CEBEP

My R&M Birdy Touring came with mudguards so I can’t really recommend an alternative. Maybe some other member could.

hwoha

Ah I see. No problem, thanks once again.

Jipe

The original mudguards are excellent and specific for he Birdy (for instance the rear mudguard thick aluminum stay is also used as lower mounting point for rear pannier). So I recommend to use those (the same ones are sold by Riese & Müller and Pacific Cycles).

hwoha

Hi Jipe

Thanks for sharing this info.

gamemecom

Have a good day!
Looking to buy Anplus ezwheel/easy wheels and Birdy Lowrider Front Rack.
Who can help with the purchase, please write in pm
Thanks a lot

ehasbrouck

Rear rack for first-generation Birdy

I have a first-generation Birdy which doesn't have the mounting points that were added on the second-generation model for front (lowrider) and rear pannier racks.

I recently came across an "M-Wave One-4-All" rack for ~US$20. I was able to mount it as a rear rack on my Birdy without additional hardware. I needed to replace a couple of the provided bolts with longer ones from my parts bin, but only because my Birdy was already fitted with front and rear fenders/mudguards, and I needed the extra bolt length to go through the fender stays, rack stays, and frame. Once i had everything worked out, I cut the stays at the front of the rear rack to length with a hacksaw, and smoothed the end with a grinder, to save a little weight and make the fit cleaner. But I could have gotten by without cutting the stays if I had bent them to avoid interference with the top crossbars of the rack.

The "M-Wave One-4-All" is solidly made and rated for up to 25 kg / 55 lbs. It's heavy, but some of the weight of the package is extra mounting hardware that wasn't needed on my Birdy, and a set of angle braces (that make the rack into a rigid triangle that you might choose to leave off, depending on how much weight you plan to carry.

With the rack installed, the Birdy doesn't fold quite as small as without it, but it does still fold in the normal manner, and stands securely on the rack when folded. The rack sits level and high enough to hold two full-sized Ortlieb rear panniers without the panniers dragging on the ground. The rear derailleur hangs closer to the ground than the panniers.

Assembly and mounting was a bit tedious, but not per se difficult. I had lots of nuts, bolts, and fittings left over when I was done. The photos of the assembled rack on the package and online were more helpful than the written directions. There are a lot of bolts, sliders, and adjustments to accommodate a range of mounting methods and wheel sides for 20-29". Yes, the Birdy wheels are less than 20", but it still fits OK, with the rack sitting level and above the rear fenders/mudguards. The "M-Wave One-4-All" is *not* a quick-release or "folding" rack, but by pulling a few bolts (and removing the side stays, if you have installed those), it could be folded flat for shipping, if that would reduce the size of the baggage to satisfy e.g. airline checked-baggage size limits.

What appears to be the same model is sold under several brand names including by Amazon, Home Depot, and Walmart.

Your mileage may vary, but hopefully this may help others struggling, as I was, to find a suitable rear pannier rack for a Gen-1 Birdy.

Now if I could just find a way to fit *front* lowrider racks without drilling into the frame...

hwoha

Hi all,

I have finally bought my mudguards. However, I have trouble removing the rear wheel during the installation. I have removed the hexagonal nut on the rear wheel (sorry I haven't garnered enough post counts to post an image file). Then I tried to lift the bike up and pulled back the derailleur, but the rear wheel just don't come out.
I tried to google for tutorial videos but couldn't find any such videos for birdy bikes. The R&S manual also does not provide clear details/instructions about removing the wheels.

Appreciate it if anyone here can help out / advise (if possible, a pictorial or video guide would be much appreciated ).
PS: My bike is a Birdy Touring Plus.

CEBEP

Maybe this will help, it’s not a tutorial though.

hwoha

Thanks CEBEP. I have seen that video before but I still cant figure out how to take rear wheel as it skipped the part showing loosening of the hexagonal nut and/or the release mechanism.

