vik 

I was on a road trip with my Bike Friday NWT lately and it got me inspired to collect all my NWT porn and put it into an easy to find Fickr set....here.

If you have any sweet photos of your Bike Friday NWTs or other Bike Fridays post them in this thread so we can all enjoy....



I like this one because it was my first encounter with my NWT.



Zebra camo...



Nexus 8...



Look at the slush on the road... Just 'cause it's a pretty bike doesn't mean I don't ride it...

ddez

BF is getting popular around here. Ive seen 5-6 different ones up here this summer. More than i've seen of any other one brand. Velocity is going to be the dealer for them. Shame cause then a person will probably not be able to deal direct any more,which is always better with custom orders. And they are a roadie store so it will be money maker only i suspect,with no real care involved.
Mind you i order Brompton stuff from UK stores as Brompton dealer here is too slow ordering bits and pieces as he waits till he puts in order for months sometimes. That may change as he's starting to sell quite a few. So maybe times are changing for folders around here too.

wahoonc

That bike of Vik's is going to get me in trouble...sooner rather than later! I have that "zebra camo" picture set as my current desktop background. I am going to get a NWT with an IGH...just a matter of finances and timing. I am dragging my feet in hopes that the Alfine 11 speed proves to be a great hub.

Aaron

vik 

Aaron....I'm hopeful the Alfine 11 will be a good IGH, but I wouldn't wait for one to order a bike. The release date is supposed to be late 2010 which could end up being sometime in 2011. I also think it would be smart to wait at least 6 months for problems to surface and Shimano to resolve any issues with the first couple production runs. So that means likely a 2012 purchase for me.

In the meantime you could be riding a sweet NWT and getting it setup perfectly. You could start with a Alfine 8 and a dual chainring or a 3 x8 derailleur setup then swap in an Alfine 11 when the time is right.

Glad I could help lure you to the darkside! You'll be happy...my NWT puts a smile on my face every time I ride it...

I would definitely recomment running 406 GS Scorchers...

wahoonc

Thanks Vic...

I probably will run the Alfine 8 with a single front. I also will stick with Scwalbe Marathons, I know they don't roll quite as fast. But I am a big guy (188cm and 97.5kg/6'-2" and 215#) and ride on some seriously crappy roads. We don't have bottle deposits in my area, so on weekends all the empties seem to end up along the roadsides and in the road, mostly broken. Once I get a bit more money in the bank I will be contacting BF for a price on the build up. I am guessing that I will be in around the $2200 range, with what I want, plus I plan to get the suitcase/trailer combo too.

I know better than to buy first out production stuff, that is probably why I have so many Sturmey Archer AW hubs...they are well proven.

Aaron

vik 

If you feel the Scorchers are too fragile try the Marathon Supremes. They roll much better, but they are just as flat resistant. The standard marathons make the bike slow and give it a harsh ride....other than being inexpensive and tough there isn't much to recommend them. If I haven't sold my 406 set...can't recall you can have them for the cost of shipping if you really want 'em!

wahoonc

You sold them....you had them on your blog a while back and I asked I was going to run them on my Twenty.

Aaron

vik 

LOL....glad someone knows what tires I've still got! Your Twenty and your NWT to be didn't do anything bad enough to make you put Marathons on them...lol..just kidding!

martianone

Use my NWT for urban commuting and short trips, set up with a Nexus IGH and drops with J-Tek bar end.

vik 

Very nice...if I was doing it over again I'd get the modular dropouts so I could ditch my chain tensioner and I'd get the folding stem on my NWT...I really like my JTEK IGH shifter as well...great setup on your bike...

martianone

Vic:
Thanks, the NWT is surprisingly comfortable and fun to ride; makes me feel like a kid with a new bike.

lucille

I love my NWT. I even took it to see the Queen!


Well... not really, but I took it to Ottawa, and the Queen was there at the time. Almost the same, right?

wahoonc

What are modular drop outs? I see they allow mounting an IGH without a chain pensioner, anybody got a close up pictures?

Thanks
Aaron

Foldable Two

Here's a picture of me with our Pocket 8's in Burlington, VT along Lake Champlain, last week.

(My NWT is sitting idle in in SoCA at the moment.)

Lou

vik 

Have a read here. I will be getting modular dropouts on all my future Bike Fridays. Gives you total flexibility as to what sort of drivetrain you want to run... Gotta love custom bikes hand built by folks you can call and chat with or better yet go visit!...

wahoonc

Thanks Vic...that makes things a lot more obvious.

When the time comes I may go pick mine up in person, I live on the East Coast, but my daughter is will be back on the West Coast by then so I can claim vacation and come home with another new bike

Aaron

axolotl

Here's my NWT on top of Mont Ventoux in France in late May. I biked up from Sault, the easiest of the 3 approaches.

vik 

Awesome...I'm just watching the TdeF...I would love to be riding in France right now...

mattlavallee

FYI the rear rack is a Tubus Cargo with optional 350 mm stays. I already had the rack for my Surly and didn't feel like dropping another $120 for the BF one. The Tubus is probably stronger but obviously doesn't fold flat. The bike held up very well even though the load (35ish lbs of gear and 210 lbs of me) was probably heavier than optimal for a Pocket Rocket. This trip pretty much convinced me of the benefits of a folder as a touring bike. I'm considering trading in the LHT for a NWT or PL.

vik 

Riding my Bike Friday NWT and my Surly LHT is bizarrely similar in a lot of ways...I sized the NWT based on my LHT so that's not a surprise, but I expected the NWT to feel different...anyways....I love my LHT so having another bike I love in the NWT is a good thing. I have considered getting rid of the LHT since it doesn't fold and I have the NWT, but the LHT and I have history so as long as I have room I'll keep both.

wahoonc

I used to hear the same things you are saying from the guys that bought the customs ones, mostly Pocket Rockets at the time.

Aaron

OldiesONfoldies

Hi Vik,Toying w the idea of fitting the new Alfine 11 spd on my Tikit when it comes into the market. Besides the IGH, what other stuff do I need to make it work? I see you have a tensioner.Al

vik 

You can mount an IGH to a standard Tikit using a chain tensioner...you'll need the hub and shifter...get the hub built into a wheel and the install is pretty straightforward after that.

I'm keen on the 11 spd Alfine, but I don't think we'll see it until late 2010 or early 2011...I'm not interested in buying one of the first ones off the production line as this is a totally different hub than Shimano's previous IGHs. I'm sure they'll do a good job, but I'd like them to see 6 months of production units in the field before I buy one.

OldiesONfoldies

Yeah, wise to wait for Shimano to sort out the kinks. Do I need to get special rear dropouts to fit the Alfine?

vik 

No...they will work with normal vertical dropouts...does your Tikit have modular dropouts? If so it's worth buying the IGH version so you can get away without needing a tensioner. Otherwise replacing the dropouts means having the existing ones cut off and new ones welded on and then the rear end repainted....probably more effort/cost than it's worth.

I don't know about the 11 spd Alfine, but the 8 spd units I've bought come with the correct hardware for vertical dropouts.