TengFeng

i am new to cycling, and i wanted to get a folding bike. Have done some research and wanted to get a birdy, but before that i want to know does folder-able bike using road bike parts?
which mean in the near future i want to upgrade i just look for road bike parts and change?

Sorry if this is a noob question.

bjorke

The better folders, like better bikes in general, use standard parts (mostly).

rhenning

Bike Fridays use all standard bolt on parts. Roger

Paul Braithwait

Xootr Swift uses stock parts with the exception of its seat post and stem riser.

fietsbob

People have made Upgrade substitutes for even some of the Unique Brompton parts ..

things like derailleur mounts for frames that dont have them [Dahon , too]

& a crankset that shifts gears internally rather than pushing the chain sideways.

But yes for derailleur drive train, you can buy a Bike Friday set up with a premium derailleur
group in the 1st place , at as high a price-point as you can afford.

Di2 , no problem.. Alfine 11speed IGH with a Belt drive & disc brakes likewise ..


FWIW over on the BiFriYak Gmail list Rob English ,
designer and framebuiling consultant For them and a builder in his own shop,
is reselling his Silk , a road bike setup .

"Excellent condition, new in spring 2013.
56cm toptube, Purple frame with black fork/stem.
451 20" wheels with IRC Roadlite 28C tires.
Shimano Alfine 11spd rear hub with 60?22 Gates CenterTrack belt drive.
SRAM Rival 170mm crank/BB.
DMR Revolver front hub with Avid BB7 disc brakes.
Versa brake/shift levers.
Custom ultralight stem or adjustable height curved stem.
Thomson Elite seatpost.
Supplied without pedals and saddle, but ...

prathmann

Yes, as mentioned Bike Fridays and a number of other folder models use standard parts with only a few exceptions such as stems and seat posts. But note that the smaller tires would lead to very low gearing if you didn't make any changes to the drive train. Generally more normal gearing is achieved either with a smaller cassette (the Caprio is a 9-26), larger chain rings (my Bike Friday has 60 and 42t rings), and/or an internally geared hub that also accepts a cassette.

ThorUSA

one could argue that point, but yes more stock parts than most.

in general seatpost is much longer and usually thicker, i carry like 9 or so different ones, and others have them too. handleposts are usually make specific but in many cases there are several options as well, like for dahon a short jettream post ..

tires and wheels are small but besides the front hubs on most bikes ( 74 mm) versus 100 mm are also available in all kinds of tastes and money, from a walmart bmx tire to a schwalbe xx ultrmo ( which costs more than some car tires $)

drivetrain shifter saddle handlebar etcetc are mostly standard parts
chainrings are usually bigger than road bikes due to smaller wheels

but again most stuff is pretty normal
best thor

TengFeng

Thx guys. Alot of info. Still abit blur.
But I think birdy parts are hard to find? The weel is small and some parts seem only color plus have?

fietsbob

Yea as Thor says some use a big thick seat post that telescopes down to fold the bike

Brompton does similar, But they also offer a 2 step telescopic, the upper section is a normal type seat post.

Bike Friday also uses a standard seatpost, its lower section is hinged to Fold, forward.

not sure what our ESL writing , OP was wanting to say there.. Yoda ?

Foldable Two

Having owned three Dahons and now four Bike Fridays, I can say that Bike Fridays definitely have more "stock" parts than Dahons. In addition, if I need any BF exclusive parts (and I have needed a couple) the factory is only 120 miles down the road.

Now, I know most BF owners do not have the luxury of having the factory so close by, but you (U.S. based owners) can still call them on an 800 number and have the parts shipped to you PDQ.

Thor appears to be able to provide much of the same service for Dahon parts, but at some point getting parts for older Dahons will not be that easy. For example rhennng can easily get stock or BF specific parts for his '93 Bike Friday - would not figure that situation is as easy for a '93 Dahon.

Lou
(Who, with a 'seat-to-pedal' distance of 39", loves his Bike Fridays!)

schocca

Have a look at the Dahon Jack/Espresso.

The only parts that use specialist elements is the hinge. It also fits 700c wheelsets (which I have on my Espresso with Road drops + Tiagra 2012 + standard road fork).

S.

invisiblehand

Bike Friday swan stems and stem posts are reasonably priced. Obviously far more than a dimension stem, but when I last picked one up it was $100 plus a few dollars more for a removable faceplate.

I read Thor's blip about seat posts. My NWT naturally fits a 28.6 mm seatpost, but it came with a 330 mm 27.2 Thompson seatpost and shim. I'm guessing he is talking about Dahon seatpost ... 40 mm diameter?

smallwheeler

hehe. i think you are definitely right about that.. enjoy these pics of a dahon and a bike friday from 93/94. (NB4 - "you can always buy another dahon for parts.")

smallwheeler

haha. i just saw this post. let me get this straight- you're criticizing someone's writing skills?

fietsbob

Yoda is that You?



If it has a Derailleur .. and it, the bike , folds ,

the Odds of the Bike manufacturer being the maker of that piece , the derailleur itself ,
is quite remote ..

a shorter list is of companies making their own derailleur / sideways chain shover.
One comes to mind is the 2 cog shifting on Brompton's 6 and 2 speed .

there, the pulley, itself is pushed sideways ..


BTW had a Dahon of that era like the blue one to fix in the LBS, last year, .
they used a common cheap steel RD on it

was a bit odd of an install, since the rear fork opens to the rear

Rear axle bolt held it on.

bhkyte

You might also find the upgrading a mezzo thread useful. Most road stuff works but consider the need to gear up due to smaller wheels.

darukhan

To answer your question, yes, a Birdy uses standard components.

For example, here's a beautiful Titanium Birdy with a Campagnolo Record 20 speed group, Chris King parts and barcon shifter (on thumbie mounts).