Are you buying from that German site? What kind of price can you get locally for a birdy speed (non-disc)? In the US retails seems to be around $3000:crash:

I'm the second owner of a Birdy yellow and I have some questions that I can't seem to clearly find answers to online, so I hope you Birdy pundits can school me on this!

1) Was the Birdy Yellow only available in 2005?
2) I have the adjustable comfort stem... how many degrees is this stem? Is the angle 6 degrees?
3) Is the "Fixed Sport" stem (NON-adjustable) still available anywhere?

Oh... by the way, I really need to get some good pics of my Birdy this weekend, as I have been modifying it over the past few months.

One notable modification....
I have completely modified the stem hinge because the holes where the hinge pins were seated had become worn out and "stretched" from years of abuse due to what appeared to be an improperly adjusted hing bolt! My stem was incredibly wobbly due to the hinge pins being able to "wiggle" in the holes a bit! Kind of scary when riding at times! I'll get detailed pics of my stock hinge reconstruction/modifications. It's VERY stable now and easier to fold too!

Apparently, the Shimano Capreo adds a 34T: Can I just replace the 8 speed cassette on my World Speed with an 8-speed Capreo just to replace the last sprocket from 30 to 34, or can I replace the whole cassette with that 9-speed Capreo?

Same price from the local retailer for a Speed V-brakes: €2.250 -> $3.000.

As an alternative to selling my World Speed and buying a (Touring | Speed) disc, what simple and recommended changes could I make to the gearing system, and it is possible to replace the V-brakes with discs?

I don't believe you can put a Capreo cassette on your existing hub. Because the Capreo 9-tooth cog is so small, they turned that smallest cog into the lock ring. The hub is correspondingly shorter than the regular hub.

One gearing option is to fit a double or triple crank up front. Thor USA sells the necessary adapter: http://www.thorusa.com/accessories/special.htm

Has anyone here had any experience in pushing their Birdy to the limit? Like going for a semi-heavy off-riding? or like a wheelie that Stijn Deferm did, or some crazy snow-biking? Share us your setup/upgrades/maintenance to keep your bikes still in full-working order. I know in Japan, which I think the Birdy capital, got some "cool" setups for cosmetics only. But I haven't seen a full-geared heavy-duty Birdy bike setup.

Thanks for the tip.

Does anyone have any info relate to my questions quoted above?

Is this doable on a birdy or not advisable?

How's your Bunny Hop Skills?

Hmmm... Was BMXing 15 years ago, planning to hop on a bike again, and Birdy got my attention. Will mainly use it for commuting. Just curious if it can handle that kind of riding: (standing/bunny hop) just like on the vid. I won't overdo it though, will do it occasionally. Promise... :D

Well a film shoot is short term use .. YMMV, long term as regular treatment, IDK .

There was a Stunt Video, using a Brompton.. a couple months ago, reposted a few times ..

Yeah, saw that Brompton crazy stunts. I guess the question is, will a Birdy withstand my "occasional" style of riding (standing/small bunny hop).

What kind of additional setup needed to make it achievable? When I say occasional, that would be like once every 20-30 rides.

Easy question to ask .. design your own study to answer it , now..

Well, that's not really helpful isn't it?

be very patient then .. not many BMX on their Birdy , to do theStress analysis for You.

and they, if they do, may be on a German language site.

Yeah, will check that out. Thanks :)

decyph3r...


I find it very easy to pop a wheelie on my Birdy; however, I haven't dared to ride a wheelie for any distance.


On my daily commute in Chicago, there are 3 bridge sections on a street over the Chicago River that has very uneven pavement (where the bridge sections are suppose to line up).
When I used to have the stock 18 inch wheels with stock Birdy Matrix tires, stock Velo seat and stock suspension, I wouldn't hesitate to float over those bridge sections at full speed while siting down even!
But now, I have 20 inch wheels with thin high pressure Kojak tires, tightened up suspension and a harder road seat. So, with the new (faster and lighter) setup, when I go over those bridge sections, I'm off the seat and I kinda do a bunny hop... not a full on bunny hop, but just enough to get the front wheel off the road and then have very little weight on the rear wheel when it rolls over those sections.


All that said, I've never tried a full on, proper (both wheels off the ground) bunny hop on my Birdy though. I'm a hefty guy (6 foot tall and just over 200 pounds!) so I don't want to press my luck too far! ;)

Standing while riding is no problem at all on my Birdy since I switched to 20 inch wheels and firmed up the suspension. In fact, I really enjoy sprinting on this bike... mashing the pedals from light to light on my morning city commutes. So much better than a cup of coffee! :)

Hi darukhan, thanks for these info. So you're saying you were able to fit a 20 inch wheels on your birdy? This is not the "Rhine Birdy" isn't it?

