CEBEP

I guess it’s OK then as long as it’s normal. I assume Ice teck rotors may be a little thicker due to aluminum core, hence touching the pads.

Jipe

I think its because the steel/aluminum sandwich makes that the disc doesn't remain totally flat.

I read somewhere that Shimano increased the gap between brake disc and brake pads on some new disc brake caliper. I guess its to solve this noise problem ?

CEBEP

Rotor doesn’t touch pads when wheels turns freely, but does when under load. I don’t think it’s because of the rotor not being totally straight. It’s straight but thicker. Most probably because wheel spindle flexes a little under load, just enough for rotor to touch either pad.

stephenmcateer

Today I bought a Birdy World Sport on eBay.

It looks like it's reasonable condition.

However, looking again at the photos of it, I see that the stem is angled forward: is this bike going to be uncomfortable?

Reason I ask is I'm 59 and my back is not so flexible any more, so maybe the Birdy with the upright stem would be better. I don't know.

P.S I'm 6' 2". if that makes a difference.

Also - is £650 a fair price for this bike would you say?

Thanks.

fatbikeGM

It was the same for me until I swapped the original easy wheels for some 80 mm wheels from old inline skates.
Now I use the easy wheels indoors (buildings, trains) and unfold the bike everywhere else (including train stations).
If you want to do that as well please note that todays inline (and scooter afaik) wheels usually have an internal diameter of 8 mm whereas the Birdy axles are 6 mm. So you will need an extra part combining the two.
By sheer luck my inline skates had 6 mm axles
My second recommendation is to forget (and remove) the lowrider / pulling handle in combination with the Brompton bag adapter. As detailed when I introduced my bike I mounted a handle normally used to pulling canoes out of the water instead.
That is very comfortable.

Jipe

I guess its the one on the picture above?

Yes, you are right, with the "sport" stem the Birdy is more aimed at taller people.

But the saddle position can be adjusted (as on the above picture) and the stem can be adjusted in height and 2 positions for the reach for a better fit for smaller riders.

stephenmcateer

====
Thanks. Yes I did a bit more research and it seems that the 'Sport' stem is good for taller people.

CEBEP

I didn’t know that saddle could be mounted on the reverse position of seat-post. Are you sure it’s OK to mount this way? Any info on this from R&M?

Jipe

Yes, it can be mounted like that.

The above picture comes from the R&M 2015 official catalog (you see the page number) Pacific Cycles also mount the saddle like that on some models.

R&M deliver the Birdy with the seatpost extension on the rear and handlebar with biggest reach because their market is mainly EU people that are taller while Pacific Cycles deliver Birdy with the seatpost extension to the front because their customer are typically not as tall as those of R&M. Pacific Cycles made a video explaining how to reduce the reach what R&M and R&M dealers usually do not explain.

CEBEP

FD adaptor finally arrived and I could install FD. Decided to go with Ultegra.





Mechanic said Ultegra shifter didn’t work as it was moving derailleur way pass the chainring, so he had to use Tiagra which looks kind of ugly as it’s not black but dark bronze.




Shifting works perfectly fine though. Any ideas about better looking shifter?

Jipe how does this work on your Birdy with FD? Also which FD shifter you have?

Thanks

Jipe

The Ti Birdy has a FSA SLK-light 52-36 and it folds+unfold OK. But honestly, I never tried to fold it on the 36t chainring mainly because I almost never use this chainring, the 9-32t cassette is enough for almost all cases.

And as already said, the TI Birdy has a totally different frame made to mount a double compact chainring (it has a front derailleur mounting soldered on the frame), nothing says that it has the same chainline as the Birdy 3 which is made for a single front chainring.

From factory, front and rear derailleur are Shimano 105 11s with a set of SL-RS700 2x11s shifters. I mounted the same right one on my Birdy 3 when I move it to 11s.

CEBEP

Could you send a picture of chainring and derailleur on folded bike? I wander how chain goes around it.

If I can’t fold it with FD I can’t use it

Jipe

This is the Ti Birdy almost like it was delivered with original wheels... (saddle was already replaced and front rack for low rider and lock added).

CEBEP

apparently chain is not on the chain wheel after FD but off of it. Doesn’t it make any issues while folding? And I don’t see chain tensioner on the crank side?

Jipe

Yes, the chain is indeed not fully on the chainring when folded but it come back on the chainring while unfolding, I never had the chain derailing when unfolding the bike and needed to manually put it on the chainring.

CEBEP

Maybe I should try removing chain tensioner mounted on the bottom bracket and see how it will go.

Jipe

Its the chain tensionner that puts the chain again on the chainring when unfolding the bike ! So do not remove it.

CEBEP

Then I guess it’s normal that it folds the way it does with chain being partially out of chainring after the front derailleur. But I had some hard time folding the bike as chain was stuck somewhere inside between the fork. Need to check it on a bike stand.

Jipe

By fork, you mean rear swingarm I guess ?

This part is really different on the Ti Birdy and Birdy 3, clearance between chain and cassette are therefore different too, so its impossible to draw conclusion of what should work on the Birdy 3 from what is working on the Ti Birdy.

CEBEP

Ok, everything looks to be fine. It folds OK, nothing is in the way. Once unfolded chain is on the chainring, no issues. Gave it a try today. I noticed that when I’m on 53t chainring and approaching big cogs on cassette while climbing, drivetrain becomes very quite and solid once I switch to 39t small chainring. Probably because chain line becomes straight. Also could climb very steep hill while seated on 39t chainring and 32t cog. Very pleased with this setup!

Also decided to give a Trigo front carrier block a test. Loaded 9kg on my Brompton bag and tried to ride. Couldn’t go 10m as front was wobbling like crazy. Don’t know what it was, an adaptor that isn’t firm enough or Birdy’s frame/fork design that is not supposed to have this weight on the frame in this anchor point. It probably should be fine for lighter bags but I think I’ll remove it. Will install front front riders if I’ll ever feel the need to use front panniers.

stephenmcateer

I have a used Birdy coming here from eBay on Monday.

When I check it over, is there anything I should be looking out for?

[I think I saw somewhere that the frames can crack.]

It looks pretty good in the eBay photographs but I didn't get much history from the seller, other than he used it for day tripping with his kids. He thinks it's a 2012 model but wasn't certain.

Jipe

If it is a Birdy World 2 as it seems to be, its part of the Birdy 3 range and there are no risk of frame (actually rear swing arm) crack.

You might want to upgrade to the latest chain tensionner placed around the bottom bracket because with the tensionner added to the derailleur cage like on Birdy 1 and Birdy 2, there can be chain derailling while unfolding the bike.

stephenmcateer

Thanks for that Jipe. I'll look for the upgraded tensioner. Cheers.

stephenmcateer

=> When I look at the Birdy Mark 2 and Birdy Mark 3, they have what I think is a hydro-formed frame, but this bike I bought has plain rectangular tubing. Is it definitely a Birdy 3?

CEBEP

Have just installed Sqlab Innerbarends. Here is a short review if anyone is interested.