birdy a dodo bird?
 

called c.m wasson a folding bike company in palo alto, california about the birdy. and they said they dont sell any birdy anymore cuz they no longer make any birdy in taiwan. is it really true? birdy is dead due to low demand and the recession?

Pacific Cycles, who make the Birdy in Taiwan still shows it on their website.

http://www.pacific-cycles.com/produc...?cat1=1&cat2=5

how come 2 major folding bike company in the usa: cm watson and bikefold say they no longer sell birdy on their website?

http://www.bikefold.com/birdy_foldable_bicycles.htm

any1 know where u can buy a birdy in usa? and not interested in the newer version of birdy...more interested in the tubular frame old school birdy.

Hey Vince how did that saddle work out for the Brommie?Or did you come up with something else?
I heard Birdy was done too.

saddle took couple of day to broke in for the spring to work and no squeaking..so far so good...but still interested in a full suspension or somewhat better rear suspension bike like a birdy.

one funny thing that the guy from cm watson told me is that the ride on the birdy is similar to a brompton. weird thing for him to day.

also my next project is looking to upgrade my brommie to a sa 8 speed.

I think it's more likely that there are problems with the US Distributor.
--sam

I'd have thought the rear end on a brompton with sprung saddle ought to be plush. Are you finding the front end/handlebars uncomfortable, vincentnyc? I've still not yet had the opportunity to ride a brompton myself, but I don't see how the small wheel, thin tyre combination could cope well with London roads.

I won't say the front handlebar on my brommie is uncomfortable. I just need a better rear suspension like my downtube mini. Even with the sprung saddle on the brommie, my dt mini suspension is still better. imho, I think the aluminum frame plus a better rear suspension give the dt mini one up on the brommie in term riding comfortability.

Have you tried wider lower pressure tires? Because pneumatic tires are so popular, everyone always seems to forget that almost every bicycle is suspended, but pneumatic tires were originally designed for the purpose of suspension and, when properly tuned, perform quite admirably as such.

Yup. Lowering tire pressure help a little bit but still not better than dt mini. Maybe I got spoiled by my dt mini.

How low is the pressure, how wide is the tire, and how much do you weigh? There's obviously a wide range of adjustment achievable from pneumatic tire suspension, just "lowering the tire pressure" doesn't mean you've gotten all the suspension you can out of it.

would like to get a wider tires....but unfortunately for the brommies... 16" x 1 3/8" is the widest tire that is compatible for it...i heard the scorcher tire which is 16" x 1 1/2" would work also...but not sure. definately the big apples 16" x 2" tire is NOT compatible for the brommie.

When I first got my Dahon Vitesse I couldn't believe how badly it coped with potholes, the 20 x 1.5 tyres would transmit every road imperfection. With 20 x 2 tyres it's reasonably comfortable but still on the harsh side and at some point i'll move up to a fatter front tyre, possibly rear too. The idea of negotiating the roads around here on 16 x 1 3/8 tyres seems a total no-no to me but almost everyone on these forums talks about how there's something special in the ride quality of Bromptons & I'd assumed the rear suspension must account for a lot of that. I really have to give one a go at some point, I should probably hire one for a day.

I have a Brompton,the back end rides quite well with the rubber block and the Brooks Flyer saddle.However id be less than honest if i said the front was the same.Its fairly harsh coming through the bars although, not as bad as one would think considering the 16" wheels.Dodging around stuff is highly recommended.It aint no Moulton for ride.But i still love it.I do run the max.air pressure though, cause i hate pinch flats.I suspect if i dropped air a bit it would make a large difference.But it flies so much better with tires right full.I run the yellow Bromie ones.

well email the birdy distributor in the us and here is his reply:

"Hello Vincent,

Birdy is alive and well in general, but the MSRP and margins in the USA market just did not make a business or have strong enough interest from the dealers. The producers at Pacific decided to focus on more lucrative markets. We do have some here in Oregon if you like.

Best Regards

David A Black"

A weak dollar against other foreign currencies is probably making many imports too expensive to be competitive with products produced in the USA. On the other hand the weak dollar is making USA exports a bargin in countries that standardize in other currencies.


Regards,

LelandJ

The US dollar and Taiwanese dollar have been exchanging within a narrow and fairly stable band for years.

Best,
tcs

The US Dollar has been on a steady decline with the Euro since 2002.

Are there US manufactured folders other than BF?

Kam

Worksman is another one.

Below is a post I made in the "[OT] Foxpro" mailman list:

#----------------------------

There was a real danger of economic failure occurring in the
USA just prior to President George W. Bush leaving office.
If you recall, the USA economy was falling off a cliff at that
time with the financial sector of the USA economy paralyzed.
Some of the largest banks, insurance companies and manufactures
in the world were facing bankruptcy due to an unregulated
capitalistic system that allow excessive leverage/risk in the form
of credit default swaps and mortgage backed securities.

Right now the Obama Administration is focused on the
deflationary effects of the near economic collapse, so they
have come to the rescue of the financial sector and auto
industry by enacting bailout legislation and legislation
designed to stimulate the USA economy.

The side effects of combating the deflationary trends has
been a growing deficit and a weakening of the dollar against
other currencies. The dollar has particularly been
weakened; because, the Fed has lowered interest to a near
zero rate to help the housing slump, and the Fed has been
aggressively buying mortgaged back securities to stimulate
home and commercial real estate. This has lead to foreign
countries selling US debt, (eg selling treasury bill short, for
example), and using the proceeds to buy debt in other
currencies that pay a more realistic return, (eg buying debt
of emerging Asian economies, for example). If you think of the dollar as
a commodity, its value decreases as demand for it decreases.

I expect these conditions to reverse in early to mid 2010, when the
Fed begins to focus more on the weak dollar, the deficit,
and possible inflationary pressure by raising interest
rates, and the White House submits budgets that will allow
surpluses to reduce national debt.

http://thejjway.blogspot.com/2009/10...r-crashes.html

#------------------------------------------

Regards,

LelandJ

Birdys (Birdies?) are manufactured in Taiwan.

tcs

That's true, but R+M is based out of Germany. That might have something to do with it.

And sold by a German company.

Edit: Oops. Lalato beat me to it.