awdnut

After a strict regimen of weight weenies parts , my carbon Tikit w/Alfine 11 got down to 23.25lbs as in the picture. Does not fold as compact as my wife Brompton but rides and climbs much better that the Brommie. I use my spare Brompton left folding pedal on my Tikit.

Cheers,
Awdnut

Disposable

Schweet tikit! It appears to have two shifters; what's the left one do?

kamtsa

Great job! I wish BF would offer them for us the less technically inclined. The Alfine 11 seems get more and more popular.

What the the implications of having CF parts, more fragile?

awdnut

The one on the left that looks like a grip shifter is actually a Bike Friday bell

giantcfr1

Sorry I'm not up with foldies (just having a sticky beak) but noticed yours. Very good looking bike but was surprised with the weight. Where do foldies carry most of their weight?

Jiten

The bell is similar to an Incredibell Grip Bell.

fietsbob

OK mises the gram count , but the Brommy, Aw3 and the mountain drive crank
are an alps climbing combination.. Equivalent to the low on my 26" wheel
bike 16-38 t combo , R'off minimum for that setup.

samosaurus

Very nice!

Sam

longlong14

How come my tikit doesnt ride much better than my brompton? Comfort, speed, handling after getting used to both are very similar to each other, than a road bike or mtn bike. The geometry of my m tikit is extremely similar to my b, except for the amount of fork rake which is really a matter of getting used to.
Is it the fit that causes some people to consider the b a worse ride?

awdnut

On my Tikit, the weight seems to be concentrated with the Alfine 11 hub.
i tried a Tikit demo at my local dealer with regular rear derailleur and you do notice less weight at the rear when you lift the bike

feijai

You have a size-medium tikit, really? The Brompton has the reach of a size-small tikit.

I think reach (including ahead stem) is the big item, and normal handlebar options are a big second. The trail is of course better too. And an important item: the tikit can take a *much* better-riding tire than the Brompton: the Greenspeed Scorcher.

Other than that, fairly similar ride. But reach and handlebars are nothing to sneeze at.

fietsbob

M bar , and adding a saddle adapter pin allows a lot of reach adjustment, on Bromptons.

I like more setback , so I fitted an extended seat post, and the SAP pointed backwards,

Perhaps the Tilkit would be a better feeling ride with a Thud-buster seat post..?

vmaniqui

a sure handsome looking TIKIT.....great job my friend. is your seatpost CF too ?

awdnut

Thanks. Initially I used a CF seat post from my roady but now I am using a 7075 (Aluminium?) post.

feijai

Come on now. How much adjustment does the M-bar actually permit while retaining folding? And the saddle adapter pin is only recommended by Brompton facing forwards (making the reach *smaller*), correct? Even if you were to put it backwards, this puts the B in dangerously wheelie bike territory. It seems to me that warranty violation hacks are not comparable to real ahead stems, handlebars, and frame size options.

fietsbob

You can rotate it (MBar) fore and aft, .. I put Ergon GR2
Gripshifter-length grips/bar ends on.
it won't fold down to the catch with GC3 ends, misses by less than an inch,
(cured by loosening the single bolt on each and rotating them a bit)
but they are a more Tour friendly in length/shape.

NB, the extended steel seatpost, is a 30% thicker tube-wall ,
so the added half inch of setback is not a big deal,
long time PaloAlto Cal dealer, C.M.Wasson, gave recc's that it was no problem.
proved to be true.

and as I usually have a lot of crap in my Touring bag, no wheelies, ever..

vik 

If you call Bike Friday and ask them for a custom Tikit I'm sure they will oblige. Just tell them what you want in terms of parts or in terms of a functional goal [ie. under 21lbs...] and they build it for you if it's at all a possibility.

vik 

I can't speak to your situation, but the primary issue I've had with the two Bromptons I've ridden regularly was the fit. I was in a very upright position that was fine to cruising short distances at a slow pace, but not great for faster speeds or longer distances.

My large Tikit has a 58cm effective TT by contrast so it fits me like a full size bike would. Once I added fast rolling rubber to my Tikit I was very impressed with how it performed compared to my full size bikes and often chose to ride it even when I didn't need a folding bike.

giantcfr1

Hai, \(^.^) it's what I was thinking. As mentioned good looking bike. 23lbs is pretty good

brakemeister

its a sweet ride fer sure

thor

longlong14

Quote:

Originally Posted by feijai

You have a size-medium tikit, really? The Brompton has the reach of a size-small tikit.

I think reach (including ahead stem) is the big item, and normal handlebar options are a big second. The trail is of course better too. And an important item: the tikit can take a *much* better-riding tire than the Brompton: the Greenspeed Scorcher.

Other than that, fairly similar ride. But reach and handlebars are nothing to sneeze at.

i use littlepixel™ QR on the stem clamp, i rarely use that QR tho (unless im packing the bike into the trunk, or a suitcase) so the fold is slightly bigger. this way the brake levers are in the right place, the original position is a nightmare.
the only major difference between the two is really just the rake.
i've been wanting to get scorchers for my r20/tikit/brompton ( i think it actually fits the brom, at least the front), glad to hear that they're really so wondeful!

Quote:

Originally Posted by vik

I can't speak to your situation, but the primary issue I've had with the two Bromptons I've ridden regularly was the fit. I was in a very upright position that was fine to cruising short distances at a slow pace, but not great for faster speeds or longer distances.

My large Tikit has a 58cm effective TT by contrast so it fits me like a full size bike would. Once I added fast rolling rubber to my Tikit I was very impressed with how it performed compared to my full size bikes and often chose to ride it even when I didn't need a folding bike.

if a bike cannot fit you, it's practically useless. brompton does not fit taller riders, which is a shame, unless maybe littlepixel™ QR is used.
in my case, both bikes fit similarly. tikit is faster for sprints, brompton is more comfy over longer distances especially @ 50km+, i suspect it's because of the suspension block. average speed is about the same on both bikes.
and vik, how much more improved are the newer tikits? i only know that they have redesigned the handle for wheeling the bike folded, did they add/improve anything else?

vik 

My Tikit is ~4yrs old. I had a 2010 Tikit for a season and it was noticeably stiffer. Bike Friday makes regular upgrades/design changes, but they aren't confined to a specific model year so they are little hard to pin down. I could have kept the 2010 Tikit and got rid of my older one, but even though there were improvements made to the newer bike I didn't feel they made the bike radically better and I was attached to the old one for sentimental reasons.

What tires do you run on your Tikit? I fined Greenspeed Scorchers run at a moderate pressure provide a fast and comfy ride.

awdnut

[QUOTE=vik;13091611
What tires do you run on your Tikit? I fined Greenspeed Scorchers run at a moderate pressure provide a fast and comfy ride.[/QUOTE]

Vik:

I might go to Greenspeed Scorchers TR later on but looking at the space between the front tire and the front side carrier, I doubt that the Greenspeed will clear the carrier on the left side of the front tire (see pic)

Cheers,
Awdnut

Lalato

I have the same front pannier rack and use greenspeed scorchers on my Tikit. Yes, it looks like it shouldn't fit, but it does.

feijai

I've got a one-sided rack. The Scorchers clear the rack, no problem. BTW, I still have no idea what the knob on the front left of the rack is for.