Clownbike

Greetings -

Is there any way to find out just what Birdy accessories and parts are official OEM products?

I've been trying to find sources for the wheeled Expedition rack as mentioned in this article at Folding Society:https://www.foldsoc.co.uk/birdy/birdylight.html, and seems to be shown on this Japanese site:https://www.cycleshibuya.com/opt/opt_bd1img/bdrcc3.html

I'm also looking for these fenders:https://www.cycleshibuya.com/opt/opt_bd1img/bd-doro.html

Neither of these items are available through the US distributor, who has stated they are aftermarket items. As the FS article gives the German name for the rack, it would seem to be an R&M product.

As R&M's site is no longer in English, it's difficult trying to navigate. I have hit just about everything, but could find absolutely no references to accessories or parts. I'm hoping someone here would be able to point me in the right direction in regards to finding out what accessories and parts for the Birdy are sold by R&M as OEM.

Thanks

matt52

Check out the Kinetics website, or give them a ring. They stock pretty much everything Birdy - see https://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/accessories.shtml

Clownbike

Thanks for the tip.

I've checked them out, and they do have the stuff. However, due to the dollar situation it will probably be cheaper to get what I need from Tokyo.

What I've been hoping to find out is what exactly are the official R&M distributed accessories as opposed to aftermarket. Their site used to be in English, but they've done away with that for some reason. I clicked on just about every link on their site but found nothing on accessories. Maybe aftermarket is all that's available.

pm124

The best place to ask for an official list is https://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/birdybike/

I don't see much improvement in the R&M website. Not sure why they changed. A complete list of Birdy mods can be found here: https://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl...%3Den%26sa%3DX

There are lots of crazy touring stories on that site as well that are fun to check out while you are at it.

IWantToGoFaster

The Expedition Rack seems to have been changed slightly for this year and has one wheel on the rack and the other on top of the rear mudguard. Looks a little odd and it roles sideways, so a bigger profile than a Brompton, but theoretically far more stable.

I'll post a photo later.

IWantToGoFaster

Here's the Exped rack

Clownbike

Thanks for the pic. Have a better idea now, but still have a hard time picturing how it looks while being towed and at rest. Nothing like German engineering.

The Japanese version is a bit simpler and seems like it would work better with turnstiles and such.

Clownbike

Actually, I just crunched the numbers and it would actually run less to get these from Kinetics, minus the shipping.

I'm sill wondering how the R&M setup works in regards to pulling it and whether it is self supporting at rest.

The Japanese version works with the rear not folded and the R&M seems to work folded, which means that for turnstiles you would just have to pick it up and over to go through. With the Japanese version you could just pull it through, but then you would have to fold the rear to get on the train as there's usually little room for folding once boarded.

That seems to be a photo of your setup. Have you had much experience using the wheels? Any chance of a photo of it folded? And lastly, what's your impression of the wheels in regards to sturdiness? Bumping up and down steps at the stations can beat the heck out of anything.

Sorry to be such a pest, but there's just no detailed information out there let alone pictures. And no one has these accessories in the US.

Thanks in advance.

pm124

Where are you, Clownbike? In the US, Black Dog is the best place to get Birdy bits. They might be able to order anything that is available in Europe.

I also noticed that Yeah Bikes is selling Birdies on eBay at blowout prices.

Finally, Invisiblehand on this forum has posted pics of handmade skateboard wheel-based contraptions.

IWantToGoFaster

Not great quality I'm afraid but hopefully it gives you an idea. The bike rolls along its longest axis, which is pretty stable and smooth and feels far less likely to tip over than were both wheels on the rack. I haven't tried it at a run but I'd bet it would be better than most.

I wouldn't bump anything up and down stairs. Can't imagine anything lasting long with that sort of treatment.

Hope this helps.

Clownbike

IWTGF -

Thanks! That clears things up nicely. Does it look like you could replace the wheels with inline skate wheels?

pm124-

I'm in Northern California and have talked to the folks at Black Dog, but as a US dealer they are pretty much locked into acquiring stock from Rad-Innovations, who seem to be locked into getting their stuff from Pacific Cycles, who don't manufacture the wheeled fenders and rack. As you can't get the non-wheeled version of the OEM fenders here either, I'm wondering if Pacific even makes the ones available in Japan.

I now have an inquiry with David Black at R-I to see if the US version of the Expedition rack has the mounting point for the jockey wheel. If not, I'll just pick everything up from Kinetics. I'm also hoping they have an alloy version of the chain ring guard.

I've never had so much trouble purchasing a product that I know exists, let alone even finding information on it. This is a strange industry.