Bike Friday Air Llama
HITS: It's a real bike; it does real bike things; you can ride whenever and where you go MISSES: Handling of 20-inch wheels; geeky look
Green Gear Cycling is the company that gave birth to Bike Friday. And it's also run and staffed by a bunch of bike geeks.
The Bike Friday concept began in '72--prompted by a request to build a bike for touring the Himalayas--as a road/touring bike that folded for easy traveling. Late in '94, Green Gear began producing a fat-tire version that folds into a suitcase and can be used off-road. The Pocket Llama was born. As more people began doing "real" off-roading, the need for a more-advanced design grew. The Air Llama tested here is the third round of evolution for this new design, and we found it was easily up to the task of serious mountain biking.
HOW CUSTOM IS CUSTOM?
Green Gear tries to create a bike with the exact fit and ergonomics of your favorite bike. To do this, the company sends each customer a form that captures the rider's physical dimensions as well as their riding style, from recreational to racer. The key dimensions from a currently ridden bike are also requested.
With these dimensions in hand, the company builds a custom bike. Eight labor hours later, the transition from raw tubing and hand-scribbled measurements to rideable bike is complete.
AND NOW, THE BIKE
The use of 4130 chromoly steel in the two-piece main frame allows Green Gear to keep tubing size small. (Remember, this bike has to fit in a suitcase.) The seating arrangement is much like a Softride beam bike, with some key differences. Instead of the sandwiched carbon fiber beam, the Air Llama's beam is an 18-inch piece of oval-ized 3/2.5 Haynes straight-gauge titanium tubing. This beam slips into a receiver on the top tube. Two cinch bolts keep things in place.
Front suspension is supplied via an Action-Tec system. This steerer-tube-type suspension consists of a beefy splined steel stanchion that rides into the head tube. A steel coil handles the spring duties while a damping cartridge keeps movement under control. The fork is a welded steel unit that separates from the splined steerer tube at the crown. Two bolts cinch the assembly together. We haven't heard from Action-Tec in quite some time, but this latest offering works nicely. The addition of a damping cartridge has helped the action of this system considerably. And as with the other steerer-tube system, Cannondale's HeadShok, steering accuracy is excellent.
Part spec is a rather imaginative custom blend. SRAM 9.0 series shifters work an XTR rear derailleur and an Ultegra road bike front derailleur. Ultegra crankarms and the required hollow-splined bottom-bracket axle are also used. The 20-inch wheels are built from XTR hubs, with titanium spokes and Sun CR18 rims, and make for a light and stiff wheelset. Real Design brake levers actuate a great-working set of Paul Components Moto-Lite top-pull brakes. The headset is a rather ingenious arrangement of a Chris King threadless headset and a locknut from a threaded headset. Because you have to remove the stem and handlebar to pack the bike, the locknut is there to keep the headset together during travel. A 7-inch removable stem riser provides the proper height extension for a Dimension threadless stem. A Titec titanium straight handlebar finishes off the front end.
HOW DOES IT FOLD? The entire bike folds up into a hardside suitcase. After a couple of practice runs, we were able to go from a closed suitcase to pedaling down the trail in 10 minutes or less. Once the case is opened you pull the main part of the bike out. This consists of the folded frame with drivetrain and rear wheel still attached. The pivot is a simple bolted affair near the bottom bracket. You unfold this main assembly and secure it with one allen bolt. The driveside crankarm must be installed. With the self-extracting bolt, this is easy. The rest is simply a matter of slipping the fork over the splined, suspended steerer; sliding in the Ti seat beam and seatpost, bolting on the stem riser and installing the stem and bar (which stay together in the case). Half the fun is performing this ritual for amazed onlookers.
WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT TRAVELING WITH A BICYCLE? Most airlines charge $40-$55 one-way to ship a bicycle. Once tucked anonymously inside its case, the Air Llama looks like any other suitcase, and thus can be sent as another piece of checked baggage. (The case has three positive latches, one of which has a combination lock. To finish off the case, there's a spring-loaded handle on one end and a set of wheels on the other.) We logged more than 40,000 flight miles with the Llama over 15 round-trips, saving us $1,500 in oversize baggage fees in four months. With this admittedly insane (but real) travel schedule, we could save the total cost of the bike within the first year. Any Wall Street venture capitalist would kill for an investment payoff this quick.
HOW DOES IT TRAVEL? Rolling the suitcase through the airport is a piece of cake. At 24 pounds, extended jaunts can be a little tiresome. To keep the size of the case reasonable, there isn't a lot of extra room inside. Green Gear says you can stash a helmet in there, but we were never able to get one in and easily close the lid.
With all the miles traveled with the bike, only twice did we experience any damage. The first incident resulted in a slightly bent rear derailleur hanger, which was easily straightened. The second caused a ding in the chainstay that tweaked one of the brake studs (the rear brakes are mounted on the chainstays). This required a little more creative rebending, but it was also accomplished fairly easily with a borrowed crescent wrench. Both incidents were a little surprising given that each Bike Friday case has a brace inside to keep travel damage to a minimum. You never know what goes on behind the walls of the baggage claim area.
HOW DOES IT RIDE? This bike is the real deal. It will do everything a full-size bike can do; some things it can actually do better.
Does this mean that you can replace your full-size mountain bike with a new Bike Friday? Not so fast. The main difference between riding this bike and your current bike are those 20-inch wheels. They can handle a tight switchback with incredible agility; however, at speed you better pay attention. Rapid descents on a loose, rocky trail require full focus. Your first drop-in will also make you stand up and take notice. The smaller wheels mean you get over the top of the front wheel sooner.
Where a 26-inch wheel will roll across ruts and trail depressions, the smaller wheels drop right to the bottom so you feel more of each bump. This is where the Action-Tec front suspension and the titanium beam are called into action. The Action-Tec does a good job of suspending the front end of the bike, although we could do with more on-the-fly adjustability. The Ti beam does an incredible job of isolating the rider from small, high-frequency bumps and stutters. You usually find yourself standing on the pedals for anything bigger than that, which renders the beam useless. If you do find yourself seated as you hit something big, prepare for a rapid, undamped rebound. As with other beam arrangements, this one suffers from a certain degree of lateral flex.
THE AIR LLAMA MADE ME A BETTER BIKER. Okay, so it's not the bike that makes you a better rider. It's the fact that you can ride wherever you go. I've taken the Bike Friday on more than 40,000 flight miles, qualifying the bike for Premier status on most airlines' frequent flyer programs. That also means that I've been riding while on all these trips. And riding is what it's all about, isn't it?
If it comes down to a choice between coolness and no riding or geekdom and saddle time, the Bike Friday makes the latter choice an easy one.
-Chris Burgeson
PRICE $2,995 (as tested)
DISTRIBUTED BY: Green Gear, 3364 W 11th Ave., Eugene, OR 97402; 800/777-0258; www.bikefriday.com WEIGHT: 24 lbs. SIZES: Custom MANUFACTURED IN: U.S. FRAME MATERIAL: 4130 chromoly; 3/2.5 titanium FORK/TRAVEL: Action-Tec/2.5 in. COCKPIT: Dimension stem; Titec handlebar; Thomson seatpost; Avocet Air 40R saddle DRIVETRAIN: Grip Shift 9.0 SL shifters; 9.0 rear derailleur; Shimano XTR front derailleur; Shimano Ultegra crankset; Shimano LX cassette WHEELS: Shimano XTR hubs; Sun CR18 rims; DT spokes TIRES: IRC Minuteman BRAKES/LEVERS: Paul Component Moto-Lite/Real Design GEOMETRY: 20.5-in. seat tube; 22-in. top tube; 73/70.5-degree head/seat angles; 16.75-in. chainstays; 40.75-in. wheelbase; 12-in. bottom bracket