CEBEP

Would you consider taking it to the nearest bike shop and ask them to help/show you how to remove it?

CEBEP

I wander of anyone upgraded the handlebar? I’m happy with width but am thinking about a higher back-sweep angle. I am very happy with my Joseph Kuosac handlebar on my Brompton which has 12 degrees back sweep. Any recommendation on something similar for Birdy?

Huggable

Hi there, the touring plus uses a hub and a cassette combo. You can do a search on how to remove the rear wheel with Sturmey Archer CS-RK3 hub.

Birdy touring plus rear wheel

Winfried

Odd: Shimano shifter + Sturmey-Archer gear hub

CEBEP

Asian model, they have much wider selection than R&M. Extending range for weigh penalty. I went for front derailleur.

Reddleman

Not really, the SA dual drive hubs have the same cable pull requirements as an MTB triple front derailleur and are designed to be use with other companies’ shifters.

Jipe

Indeed, R&M doesn't propose this kind of solution to have a wider gear inch range. The other solution is the Birdy Rohloff proposed both by Pacific Cycles and R&M.

I think that the reason why R&M doesn't propose the 3x8 solution is is that in Germany, the Rohloff Birdy solds very well, from what I know, there is more demand for the Birdy Rohloff than for the Birdy Touring (10s derailleur) and Birdy City (8s Nexus).

Schwinnsta

This is not true for the Brompton BWR 6 speed.

Reddleman

Alright Mr Pedantic, the Sturmey Archer CS-RF3 and CS-RK3 dual drive hubs are designed to match the standard MTB triple front derailleur indexed shift lengths

Estuche

Anyone here has experience with Birdy's own Schwalbe Winter studded tires? I know that the Brompton version is usually poorly reviewed, but I'm curious about whether the 355mm 18"version fares better given its wider profile, etc.

Schwinnsta

Don't get your fingers tied in a knot. Not every comment is a criticism. I was just surprised to find this out. The BWR was one of the few hubs that I actually measured the pull.

Reddleman

To be fair, I originally couldn’t remember the exact model codes for those two three-speed plus cassette hubs, and had forgotten entirely about the Brompton option - does that have the same pull as the classic three-speed hub instead?

Schwinnsta

What I remember was that the pull was not linear. I was converting my 6-speed Brompton to 9-speed and wanted matching shifters. I settled on an S-R on one side and an S-A on the other.

Huggable

Talking about original mudguards, I installed the Pacific Cycles mudguards on my Birdy, and noticed that they are different from the European models.

The notable differences are the absence of rear reflector, and the hub + lighting set. Does anyone knows if I can order the entire set of mudguards + hub + lights, maybe from Germany, and ship to Singapore?

Jipe

Yes, you are right, the mudguard I received from Pacific Cycles for my Titanium Birdy do not have the rear reflector like the one mounted by R&M on my Birdy 3.

It won't be easy to have them in Singapore, the only online shops I know do not ship outside EU. But you could try https://www.faltradxxs.de/

For the dynamo front hub, its a special type from Shutter Precision with the Birdy disc proprietary disc mounting position, its possible to buy it online in Asia. You can then build your own front wheel with a matched rim (the Pacific Cycles Birdy do not all have the same Alex Crostini rims mounted by R&M on the EU Birdy).
For the front light, its an old model from Supernova not very powerful, Its still sold by Supernova but the LED used inside are now obsolete. The rear light is specific to Supernova, it works only with a Supernova front light. You would be better with a SON Edelux 2 front and BUMM My rear (or the Supernova M99 DY Pro).

Huggable

Can you share the online shops that carries the mudguard but don't ship outside EU? I guess I can do some homework using Google translate, and maybe find a freight forwarder. *fingers and toes crossed!*

Incidentally my bike was originally a GT, which comes with Alex Costini M1.1 rims, so I guess I don't have to get a new front rim for this conversion.

Thanks for info on the hub model and lights as well, I'll go for the newer and more powerful lights if I can!