Speedo

The friction of my credit card being whipped out of my wallet set the magnetic strip on fire.

It is a good deal. I'm very tempted.

Speedo

pxboii

ok, my visa is out of my wallet but I still can't decide between birdy classic. https://birdy.yeahbike.com/alivio8.html
or model T. Both are within my price range. If BF didn't have this deal I would swing towards the birdy. The easy folding of the T is unbeatable but Birdy is a refine machine after many years on the market. Has anyone tried both of them?

vik 

Compared to my Dahon Speed D7 and my other full size bikes the Tikit seems like a pretty refined product - I have the new hinge/cable assembly. How it folds is impressive and how it rides is very nice. I'm not uber familiar with Birdy's, but one thing I really like about the Tikit is being able to get it in different top tub lengths. It fits like a full size bike which for me at 6' is a nice thing.

One thing to consider is that BF seems to be putting a lot of energy into the Tikit at the moment and it looks like it will be one of their flagship products for the foreseeable future. That means lots of support, lots of innovation and lots of accessories/upgrades. You'll also get a bike made in Oregon and be able to call and talk to someone about your bike toll free anytime you need help, have a comment or question. Just look at the Dahon customer service thread for why avoiding the distributor/dealer model might not be a bad thing and going straight to the manufacturer for your bike.

I do find the Birdy design quite intriguing. I'd like to test ride one, but that doesn't seem likely.

energyandair

I have a Birdy and really like it. I've only seen the Tikit on the web so I can be sure how I would feel on one.

I see the advantages of the Birdy as follows.

- Full suspension designed for road use and with antidive geometry. On the road, its nothing like riding my FS mountain bike. To me it feels more like a rigid frame but without the bumps and vibration

- Light weight

- Compact fold

- A design proven and refined over many years

- Able to handle relatively heavy riders in standard form

- It seems to comfortably accomodate a huge range of rider size (I'm 6'2" with long legs). It may be that the availability of stem risers with two different angles achieves a similar effect to having different horizontal tube lengths available but avoids increasing the folded size.

I'd love to try a Tikit but I think I'd still choose a Birdy.

David

pm124

Yes. The Birdy rides much better. Feels more like a full sized bike. It's less squirmy.

The Tikit I rode was the first model out, so take it with a grain of salt. It folded much more quickly and reliably. But the folded package was significantly larger, the ride was harsh and squirmy, and the bike was slower and heavier (subjectively).

The Birdy, by comparison, is a dream to ride. It is great for touring and I've used it for fast group rides, centuries, etc. But it occasionally gives you grief when you fold it. It takes about 10-20 folds to get it down. It takes more to get the fold down to 10 seconds. If you are not careful to catch the chain, it can fall off the bike. I throw it on the roof of Thai busses for 4 hour drives and something inevitably gets rattled enough to cause difficulty unfolding. Nothing worse than a curse and some dirty fingers.

If you are a performance rider, you'll need to upgrade the seat and tires on either bike. So there is an added cost.

pm124

Oh, and another caveat on that comparison is that my Birdy is heavily modified. I'm not sure what the actual weight difference is between the two.