Bike Friday All-Packa Review + Thoughts on Small Wheels and Folding Bikes
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
- Neil recently put aside his preconceived notions about small-wheeled bikes and threw a leg over the new Bike Friday All-Packa. When he got home from his first ride, he couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. In our latest bike review, Neil shares what surprised him about the 20" wheels, the pros and cons of folding bikes, and how the All-Packa differs from its closet competitors.
Find the full written review at bikepacking.com/bikes/bike-fr...
This video was supported by Teravail Tires. Learn more about Teravail, their tire models and constructions here: www.teravail.com/?...
Outline:
Intro: 0:00
A folding bike is…well convenient - 1:22
Expectations - 2:26
Geo differences - 3:27
Wheels are smaller - 5:09
How does gearing work - 6:42
Comfort and sizing - 8:01
Is it flexy - 9:26
Mounts and gear capacity - 10:31
Riding Loaded - 11:30
This bike is fun - 12:36
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#bikepacking #pedalfurther
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::About The Host::
Neil Beltchenko ( / neil_beltchenko )
Geometry: 150lbs, 5'9.5", 32" inseam
Wearing: Escalator Merino Henley Med - www.kitsbow.com/collections/m... - Sport
![[柴犬ASMR]曼玉Manyu&小白Bai 毛发护理Spa asmr](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0TsXQ7z2Dh4/mqdefault.jpg)
This video was supported by Teravail Tires. Learn more about Teravail, their tire models and constructions here: www.teravail.com/?.com&
Try Moulton XTB next!
Do a comparison all packa and diamond llama
Every ride doesn't have to be performance oriented. It's supposed to be fun! This looks like pure fun of a different nature. ✌
It was a blast, thanks for watching.
Hi, Tony. Fancy seeing you here. I have an older Bike Friday Pocket Rocket that I bought used. I hope to be traveling with it in your part of the U.S. (though further west) next month. I've taken it to Europe a couple of times, just for days rides of up to 50 miles. It has only 25mm tires, though, which is about as wide as the frame can handle. Turn off the pavement onto a soft, wet gravel road, and an innocent quick turn to find the best lane might have you doing a faceplant on the gravel. (Did that once.) The newer models can handle wider tires, and wider tires is what made me think this video would be worth watching. (It was.)
Hey John. It does look like a fun way to travel. I bet riding in Europe was a great memory for you. Best of luck with your plan for riding west of here. ✌
I've had a Brompton for a decade now - and now also a Helix. Folding bikes are a game changer. Sure there are compromises, but they ride far better than most people think. When you factor in convenience, portability, and security, it's tough to beat. I love my big bikes for riding, sure, but once you start to realize the utility folding bikes offer, they fast become the bike most ridden just because you can. No rack need to transport, no need to lock up outside, easy for quick errands, peace of mind that if you can't ride back, just bring it along on the Uber or bus. But even among folding bikes, there are differences: some ride better; some fold better. It's all a matter of deciding which is the best balance for your uses.
Totally agree with you. Folding bikes have been an eye opener.
Without a doubt the Brompton is the most elegant folding bike. Perhaps one could say the best “true folding” bike since everything is neat and compact, every part made to be as compact as possible.
The BF is not as refined with the folding, but a much better bike from the standpoint of durability, gear range options, ease of customization and it’s made to fit.
For my use, the BF is the better choice, if my daily life were different, I could see the Brompton being a better choice for me.
Cyclists have never had so many options, we live in an amazing time.
I've never had a Bike Friday, but I love that they have a hard travel case that converts to a trailer. Put the bike on the plane in the case, with your luggage in soft bags. Get to your destination, put the bike together, put the soft luggage in the trailer and ride away. It's a cool concept.
"concept" being the key word here... I'm not saying you can't do it, but that trailer/suitcase thing in reality isn't working that well. For shorter rides on tarmac it could be ok, but for touring and dirt roads not really. I really like the fact that I can fly my Bike Friday in the suitcase, but for the tour itself I plan so that I can return to the same place I've started and leave the suitcase with friends/relatives or just a place I've stayed. Another thing is that recently airlines keep changing their policies regarding luggage on overseas flights. For example Air Canada specifically asks if you have a bike I your suitcase and if you say yes they charge you more. If you say no, they don't, but if your luggage get's lost you get some $700 max compensation, never mind your bike costed you $2,500... And last year on the Pearson Airport was such a mess, hundreds of pieces of luggage just thrown on piles over each other...
