Actually, that is wonderful news, as Pacific Cycles is a premier TOL builder... Besides the Airnimal range (I have two Chameleons - really, really nice bikes), they build the Birdy, the Mark Sander's designed IF series, the Greenspeed Trikes, their own Pacific Reach series, and a host of other bikes that might surprise you..

btw.. don't you have a Bridgestone Moulton? where was the frame made on that bike?

Yes, I know the Birdy is made by Pacific Cycles for R+M.

I do have a Bridgestone Moulton. These bikes where designed by Alex Moulton and in the case of my bike the Moulton Factory brought in a frame from Japan and then custom built up the bike with parts from the Moulton Factory.

I am perfectly happy knowing that the frame was built in Japan. The Japanese produce some of the world’s highest quality products. Both my 4x4 and sportscar are Japanese as are many of the items that I own, Nikon cameras etc. I know that Japan is in the same area of the world as Taiwan but silly as it may sound I just can’t feel the same way towards Taiwan products. It is a bit like Skoda cars.... I can remember what they produced in the 80’s, cheap and nasty cars. I know they have improved a lot and are now part of the VW/ Audi group but I could never buy one as I’d always feel I’d gone for the budget/cheap option.

Maybe in the next 10-20 years Taiwan products will achieve the status that Japanese products enjoy now... will just have to wait and see.

Techman, did you get the info you looked for?

Post here pictures of your new bike when you will get it. ;-)

Kam

The Mu 24sp and BF are both excellent bikes. There are some customers who have had issues with the tikit's frame cracking, that was quickly addressed by BF. There are some cases of customers who experienced problems with the Dahon, but there are lots of happy one too, more so I would bet.

I think the Dahon frame requires more regular checking than the BF to keep it tip top and it helps a lot if the owner is aware of this and knows how to keep things in top condition.

My own subjective opinion is the BF frames are designed better (not because it's in the US!), but I am more than happy that most of our bikes have frames built in Asia (Pacific Cycles for two of them). Those welds are just perfect. Give me a mass-produced robot weld any day. As far as I am aware I have never seen any report of a frame failing because of a dodgy weld. It's usually a crack in a frame tube at a stress point.

that makes sense ......
I can understand you now much better
Thanks for letting us know

Still dont hang out in places longer than you have to
if you dont like it.
Make the jump and find a place which suits you better ...

Easier said than done ...
than again I moved from Germany to the US without knowing for a long time that I am able to stay here ...
sometime you have to take small risks to find your happiness :-)

all the best
Thor

The biggest difference is the variety of frame sizes Bike Friday offers. The second difference is that Bike Fridays are more customizable.

Dahon makes good bikes. If you have the time, test ride a few bikes from both manufacturers.

So I own one of each. Big difference with Crusoe is that I can adapt and modify it - see Capreo upgrade saga here: Bikeorama - new wheels on a Bike Friday .

Dahon is pretty much how it comes - upgrades and changes limited.

Obviously the price range varies - the BF Tikit designed to compete at low end with Dahon Vitesse - and I own the Nexus 7 speed version.

Pro's - Bike Friday is way faster and more a road bike. Long distance touring. Light 23lb. Awesome on rollers indoors winter training.
Cons - Crusoe fold nowhere near as fast and compact as Dahon.

Pro's - Vitesse - great city bike - gear change while stopped - tiny fold size fits on bus, train and under desk at work. All weather ride.
Cons - Not for long distance rides over about 8 miles. Heavier - around 30lb.

So for daily commuting into city on public transport - Dahon. For everything else - Bike Friday.

Having said that - that is for my two models - clearly Dahon makes top end bikes that compete with top end Bike Fridays and then BF make the Tikit designed for daily commuting. So at the end of the day - going to depend on a lot of personal preferences which you find works better for your needs.

Bottom line - they both make great bikes!

well this wasn't the question you asked, but think about a Xootr Swift:

* excellent ride, not flimsy/flexy. haven't been on BF but I can't imagine it's much worse
* folds fast, though not teensy. but can be packed for airplane travel
* manufactured in Taiwan, but designed in NYC and if you want to spend extra the original designer will build a steel one for you by hand
* great customer service from the folks at Xootr (esp. Brian)

fwiw...

Zombie thread is hungry for brains!