upgrading tikit's gearing?
 

I wonder if the gearing on the stock hyperfold tikit (8speed) can be changed to 27speed or 18speed?

there are steep hills where i live, so i'm looking to at least add a smaller chainring to the stock tikit. Can a front derailleur be mounted on a stock tikit? If not, I don't mind changing it manually.

As i'm new to bicycle mechanics (never bothered with them before), can anyone guide me how it can be done, if the change is possible? Not the actual installation steps (though it will be helpful), just what items to get/change.

Apologies if i used the wrong terms, but I think you guys know what I'm trying to say.
Thanks!

Not sure. A front derailleur might be challenging because the locking assembly lies so close to the chainring. I'd talk to BF about it. Other options:

You could employ an SRAM DualDrive. This is a combination of a rear hub and a rear cassette, and provides a very wide range of gears. Bike Friday installs them on their "Travel Tikits".

You could reduce the size of the front chainring, and compensate by installing a Capreo rear cassette. This would give you significantly more bottom end. Bike Friday puts Capreos on their "Express Tikits", albeit with the standard front chainring.

You could install the Schlumpf Speed Drive or Mountain Drive. This is basically a "front hub", providing two gears up front but only one chainring. It's Swiss, thus clever and incredibly expensive. And would require some machining.

I've done this before -adding a front chainring without a derailleur, and just changing manually. It's a very cheap and easy solution. It would probably cost you less than $40 to get that done at a bike shop, installation included. I say go for it!

I've had my Alex Moulton AM7 set up with a second, inner chainwheel but no front derailleur for the last 20 years. I only use the small chainwheel on the rare, steep & long hill and it's ok. If your rides commonly encounter hills where you would require the lower range, I don't think you'd be as happy with this set-up.

To put a second chainwheel on a tikit will cause you to loose the chainguard (referred to as the Protector Ring in you tikit owner's manual). Given rear-derailleur-only drivetrains' propensity to toss their chains, I don't think this is a long term road to happiness.

My tikit Model T has a 53 tooth chainwheel and a 12-28T, eight-speed cassette, giving a gear range of 71-30 gear inches. If your Hyperfold model is the same, my suggestion would be to replace the chainwheel with a 48 tooth one and the cassette with an 11-30T cluster. This would yield a wider spread gear range of 70-26 gear inches.

HTH,
tcs

Good suggestion worth a shot before spending the $$$ on a dual drive.

Thanks for the advice!
The Hyperfold and Model-T have the same gearing.

Ok, a different option. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Let's say I want to change the 8-speed cassette to a 9-speed,
that means I'd also have to change the derailleur, the chain and the shifter, correct?
Is it doable on a stock tikit?
Any particular derailleur issues, or anything else, to look out for?
What 9-speed cluster would you recommend?

I was able to put a 9 speed cassette on the stock tikit wheel, replace the stock bars with mustache bars and added a 9 speed bar end shifter and replaced the chain with a narrower one and everything seems to be working so far. The rear derailleur seems to work fine as a 9 speed.

In addition to the cassette, a new chain and shifter is needed. Assuming that it is a standard Shimano derailer, I doubt that you will have issues switching. I don't have a tikit, but given that Bike Friday sells nine-speed models, I find it hard to believe that there would be anything instrinsically incompatible with a nine-speed drivetrain starting with a stock model.

Since you are looking for a lower gearing, I would find an 11-32 which despite Shimano specs works with most road bike setups. I have never tried fitting an 11-34 on a bike with a road derailer. So I would only try if you or a friend has an extra laying around to test.

I asked BF this question yesterday. All Tikits, except the Season Tikit, come with a derailleur hanger.

I am awaiting delivery of a Hyperfold Tikit (due next week). I'm toying with the setup you have - the mustache bar and bar end shifter idea also. How do you like your setup? Can you post some pictures for us to admire?

Thanks,.

I want my tikit with either a SRAM i-motion 9 or Nexus 8 red band !

NOW U CAN ADD A FRONT DERAILLEUR IN YOUR BF :love:
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I've recently put a Sturmey-Archer XRK8(W) hub on my tikit. Geared 39/25, range 25-81 G.I. Very nice so far, but of course needs many more miles for legitimate evaluation.

tcs

tcs

can we see some pics

tnx