Bike Friday- Pocket Llama
 

I wish I didn't get the BF catalog now :( because I want a Pocket Llama. There is a BF dealer in the same town I visit for the holidays in Kentucky. Looks like a 5th bike is in my future.

Enjoy! I had a NWT for several years - the PL's brother. They are both fine bikes....:thumb:

yes that's cool. i just bought a used pocket llama. i'm psyched!

Did you get the fixed gear off of Ebay?

What? there is a hinge axis between the BB and the rear wheel , fixie-ing one is Dumb.

I have about a year of use of my P Llama, It was built Heavy Rider frame,
so I have a triangle main frame, making locking the bike simpler than the single,
large oval tube ..

With BB7 Disc Brakes ! they are 160's,

given small wheels maybe a 140 would be fine..

no, i got it from craigslist. but, i know the one you are referring to- a beauty...

would you be so kind as to post a pic of your bike? i would love to see a triangle frame llama!

There was a nice fixed gear with quality parts that had a buy it now $680 and it sold rather quickly.

Go to their, BiFri's,Website, they use the same jigs as to build the front
of their Tandems and Triples..
http://bikefriday.com/bicycles/tandem

Tikit and the prototype Silk, are more suitable to Fixies,
the Travel bikes PLlama and NWT, make No provision to pull the chain tight.

This is my Pocket Rocket the second one produced. I bought it from BF used in 1994 and still own and ride it. At the time all BFs were twin tube frames. According to Alan BF couldn't get a large enough tube to make a single tube bike that was strong enough. Roger

My Friend Peter has an Earlier Bike too , used relatively small Diameter tube.
compared to Mine..

but of course, size matters, (and decades in business)

now the company has a Tube Mill ship materials to their specification..


Cables on the lower of 2 tubes don't have to do the J bend routing either.

Bike Friday- Pocket Llama
 

I'm glad you all like yours, I plan to research and test one since its a pricey commitment.

Of all my folders, my four Bike Fridays are my favorites. I'm starting to get less psyched on my Dahons. My Brompton is too new for me to have formed much of an opinion yet. Love the brommie fold & engineering but the rather tall gearing is definitely something I'll have to play with.

Don

I count a minimum of 7 folders. How many do you have? And what are they?

Cheers,
Charles

BF: 2 Pocket Rockets, 1 Air Glide, 1 New World Tourist

Dahon: Speed Pro TT, old Quaker State promotional (70's?)

Brompton: M3L

Edit: Had a Giant Halfway but sold it last year. Heavy & too many unintentional wheelies - you're riding almost directly over the back wheel. I never got over that.

Don

You guys should come off a few of those folders! :)

Seems excessive, doesn't it? Yet getting them was all quite reasonable. Started with one Bike Friday and it took off from there.

I'd like to sell the Dahons (just not jelling with the Speed Pro TT as much as I thought it would, and the Quaker State one is clumsy and ancient by today's standards) and maybe the BF NWT.

But the experience of having owned and ridden them in all kinds of configurations and situations has taught me oodles about what I want from a folder and what I don't. There's no way to adequately learn about a folder on paper; gotta get one, ride it and learn from it.

Edit: To the person who emailed about buying the NWT (that was fast!), I can't PM as I don't have 50 posts yet. But it's a big 'un (best if you're over 6') and I'd like to sell the Dahons first anyway, so it's just a possibility at this point.

Don

I'd be interested in a Dahon just depends what ya have and price.

Didn't realize mentioning that I was thinking of thinning the herd would stir up all kinds of interest - not my intent. I still don't have the requisite 50 posts to be able to PM, and anyway, if I really wanted to sell something on this forum, don't want to subvert the rules by "selling" something on a discussion board. Thanks for your interest, though.

Don

^^Haha, you nearly lost your bikes in a hurry, Bargainguy! That`s funny, getting two bites without even meaning to "drop your line"! Well, I hope it means you won`t have any trouble when you do decide to put them up for sale :)

I`m pretty sure there`s another triangluated Llama posted in the "preloved" section on the BF website.

Testing is a good plan! I wouldn`t recomend buying one without riding another Friday first, at least from the same general style. Probably a good idea to call the dealer you`re planning to visit before going and make sure there`s something similar in stock- first time I decided to test ride one I drove about 2.5 hours to find that they only had one Friday and it was vastly different from what I was looking for. Since you have your sights set on a Llama, you could get a reasonably good idea of the handling by riding a similarly sized NWT or Crusoe. Pocket Rocket has slightly bigger wheels, but I would think the feel would be similar- hopefully somebody else will confirm or deny that. The Tikit is completely different. And if you can`t find a suitable test model at a dealership, go ahead and email the company. They`ll try to find somebody close to you who`s willing to let you ride one. That`s how I finally got my test ride.

Here`s a great article about Fridays, including some very useful information that could help with spec`ing your build:
http://washingtonwheelman.blogspot.c...ke-friday.html
The guy who wrote it often posts here, but damnged if I can remember his name!

And my Pocket Llama review on another site:
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/revie...1&nested=0&v=U

ah come on bro. let's see some pics of your triangle frame pocket llama.

I always knew the dual-downtube/triangular fridays as diamond frame fridays. In fact, my very first BF - a very early Sport 14 model that had languished as a demo for ages at a LBS - was one such early model. Didn't fit right, though, so traded it back to its parents for my first pocket rocket.

Don

i really like those frames. the geometry is great, making the frames super strong. and they look cool too :D

I don't think that's the problem - as don't they have sliding dropout options now? Which are available independent of the model type, that allow for discs, tunable chainlength, rohloff, etc.

I think the fixing problem [on the PL and NWT] is that the chainline is brought through a larger radius as the wheel is folded, which makes it not possible to have a fixed gear, and then fold the bike.