jfouellette

Hi everyone. Here is my new purchase. A used Tikit in size small. I ve contacted Bike Friday to determine the approximate build date to see if this one was involved in the recall ten years ago. I can’t t locate the serial number so it may be difficult. The ride is rather good even with the 16 inch tires. It was sold by a lady unable to use it due to health issues.

Jipe

Wow, it looks like new !

Derailed

Great purchase (I'm very jealous) -- it looks great!

Jipe

Being able to buy a used, sometime (very) old folding bike in like new condition is something that happen with folding bikes because some owners buy a folding bike for seldom and very short local trips like boat owners, plane owners... that carry the bike in their boat, plane... and use it just to go from the haven, airport... to the nearby city for shopping.

tcs

It's post-Jackleg and has a reinforced Aardvark, so it's clear of that recall. The Hyperfold handlepost has the single, heavy release cable, so it's clear of that recall.

ALL tikits were involved in the handlepost-snaps-off recall. Your folding handlepost will have a red dot inside IF it was repaired under recall.



If it was never repaired, it is still subject to the BikeFriday "Dangerous - Do Not Ride" warning.

These bikes have a lifetime frame warranty. I understand that if your new-to-you tikit handlepost was never fixed, BikeFriday will rebuild it, removing the nifty Hyperfold and changing it from a folding handlepost to a take-apart handlepost.

The serial numbers were stamped in three or four different places over the production run - and, unbelievably, BikeFriday built and sold some tikits without stamping a serial number on them.

jfouellette

Here is the picture of the handlepost unfolded. It has the single large cable of the hyperfold but no red dot. I sent bike friday pictures.

jfouellette

In the case of this lady, she used it when on a trip to Paris four years ago and not much after due to Covid restrictions on travelling.

The engineering of this bike is impressive. The production cost must have been high. It’s unfortunate it was discontinued and suffered issues needing safety recalls. The complexity of getting every part to work well was challenging I think.

Ron Damon

For the faithful, these are features rather than flaws. Same flaws on my bikes, and they are quickly labeled Chinese trash. 😂😂😂

Don't leave it outside the metro. 😉

Joe Remi

Troll.

tcs

The tikit was really a cool folding bike. It had a fast fold - on the Hyperfold model, a very fast fold - and adjustable, standard bike ergonomics. It was relatively light, as folding bikes go. You could get in in three frame sizes - how cool was that? It was configurable for commuting and touring and came with/could be fitted with all manner of standard drivetrains. Neither the bars nor the saddle needed to be readjusted/reset when folding/unfolding. It was easily the best true folding bike ever made in North America.

Uh, yeah. For a 16-inch wheel bike, the fold wasn't all that small.



The Hyperfold has wear parts, and BikeFriday doesn't maintain any spares. (!) Worst, of course, is that BikeFriday has never produced any documentation that the design was rigorously, professionally tested


prior to being sold to the public. A small number of bikes broke in various ways, and some riders/customers/human beings/beta testers were injured as a result. Recalls/repairs/design changes have, if lack of internet reports are a guide, made upgraded tikits sound but the damage was done to the product's reputation.

jfouellette

My experience is that Chinese (there are are two Chinas btw) products can be of very good quality. Their have a greater challenge with innovation. They are good at reproducing existing products at a lower cost, in many cases due to labour cost. The Japanese did the same in the 1950-60’s. The Tikit is innovation.

please don ´t start an argument in my post

jfouellette

My plan is to bring it with me on the metro and lock it to my leg 💪

jfouellette

Good news the seller found the replacement headtube, cable and clamp. She never got it installed. It was sent from Bike Friday back in 2013. So the bike is from around 2010. I’ll get this installed. Once done the Tikit will have had all the recalls.

tcs

Super!

The famous fold:

Lalato

I miss my hyperfold Tikit. Easily, the most fun folding bike I've ever owned. Once you get the hang of the hyperfold, it's really hard to go back to twiddling knobs and hinges.

Enjoy your fabulous find.

Ron Damon

Yeah, the thing is that innovation is worth it for the consumer to the extent that it fills a gap or unmet need. Broxxon offers the smallest fold. Birdy, suspension with a relatively compact fold. You'll have to excuse me but i have yet to see what useful, unique innovation BF brings to the table. Customer service, yes (for those who need it and custom fit, yeah, sure. As for useful innovation, yeah...🤔

Yeap. I've been to both Chinas. Much prefer Taiwan, tbh.

Schwinnsta

At the time they started, early 90s, they brought out bikes, that you could pack in a suitcase, fly somewhere, and tour. I may be wrong on this, but I think that remains their signature, and that all their bikes will fold into a suitcase for air travel. You do have some assembly to do this. Even their tandem will do this, though in two suitcases. Today, that does not seem that unique. Many folders can be at least altered to do this.

There are a few of their models that do still have a lot of appeal. I don't think that there is much on the market at the top end to compete with a Pocket Rocket or even a Diamond Lama. I would grant that you pay a lot for a little gain. Still, if you have the bucks to burn.

When I bought my Brompton, my criterion was for a bike I could pack into a suitcase within two minutes, That was when I worked at a job where I had to travel in a day's notice.

jfouellette

Here are the replacement parts the seller gave me. Notice the red dot. So, all the recalls will be taken care. IM only waiting on Bike Friday to let me know if the installation cost is covered.

seat_boy

BF offers actual sizing (even custom) and standard parts. Two worthwhile things, IMO.

john m flores 

Plus folds where you don't have to re-set the seat and handlebar height each time you unfold it. And the OSATA frames have adjustable reach.

linberl

And you are not limited to 6 speeds like Brompton. You can get whatever you want on a Friday. And they can be much lighter than a Brompton. I carried my 19 pound pakiT up 3 flights of stairs regularly, would never do that with the 26lb Brompton (plus I had more gears).

jfouellette

What do you think of converting my Tikit to an internal gear hub? It now has 8 speeds. For urban use, would a 5 or 7 speed IGH be enough? From what I can see the less gears, the less weight which is also important in my situation.

linberl

Are you sure IGH is lighter? With your tikit, you can drop weight by going to a higher end rear der and cassette. Also, the easiest places to drop weight are your saddle, your pedals, and your handlebar. Carrying weight anyway. On my pakiT (which I recently sold) I dropped a pound and a half with careful choices of those 3 components.

tcs

Doable. Here's mine with an Alfine 11 and Surly Singleator.




The Sturmey-Archer XRF4 is a modern, relatively light IGH that BikeFriday regularly fits to pakits. Would the 210%% gear range be enough? Is it hill or windy?

biker101

My Tikit has an adjustable dropout and doesn't need a chain tensioner for the Alfine-8.