BabyCowHK

I can't answer that one on a double chainring setup. Most of the Litepro installations are single chainring setups only. So far I have not heard any damage or anything particularly bad about Litepro chainrings.

CEBEP

Can anyone confirm if this Litepro FD adaptor will fit on Birdy 3 and accommodate Shimano front derailleur? Listing says adaptor has 40mm clamp.

CEBEP

I think I can change the chainrings myself if it doesn’t involve removing the crankset. Assuming I’ll need to order them online, what should the property be for longer chainring mounting bolts or are they all standard?

Jipe

Its impossible to know tht it will fit on the Birdy without having tried !

If you compare the picture with the Ridea FD mounting specially made for the Birdy, the Litepro very different and the FD is mounted at a very different place wrt. the collar of the adapter.

For the chainrings bolts, the one for standardized BCD130, BCD110... chainrings are standard and exists in lengths for single, double and triple chainrings, your mechanic can surely provide you the good ones.

Ron Damon

No. The more the rings the bolts will hold, the taller they need to be. If it's a double chainring crank, you need bolts for a double chainring crank.

Don't buy the super light Litepro bolts. They are light but soft so can be easily stripped.

CEBEP

I’ve ordered Ridea FD adaptor which will hopefully be shipped next week. Ridea double chainrings are $125 +shipping and import tax which will total to $150+ which is insane difference to a Litepro prices. So I’ve ordered Litepro 53/39 chainrings and will see how they will perform. As long as FD will work and there will be no chain rubs I can upgrade them later if they will not do well.

CEBEP

These guys used Litepro FD adaptor for Claris R2000 braze-on derailleur and 50/34 chainrings from Ridea. You can list through the pictures with all details of the installation.

Assuming adaptor design hasn’t changed I believe it should work too. Is 40mm adaptor what I need? If Ridea adaptor will not be shipped I’ll have no choice but to go with Litepro.

Jipe

Are you sure that its the same Litepro adapter on FB and Aliexpress ?

CEBEP

Ok, this is the Litepro one I need which costs 5x the price of other Litepro adaptor lol. I guess anything Birdy costs extra.

Jipe

Looks very similar to the Ridea one !

Ridea parts are difficult to find.

2_i 

That cheaper Litepro adapter may be good enough to get mounted and feature in a photo, but is unusable trash over longer term. The more expensive Litepro and Ridea adapters are still questionable products, but they may be made to work over longer term. Yes, I have all of them.

CEBEP

Since Ridea adaptor is used for factory equipped FD Birdy I kind of trust it more.

50PlusCycling

I was able to run a GS derailleur with my 36t cassette, it has more ground clearance than the Deore SGS you have mounted on your bike. Looks good though,

Jipe

I do not know any Birdy 3 factory equipped with a FD and a Ridea adapter ???

There was long time ago a R&M Birdy with a dropbar and FD but I think it was a Birdy 2 and not with a Ridea adapter ?

Some shops have built a 2x11s Birdy with a Ridea adapter like E-walker in Singapore but the shop is Ridea importer so its normal they use Ridea components !

I think that all these mods will eventually cost more than upgrading to a XDR hub, a 9-34t cassette and 11s derailleur+shifter !

My experience is that even in a city with very steep climbs, 9-34t is enough and the 36t small chainring of the 52-36 I have on my Ti Birdy is never needed.

CEBEP

I didn’t say Birdy 3 factory equipped, I said Birdy. I also see recommendation here what’s the best option to extend the gearing range

CEBEP

It’s always relative. What’s enough for you isn’t for me. Has to do with training condition and hills. If you say 34t is enough for any city you’re welcome to visit Istanbul and ride around old city. There is relatively no flat space in Istanbul. Total opposite to Holland.

Jipe

I am in Belgium, Brussels has a lot of steep hills.

The frame of the Birdy 2 is different from the one of the Birdy 3 and I am not sure this was installed by R&M.

If you look at Pacific Cycles and R&M Birdy, none of them put a FD on it.

If 52x11 is long enough for your use, put a 42t chanring, 42x9 is the same as 52x11 and you will have a much smaller ratio on the 34t cog equivalent to 52x42.

CEBEP

Brompton doesn’t put handlebar extension on any of it’s bikes, but I do.




That’s the beauty of it all, we can modify our rides to suite our needs or satisfy our passion. I don’t care how many times I will use 39t ring, maybe just a few times. But I need it there when such need will arise. Wider gear range is better for me than narrower one.

CEBEP

I noticed that it became more difficult to push seatpost all the way down through the stopper. I checked the stopper bolt and it’s screwed in all the way. I assume there is no way to adjust it unlike Brompton. What could cause it and is there a way to fix it?

Jipe

Its adjustable like on the Brompton. But yours seems at the minimum.

Now, to fully fold the rear on Birdy with a cassette, the chain must absolutely be on the smallest cog.

CEBEP

it is on the smallest cog (11t) and I make sure rear wheel is fully up to the frame when folded. Still it requires considerable amount of force to push the seatpost all the way down.

CEBEP

Trying to ride Birdy with no hands is challenging, I couldn’t do it for any considerable amount of time. I put it on front fork design, or maybe it’s the case with all folding bikes. But even for this brief amount of tome I could ride it with no hands, the front wheel/handlebar immediately starts to wobble. Is it normal?

Jipe

The stopper was factory adjusted for a smallest 9t cog while you now have a bigger 11t, this could explain the problem.

CEBEP

Could be. If that’s the case I’m curious what stoppers Asian sellers use as they also have cassettes with 11t cogs.

Jipe

The stoppers on my Ti Birdy from Pacific Cycles are the same as on the Birdy 3 but with a completely different adjustment, much longer out on the Ti Birdy.

There are two stoppers on the Birdy, one fo the fold of the rear arm, one for the seatpost, which stopper is screwed in all the way on your Birdy ?

On my Birdy 3, the one for the seatpost is screwed in all the way and has no adjusting nut, the one for the rear arm folding not and has an adjustment nut.