I was one of the All-Packa prototype testers. I also have a Dahon. As a folding bike lover, the All-Packa immediately felt comfortable and fun, handling easy single track and dirt roads! Loading weight on the bars, say 10lbs. didn't affect my steering. When my Dahon dies, I'm getting a Bike Friday.
Don't wait for the death of a bike you already enjoy. Start planning on the Bike Friday as a N+1.
I have used folding bikes for 20 years and wanted a folding bike that was built for gravel and off road. Bike Friday made it it--the holy grail has arrived! 😉 🚲
I absolutely LOVE my folding bikes, I have 3 of them, and I use them for very different purposes:
* GoPlus folding Bike - this one is not the most solid, but the price point was very low, and it's the lightest of my folding bikes BY FAR, making it super portable and easy to carry (like on a bus or a plane). Also a plus on this bike, the steering column is telescopic, so it folds down smaller than my others.
* Schwinn folding Bike - this one is TOTALLY SOLID, and can be ridden on or off road. It also has a super sturdy cargo rack. YES - a folding bike with a cargo rack. I use this one primarily for grocery shopping, and have some good panniers installed. This is my favorite folding bike and gets the most use in my routine.
* Swagtron EB7 folding eBike - I LOVE this bike, it's super fun, and I even purchased a second battery for it (they slide out and are easy to change mid-ride on longer rides). I take this ride when I go on vacations in the truck of my car. It gets about 15 miles per battery, and all in all it pretty rugged. It even has rear shocks. It is the heaviest of my folders at about 35lbs, but not terrible to carry. The biggest drawback for this bike is it has 16" wheels, whereas the others have 20" wheels. It doesn't look like much of a difference, but it makes a big difference when you hit a big bump or curb. A bigger wheel will get you over those, whereas a smaller one has a tendency to slam stop and fling the rider forward.
This Bike Friday unit looks awesome - thanks for the review! :)
I run 11-42 gearing with a 58t front chainring on my 20" Xootr Swift. I actually think the 42t small gear on the cassette is overkill as I used to run 38t as my skinniest gear and it climbed the mountain roads just fine. I honestly can't imagine running a 40t up front (waaay to small imo). I personally find that because the wheels are smaller I'm always trying to make up gear inches rather than find an even lower gear. That said I usually don't load the bike and ride it over rough terrain. I have bike-packed with it however (with me wearing a backpack) and I've covered more than 200km up hill (Bilbao to Burgos) with about 1800 meters elevation gain. I regularly ride it 70-100km at a time and typically put more than a thousand meters eleveation during these rides. My little Swift is very fun to ride, climbs beautifully and can handle a bit of unpaved mountain track whenever necessary (though rough terrain isn't really the bike's forté). I live in the Alpujarras in Spain which is a valley under the highest mountain range on the Iberian Peninsula, so having a comfortable bike that climbs well is essential for me. I can ride it anywhere and regularly do. The Swift is a simple design that jack-, knifes apart at the seat tube. It's a very stiff frame compared to my road bike let alone other more conventional folders. Origami Bikes is releasing a new Swift next month, and I'm excited to try it out because it will have disc brakes. The one thing I don't like about my Xootr Swift is that the rim brakes wear out my rims and usually I have to replace my wheels about once a year, which is a hassle. I admire Bike Friday. They've been making beautiful bikes for a long time now. I think that their Pocket Rockets are glorious and I'd probably own one if I didn't love my aluminium Swift so much. But I'm a bit skeptical about the low gearing that comes standard with this bike. Much as I love 20" bikes I don't think that they're natural off-road machines. Better in my opinion to have a reasonable top gear as these bikes can be quite fast on the road, particularly in urban settings where quick acceleration through traffic is an advantage or on well surfaced mountain roads where one can use such a bike for climbing. Being able to keep up with the peleton on the descents or on the flats is nicer than compromising for off-road use, which I don't think any 20" bike will ever excel at.
