Bike Friday customer reviews

Hello. I am writing from Vietnam where I am traveling with my New World Tourist. I just want you to know how happy I am with this bicycle. It has done absolutely everything I've asked it to do, from riding off road in Cambodia through a cornfield in the dark, to riding a paved road of spectacular vistas of the rice fields in the Mekong Delta.

Two nights ago I took it for a "rua xe." That's Vietnamese for a motorcycle wash. My NWT was positively pimped! There is nothing to say about this bike but all the best things and I will post some of it's portraits to the community when I have a little more time.

I have finally received it, my brand new, custom-made Bike Friday! In fact, I received it over a month ago and that should give you a hint as to why I haven't been posting since: I had too much fun riding my bike :) First of all, let's say that choosing my new "adventure bike" was quite an adventure in itself. I'm a perfectionist and I wanted to make sure I was making the very best choice. So it was a lot of reading all over the web, a lot of thinking, comparing, and even sending a few emails and making a few phone calls. But that will be the topic of another post. For now, I'd like to share my experience with Bike Friday and the bike. My first contact with Bike Friday was through email. I had written a long one, asking about 10 separate questions, the goal being helping me to figure out which one of their bikes was the best for me as well as trying to understand how they would build me a bike that was better than the one I had, with me being in Quebec, Canada, far away from Oregon... That email was never answered and another email triggered the response that the sales team would try to answer my mail shortly but there was many questions in my mail so there would be a delay. After about a week since I had sent the original mail, I couldn't wait anymore so I did what I should have done upfront: give them a CALL! It was a saturday and my call was handled by Ruthy Kanagy. Lucky me! Why lucky? Well, I'm pretty sure all representatives are very competent but for me it was Ruthy and I really enjoyed the whole process of buying a bike with her. Also I researched her profile and when I saw she had been organizing bike travels in Japan, I just knew I was in good hands :) and already I had thoughts of me biking in Tokyo, LOL. With just a few questions, Ruthy was able to give me an overview of my best options, comparing the models and explaining why she thought this or that would be better. She patiently answered all of my questions and I felt pretty much at ease and not pressured into buying quickly. This was great. As it turned out, I didn't buy on the first call at all. I just had too many questions in my mind and I felt insecure in my choice as well as regarding which measurements to use for my new bike. The problem is that I really DISLIKED my previous bike, so I couldn't use that one as the basis for my new bike! No problem: Ruthy walked me through the process. She took the time to have me take my body measurements, and also measure my old bike and explain to her what I didn't like about it so that she could fix that. She discussed everything with me over a few phone calls/emails and really, she was just great. In the end, we came up with what we both believed would be "the very best fit" for my new New World Tourist and I finally placed my final order, hurray! As is always the case, I was given a delivery date, which was respected. In fact, I received the bike ahead of schedule by many days! After having waited for over a month I was quite very happy with that :) There were a very minor mishaps with Canada customs. First, there was a delay because they needed to know the exact fabric of the bag, the country of origin of the replacement tubes and so on... So whatever is not precise enough on the shipping bill caused delays. It's depressing to see how much effort is spent on such insignificant trivialities: tax dollars at work... Also I had been told that only country taxes (GST) applied to the bike but take note, Bike Friday, good ol' time is over and shipping a bike into Quebec now incurs provincial taxes also (cost me a few hundred bucks.) After a 1.5-day delay, I finally unpacked my big box with a smile! I won't go through the whole process of assembling the bike, it's pretty easy and the instructions are pretty good. They could still improve, though, as my lack of experience there caused me a problem later on. When I assembled the pedals, it seems I didn't put them in place tightly enough (the manual didn't say and I so just tightened them "normally"). During a long ride down the canal here, I suddenly felt my right pedal being "off-center". I stopped and indeed, it had unscrewed itself. It could have been as easy as re-screwing the pedal in place but I wasn't so lucky. While unscrewing, it seems just a few turns of the pedal was enough to damage the threading of the pedalier!!! I found a bike shop but they couldn't fix it, they in fact damaged the threads further :( So I wrote an email to Ruthy, explaining the problem and asking what kind of cost I was looking at for repair? That's when things started to shine even more... Even though she was on vacation, Ruthy immediately got back to me and transferred my email to Jordan Bishko at customer service. In just a few short days I had a replacement crankshaft, free of charge, to fix my bike! The whole thing was resolved quickly and to my total satisfaction, thank you Bike Friday (and Jordan, and Ruthy! :)) So it's good to know that Bike Friday supports you even when things go wrong (and even though it clearly was MY fault.) This looks like a long story, but really, everything happened over just a few days and then I could start to really enjoy riding my new bike! The most important conclusion: THE BIKE RIDES LIKE A CHARM. I can say this without reserves now, as I have been riding it for over a month and a few hundred kilometers :) Not only does it fit my body well, the "feeling" of riding this bike, with it's smaller wheel, is GREAT! My wife would tell you: I didn't ride my bike anymore, I only did "tricks" on my inline skates because that was WAY more fun than my bike. But since I received my Bike Friday, I'm always going on a ride with her on our bikes and guess what, she likes that ;) The reason for my enthusiasm is that riding the smaller wheel is a real pleasure to me. It's feels sporty and very responsive. To give you an idea, I do "spins" on inline skates and so I really enjoy such a "playful" bike! I can turn on a dime and let me tell you that you can really "feel the power" and responsiveness of the bike when the traffic light turns green and your turn that crank! I could even do a wheelie :) I love the bike and guess what... my inline skates fit perfectly well ON my rear Bike Friday folding rack. So I can bike with my wife and when she stops for breath, I put on the inline skates and do some freestyle inline skate dancing. It's paradise!!! There are so many things to be said about that bike. I'll just have to write another post because it's sunny today and guess what... it's time I go have fun for another day on my Bike Friday :)

