Folding Bikes - Decided to Buy a Tikit

I want a bike for errands, to leave folded in my car and take on family vacations where time/effort to pack and unpack is at a minimum. I have a plethora of light/high quality parts here...I am shooting for 18 LBS. Tikit, here I come.

After you put on your high quality parts... show us the pictures. :)

--sam

am shooting for 18 LBS. Tikit, here I come.

Holy cow! Rob English's original Speeding Tikit (http://www.bikefriday.com/tikit/robspinkone) was 18 pounds. How are you going to do this? And, seriously, how much is this going to run?

Even Rob's was .2 pounds heavier. How will you beat 18.2? Are you receiving any federal economic recovery funding?

Rob's brakes and crankset aren't the lightest...SRAM brakes and FSA SLK cranks. I have Easton's new cranks on a bike which I will swap. Accroding to Madcow (spell?), the Easton's are ~115 grams lighter. I have a few sets of ZG brakes, as well as unused KCNC brakes here. The Sram brakes are ~60 grams heavier. His post is a Thomson with a lot of extension. I have a few posts lying around that are lighter, a Easton EC90, for one.

Plus, I think he takes a large Tikit, mine will be a medium.

I have some used grouppos, seats and pedals, so I really only need a stripped down Tikit with the upgraded wheels and ti mast.

Well ... one could drop a chain ring, the front derailer, and the associated cable/housing. I'm sure that you could find a lighter handlebar too. The difficult part would be his rear wheel.

Plus, I think he takes a large Tikit, mine will be a medium.


Depending on your weight, the medium may be a bit overly flexible, particularly if you're going ultralight. What's your tubing approach to stiffen up the stem and post?

I re-read Rob's info. His Speeding T is a medium. His seat height looks taller than mine. I am 5'6", no need to stiffen it up. Wheels and chainstays will be stiff enough.

This makes me wonder exactly how light you could make the tikit....I am 130 lbs (and losing) :innocent:

Looking forward to your take! Any color scheme in particular?

red!

Copying me I see.

http://cs.gmu.edu/~sean/stuff/tikit/pics/P1030080.JPG.thumb.jpg

Flag red *is* the best color. :-)

Keep us posted....:thumb:

Red is good.
Ordering today...

Keep us posted....:thumb:

Vik, are the Scorchers still THE fast tires to buy?

I went with white.

I went with white.

Nooooooooooooo!

Now you're copying Vik! (http://thelazyrando.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/nwt-7.jpg) :-) You can't win.

I went with white.Because of the alliteration?

"Bike Friday bears brunt of folderfan's fury, wonders why white won't work."
"folderfan went with white."

It was an impulse decision...white bikes always look good.

I'm sure it'll be a wickit, tricked-out white tikit!

white is best

yellow is best

Green to express the zero emissions of the tikit.... :)
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/oldiesonfoldies/TrailerKGfrontr.jpg

My father buys tikits all the time. Like the little old lady from Pasadena, he just can't keep his foot of the accelerata.

Nooooooooooooo!

Now you're copying Vik! (http://thelazyrando.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/nwt-7.jpg) :-) You can't win.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3538/3303790064_629953d45b.jpg

Hahahaha....a white Tikit will look sweet...congrats....:thumb: I think I'd try a white one next myself. My new MTB above is white (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vikapproved/sets/72157614253370075/) - although that was the only colour available at the time.

I ordered Kojaks and Comets for my T. Rob's Speeding T has Comets, which seem to have a significant weight penalty over the Kojaks. I am curious to see how both tires ride.

It just came in a few hours ago. I am waiting for it to warm up so I can give it a go and tweak my position. Jordan, Paul and Rob at BF were SUPER to work with.

Sorry about the small size.

nice....:thumb:

how did you get the front derailleur in? Custom braze?

It just came in a few hours ago. I am waiting for it to warm up so I can give it a go and tweak my position. Jordan, Paul and Rob at BF were SUPER to work with.

Sorry about the small size.