In 2013, I picked up my custom Pocket Pro from Bike Friday in Eugene. Ever since, I've logged between 2000 - 4000 miles a year on this. I use it for fast club rides and multiday bike touring. I love this concept, often flying with my Friday. I'm very curious about this option, as I do more and more gravel rides each year. Great review!
Excellent review! Very rich content. You really did a good job covering all the important features of the Bike Friday concept. Well done!
Thanks for this review. I've been looking at the bike for car camping as I hate to have a bike hanging off the back for 5000 miles to maybe find a place to ride for 100.
Another advantage of this type of frame, at least for the , errrr, more vintage members of this riding community, is the step-through frame. Specially with long saddlebags hanging a mile behind the seat, and/or wide panniers, it can be hard for us Creaky Ones to swing a leg over the seat. With the BF, it's a cinch. (Until/Unless you add a big frame bag, of course. ;-) And it opens a few extra options when having to bail out after tackling a "feature" a bit beyond one's Mad Skillz. ;-)
A _downside_ of the open frame is that it takes a bit more care to lean the bike against a tree or a big rock. And the top tube can sometimes be handy to stabilize the bike with a knee when going at higher speed.
Super interesting thank you! Currently on the second half of our winter travels where we are more or less in one location with our own bikes. We just had a 13 week ramble where we didn't bring bikes so we could be free n agile to do whatever, buses, trains, planes and the like. While we never regretted leaving our bikes behind and rented many bikes along the way, my wife did miss her bike and next years adventures will certainly be on our bikes. All this to say I keep going over what would be the simplest most convenient way to bring nice bikes along. SnS couplers could help but her bike is an extra small and the couplers may impede other functions on the down tube, not to mention we love our bikes and are not exactly looking to cut them in half. The best answer may be to build up some dedicated travel bikes that break n half with an internal geared hub but not looking for that expense this year. Short story long I keep coming back to just bringing our bikes and dealing with it. I do like the idea of some of the travel box n bags out there. But that requires you have somewhere to store the bag/box that you’l for sure come back to. And yes this is a long comment going no where, just contemplating with coffee. If anyone on here regularly travels over seas with bikes let me know your thoughts.
Some bike suitcases convert into a trailer OR some travelers will start and end at same hotel and ask to store bike box, etc.
We have been renting the same house in the Pyrenees since 2011. After a couple of years we took our bikes with us. We have become great friends with the owner and she lets us keep our bikes in the "grenier" (cellar). We usually stay for about 10 weeks to 3 months and do everything , including shopping, with them. This year we are swapping out the mtb's for my wife's e-bike and my gravel bike - the old mtb's will be donated to some deserving teenagers in the village. Travelling on the train - plane with folding bikes would be a great improvement and yes e versions of Brompton can fly as carry-on so this bike might be able to as well in it's e-version or switch conversion.
I love watching your videos and joining in at the end with the "pedal further" as the gap is always slightly different, in ends up being a bit of a game to get it right. Great content as always. =)
I love making videos, so thanks for watching!
I ride a folding bike and it's great to see someone finally make a video on them for mountain biking.
Awesome review! I know you briefly mentioned it, but I'd be interested in a review of the Velo Orange Neutrino.
Good to see folding bike content, thanks.
Both my tour bikes (one in Europe, one in the US) are folding bikes. They are absolutely brilliant! Once you do, say, a 10-day tour, you can just fold them and take a train/boat/bus back. ☺️👍🏻
That seems to be the way to go, at least for those who have a place to leave a bike in America and Europe..
In spite of the expectations that air travel would become easier it in reality is getting more difficult. I recently travel with cabin luggage only, as any checked luggage is such a pain in the behind... Once on the ground though a folding bike can easily go on a bus, train, public transport, cheap rental car's trunk etc.
Been strongly considering one to take with me in the semi to get to some hidden away fly fishing holes during my rest breaks. It would also be really nice to be able to put it in a suitcase and fly home with it when I go visit my family on the other side of the country. It makes a lot of sense imo. I wonder what I can sell to get one….🤔
I love this! I want one
I now tour on folding bike having previously used a full-size tourer. Once you get used to the slightly different handling, which only takes about 20 minutes, it's literally no different from riding a full-size touring bike, provided that you set it up so that you're in the same riding position, which is possible as hefty long seatposts and stem extenders for folding bike handleposts are available. Adequate gearing is also perfectle doable. I have 22-inch wheels which are great and a 20-speed set up across a nice wide range of gears. (Bromptons, by the way, only have 16-inch wheels and don't take a standard front and rear derrailleur drive chain and are therefore best kept for urban commuting rather than touring in my view...although people do attempt it!).
