vik 

If you've got a Bike Friday Tikit and want to carry full size panniers on the rear while not messing up the Tikit's awesome fold Bike Friday has a folding rear rack coming out soon.



I've been testing a prototype for a few months and I've been happy with the results...



Not everyone wants to carry a ton of gear on their folder, but it's nice to have the option to haul 4 large panniers [front & rear] if you are a bike tourist and/or the Tikit is your only bike so you need to do everything with it.

vik 

Here is a video of the rack in action.

wandt@me.com

Hey Vik-

Thanks for the update. Will the bike stand upright on the front rack (with the handle pointing up)?

vik 

That front rack is a prototype and none of the other two sided front racks look like that. I haven't tried to balance it like that since it would scratch up my rack and I haven't felt any need for that configuration.

intheways

Cool! Thanks for the info

JimBeans83

$189 retail,

https://community.bikefriday.com/tikitrearfoldingrack

gdlerner

$189?? I think is overprice you can have a Tubus Cargo for 60€ ok no folder but very strong and 30 years warranty

JimBeans83

BF has in the past 2 years raised prices on a lot of their accessories, 20% minimum. Compare with standard "folding rear rack" they make at $120 that recently was under $100.

But this one is quite cool, am really curious how stable it is in upright position, up and down and laterally. Dont think this design innovation needs to be limited to the Tikit, same issue with the other bike Fridays where you want to tuck rack out of way for the fold as the rack sits a lot higher than the rear wheels to get the panniers off the ground.

Mr Vik, is there a max weight (load) recommendation for this?

Azreal911

The rack with the mini wheels seems to make the rolling mode much more stable from the looks of it. Used to be having to balance that folded thing on a single wheel while rolling but now you can use the rack also to balance.

vik 

Feel free to use any rack you like, but taking a bike that can fold in a few seconds and roll then adding a full size rack that can fold equally fast is pretty cool. Trying to compare a non-folding rack with a folding one doesn't make sense. That would be like saying "hey I can make a non-folding 16" bike cheaper than a Tikit!!!".....lol....so can Bike Friday, but that's not what we are after is it?

I would also note that the Tubus rack is manufactured in numbers that are probably a hundred times if not more than the folding Bike Friday rack [which I believe may need to be sized to a Tikit frame] so Tubus gets the benefit of mass production and wide distribution.

Having used this rack I can tell you that it looks like it was really hard to design and I doubt it's going to make BF any $$$, but it does add a great deal of flexibility to the Tikit and lots of Tikit riders asked for it so they delivered.

vik 

I've been to BF HQ a couple times and I can say for certain nobody is getting rich there. They are building bikes in a way that keeps jobs in the US and that lets them build designs nobody else makes. They are trying to keep price points as low as possible, but the reality is low production volume, US made, complex niche products cost a lot to build.

As for the folding rear rack it's pretty stiff side to side. Just like all my bike racks I can move it a few millimeters laterally if I try, but it resists quite well. I compared it to the full size OMM rack on my Surly LHT an it's about as stiff side to side. I'm kind of amazed how well it works. When I pulled the parts out of the shipping box I wasn't sure how it would all come together, but it's sweet. I can see why it took a while to design and build. First off it's a complex design to get a functional rack that folds...plus I am sure BF went through many prototypes before settling on this one to produce.

As for using a similar rack on my NWT...I'm not sure. That bike doesn't fold the same way so the existing BF racks work quite well. At least for me - I don't commute with mine..perhaps for a commuter NWT you'd see a benefit.

I am sure there is a max weight limit, but I don't know what it is. I'll ask BF.

gdlerner

Hi vik
do you work for BF? sorry my comparation was not right ,but I can compare the normal rack with the tubus and it s overprice
saludos and save ride

Lalato

Vik does not work for BF. He's just a happy customer that Bike Friday/Green Gear has asked to test the folding rack and other products in the past. It's not uncommon for BF to ask customers to give feedback on products that are still in the prototype phase.

In other news... I wish I would have waited a month before buying my Tikit rear rack. This thing is pretty damn amazing.

--sam

vik 

No your comparison is still wrong...that Tubus rack is designed to fit a standard bike and is made/sold in the thousands. The non-folding Tikit rack is designed to fit only one very special folding bike - the Tikit. So it is made and sold in quantities of a few hundred a year by my guess. That's totally different economics and results in totally different pricing.

I don't work for BF, but I am an engineer and I have designed and built mechanical devices so I understand how costs scale for low quantity production and mass production.

fietsbob

what's the tube diameter where the bag hooks on? 8 or 10 mm insert on my Ortlieb bag work best?

vik 

The top rails on my prototype rack are 8mm.

gdlerner

I am also a BF coustomer but not blind

daveF

There is different ways to look at value. You look at Tubus & don't think it is overpriced. I look at the price & function of a Tubus Fly ($105, 40lb carrying capacity) & it appears to be substantially overpriced. As far as function, it is way overpriced. As far as looks, I don't think so. But someone else will.

The Tikit rear rack is unique. And, as Vik pointed out, manufactured in small quantities. If you want a rear rack that folds with the Tikit and carry full size panniers, then it is worth the money. Or you can spend an extra few minutes removing the bolts on the Tubus each time you fold it!

wandt@me.com

I want one!

gdlerner

Hier in Germany Tubus Fly 50€ Tubus Cargo 70€

daveF

That is still $65US for the Fly. A Delta is $20, is adjustable for height & has a 60lb capacity. Which is the better bargain if you are interested in a non-folding rack?

vik 

I've been asked about mounting Ortliebs on the folding rack so here are some photos. Note that I use my Orliebs on several racks so I mount the upper/lower hooks in a middle position that works okay with all my racks, but isn't necessarily ideal for any of them. If I was going to tour with my Tikit I'd take 5 mins and adjust the hooks to fit this rack better.