pibach

The Tikit has an URT design. Thus you can have a gear hub without derailleur, e.g., a Shimano Nexus 8 speed. As you always need some chain tensioning on the Bromptons tuck-under fold, there the best choice is the 2 speed. On the other hand, the Brompton has the Titanium option reducing the weight down to 9,5 kg. The Tikit is a good 1kg heavier. Unfortunately both these bikes have small 16" wheels and there are no 20" counterparts, bummer. For fitness or touring, I prefere 20" wheels. Also both bikes do not provide enough clearance for wider tires (Big Apples).

vik 

I have used Big Apples and Greenspeed Scorchers and prefer the GS Scorchers - they ride better than the slightly wider Big Apples - more comfortable/faster. The Tikit has room for GS Scorchers.

feijai

9.8 kg. The titanium option is also 70% more expensive. And it's only 9.8 for the S-type.

Coincidentally, for 70% more money than a Model-T tikit, you can get an Express Tikit which is 9.8 without saddle or pedals, pretty dang close. Light pedals and saddle are, what, about 500g maybe? So I don't know what the big deal is.

And of course if you've got money to burn...

faffer

Where do you buy your Scorchers? I've only found them kevlar bead and so they cost almost twice as much as the wire bead Big Apples.

ChiapasFixed

FolderFanatic:
All Bike Fridays come with a 30 day no-questions-asked money-back guarantee, so no drama.
I will pick a Tikit over a Brompton any day, even for rolling around a shopping mall for hours (which I end up doing more than Id like, but my displeasure is due to the mall environment, not the Tikit-rolling)
The only real advantage I see in the Brompton is the ability to put it into a hardcase for air travel without dis-assembling the bike. Maybe I will design my own Tikit-specific hardcase so I can fly without dissasembly! something like a french horn case, within the 62 linear inches.....

EastBiker

If you want a frame that develops cracks months after you buy it, get a Tkit.

feijai

??? The Scorcher TRs are kevlar belted but with a wire bead. They're $41 (both in 16" and 20") and the Big Apple 20" are $37 at Calhoun Cycle (and also at my local store, which should have had my order delivered by today...)

fmattheus

I actually see that story as being a major advantage of the Tikit.

Short wrap up.
Some bikes developed cracks. Before it even had a chance to pop up on online forums, Bike Friday recalled those bikes, and sent out easy fixes, that didn't require sending the bikes in to Bike Friday or even going to a store, within a couple weeks.

Show me another bike company that handled a similar situation as well or as quickly ...

PDR

One big advantage that the Brompton has over any other folder is that it will fit between the seat backs of a standard train carriage. This means that you can jump on the train anywhere and easily store the bike without the need to use bike specific parking areas.

fmattheus

There are, of course, other folders that can do this, (carryme, maybe strida ...), but the brompton would be the best riding of bikes that will fit in there.

itsajustme

Most trains in the US don't have any space between seat backs because the seats do not typically face each other and, thus, folders must go either between the legs, on the overhead racks, or block the aisles or vestibules.

Personally I think a casual observer would be hard pressed to detect a difference in folded size between any of the lump shaped 16" or 20" folders whether it be Brompton or Tikit or Dahon. Obviously if the Brompton is just small enough to fit the nooks of specific UK train carriages it will make a difference just as a few millimeters can make a difference in the size of underwear, but otherwise they're all more or less equal in size IMO.

Therefore, from my perspective the important differences between the tikit and Brompton are:
-Brompton stands more stably on its rollers
-tikit folds faster
-Brompton's design is more conservative whereas tikit's is more progressive
-tikit emulates a "normal" bike in options (drivetrain, sizing, etc) whereas Brompton uses proprietary solutions

IMO, neither is better than the other for particular tasks, but the best one depends on the preferences of the user: whether they prefer a fast fold or a stable fold, whether they prefer bleeding edge or established product design, whether they're comfortable using proprietary solutions, etc, etc.

OldiesONfoldies

Well said! BF's customer service is THE best among all the foldy manufacturers in my opinion. Personal, "eager to satisfy" attitude, competent, responsible, respectful, responsive and friendly. If you haven't experience it, you should!

vik 

+1...

karprive

Although I didn't end up buying the Tikit, I agree with comments about BF's customer service and I also liked the fact that they are located in the US. However, while their response to potential cracks in the Tikit are admirable...I can't see how buying a bike that develops cracks is an advantage.

Also, if it was such an easy fix, shouldn't this type of research and testing been conducted before marketing the product. I know that since the Tikit is a relatively new model there can be issues that arise (such as the replacement of the folding cable/system), but I would rather not be a "test" rider for the company...unless BF wants to send me a free Tikit...

invisiblehand

A bike design results from competing interests; i.e., make it lighter, make it stronger. So one doesn't want to guarentee that nothing will fail ... just that the probability of failure under certain conditions is acceptable. And while there is a lot of testing, my guess is that the number of things that one could test a priori is quite high. Testing all of them as well as their combinations is probably impossible. This is the reason why people value designs that have been in the public for a while.

karprive

I agree...this also partly influenced my decision to not select the Tikit at this time.

feijai

Safety recalls aren't very well correlated with newness. Brompton has had its share of safety recalls as well. And that's a supposedly a "tested and true" design. Even now Dahon has a huge recall on nearly all its 2008 bikes due to a failure in the handlepost hinge, a design that Dahon's been refining for two decades now.

I agree that the Tikit is fairly cutting edge; that's part of its fun. My primary concern with the bike is actually in the seatmast latch design, which I think may prove to be a headache to BF in the future. But frame cracks are less of a worry to me: the company has a lifetime warranty on its frame and a legendary customer service reputation. Its handling of the frame crack situation is (I hope) indicative of this.

jur

The aluminium handlepost isn't 2 decades old I think. It is quite recent - OEM rebrands still have the older steel post, and I remember seeing these on the Dahon site for new bikes just a few years ago, so it must be 4-5 years or so? (Plus an alum quill design preceded the present design.) That handlepost as most know has been plagued by a multitude of problems; and it was a radical departure from the steel design in every respect, from hinge to latch to material. That piece of crap has never been recalled until now where a 'manufacturing problem' caused additional unreliability.

feijai

I think the Helios dates from 1998. At least that's what the Wayback Machine says.

karprive

[QUOTE=feijai;9091723]Safety recalls aren't very well correlated with newness. Brompton has had its share of safety recalls as well. And that's a supposedly a "tested and true" design. Even now Dahon has a huge recall on nearly all its 2008 bikes due to a failure in the handlepost hinge, a design that Dahon's been refining for two decades now.QUOTE

A recall on 2008 model year bikes that are based on a design that been refined for two decades doesn't seem like a "tested and true" design...seems more like a bad design that constantly needs fixes/tweaks.

If the Brompton recall that you showed is the latest one, then I will have to disagree and say that safety recalls are well correlated with new designs...since the recall you posted is for bikes built before September 1999.

feijai

The Brompton has been manufactured since about 1982. The recall I linked to was in 2002, on handlebars that had been made since 1988. In summary, that was a recall on a part that had been used for 14 years on a 20-year-old bike design. I thought it was pretty good support for my argument. You don't think so?

ChiapasFixed

hmm, just get one of each and use the one which suits the particular need you wish to fulfill at the moment. It will still be alot cheaper than buying a new car (which amazingly, more and more people seem to be doing, ins spite of the GEC), and just think how happy it will make you!
Eventually, you may decide just one of them fulfills all your basic needs, and then you can sell/gift/loan the other and still sleep happily knowing your investment has paid off handsomely and that you have supported two ethical and forward thinking businesses.
I have both an Airnimal Joey and a Tikit, and will soon let a good friend keep the Joey (for a very fair price), after having enjoyed it massively for the last 8 months. No regrets here.

longlong14

the brompton recall is for handle bars on bikes that have been used regularly for many years, while the tikit's frame cracks within 2 years of use...i mean, when you've been using the same bike for 10 years, there will be problems. i just think these are totally different cases. back in 1990, probly all of the brompton handle bars were functioning well, if they weren't, im sure brompton would have taken action, after all, they want to keep the business running and wouldn't want to be sued =p

frame cracking sounds a bit dangerous tho, i'm glad bike friday addressed the problem promptly.

Dahon.Steve

Agreed.

On many trains and buses, there are no bike specific parking areas at all! The OP didn't mention multimode commuting involving a train or bus but this certainly is the area where the Brompton excels.

I posted real pictures of buses in New York City and you can decide for yourself ,what bicycle would you prefer to have during rush hour in both instances.

1. New York City Commuter Bus -- This bus looks wide inside but during rush hour, almost all available space is taken by passengers standing on every available spot. I can just imagine taking a Tikit or Dahon inside this bus at 5:30 PM because a large package like that would take up the entire walking space of the bus. In most cases, the driver will not allow you to board.

The Brompton although would be one of the few that would work although. Even covered, it would only take up about 50% of the walking space. There's also a spot behind the rear seat just before the rear door that it will fit nicely. Trying to lug a large folder inside a commuter bus during rush hour is the main reason I have yet to see any Dahon's or Tikits inside the cabin.

2. Greyhound Bus -- This bus looks very similar to many coaches in Europe and the U.S. I take an express bus like this to work some days and the ONLY place to put a folder is in the overhead rack. There's no rear door where you can place the bike and you can forget about placing it between your legs, middle of the floor or back of the bus.

Believe it or not, the Brompton will fit in that overhead rack! I tried it once and there is someone else who commutes into the city that does this on a regular basis. Although Greyhound will allow you to store the bike underneath the bus, many commuter coaches will not.

The Brompton gives you options the larger folders don't when it comes to especially tight situations. Other than the Brompton, Strida or CarryMe, I would not want to do multi-mode commuting on the bus with another folder.

Lalato

Some very spirited exchanges here...

Honestly, the only way you'll know for sure will be test ride the bikes. Find a dealer near you and give the bikes a good and thorough going over.

Personally, I think both bikes are good folders. I chose the Tikit, but I was very close to getting a Brompton. My needs, at the time, were for multi-modal commuting (train, bus, etc.) so I can't honestly speak to how the bikes would handle for touring. The thing that sold me on the Tikit is the ultra-fast fold. I can't count the number of times, I needed to fold the bike quickly in order to get on a train.

--sam