that really just have *very limited* availability state-side, or that US folks would have to order through Ali Baba with heavy shipping fees and long international shipping times. Hell even brands like Dahon or Tern that have relatively good availability in the US don't offer the same range of products here that they do elsewhere in Europe and Asia. I think we could be a lot more useful for new folding cyclists if we contextualize their requests a bit more in this way.

2_i 

You ask for people to know what happens on the other side of the world. I am not sure how you imagine that they are supposed to achieve that.

Steve B.

Yes, that's the OP's point, maybe ask where the person asking a question is located on the planet before making a recommendation that might be very specific to geographic location

2_i 

I surely must be very thick as I am not getting how I am supposed to know that my solution is about to "be very specific to geographic location".

Pinigis 

We should get in the habit of disclosing our location when asking questions (where geography may play a role), or when offering assistance. It is very easy to forget that this is a global community.

Jipe

Even if its difficult to find, the Birdy is available in the US.

willydstyle

If you don't know what's available in a person's geographic location then you might caveat that your recommendations are either specific to your geographic location, *or* let people who *are* familiar with the geographic location give more useful recommendations.

willydstyle

Every model listed on the site is sold out or the listing has been removed. This is true of every retailer that I've seen that claims to sell Birdy bikes in the US.

tds101 

No, it's not,...

Ron Damon

Fair enough.

On another thread, I asked a Canada-based member much it cost him to bring in a FnHon frameset in to Quebec from China. I was surprised by his response at how relatively inexpensive it turned out for him. If memory serves, it cost him something like $250. I didn't ask how long it took, though.

tds101 

Because of our war on China's profits, and low tariffs (which are crazy between both countries), we pay a quite large markup. I'm glad that our neighbors to the Great North were saved from this financial mess.

Ron Damon

Would be curious to know the price differential of the same part between, say, Toronto and Buffalo.

tds101 

A PO box across the border would solve the problem, providing the shipper world accommodate it. Otherwise it's almost $300 USD to ship to NY.

Ron Damon

Wow...I'll load up next time I go visit my mother in Nassau County. 😉

Jipe

Its a recent evolution because the seller I gave the link still had the Birdy R11 SP in stock about two years ago after it was replaced by the Birdy R20 11SP with 20" wheels.

Did you try to buy a Birdy on the online shop of Pacific Cycles? It is possible to buy a Birdy and have it shipped to some European countries out of the EU that have no Riese & Müller dealers.

tds101 

You mean here:https://www.pacific-cycles.com/folding-bikes

Jipe

I mean: https://store.pacific-cycles.com/

tds101 

Which allows me to select geographic location. Duh,...

Jipe

I selected first "America" then "US United States" then Birdy as bike model and Birdy Rohloff (because this model is almost always in stock while some others exists only one model year and when sold out, do not come again).

The site said:
Deliver to door
BIRDY3 Rohloff Disc 14SP Glossy Black
Product number： EC_P000276
USD$5500.00

I could put the bike in the basket and Proceed to checkout.

After that, I was asked to create an account.

What I cannot do since I am not in the US and already have a Pacific Cycles store account with shipment address in EU/Belgium (whith which I was able to buy some spare parts from the Pacific Cycles store) !

jfouellette

Hi, you may be refering to me. The actual shipping cost of the Fnhon Blast was US$75 from China to Montreal Canada. The frame was around US$250. It took 4 weeks and was sent by air. I find that the shipping cost from China varies. Some sellers certainly add more to the actual shipping cost. I bought on Aliexpress.

As for availability of components,frames and bikes in North America. Any thing less than 26’’ inch in tire size, is a challenge except for BMX and certain folders. Asia and Europe are the places to buy from. I’ve found that Asia is more interested in shipping here than the Europeans. My whish is to find a bike shop in Asia that would be willing to ship complete minivelo bikes to Canada, at a reasonable cost even if this means longer shipping times (3 months).

What surprises me is the shipping cost from the US to Canada. It can easily be more than from China. Some US vendors don’t realise they lose business by not offering various shipping methods to canadian customers. They revert to using priority and courrier service that are at inflated prices.

tds101 

AND??? All you do is tell people to buy an item, regardless of location and availability, and then go on about how it's available where YOU LIVE. Dude,...you really don't have good interpersonal social skills, do you? And NO, that WASN'T a question. I'm gruff at times, but you talk to others like they're 3 years old. Meh,...

Jipe

No, I do not live in the US, I select US because the issue was the availability of the Birdy for people living in the US.

I just showed that it seems possible for a person living in the US to buy a Birdy directly from Pacific Cycles and that Birdy is available for people living in the US while the claim at the beginning of this thread says that its not possible for people living in the US to buy some types of folding bikes like the Birdy.

willydstyle

So sure, if a person is willing to buy a $2400 bike without even being able to test ride it, the Birdy is technically available in the US. My original point still stands though, people getting hung up on technicalities aside: most first-time folding bike buyers are going to want something they can test ride, and aren't going to want to order asian components through canada to avoid high tariffs to build something that's not easily-available in the US. This goes for other places too. I think when it comes down to it, when someone says "I live in [x place] and I want a bike that fits my needs" if you do not have experience buying a folding bike in the same geographical area there is a good chance that you simply cannot usefully answer their question. Different markets have different bikes and components readily available.

Jipe

As soon as you are looking for something else than a classic road bike or MTB, you end up buying without trying.

Its the same when buying a tandem, a cargo bike, a recumbent bike...

Its the same for many folding bike brands including Bike Friday which is a US manufacturer.

Even the Brompton is difficult to test ride outside big cities.

Schwinnsta

That was not true for me. Most of the small wheeled bikes I was able to try. I bought my bikes used. Until Brompton had a shop in New Orleans, I did not have one. When they opened a shop here, I test drove one for a half hour. I liked it, but even with that, I was not sold. The dealer let me rent one for a day, I did that and then purchased one. My Zizzo was the only other small wheeled bike I bought new. It was a good deal, so I did buy it without trying it, but I was able to return it if I did not like it. I never have owned a Bike Friday, but if you are interested in getting one, they will put you in touch with someone that owns one, so you can try it.