Bike Friday pakiT compact folding bike

Once I got my pakiT, I sold my car! I spent a year driving it as little as possible, testing out the idea, and just needed the perfect bike to make it possible. With my pakiT so light I can easily take it up stairs to our public transit or carry it inside wherever I go, life without a car became a reality. I also have a Burley Travoy which is use with my single speed dahon (a bike I don't mind locking on the street in theft-prone Bay Area) to handle shopping and Costco runs. The car was sold in February - and I have not missed it at all. I love being able to bike to meet people and then just quickly fold the pakiT into their trunk, it fits in any car. I also can ride it to a car share vehicle and fold it inside if needed, so I don't have to stress if I do find I need a car. BF made going car free possible for me. Car Free – 5+ Bike Fridays

Acquired the Pakit this summer and it has been a match made in heaven ever since. Of the bikes I already own, the Pakit feels great and rides smooth. I enjoy cruising the streets of New York City, and exploring all the things it has to offer. Recently I put the Pakit to the test on European Bike Tour down the Danube covering Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest over 8 days. The bike performed well in city riding, open country road, motorways, bike paths, and even crashed gravel and rocky road. Climbing was comfortable. This bike gets a lot of looks and becomes a conversation piece. The Pakit with 11 speed alfine and carbon belt drive is a winner

Over several years I have acquired several folding bikes. I have a Brompton and a Tikit and now an 11 speed Pakit Elite. The Pakit is by far the lightest and most elegant design. The 11 speed Shimano Alfine hub works flawlessly and has 11 useful evenly spaced gears. It has a titanium seat tube mast which has the unexpected benefit of some flexibility and shock absorption. It weighs just under 20 pounds
which is several pounds less than either the Brompton or TIkit. It rides beautifully.
It is a pleasure to carry due to its light weight and clean greaseless Gates belt drive.

Overall it is a winner. It is a great evolution from the Brompton and Tikit.

The only way to describe the pakiT is, to put it simply, exactly that: simple. It’s as simple as simple gets. Belt driven (clean and grease free), light weight, quiet and packable.

I’ve had my hands on a pakiT for the last few weeks and I’ve got to say I’m extremely impressed. From the versatility of the frame size to the swiftness of its ride; Bike Friday, you’ve outdone yourself here.

As an avid traveler and city dweller, I know the need for small compact vehicles. Being an avid cyclist, of course, I’m game for anything with two wheels. Prior to the pakiT, I would have told you that folding bikes are just not for me. The smaller wheels didn’t appeal to me, and I was just not into the designs of other non-US made bikes. Well, that was until I stumbled across Bike Friday. They’ve been cranking out beautiful folding dreams since the early 90’s. When innovation meets utility!

Prior to the pakiT I believed that smaller meant slower. I cannot tell you how wrong I was. After being introduced to 20″ wheels on my Haul-A-Day, I soon learned how hard you can rip on smaller wheels. Smaller definitely does not mean slower but stronger and lighter! Now throw some 16″ wheels on a 15.5 lb slick folding bike and you have an urban assault tool.

As soon as I received my pakiT in the mail, I built it up and took it to the streets! Running through the internal 8 speed gear box, testing its limit to “wheelies,” mobbing in and off the side walk only to find this bike can hang! The 16″ wheels aid in quick acceleration and give the bike superior maneuverability to any other bike I’ve ridden. Now, I knew that Bike Friday knows bikes, and trust me, they know bikes!

I’ve been using the Haul-A-Day nearly everyday since April, and I’m in love. It’s always my first choice to ride even when I’m not “haulin’.” Although, I’m always “haulin’!” The rugged steel frame can take a serious beating, yet it never shows it. Of course, the pakiT would exemplify the same traits but in a bite size punch. When you say “jump,” the pakiT says, “Peace out! I gotta bounce!” and off you go riding through the hustle and bustle of urban living, forced to dodge vehicles, pedestrians, pigeons and even other riders. Considering the high route and pushing through those 8 quick internal speeds while you pick up the pace and jam the low route.

Whenever, this bike will always bite. I keep pushing it, and it keeps going! Since acquiring the pakiT, I’ve had such a fun time taking it on all my usual routes and seeing how it handles. LA is one wild place to ride with our diverse terrain, scorching landscape and car dense cities — the pakiT is a need! Whether you’re cruising to the corner store or hauling across town, the pakiT is my first choice!

Put my money down as I have always admired what Bike Friday does and have done fittings on multiple Friday owners so I know how well the product is built. Nearing retirement so my plan is to take in what sights Washington DC has to offer so taking the Pakit on the Metro and riding to various sites is why I bought this bike because I have no desire to ride from home to downtown and then back home when I can use the Pakit to expand my travel circle and places to see. Can't wait to get my bike in 2017 and I have no illusions on how it compares to my road bikes as this is a whole different type of machine......GOOD JOB FRIDAY ENGINEERS.

I live a couple of hours away from Eugene, so yesterday I decided to drive down to visit BikeFriday. I wanted to test ride a pakiT. My phone battery was dead, so I couldn't take pictures or a video 🙁 . The pakiT that I test rode was a medium size frame with a glacier color and single speed belt drive.

In a nutshell, my impression of the pakiT is that we made an AWESOME purchase! The bike is super light and has a great ride. This will be my first folding bike and first BikeFriday. The person at BikeFriday adjusted the saddle to fit me for the test ride. I rode through the bike path around the back of the factory that goes into downtown Eugene. The bike was pretty responsive.

Most of the time when I was just looking ahead or at my surroundings, I couldn't tell that I was riding a folding bike because the ride was smooth and felt just like a regular bike. The only difference was the silence! The belt drive is really silent. I was able to ride fast despite the small 16" wheels. I rode through a bit of gravel and bumpy (nearby tree roots) to see how much I would feel the bumps on the ground. I was able to feel gravel or big bumps on the ground more than I do in my current bike (26" wheels). When I was riding in the bike path or street the 16" wheels were perfectly fine.

The last noticeable difference for me was the length of the handlebar. Due to the size of the pakiT the handlebar is smaller than what I'm used to. That is not a big downside for me, but I think I could get used to it after riding the pakiT a few times. I'm excited to be a future owner of pakiT.

"The pakiT is the best bike ever... I just finished a 28 mile ride in Germany on the 3 speed pakiT. The great road feel and handling of the bike, plus the light weight, made it a dream on the ride"