Archive for February, 2013
Showing Off in Denver
Super Pro meets Denver Snow.
It has been a couple of years since Bike Friday had a booth at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, so our return to the show — this year held in Denver — really wowed us.
We survived the snow [10 inches on Saturday night], said thanks to a surprisingly large number of Bike Friday owners who stopped by and came home with a cargo bike load of memories.
Our Bike Friday Dealer in Beijing, Xiang Zhao joined us at the booth and made some great connections.
Of course, we’re more than proud to say that our engineer Rob English proved to be the toast of the show, even if it wasn’t for his stellar Bike Friday designs we were showing off at our booth — the Super Pro and Silk.
Rob has his own custom line of bikes, and won the Best of Show award as well as an award from Gates for Best Application of the Gates Carbon Belt Drive.
Rob’s Best of Show.
Enough words, time for pictures …
Andy Hampsten, who raced against Bike Friday Co-Founder Hanz Scholz as a junior in North Dakota, had both the old and the new of his bike line.
Andy Hampsten’s winning bike from the 1988 Giro d’Italia. Very cool. History.
And another Hampsten.
1 comment February 26, 2013
New World Tourist review
Ridgely and the New World Tourist chillin’. Hey, modeling is a lot of work.
Here is a blog we found online, with a review of our New World Tourist.
Add comment February 9, 2013
In-House Beta Testing Silk
Our Bike Friday beta tester Silk with 20×2.1 Primo Monster tires on 406 wheels, with Shimano Alfine 11 Internal Hub, Gates CenterTrack Carbon Belt Drive and Avid disc brake in the rear.
By Matthew Corson-Finnerty
For the last several months I’ve had the privilege of beta-testing a Silk, our new 20-inch Gates Carbon Belt Drive bicycle.
I’ve been impressed with the sturdiness and durability of the new design. I take the bike off curbs (sometimes up them). I drop the bike regularly. I never clean it. And I haven’t oiled it once.
Despite the repeated, and intentional, abuse it still runs smoothly.
My favorite moment, what really sold me on the Silk, came during a heavy downpour in the dark of night.
I was leaving the Bike Friday factory and traveling home via a bike path that runs alongside a canal.
I noticed that the water level of canal was high but didn’t think much of it. When I came to the first underpass, however, I was abruptly soaked from the knees down by a long stretch of water 7 inches deep.
My rain gear didn’t hold up so well and my boots filled with water, but the Silk didn’t skip a beat.
A half a mile later, still cursing myself for getting drenched, I encountered a second underpass.
This time I knew the water was coming and I thought, “Well, I can’t get any wetter … let’s see what this thing can do.”
I sped down the underpass as fast as I could, hitting the water with an even greater splash.
This time it was up to my knees and pedaling through it felt like I had the brakes on.
Downshifting with the Shimano Alfine 11 hub and the Gates CenterTrack Carbon Drive Belt entirely submerged? Not a problem.
In fact, the drive system responded just as well as it does when its not under 22 inches of Oregon winter runoff.
I pedaled out of the flooded underpass feeling victorious.
11 comments February 8, 2013