Speedo

I installed the brace on my wife's Tikit. It went okay, but I think they should have included a longer bolt for the rear attachment point. Even after discarding the washers, with the brace on, it was a very fine adjustment between having the bolt too tight (rollers don't move). Bolt too loose (nylon in the bolt not in contact with the threads so it would easily come off). Not much room in the middle "bolt just right" (nylon in contact with threads, rollers move) zone.

Speedo

SesameCrunch

At 70kg, you're well below the weight limit for Medium Tikits (87kg).

ChiapasFixed

just installed the safety upgrade for my Tikit, but I am very disappointed with the way it affects the rolling of the folded bike! The new metal part is very much in the way of my most comfortable hand positions, and makes it more unwieldy to maneuver the bike in crowded places.
Does anybody know if this is merely a temporary solution, and we will then be sent upgraded aardvarks, or is this meant to be it? I for one purchased the Tikit because I need to do a fair bit of rolling, like in shopping centers, train stations, office buildings, etc. and this new "upgrade" really gets in the way! Anybody else have this experience?
i will direct my enquiries to Bike Friday directly soon, but I thought I would get feedback here first.

blind dog

Has research revealed if these fractures are on all frames? Small, medium and large? If the large uses 'heavier tubing' has it escaped these stresses and fractures?

vik 

My large frame has a crack and is going to be repaired by BF. I weigh 160lbs, but I ride my Tikit a lot and I don't baby it so I may be harder on the frame than other riders.

The crack is small and not growing noticeably so I've continued to ride my Tikit. I'll be shipping it to BF when I'm down in the US on an up coming trip.

The cracks in some Tikit frames are unfortunate, but I've had some time to ponder it and I'll miss my Tikit for the couple weeks it will take to repair, but there is no other folding bike on the market that suits my needs as well as the Tikit.

As long as Bike Friday stands behind their product and looks after me as well as they have I'll continue to stoked to ride my Tikit.

fourhourcommute

vik- do you know what bf plans to do to fix the frames with cracks? Are they just replacing the seat mast portion and then sticking the same ad hoc brace on there? What are they doing for new bikes?

If they have come up with a beefier frame, presumably it is too expensive to offer it free to all tikit owners(?) and/or is not a diy swap(?). I'm with Chiapas --- after we hash this out a little here, I will contact bf directly to see what my options are. I really do not want to block the push handle.

feijai

Not having installed mine yet, I've still given some thought to this. First, I'm thinking of installing some very thin vinyl tubing on the safety piece before attaching it, to make it less sharp on the knuckles. Second, the key, I think, is to extend the handle. There's almost an inch of free room. Some kind of handlebar plug -- ideally a locking one -- should lengthen it by at least a centimeter or more, if we can only find the right one. Then you just put a handlebar grip on and you're in business.

ChiapasFixed

feijai:
maybe some sort of ad-hoc sub-prime solution like that could improve things, but the truth is we chose this bike for its unique characteristics, among them ease of rolling, yes?
I really and trully appreciate Bike Friday standing behind their product and customers, but I also feel that I have lost one of the big advantages of my Tikit, and this was exemplified yesterday when I went to the mall with my GF to print some photos. The walk accross the mall, which I have done many times with the folded Tikit, was much more uncomfortable and for the first time I felt I should have locked the bike outside!
I suggest we work with BF to come up with a better permanent solution that intelligently solves the problem with elegant design, and in keeping with the inovative spirit of the Tikit! Perhaps a new Aardvark that has a supporting beam welded into it at a higer point, leaving the open space for the hand to reach the handle?

vik 

I don't know yet. I have asked and will let you know when I find out.

feijai

I have heard that Rob will be working on a revised aardvark which doesn't need the safety device (presumably a brace is welded in) when he gets back from vacation.

ChiapasFixed

hmm, so I guess the big if is whether all the old aardvarks will be replaced under warranty or only those that have cracked?

Lalato

I'm with you, CF. I use the rolling quite a bit for multi-modal commuting and shopping. I hope some solution can be found that makes it easier to grip that handle.

In other news... I have a large Tikit. I weigh around 235 lbs... and my bike does not have a crack as far as I can tell. I'll inspect it more closely tonight.

--sam

Lalato

I took a closer look... and definitely NO crack on mine. Yay!

I'll contact BF about the safety part, we'll see how much it interferes with the rolling handle on a large Tikit. I'm hopeful that it's not too bad.

--sam

ChiapasFixed

putting a piece of hose/tubing on the safety piece is a great idea and helps for sure, but it is still not ideal.
How would folks feel about drafting a collective letter to BF with all our ideas/suggestions/concerns, and just letting them know that we are interested in a better solution?

BWP

Strikes me that the end-solution is a brace that also serves as the handle -- that is, a brazed-in brace that has a hand-friendly curve to it. Incremental weight and fabrication work would be negligible and a handle that is now an odd appendage would serve a structural purpose.

cresny

I don't understand why the brace BF has sent out couldn't have been manufactured with a deeper curve to accommodate a comfortable grip on the handle. I would think such a solution would have been "good enough", given there was nothing there originally, but then again I've designed exactly zero bikes to date.

Anyway, I wheel my bike at least twice daily, usually with a front load on the rack, and the given the sensitive balancing I'd rather not crush my fingers on an inadvertent tip. Therefore I'm considering NOT attaching the brace. Anyone think it unwise? I weigh 160 lbs and ride light on the seat, but I've only owned my Tikit a month now and am not sure what to expect...

ChiapasFixed

cresny: maybe your case is one that we can put to Bike Friday, and ask whether your aardvark will still be covered under the lifetime warranty even if you fail to install the safety brace?

kubark42

I'd like to know about that, too. It seems I ordered the bike *after* the safety recall/update/notice, so I'd very much like to know whether the aardvark will be replaced for free, or covered if I choose to ride without the brace (I, too, only weigh 70kg). Even though I've only had the tikit for a weekend, the brace is clearly in the way. Not to mention sharp on the fingers and knuckles.

That being said, the tikit is an incredible piece of engineering, and probably deserves a spot in a modern art museum as the folding bike that was a defining step in multi-modal transportation. I love it, and I just wish that Bike Friday hadn't hamstrung themselves a bit by painting all non-custom bikes in one uniform color. (Don't get me wrong, the cream soda color is pretty, but the earlier two-tone tikit2rides, with the back frame black and the front blue, were fare more likely to catch people's eyes-- and interest-- and lead to a conversation between strangers about changing lifestyles.)

vik 

I'm 160lbs and had my aardvark crack on a large Tikit so it certainly can happen at your weight....YMMV.

ChiapasFixed

ok, it seems like there is some consensus. We all love our Tikits, but all agree the brace is not quite right. We are all interested in finding longterm solutions and want the security of the lifetime warranty. So, should we draft a collective BFFB letter to Bike Friday to voice our concerns, ask questions and offer suggestions?

fourhourcommute

I'm in. But maybe someone should try a friendly phone call first. I'm too busy to do much of anything for the next couple of weeks though. I would imagine bike friday is aware of this thread and they and their lawyers are already concocting their response.

Any other lurkers out there? Our demands will carry more weight if we have more than 3 or 4 signatories. Has anyone tried any other boards? And what does BFFB stand for?

ChiapasFixed

Hmm yes...
Knowing Bike Friday a little bit, I dont think we need to be worrying about "demands" or lawyers, but the friendly phone call idea sounds good!
I am in Australia, so hard to get to the office (and Skype) within Oregon office hours.
Anybody have a good rapport with Bike Friday customer service people?
BTW, the meaning of BFFB is Bike Forums Folding Bike (subforum)