OMG! Totally hot! I want your bike. :D

Thanks guys. The pic was taken with my iphone and it is overcast today. I will take another when it is sunny. I can't figure out why the pic is so small.

BF built it with a front der. hanger and built it up with the grouppo I supplied.

BF built it with a front der. hanger and built it up with the grouppo I supplied.

What was the total cost? (I'm already looking for change in between the sofa cushions. :D )

I had the brakes, cranks, bb, pedals, derailleurs, post, bars, stem, saddle, chain, cogset, bottle cage, shifters and bar tape. I ordered the frame with a der. hanger and set up for dual pivot calipers, upgraded hubs/spokes/rims, tires, upgragraded color, tubes and ti mast. Before the sale price, it would have been ~$2,000, iirc.

HOT look'n bike! Nice build up for sure! :thumb:
Nice to hear that the BF folks will do a build w/components provided by a customer.
Great team, great service!

Thanks for sharing & please keep us posted on how she rides.

Rgds,
K.

Weight? What'd it come to?

Weight? What'd it come to?

Not sure yet...BF's lighter hubs didn't come in yet and I am leaving for Israel on April 9. I wanted 2 weeks to dial in my position, pack and unpack it a few times and make sure shifting/braking was spot on. So BF built it up with the stock Capreo and front hubs and will swap out the wheels when the hubs come in.

It feels lighter than my BF PR Pro.

My position isn't dialed yet. but I got in a ~1:45 hilly ride after the rain stopped and before it got dark.

The bike was very comfortable. The Kojaks were pumped to 80psi. The ti mast is a big boost to comfort - well worth ~$75.. I could flex the stem by deliberately pulling hard on it, but while climbing out of the saddle (in the drops and hands on the levers) I didn't notice too much flex.

I'm not too sure if i'm the only person facing this problem with my tikit, but my headstem clamp has worn or warped to the point where the whole handlebar gets shaky when ridden. It's not unsafe but it makes for a very disconcerting ride. Resolved it by wedging thin rubber/paper to make up the clearance. And I have not pulled it much.

Just wanted to alert you to the possibility of clamp face wear when pulling on the front.

I'm not too sure if i'm the only person facing this problem with my tikit, but my headstem clamp has worn or warped to the point where the whole handlebar gets shaky when ridden.

This seems really unlikely! If the clamp has worn that much, contact BF and they will probably happily arrange to get you a replacement.

But I'm wondering if it's possibly that the clamp cable is no longer tight enough (assuming it's a hyperfold). You'll be happy to hear, it's standard maintenance. At the other end of the clamp cable there's nut with nylon threads to increase its holding power. A few turns of the nut and you should have less shakiness. (If you can't turn the nut by hand, and are wondering, it's metric: a 10.5 mm wrench, and the hexagonal cable cover is a 5mm wrench). I believe you want the cable in the sweet spot where the stem is tight but the seatmast latch pin isn't facing much springiness trying to pull it out of seatmast latch. Note that over time the nut may lose its gripping power -- just replace it with another one. I got another 10.5mm nylon-threaded nut at a local bike shop for free.

If it's a model-T then I dunno. Never got to play with one.

We have a preliminary weight...20lbs. Once the wheels are built with the upgraded hubs and I change to D/A for the 18-13 cogs, I will drop some more weight. Rob English pointed out that his Speeding Tikit has only 1 chainring and no fr. derailleur (not to mention the BF stem and Campy levers). I could drop more weight by switching to a Sram levers and derailleurs. So, I think 19 lbs is reachable. Rob English let me down easy and said it was the 2nd lightest geared Tikit he knew of.

I rode it for 1:40 yesterday in crazy wind. I am confident I could ride it on 3 hr. rides with no issues.

The bike rides "light" and seems to climb very well. Still very happy.

I've ridden my Tikit 6 of the last 7 days. I am happy to report it is a very nice riding bike. Out of the saddle; steep climbs (16%); fast sweeping turns; no handed; the bike handles everything I have thrown at it. I think it rides better than my Pocket Rocket.

:thumb: