THIS IS THE FUTURE, says Dave Muffly, putting his pet Llama to work

by David Muffly www.arborecology.org

AFTER 50,000+ miles on big wheel bikes, a Stanford degree in mechanical engineering, and 13 years of living car-free living, my overall impression (after one year) of living with a Bike Friday Pocket Llama is pretty straightforward.

This is the future.

Frankly, I didn't have any idea that what the Bike Friday folks have achieved was possible. Every day I ride this bike I marvel at the design. The folding points are rock solid - many people will need to actually feel the strength of the folds to believe it's possible to use a bike this hard and have it hold together this well. It feels like a rock-solid steel frame bike, even on rough off-road use. Every bit as solid and tough as my old steel Stumpjumper. If you're thinking "no chance", all I can say is ya gotta feel it to believe it. If you're in the Bay Area, come over and beat mine up a little. It won't mind a bit.

And then you'll get to feel how much fun these little bikes are to ride. I'm 5'11" and have a friend who's 6'7" that wanted to ride my Llama. He just climbed on and rode off. Then I noticed the grin. "Wow, this little bike is really stable."

I can attest to the grins. The Pocket Llama is fun. Those little wheels are lighter and easier to get up to speed than big wheels. You feel it. They're lively. And smaller, which makes them more nimble. And the whole bike is smaller, and it's more nimble, too. I often feel like a kid on a BMX - but with proper position and gears and tough tires and wheels to go over nearly any surface. I suspect the smaller wheels are stronger, and so I ride over curbs all the time - these things are rolling steel goats.

Every day I look forward to riding my Pocket Llama more than any of the dozens of big wheel bike I've had over the years. Way more. In fact, some times I can get a little too enthusiastic 'cause it's so much fun.

This summer I spent two gorgeous weeks in Fairfax, CA, housesitting for a friend, and having a summer mountain bike vacation on the trails that birthed the modern mountain bike. Toward the end of one day I rode up the Marin single track to about 1000' elevation, enjoyed a fabulous view of the Marin hills with the setting sun, and came down these well-used trails on the Pocket Llama.

Got to having a bit too much fun, on trails that have been altered for use by the robo-bikes. Accidentally hit a pair of ramps at the side of the trail, went squarely over the handlebars, and slammed to the ground. A nasty one - I was laid up for a month healing the scrapes and contusions.

Dusty, bloody, and wondering if that foot really is broken, I look back at my lovely little yellow llama sitting beside the trail, front wheel turned backwards. Looks okay. Looks better than me.

As the shock wears off, I realize there's another half hour to ride and it's getting dark. Oh, boy. Doesn't feel like I can walk. Can I ride? Please??

Yep, the bike says, having suffered nary a scratch, nor even a maladjustment. I just spun the fork around, got on, rode off, and experienced the worst half hour I've ever had on a bike - the wounds did not appreciate the bouncy trail. That was the only time in all these years I've ever wished for suspension...hmm, in fact, I shoulda let some air out of the tires... [Suspension is an option on this modek - Ed]

I have a fantasy that the bike was sitting there beside me in the dust and rocks, thinking "Man, this owner is a wimp - gotta find me a new one who's up to my capabilities..."

Don't think the Pocket Llama is gonna hold you back. In fact, it looks like the big wheel bike is now obsolete. The various models of Bike Friday offer a profound tool for cutting edge ecological living that is simply not possible with normal, big wheel bikes. Please let me explain.

A few years after becoming aware of Bike Friday, I reached a point in my car-free tree business where I wanted to increase my range. Clients wanted me to travel around a wide area for consultations, but I was tied to a bike and some bike/train possibilities. If I could get a ride, with a bike, for one leg of the journey, then the other leg becomes both workout and transport, fulfilling my need for efficiency.

But my big wheel bike just don't integrate well with cars - hard, messy, damaging to machines and humans. Yuck. Poor design integration.

Wait, what about that Bike Friday? I dug in, researched, and came away convinced, from the endless testimonials, that these were the real deal. I felt sufficiently convinced even before riding one that I went ahead and spec'd all top-grade components. I'm still surprised I was willing to take the financial risk, but my instinct proved dead-on.

Over the last year, I've had my Pocket Llama folded up in 50+ different cars and trucks (and trains and buses and...). For real. It works. Every day I pray more people will adopt this transportation solution.

I plan to ride my Pocket Llama for the rest of my life, and I may not ever want to ride any others. Except maybe a fixed-gear Llama...

As a certified arborist, horticulturalist and tree planter. I do about 75% of my work from my Bike Friday. I'm known as the Cycling Arborist. I sometimes tow a 15' orchard ladder, strapped horizontally to a bike trailer, behind my Pocket Llama. This rig is longer than a Hummer, and festooned with safety flags.

I've probably pulled that ladder, with tools, for more than 300 miles in the last year, with the ladder securely bungeed to the excellent Bike Friday folding rack. I've gotten used to being stared at.

Riding to a pruning job one lovely afternoon, I notice a young fellow on the sidewalk, riding a little wheel bike, with Mom and sister not far behind. The boy stops his bike at a corner as I ride past, gets off, and stands there clapping as I ride by. I guess kids have a parade gene, and my rig is big enough to set it off...

That moment made my year. Thanks, Bike Friday.

Dave Muffly, Eugene, Oregon www.arborecology.org

For more information, follow this link http://www.bikefriday.com/carfree.