I would have loved the looks you got at the local trailhead when you dropped in on that rig 😂.
This Italian chap does global bike packing on a 16" wheel Brompton. Included here to show what's possible. . He can fly out with the bike anywhere, and have a 2-4 week cycling holiday. With the current interest in gravel riding, the All-Packa is interesting. Gearing is always going to be relatively low with small wheels.
Would like to hear a ride comparison between this and the Neutrino.
We are doing a live chat next week to talk about this and much more, stay tuned.
@@BIKEPACKINGcom 🍿🤭
I was a huge fan of the Tern Vektron, a city mid-drive ebike... I'm imagining a mid drive on this bike and mannnnn that ride would be sick!
think different. its a strength. thanks for this out there review. good stuff.
With or without covid lockdowns, small bike like this one is still in demand. Buying one of these soon.
Ohoooo. I love the look of this bike. Reminds me of bmxs in the 80s, the mongooses and Raleigh burners my friends had but I couldn't afford. There's something really retro about it with a modern twist. I wonder if it would be good for 179cm rider with very long legs and short torso.....Great vid!
I am a BikeFriday owner Love BF bikes they get the job done.😎❤️🚴♂️👏👏👏👏🇨🇦
Very interesting bike. Greetings from Greece.
I really liked this bike!
Testing on S Mountain I see! Love that place!
I love my BF New World Tourist. I use it for travel to explore cities I visit, However, I don’t think a BF would be my choice of bike for off-road or even gavel riding. I also question the wisdom of disc brakes on a folding bike. One would have to remove at least the front rotor when packing the bike for travel, since the rotor will probably get bent in transit if you don’t..
I like to keep things simple and durable, v-brakes work just fine.
Bike Friday is a high quality product and they are staying current with the rest of the industry, making models and equipping their bikes with what people expect to see on a new bike. However, sometimes old solutions are a better compromise.
Thanks for the review.
A bike friday pocket companion user since 2012 till now.
2:00 I don't own a bike friday, but I think theres a way to fold it so the chain doesn't fall off like that. You put tension on the crank as you swing the wheel under or something.
I'd like to see one built up with an internal geared hub, $900 for the framekit seems reasonable, if I get the nerve to pull the trigger on this project I'll submit it to the readers bikes form (although I much prefer the older recycled rigs).
This was my first thought too! A Rolhoff or Alfine 11 and gates drive would really be sweet on this thing! I’m pretty sure BF will work with customers on a custom spec. Might be worth calling and asking about.
I rode one years ago and quickly determined it wasn't for me. Now that I have a steel bike I can always put in S&S couplers for travel. Thanks!
A S&S coupled bike is great if your travels have you staying in a place for awhile. A true folding bike is great because you can, in a matter of a few minutes pack and unpack the bike to get on a train, bus or airplane. When riding Amtrak, I roll my BF right up to the train, pack it in the bag and hop on. In a matter of a few minutes, I have it ready to ride once at my destination. Not as fast as a Brompton, but way faster than a coupled bike.
I don’t think I would take the kind of time to assemble and disassemble a coupled or a Break-away frame the way I use my folding BF.
A coupled bike really is a different thing.
@@mplsmark222 That's assuming one will be fully disassembling an S&S coupled bike. For train travel, you can just split the frame while keeping the wheels on, tie the two halves together with Gear Tie straps and that's it.
@@capmidnite there are lots of different ways trains and buses operate and the amount of room available. Amtrak long distance trains like the Empire Builder would not allow a 700c wheeled bike simply split in half as carryon , it would be too big.
If there are places the coupled bike works like you describe, that’s great, but it would not work for me.
@@mplsmark222 "Amtrak long distance trains like the Empire Builder would not allow a 700c wheeled bike simply split in half as carryon , it would be too big." Is this from personal experience? A split bike is pretty compact and if you put a cover on it., it just looks like a large piece of luggage. And given the weird "jumble of parts" folded shape the Bike Friday collapses into, the s & s coupled bike probably has a similar footprint, especially if you take the wheels off.
@@capmidnite yes first hand experience , I use Amtrak and their folding bike policy is on their website. There have been times that there was no room for my bike in its case, they allowed me to bring into the lower deck seating area.
I have had to explain the policies to Amtrak employees, they had not seen a folding bike before apparently.
The idea of decoupling the frame, cables, removing the wheels and stuffing them into a case, scratching everything up sounds unpleasant.
I can pack my BF in less than 5 min. and does not take much longer to set back up at my destination. No special tool needed and the powder coat finish is so durable. The bike looks great even after years of use.
i got myself a folding bike that i've put full XTR on it. at the moment im running schwable g one's
Considering this. I often take my mountainbike when I go with my dog out to the forest and moorland. But when we go somewhere by car, we are stuck with walking everywhere since putting the bikerack on my car to bring a mountainbike is too much hassle. This I could just leave in the car and take out whenever I want for off-road and gravel trails, and that is very appealing.
I'm from the UK and use a halfords carrera folding intercity disc 1 I find it comfortable but did change tyres to maxxis and changed the brakes to hydraulic and I ride my bike everywhere including going to get my groceries it's my transport for 400 pound I don't complain great video that bike is awesome
That looks like such a fun bike. I’ve got a Brompton already and another folder with off road ability would be great. I live in a third floor apartment and don’t have secure storage, so folders are perfect (except the carrying up the stairs bit!). Thanks for the great review. I think I’m going to look into U.K. availability on these.
Let me know if you find any in the future I'm really interested.
Is this correct that BF _lowered_ the bottom bracket, as Neil notes at 4:10 ? It looks higher than on my old Pocket Rocket or Air Friday. Could be that it had a huuuuuge ring, might make it appear lower. The rear derailleur is definitely higher: on mine, when on the bigger sprocket, the lower jockey wheel looks scarily close to the ground.
This thing is amazing
I’ve been riding an Air Llama for decades. Like new and amazing. Phenomenal bike. Sadly they no longer make them and not sure if current bikes are as good. Good company.
There's something I don't understand: the specs of the micro shift derailleur say that the short version allows for a max cog of 33t, but the cassette is an 11-40. Wouldn't that create some troubles?
The All-Packa would be a great adventure bike, esp. when you want to combine public transport on your journey.
One thing BikeFriday should offer is the front mounting block from the Brompton, to accommodate a large bag, clicked on this block in a second. I did a 3500 km loop around Germany last summer, on a Brompton and found it to be a perfect travel bike. And having just one bag at the front makes a major difference switching into a train, or even just unpacking it when you reach your destination like a hotel or your friends house. The block is mounted directly to the steering tube, hence the load is relatively low, but more importantly sitting on the frame and (almost) not affecting steering. I also found that having all the load at the front is balanced quiet well, once you are on the bike, sitting or standing. The only thing where the Brompton is not so great is the possibility mounting wider tires, and here the All-Packa would come in handy.
Brompton Traveller (YT ch) cable ties a PVC tube across the saddle rails, and hangs a back pack vertically off that (probably with a rack beneath).
Robert - They *DO* have an option to add a Brompton front bag block; at least for the New World Tourist. I Have a new bike on order, and spec'ed it with the Brompton block so I can use the bags from my Brompton :-)
@@rickmason2579 ohhh i did not see this in their list of options.....need to look this up again! Thanks for the hint, sir!
I'm bookmarking this bike! This is exactly the type of bike I've been searching for...I see they even have the option available to convert to a front hub ebike. I wonder if you could use a bafang bbs02/bbshd mid drive on this....
I hope these are still available by the time I actually have the money to spend lol
They offer middrive as well as hub motors.
I'd love to ride one. I've owned a Brompton and a VO Neutrino and both had their plus and minuses. Someday maybe I'll find someone local who has one.
I've owned a couple of Bike Friday road bikes. As Neil experienced, once you start riding, you begin to forget that it has those little wheels. The frames are designed superbly. I would be a bit nervous about the durability of the folding joints in extended gravel usage. The place these bikes shine is in the limited storage space they require and ease of travel under various conditions, such as in trains, planes, and automobiles. Folders easily fit in the trunks of most cars.
The folding joints located at the seatpost may do better than those located mid-top tube, maybe except for the Dahon (lockjaw joint) that Amy Kay used in her Tour Divide race last year.
I want that
Are there sliding drop outs and rear rack mounts?
You can get it made with horizontal drop outs as a custom option, and it does come with rack mounts
I ❤mine!
I've got a folding ebike with 20 inch wheels. It's fine for riding on flat ground but for going up hills it's a real bear. Even slight inclines will leave me knackered. That's not fun at all. My regular large wheel bike takes those same small inclines with little effort.
I was planning to keep it folded in the car and do some joyriding but around here there is almost nowhere that is completely flat.
Right now, the bike just sits in my basement collecting dust.
Love this thorough and detailed review. I'm very interested in this bike and you've provided the most detailed analysis. So thank you. One note about the gearing - I think you have it reversed. With the same front and rear derailleur setting, a smaller wheel will rotate more than a larger wheel in order to travel the same distance. Or maybe I heard you wrong. In any case, thanks again!
I agree -- with the same gearing, the smaller wheel will have to turn maybe twice or more to cover the same ground as a bigger wheel covers in one revolution -- hence the huge 54-tooth (or more?) ring on my old Pocket Rocket.
great review... twitchy begame turny!
If you're looking for a Bike Friday in Germany / Europe, we're happy to announce our Partnership with Bike Friday. First Frames already came in, including a Demo Frameset.
A better option may be the Austrian Vello Bike with a Rohloff.
This makes me think, a folding recumbent bike would be like the best of worlds. Easy to pack, yet the aero advantages would make up for small wheels etc lol
Folding and recumbent in the same sentence frightens me in so many ways.
I have a Dahon and man, it's a conversation starter. Folding bikes are a bit misunderstood form of transport when your place is designed for cars. As for that bike, I'd have one if only I can afford it. 😅 😅
2:47 I really like those chelsea boots lol, what are they? Sorry, random....
Blunstones, maybe the last shoe you ever need, I’m in love.
No way could I have left that little unit unridden for so long!!
well, winter also showed up, so it was bad timing, but I do regret waiting so long.
Work well
The triple folding Brompton started a landslide of lousy, heavy rolling, small wheeled bikes in the seventies! Some of those didn't even fold, but only were lousy to ride! I am myself an owner of the former top, and very expensive Brompton, a 2019 SuperlightM6LXBrompton and I love its ability be brought anywhere, as folded and with an even less weight than from new, from added, expensive titanium and carbon parts. Its list of mostly expensive upgrades looks like a BMC Mini from the sixties!! But as a bike it is lousy and even after that many years of production, the Factory haven't found out a decent protection against scratches during the folding, but leave it to the customers to find and pay for it! Finn. Denmark
Looks fun. A less serious attitude kind of bike.
To summarize, the All-Packa is just like a 20- year old marriage: the lower your expectations, the higher chance to survive the ride.
need belt pinion/igh
Use a trailer with a folding bike FFS. That's what i do.
Only the Vello bicycle from Austria is better.
I am shocked, SHOCKED that you know nothing about Fridays, and I guess all folders. Have you heard pr Moultons, Dahons, Terns, Bromptons, even Schwinn folders? I have owned five and done long tours including the Going to the Sun Road, The Underground Railway route, the Tour de Turkey, and the Snoqualime Rail Trail on them, and even a few Randonneur rides. I do own a gravel bike and plan to do most of my touring on it, though. One wonderful thing is that I can pull a trailer (Burley Travoy) with my folding kayak (Innova Swing 2) with my Dahon (Mariner), AND also carry the folding bike and trailer INSIDE the kayak.
Anyway, the only real difference between bikes with little wheels vs big ones is momentum vs inertia. Less momentum means you can't coast worth a damn and can't fly up a hill after descending on a roller. But less inertia means you can accelerate, climb and stop like crazy. I like coasting, so don't use them for touring so much. And they are not the best choice for gravel if there are potholes and washboards. But they are nimble as hell for single track, and the lower center of gravity is a joy on turns. I use a 2x and can carry tons. Sometimes with low-riders on front and rear racks with a BIG saddle bag and handlebar roll. I do not notice any balance issues. And you get use to the twitch very quickly.
