I rec'd the spare parts I ordered from Bike Friday alast week and got around to installing them today. It's definitely one of the benefits of buying a bike from a small North American company to be able to call/email and get the small parts you need to keep your bike running nicely.I used a bit of shoe goo so I wouldn't be as likely to loose the small rubber foot that one end of the Tikit rests on when folded. The metal latch above replaces a plastic piece on the older model Tikits and holds the seatpost of the Tikit in place when folded. The plastic latch has lasted nearly a year of constant folding and although it was looking a bit beat up it was still going strong, but Bike Friday proactively identifed these plastic latches as a weak spot on the bike and came up with a long term solution that was more durable - smart.
4 comments:
Vik,
I still yet to order my own Tikit (saving), but I'm still enjoying your Tikit blog.
I'm curious if you have any thoughts on the headsets on the Tikits (specifically, the adjustment of them). A friend has one that is about a year old and he would like to adjust his a bit. He asked me what I thought about it. I figured one could just fold the bars over and get to the threadless-headset tension bolt that we are all familiar with. No go! The hyperfold cable runs through there! Duh!
On his bike, I saw no clear evidence of a threaded headset (no obvious wrench flats), but there is one peculiar clamp above the headset. I'm assuming this clamp has something to do with the adjustment of the headset, but I'm not confident it is. Besides, even if it were, there still seems like there is no way to load the headset with a bit a tension in the same way one would with a threaded or threadless headset.
So, have you done any headset adjustments? Any thoughts on it? You interested in explaining it to us?
By the way, I searched Bike Friday's website for info on this, but I could not find any. Their site can be a little tough at times. I did see that the Tikit comes with a "1 1/8" DiaTech SBN clamp/threaded headset" which sounds like a standard one, but do you think Bike Friday has modified it somehow to make it work with the Tikit?
Thanks,
Jeff
Hey Jeff,
I haven't had to adjust my Tikit's headset so I can't give you detailed instructions. If I recall correctly the whole Tikit headset is upside down so you may have to go in from the underside of the fork, but I think it would be best for your friend to call BF tech support and ask them.
Here is a link to a PDF Tikit manual:
http://bikefriday.com/servicedoclib
as well as Tikit Technical updates:
http://bikefriday.com/service/tikit
Hope that helps a little!
Vik
Ahhh....I read the manual:
http://bikefriday.com/manuals/tikit
Page 31: to tighten the headset look below the stem hinge and tighten the 5mm hex bolt slightly [don't go crazy!]
Yes, the clamp between the headset and the hinge is the adjustment. The inside face of the clamp is conical, as is the outside face of the top of the headset. Tightening the clamp pushes the top of the headset down, thereby tightening the headset.
Seems to work well.
Paul in Brissy
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