It came yesterday.  I spent the afternoon putting it together for the first
time.  The instructions were good.  I made a few wrong turns along the way
but finally figured it out.  I was impressed with the care you took in
packing it up, by how well everything fit together, that brakes and shifting
were in perfect adjustment out of the box, tires inflated ready to go.  The
purple paint job is spectacular!  It rides superbly (solo).  So far, I am
one very satisfied customer.  Now all I have to do is learn how to ride the
thing w a stoker!  That's going to be Jim Black's assignment.

Thank you for helping me create this beautiful machine.  I hope you got to
see it in it's final form.  Perhaps I'll get by there sometime with it; I'd
love to take you for a ride.

Rod Harwood

Yes, that Carley Simon song, Anticipation, a 1971 hit, is how I was feeling about my Tikit since I ordered it in February, then decided to upgrade it while it was being built.  At last, we settled on the final components, then off it was shipped on April 22nd. ANTICIPATION since then and even since February.  As the days dragged on , I kept looking at the FedEx website to track the shipment.  Finally it arrived in Connecticut this morning, so I was Anticipating it every few minutes I’d look out the window for the FedEx guy.  Nobody came.  I kept looking at my iPhone to see if there was more detail in the tracking.  At one point it said Package Delivered.  I said to myself they must do the paperwork in advance because I didn’t hear the FedEx guy/gal.  I opened the front door.  There it was.  

Ohboyohboyohboy.  I’m 67 years old but I was like a little kid.  I knew I better open it, read the instructions, go slow, because so many times I’ve messed up brand new stuff in my haste.  I opened up the suitcase and there it was in all its glory.  I looked at the manual, then spotted the DVD.  I figured I’ll look at the DVD and see if it gives me enough info to get started.

I’d play little sections of it making sure that I was doing stuff right all along.  I’d rewind a little, look it over a little.  Within an hour I was out riding.  And folding and unfolding my
Tikit.

What a work of art, really.  Within five minutes of my getting on it someone remarked, nice bike!!!!.  But the real fun was folding and bringing it into stores.  Yeah, there’s nothing like that feeling.  No locks no chains, no nothing, just me and my bike and all the conversation that follows. 

I’d like to thank the entire Bike Friday staff for making this a very sweeeeet day.  I look forward to many many rides, tossing it into the back of our SUV from time to time, without all the hassle of the taking off the front tire of my roadie.

It seems to have a lot of range in the gearing, more so than the one I traded in, New World Tourister.

Thanks to all, very much.

God’s peace to all,

Deacon Mike Oles

After having ridden my Pocket Rocket Pro (27-speed with Ultegra components) for 3 months and more than 1500 miles around Boulder, Colorado, I would purchase the bicycle again with no reservations whatsoever. The bicycle has been just great and an absolute pleasure to ride. It also travels very well.

