Folding Bikes - TIKIT - gear possibility is endless or not ?

hi all,

i am still debating whether to upgrade my tikit2's gearings and from the advices and by checking sheldon's site here's the possibilities:

1) tikit has 11-28 cassette and with the 53T chainring gear ratio is 30.4-77.4.
2) if i to change it to 11-32 it will give me a gear ratio of 25.1-77.4 (not much difference from the stock 11-28).
3) changing the cassette to 11-34 (megarange) will give me a gear ratio of 26.6-77.4. again not much difference from the stock cassette.
4) if i to change the cassette to a capreo 9-26 this will give me a gear ratio of 32.8-94.6 (an improvement from the original cassette.
5) if i am to change it to an IGH (sturmey archer 8 speed) this will give me a gear ratio of 34.1-103.9. a big jump i may say. i may need a chain tensioner here too. IGH is clean and less maintenance compare to RD.
6) if i go SRAM 3x7 - the range will be from 22.3-105.5 using 7 speed 11-28 cassette.
6) SRAM 3x9 with a capreo 9 speed 9-26 will give you an even higher range from 24-128.9. this will be the ultimate upgrade with a wide range of gear ratio.

so in conclusion - IGH still is the best way to upgrade your tikit (gears/speed). might be too expensive but maybe all worth it. correct me here fellow members if my assumption is wrong.

A bit off in the following:

5) You need to multiply it by 3.25 as that is the new Sturmey Archer 8w gear ratio. So you get a bit more of a high gear here. Also BF have modular dropout for the Tikit.

6) I think a capreo cassette will only work with a capreo hub.

A bit off in the following:


6) I think a capreo cassette will only work with a capreo hub.

Believe you are right.

The question is what do you think about the existing gear ratio of your Tikit? What are you happy with and what is not satisfying you?

The cheapest easiest fastest way forward for you is to install a 60T chainring. It may make enough difference to be OK - it mostly did it for my Birdy (before I got the Schlumpf for it).

See here (http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-617128.html).

I think the OP would be happy if he focused on a hub that enables him to use the gear in intends to ride 80-90 percent of the time. The high and low range is fine but if he misses the gear he feels most comfortable with, he'll never be happy.

That is of course perfectly possible with a bigger chainring too. A 11-32 or 11-34 cassette gives the same amount of gearing range as a typical 8sp hub. He can keep the 11-28 for now and when it wears out, get 11-32.

A bit off in the following:

5) You need to multiply it by 3.25 as that is the new Sturmey Archer 8w gear ratio. So you get a bit more of a high gear here. Also BF have modular dropout for the Tikit.

but i need to ship my bike to BF to have it customized with the new modular dropout which i heard is way too costly.



6) I think a capreo cassette will only work with a capreo hub.

yes, you're right about this.


The question is what do you think about the existing gear ratio of your Tikit? What are you happy with and what is not satisfying you?

quite frankly i am happy with the gearings. it's just that i wanted to have the available gears i can have in case i need it. and at the same time i love to work on my bikes. just like this evening i decided to change the handlepost since it has partial bendings about 2-3 inches away from the end. this bend part is getting in the way of my shifter and incredibell as i shifted them when i put my ergon grips.


The cheapest easiest fastest way forward for you is to install a 60T chainring. It may make enough difference to be OK - it mostly did it for my Birdy (before I got the Schlumpf for it).

i am thinking about this also as i have read someone did this to his tikit. but i do have a shimano 105 53/39T crankset lying around so i wanted to put this on as an upgrade to my stock chainring.


I think the OP would be happy if he focused on a hub that enables him to use the gear in intends to ride 80-90 percent of the time. The high and low range is fine but if he misses the gear he feels most comfortable with, he'll never be happy. .

you're right about this but as it is right now i don;t really know what gearings will give me satisfaction. this is the same reason why i am asking my fellow members if they ever did upgrade their tikit gearings.

thanks guys.

My Birdy which has essentially the same size wheels as the tikit came with 11-32 cogs and 56T ring. That the tikit comes with 53t is frankly puzzling.

quite frankly i am happy with the gearings. it's just that i wanted to have the available gears i can have in case i need it. and at the same time i love to work on my bikes.

Aha! It's clear to me now. It's not just a gearing decision.

You want to tinker. That's a secondary sympton of folderitis... And it sounds like you really want a internal hub. So, why not go for it. Build a separate wheel with an IGH. Swap back and forth as desired.

Aha! It's clear to me now. It's not just a gearing decision.

You want to tinker. That's a secondary sympton of folderitis... And it sounds like you really want a internal hub. So, why not go for it. Build a separate wheel with an IGH. Swap back and forth as desired.

to the dot. You got it right. I will still get it and will pm you. Thanks sesamecrunch...

I like tinkering with my bikes as well, but my Tikit is the least modified bike I own simply because it works so well out of the box. I'm getting close to having worn out the drivetrain after 3 years of riding so I'll probably be swapping in a new cassette, ring and chain plus so new tires by the end of the year. I'll probably leave the Tikit alone for another 3 years after that...:)

I like tinkering with my bikes as well, but my Tikit is the least modified bike I own simply because it works so well out of the box. I'm getting close to having worn out the drivetrain after 3 years of riding so I'll probably be swapping in a new cassette, ring and chain plus so new tires by the end of the year. I'll probably leave the Tikit alone for another 3 years after that...:)

i had that feeling also. it's one of the bikes that i bought that is true to a real/standard bike. but it's the only bike i have at the moment that i can work on and everytime i see it i wanted to change or upgrade something. like what sesamec mentioned - it's this folderitis thing. i have a flat handlebar lying around and been holding off installing it on my tikit. well last night i got nothing to do after an early dinner so i grabbed my extra handlebar, chopped off about an inch on both sides (tikit has a shorter lenght handlebar than the standard one) and put it on my tikit. after that i had this feeling of satisfaction. on to my next upgrade....

so what cassette are you thinking of putting on your tikit ? is is your tikit2ride ?

so what cassette are you thinking of putting on your tikit ? is is your tikit2ride ?

I'll dig through my spares bin and see what 8 speed cassette I have that will work with my existing derailleur. I don't need a lower gear or more gear range so it's not that important to me.