It's 2020 in the U.S.A. (as, I recognize, it is in the rest of the world). Birdy bikes appear to be few and far between. I had a opportunity to test ride a birdy a couple of time a few years back but didn't buy as I wasn't interested in the R&M versions fender-and-generator-light equipped (heavier) versions that were somewhat readily available my neck of the woods (Portland, Oregon).

My main question is, how might I purchase and obtain a new Birdy GT without traveling to Singapore?

An additional question is, noting that Pacific Cycles online store indicates so many items are "out of stock", is that an indication of future lessening of availability of replacement and upgrade parts?

Depending on where you are, you could try this place in Fremont, CA. They don't seem to carry anything in stock in their rarely open store but they have them on their website.
https://www.mobicbikes.com/collections/birdy

Some people have ordered through Bfold in NYC and had it shipped. I bought mine second hand from someone who had done that and had the bike customized.

An occasional Birdy will show up on ebay or Craigslist. Some new.

Before Covid-19 happened, I had tickets to fly to Singapore. Was hoping to buy the Birdy R20 11spd which was due out in March 2020 and supposed to be in stock in several bike stores there. I was planning on taking the bike for a spin on their bike trails/ paths. There's a big Birdy following there. But that plan is shot to hell now.

You can never have too many good folding bikes. I'm slowly replacing my Terns.

Did you try to buy a bike on the website of Pacific Cycles ? In Europe, it seems to be possible now.

For the several bike models "out of stock' these are mainly previous year models/colors.

If you contact Max Yeh at Pacific Cycles directly, he will work with you. As I understand it from my email exchanges with him, they can ship directly to the US. I have not tried it because they sell at full retail. At least some dealers will work a deal with you, if you can actually get to them in this "new normal".

The Birdy IP owner is Riese und Müller.

There is an agreement between R&M and Pacific Cycles to share the worldwide market.

R&M has the exclusivity in several countries for instance most European countries. Pacific Cycles sells in other countries like many Asiatic countries.

Some people in Europe asked Max to buy some Pacific Cycles Birdy models and he refused because these people were located in and the bike had to be shipped to countries were R&M was selling their own models of Birdy.

But things seems to change.

I could buy directly from Max my titanium Birdy.

I see that some Birdy dealer in Germany now have the e-Birdy from Pacific Cycles on their website besides the R&M models (I am very astonished by this because I was expecting that R&M focusing now on eBike would propose their own new e-Birdy).

And the online shop from Pacific Cycles seems to allow to buy Birdy bikes when the customer is in Europe.

I had thought that Pacific Cycles, by the terms of their agreement with R&M, was prohibited from shipping to the US. I will check that out. Thank you!

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As you suggested, "things change". I think it's worth the effort to try again. It's unfortunate that the interest in Birdy in the US seems to be so limited. I know of two bike shops in Portland Oregon that were venders. One managed to sell one or two before apparently giving up. The other carried the line for two years but managed to sell not a one.

I'd forgotten about Mobic. Strange store in that they don't seem to have much inventory for sale online and have little presence in their store. I will give them a call.

I suggest reaching out to Mobic and Bfold. See how they compare and what models they can actually get you. Then try Max Yeh and see what he can do. The shipping and custom duties could be problematic. The person I bought my bike from had ordered it from Bfold. He bought a standard 9 speed but had it modified to a mtb 10 speed and changed the stem to the one used on a GT and had Jackblack tires installed. Not sure why he didn't just get a GT.

I checked out St. Kildas in Australia and they have really good sale prices but do not ship to the US.
The Birdy seems popular everywhere else but in the US. Which I don't get. Maybe it's the price point.

I check out the Global Birdy Community on Facebook and everyone seems to be very excited about the new R20 11spd. So the older 11spds are going on sale.

As said, why not just try to buy it online on the new Pacific Cycles online store ?

Shipment is not an issue, it works.

Now of course, buying from Taiwan add extra costs: shipment price is relatively high (but not huge: I paid 200USD for the shipment with UPS of my Ti Birdy from Taiwan to Europe with an insurance for the price of the bike = 6500USD, it took 4 days in total to be delivered) and there will probably be taxes to pay.

But the R&M Birdy models are very expensive, more expensive than the Pacific Cycles models so the total price with shipment and taxes might be competitive.

The price of the R&M Birdy is I guess one of the reason for the lack of commercial success of the Birdy.

The R&M Birdy models are all much more expensive than most Brompton models, Brompton is very popular (and is an excellent folding bike with a lot of advantages) and Brompton has a big dealer network. Its difficult for the Birdy to compete against Brompton for high end folding bikes and for low end, there are many options that cannot compete technically but are much cheaper.

Link to the Pacific Cycles online store:
https://store.pacific-cycles.com/Index.aspx

The R20 11spd is listed as USD $2,800 and only has two colors.

If you check out this store in Singapore- The mighty Vello, the same bike is listed as SGD $3,329 which is about USD $2,356. They used to throw in some freebies but looks like they stopped that promotional sale. https://www.mightyvelo.com/birdy-r20-11sp/
They have more color choices.

Mightyvelo price for the R20 is a sale price (probably because Singapore is locked down due to covid19), normal price is about 2600USD not so far from the Pacific Cycles webshop price on which all products are at list price.

Tried to buy some components from Mightyvelo, shipment to Europe is incredibly expensive, E-walker also in Singapore has much lower shipment prices. The R20 is not on their webshop but I guess they have it too.

I expect David from bfold.com would match any deals on imported bikes. He is a great guy and excellent resource for a buyer.

Thanks
Yan

I recall Pacific Cycles screwed over their USA rep. The bike industry is small, I imagine they will have a hard time growing & finding a new rep.

Thanks
Yan

Thanks for the suggestion. I've already initiated contact with him. That appears to solve my most most critical concern. Now, because I tend to be detail oriented, I need to review the very loooong Birdy thread on this site... and then order together with a small collection of spare parts. :-)

I'm curious: in what way did Pacific Cycles screw over the US rep?

I heard some stuff a long time ago.... don't remember the details. I do recall he was active in the folding bike community. I met him in Philly twice.

I recall he brought them back to the USA after a long hiatus. I believe he was distributing them for 10+ years. These relationships normally don't end.

Thanks
Yan

Thanks. That is a shame. The bike "deserves" to be better represented (marketed and serviced) in the US.

Hey mkatz,

looking to sell my birdy III with rohloff hub, if interested. You can contact me for details on the birdy, thanks. I am not able to send private messages as i am a “newbie”

Reviving this thread to learn about people's latest experiences with buying a Birdy ideally here in the US. I'm specially fond of the classic frame look.

Mobic seems to have the Pacific Cycles Birdy R11 20SP in stock ?

Thanks for the heads up, I wasn't aware of that site!