Bike Forums - Should I buy this Tikit?

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… at a ridiculously expensive price.

How much does the original Brompton triangle cost? £100? I'm sure a company in Taiwan/China could provide a 135mm alternative for even less.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winfried (Post 21665266)

… at a ridiculously expensive price.

How much does the original Brompton triangle cost? £100? I'm sure a company in Taiwan/China could provide a 135mm alternative for even less.

This is the price for the triangle and an internal gear hub wheel.

The triangle alone is cheaper Kinetics stainless steel rear triangle

The steel rear triangle from Brompton cost about 150GBP but its normal steel while the one of Kinetics is stainless steel.

Let's see how much it'd cost from a company in Taiwan/China.

Quote:

Originally Posted by driftwork (Post 21662040)

I'll be looking at a 6 speed Brompton instead.

Since you're in Taiwain, take a look at the seven-speed MIT Cycle PRO-BP01, just to assure yourself you're making a great decision on that Brompton six-speed.

Not a very smart move to fold the front wheel on the other side, and leave the chain exposed.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3aec95473b.png
https://www.mitcycle.com/productdetail_en.php?id=77

Quote:

Originally Posted by driftwork (Post 21663193)

I live in one of the epicenters of high end bicycle manufacturering in the world (Taichung City) so finding resources to fix what might need fixing isn't so much of a big deal. After some research though.. it really seems like BF is going through some tough times and it's hard to see where they will be in a year. That plus the email I received from their support department really does not inspire confidence.

I've owned three Tikits from three different eras (still have two, I just gave one to a friend because I didn't need three) so I feel qualified to weigh in about the ease of repairing a Tikit with or without BF's legendary support. Totally agree with other posters that the Tikit doesn't have much in the way of proprietary parts. There is nothing in the seat mast that is proprietary. The seat mast itself is of an unusual shape I guess, but it's entirely made of mild steel and could be repaired without any specialized tooling. Same for the fork. If the pacman broke, you might need to talk to a machinist but it definitely doesn't seem like a difficult thing to fabricate.

Now if you're talking about fabricating parts for a Tikit de novo, I agree that would be more challenging and my understanding is that BF no longer has some of the jigs that were used to assemble Tikits. But if the expectation is that a used Tikit will be a repairable workhorse, I see no reason that it can't be maintained and loved for decades to come.