I am 52 and bought the Pocket Rocket Pro for exercise and century rides on extended business trips. It feels very similar to my regular high-end road bike. It might (?) be a whisker slower, but if it is, it’s not slower by much. It is comfortable, handles well and is very stable at speeds up to 40+ mph, brakes well, and is fast. It has a nice lively ride. The welding looks very good, and the paint job is superb. I have no qualms about using it as an alternative to my regular road bike now that I am home either, something I did not expect.

My Pocket Rocket Pro performed superbly on rides that covered a mix of terrains (mountains and flatland) and a healthy range of distances. My first significant ride was a century ride that involved 4300’ of climbing about two weeks after I received the bike. The bicycle did fine, in spite of some difficulty with my saddle (see below). My cycling thereafter typically consisted of daily 10-20 mile rides, with weekend rides of ~40-miles with as much as 4,000’ of climbing. I pushed the bike and myself pretty hard on these rides and loved the way it responded. The Pocket Rocket Pro is definitely a beautiful high-end road.

In addition to the quality of the ride, the speed and ease of assembly and disassembly (packing) is very important to me. If either of these steps were to take too long, I wouldn’t have time left to ride a bike on a typical business trip. The assembly and disassembly procedures are both straightforward, and the directions in the manual bike are very good too - this is critical. The felt packing bags and split plastic tubes that came with the bicycle for protecting it in the travel case are really nice, do their job well, and materially aid in quickly and securely packing the bike; they also reflect attention to key details on the part of Bike Friday. The second time I re-packed the bike it took about an hour, and the next time it will take 30 minutes or less (a few annotations I made in the manual the first time I packed up the bike really helped). The assembly time after three assemblies is comparable to the disassembly time: ~20 minutes for assembly and another 10 minutes to double check, pump tires, etc. In contrast, the travelling bike a sibling bought from another company did not come with a manual or DVD; it took us several hours to repack his bike even though we had photographs of his bike from when we unpacked it. The Pocket Rocket Pro is a clear winner in terms of the speed and ease of assembly and disassembly.

The travel case has worked well too. First, it has protected the bike well, even when opened up by TSA. Second, it is roomy and can take a regular floor pump if the base plate can be removed. The bike and case alone only weigh about 30 pounds by themselves. The bike, the case, the tools for the bike, a rear rack, water bottles and their cages, two frame pumps, and the floor pump together weighed in at 50.0 pounds. The floor pump and the rear rack are the main reasons it has taken me more than 30 minutes to disassemble and pack the bike so far – without them I would be under 30 minutes.

My service experience with Bike Friday has been very good-to-excellent. I ask a lot of questions, and Sandy in customer service fielded my questions patiently and knowledgeably. The fit of the bike is spot on. I ordered the bike about a month before leaving on my trip to Boulder, and it arrived on schedule to fit a narrow time window before the century ride; I greatly appreciated that. I had ordered a straight stem riser and a standard stem to have the option of adjusting the stem, but my Pocket Rocket Pro came with the custom ultralight stem. This could have been a significant problem, but wasn’t: the custom stem was sized just right, I like it, and I’m glad I have it.

I’ve also been pleased with other matters associated with my Pocket Rocket Pro. The online service guide is excellent. The bike’s tool kit is nice. The DVD that came with the bike is good too, even though I find the manual to be quite adequate.

The bicycle does have some idiosyncrasies. It seems to be a bit more sensitive than my regular road bike to having the right saddle in the correct position even though the specs on my Pocket Rocket Pro were taken from my regular bike; my two-year old saddle on my regular road bike just didn’t feel comfortable on the Pocket Rocket Pro – I still don’t know why. The nut on the bottom bracket hinge needed to be slightly loosened to fold it up the first time I packed the bike, and this took me a while to figure out. I bought a crescent wrench for this, but the spanners in the tool kit that comes with the bike can loosen this nut. The quick release on the stem needs to be tighter than I expected to prevent the handlebars from creaking and to prevent a shudder while braking on steep descents. The seat mast clamp also has to be tight to stop the seat from sliding down, and the first time I tightened the clamp I broke the clamp bolt. I’ll get a replacement bolt and clamp to be covered in case this happens again. The front brake cables clack against each other while riding, but I’ve addressed this with a few strategically positioned twisty-ties. I also want to find a way to keep the chain from dirtying the protective felt bags when the bike is in the travel case. With a bit more experience I am confident I’ll resolve all these matters.

In summary, I love the ride of my Pocket Rocket Pro and how well it travels. The service from Bike Friday has been consistent with its fine reputation. The Pocket Rocket Pro was the right bike for me and I am extremely glad I purchased it.