Strike 1: Never ridden a folding bike before. His own admission.
Strike 2: Never heard of BF before. His own admission.
Strike 3: Based in the U.S. so he really doesn't know the range of folding bikes out there.
Yer out!
For folding bike reviews, don't trust reviewers like these who are out of their element, if not out of their depth.
Really? I thought that it was a rather good review.
1. So what that he admits he's never ridden a folding bike before? I suspect that many who watch this video similarly have never ridden a folding bike either, and fewer still anything as thoughtfully conceived as a Bike Friday. Personally I enjoyed his epiphany that such a bike could be a capable and fun machine. Unfortunately I think that there's only a niche market for high quality folding bikes in no small part because people perceive small wheels with the heavy crappy bikes they rode when they were kids. Why criticise this guy for owning up that he might've been in this camp and reluctant to test the bike before being pleasantly surprised by its performance? He might not be a folding bike aficionado, but he does know about and love bikes. I found all his commentary valid and relevant.
2. Never heard of BF before. Again, so what?
3. I don't really understand your third "strike" against this reviewer. If I were a folding bike newbie (I'm not btw) I might find his review helpful. Bike Friday produce very nice bikes and he did a pretty darn good review of one of their products. Bike Friday is a U.S. based manufacturer. I'm in Europe and there are a couple of high quality European brands (Birdy, Airimal, Moulton all come to mind) but I ride a Xootr Swift, which is an American design and it was distributed by an American company. I don't see how his geographical locale is particularly relevant. He was very up front about his dearth of experience with folders. He put the bike through its paces according to what he likes to do when riding (which is somewhat different from the type of riding I enjoy doing, but nevertheless I found it interesting).
Anyway, what types of folders and how many have you ridden? Maybe you should post a video up instead of tearing this guy down, no?
@@jjdtierney reviewers like this review folders in reference to larger, non folding bikes. They carry a bias. They can never review folders as folders alone. And since he's never ridden a folder before, he cannot review in reference to other folders.
Chac Mool secretly wants one of those Swifts coming out in May?
@@johnshannon No, not in the least.
@@chacmool2581 I disagree with your take, and value his review. He is talking to an audience that's probably 99% made up of people who've barely heard of and likely never ridden a folder, so he can relate to _their_ experience and expectation better than a folder aficionado. It is totally legit to reference the BF compared to non-folders, as it is what it's competing against in this specific market. What's the point of comparing how it rides vs. a Brompton, Dahon or Moulton etc. that (for most of them) would be quite out of its natural element if pressed into service away from paved roads? And how relevant would be a review of a _gravel bike_ by somebody who's an expert in folders, but has never set knobbies on a trail?
I thought that this was a well-done, comprehensive, unbiased review, that pointed out the differences and similarities with the type of bikes ridden by most people who follow this channel, so, quite useful.
(BTW, i've owned probably 1/2 dozen BF and a Moulton, still own the Moulton and a Pakit, and an old Peugeot folder :-), and did regularly ride a couple of them on easy gravel roads, ending up breaking the frame on my Air Friday, so am quite curious about this new beastie, and liked the in-the-field review. :-)
How did that waffle ever get to be a 13 minute video? Learn to edit and save millions of life minutes
Life lesson for others here, be nice, or move along...
I've been riding this bike for about a month czcams.com/users/postUgkxwC0IIeIomGQVeBWg-kKJaToZkLEFIA2W and a half now and I think it's fantastic. It helps me get to work on time every day since I'm able to fit it inside of public transportation rush hour. The price is great too, people are always shocked when they ask me how much I paid for the fold up and I tell them "200". It's easy to fold and installation when it ships is insanely easy. All you have to install when the bike arrives is one foot pedal, everything else is done for you. I do recommend you carry some sort of wrench to tighten any loose screws on the handle bar and seat whenever they get a little bit loose. Other than that I think it's a fantastic bike. Easily fits in the home, can fit inside a car trunk and can even fit in subway rush hour.