Nope... this is a 100% authentic R&M Birdy Yellow. There are a few (very few) threads here on BikeForums about putting 20 inch wheels on a Birdy.

I also noticed that you posted a similar message to the Birdy Yahoo Group. In that Yahoo Group, you'll also find information about 20 inch wheels on a Birdy if you do some searches.

(Hopefully this weekend) I will post up a thread about the mods I've done to my Birdy bike. Up-sizing to 20 inch wheels allowed me to learn a lot about my Birdy and how the new, older, and VERY old models of the Birdy differ.

Besides buying new wheels, to up-size from 18 to 20 inches, the other immediate adjustment you will need to make are brake adjustments in the front and rear. There are adapters you can buy that allow you to use regulat V brakes, however, there are some v brakes that do not require an adapter (but can be too costly to some... like me!).

I'm at work right now, so I can't get into too much detail, but I'll be sure to post up a thread this weekend detailing my Birdy modifications.

Really, all along I thought 20 inches are not possible for Birdys! Looking forward to that post! Thanks again!

I have a quick Birdy question that I'll just dump into this thread.

I was talking recently with a bike shop employee about Birdy's. This shop used to carry them, doesn't any longer. I mentioned that I was still very keen to test ride a Birdy using the sport stem, but that I'd have to make a trip to New York to do so. The person replied: "But you realize that the Birdy you'd get in America is nothing like the one that you'd get if you bought one in Germany." She was implying that there's a difference in build quality, and that the bikes are being made in different locations, at different quality levels.

Is there any truth to that? I thought they had always been made by Pacific, in the far east, and still are being made by them there. She's exclusively in the Tern/Brompton business now, by the way, so she might have a vested interest in stamping out my Birdy curiosity.

Afaik the birdie specifications alters from country to country, not the build quality of birdie parts. Ie frame forks seatpost.

You get ,say suntour parts in one counry, and shimano in another and different pricing structures therefore also.

Anyone tried using the "'Sky shock" suspension on their birdy? How's the performance? How is it compared to elastomers? Any advantage/disadvantage? I know there is an old thread for that. I just want to know if there are any others who are still using air suspension on their birdy.

(Forgive me if these videos have been posted already...) I found some videos on YouTube of Birdy bike being built at the Pacific Cycles factory:

Hello

I'd like to replace the stock R&M saddle that comes with the World Speed for something more comfortable for long trips.

If someone's done this, what would you recommend?

Thank you.

I would HIGHLY recommend that you try out various saddles at your local bike shop. Everyones' sit-bones are different and a saddle that works great for one person might be a total nightmare for another person.

However, there's an exception to this.... full leather saddles (like Brooks and Selle Anatomica) will break-in to fit the rider's sit-bones for an exact fit, which leads to an extremely comfortable saddle for long trips!

The only things I don't like about Brooks and Selle Anatomica are price and weight.

Check them out:

BROOKS: http://www.brooksengland.com/
SELLE ANATOMICA: http://www.selleanatomica.com/

Also... do you typically wear cycling pants with (gel or chamois) padded inserts?

Thanks. I don't wear cycling pants. I'll check out those models from Brooks and Sella Anatomica.

I'm not sure if the Skyshock suspension is available anymore?

There are other aftermarket suspension systems for the Birdy that are currently available (and maybe more than these that I'm unaware of):

Colorplus (O-DOT Design)...

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2580/4...569_z.jpg?zz=1

http://photo.biketo.com/d/file/produ...cd1e5b4aaa.jpg

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2634/4...e1ed250ed6.jpg



Multi-S...

http://www.thecyclopedia.com/resourc...-sus-specs.jpg

http://www.thecyclopedia.com/resourc...-sus-specs.jpg

Went by the retailer where I bought the World Sport, and they can replace the original setup with a 3 speed Dual Drive, so I'll end up with a 3x8 configuration, for €300/$400. I wish I had the skills to do this myself, but it's still cheaper than getting either a Touring, or jump ship and go for a fast Dahon/Tern.

Speaking of witch, I'm having a problem changing gears, where gearing down from 8 (1st smallest cog) to 7, or from 7 to 6 doesn't work and I have to shift down one more gear to actually change gears: Could this indexing problem be due to the Shimano RD-2300 derailleur, the Shimano Tourney shifter, the (brand new) cable between the two parts, or maybe all of the above?

If that derailleur is very cheap, I might's well upgrade... in which case what would you recommend that would be compatible with the SRAM Dual Drive?

Thank you.