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SCREEEEEEEECH! I was airing out my feathers this afternoon and caught a stealthy Rob English slipping out the Bike Friday employee garage with a strange and wonderful new machine. Top secret, he said, and you know how I LOVE to keep a secret ... See that seatpost? It's a piece of flattened aluminium tubing. Aluminium (pronounced al-you-MIN-ium, Queen's English please). "Yes, it's lighter," said Rob. And he should know - he's a trained engineer. A flutter around this wonder machine reveals some carbon fiber bits and bobs, Dura Ace (but of course), and a 700c carbon fork which Rob cut down to Friday-friendly size. Holy helmet! We've unleashed a monster! Rob's already created substantial waves in sleepy Oregon, where he's dominated the upper steps of the podium on several Oregon Bike Racing Association events (be impressed here) and creamed the field in the hideously grueliing and clasic Cascade Cream Puff (be blown away here) ... who knows what he can do with this new machine ... beat Lance to the an iPhone fire sale? +++ A fine time was had by all at the Bike Friday Homecoming at Cycle Oregon. Although 100 Fridays registered, we only had about 20-30 camping in our special area - goes to show what happens when offered a 'tent & porter' service - anyone in their right mind and wallet compartment would take it! Read the full montymedia. +++ Like to see what goes on behind the swinging curtain at Bike Friday? An updated BF factory tour movie let's you see the faces and fixtures behind your Friday. Grab some non-GMO popcorn and enjoy the show! Watch the Factory Tour 2007 +++ |
 We had a delightful visit from BF Club of Hawaii customer (and Bo Derek look alike) Susan Boatright who flew from Maui to join us on Cycle Oregon. Traveling the true Bike Friday way, she hitched up her trailer and caught the train down from Portland Oregon to Eugene. Here she is arriving at Eugene Station, read to ride off to a nice slice of Vegan Chef's Special at the Pizza Research Institute! As you can see she used two standard rear rack straps to bungee her soft bag and some other goods lightly to the lid of the suitcase. Smart thinking, 99! Bike Friday meets Susan and other funsters in Hawaii |
+++ Is that folding bike in your cupboard or are you just trying to deceive me? Here's a neat shot of a tikit and an S&S coupled Waterford cohabiting happily ogether in a San Franciscan 'bike cupboard'. Thanks to BF Club of SF leader Jackie Link for this one! +++ |
FEATHERING OUR CAPS ... From NWT owner Ellen Lee: Hi Dave Seybert! Thanks for the excellent job done on my new bike. I just love it. It rides so well and fits perfectly. All the gears shift so effortlessly and without any problems right out of the box. Both my Bike Fridays are my favorite bikes. Thank your crew on a job well done. Dave fills us in: Thanks to everyone that worked on Ellen Lee's NWT. This is her 3rd BF - she started with a Pocket Tourist, which was stolen on her first trip in Shanghai. She liked it so much so bought a Pocket Crusoe for her next tour, and now a NWT for her daily commute, including some studded snow tires so she can ride in the Alberta winters! An unedited email from ''Dr'' John: I got a phone message from Bike Friday....saying that my Speeding Tikit was ready to be SHIPPED...Friday....unless I called that day Sept 7th with any EXTRA items to be added to the packaging......But I got in late that nite and did NOT call back....I can't think of any extras at this moment. SOOOOooo I am excited to get and ride my 2nd Bike Friday... ASAP! Any added UPDATE from Karl Zipper on the fairing for my Pocket Llama? It's not as if I don't have several bikes to choose from!......I have my Easy Racer FOLD RUSH with fairing...a REAL DELIGHT to ride. Then I ALSO recently purchased a JAVELIN from Easy Racer...VERY lite and quite speedy TOO But my tried an true favourite remains my FIRST LOVE...The Pocket Llama....it may be heavier than a TANK...but I can make it go like HELL! And it enabled me to lose 25 Lbs of body FAT (and it took only 6months!).... and reduce my need for Type II diabetes medications from 3 to only 1 tablet a day! And my HbAc (that is the long term measurement blood test that tells how well one's 3 month average blood sugar levels have been) is 6.1%....almost NORMAL...Normal is 4.5-6.0%... SOOOOOooooooo THANK YOU! Bike Friday...from John D Stephens MD........You may use this in any publication of Bike Fridays' ... [Ed: The Pocket Llama remains the premium choice of Fridays for fully loaded expedition touring] From Julian Oettle: Dear Walter, as far as folders go, I have an early Bickerton (14" front wheel); a Brompton T5; a custom-built audax frame with S+S couplings; and the Pocket Rocket. At the time we bought it, the Bickerton was the only folder available; its ride is so wobbly that we have had young kids roll around on the grass in hysterics as we passed! But it is perfect for the bowler, brolly and briefcase brigade. I keep it now for historical sentiment. The Brompton folds in seconds; it is ideal for trips around town when I have to go to meetings where it is not safe to leave a bike outside, so can simply tuck it under the table; but have toured on it in the Yorkshire Dales, and the Isles of Orkney. The S+S was a response to the growing untrustworthiness of baggage-handlers, and although the cases (and the bikes) survived unscathed, the cases are big (we were once stranded on a remote station platform in the Pyrenees, with bike boxes too big to fit into the tiny taxi that was going to take us to the farmhouse we had rented). Of course, one has the advantages of a normal sized bike, but the hassle of packing and unpacking is considerable, and takes a lot longer than the reviews suggest (I needed two hours per bike). So I have a reasonable experience of "folders", and am delighted with the ease with which the Friday packs. I'll let you know about the Alpine trip when we return. Regards, Julien +++ UPCOMING EVENTS: Don't forget to keep an eye on the BF Event Calendar ... we see that Mike McGettigan of Trophy Bikes, perpretrators of Round*Up, are hosting a folder Frolic at Interbike on Sep 27, 2007. Ride with pride! th-th-that's all from Fred's Perch for now folks! email blog@bikefriday.com if you have anything to share that'll ruffle my feathers. |