Bike Friday questions

[Drw]

So, due to the travel bike thread, I find myself the owner of a 2014 (I think) bike Friday llama. If this is too off topic, let me know, but I kind of think of this as a folding rivendell. Overall I’m very impressed. Folding is nothing like the brompton, but the ride quality, for me, seems vastly improved. That said, the bike Friday website makes rivendell’s look state of the art, and I’m having a hard time finding any info outside of videos the company made in 2009. So...

1. It has a threaded 1 1/4 steerer but the clamp area is 1”. Do they make a 1 1/4 steerer with a 1 1/8 clamp area? 1” threadless stems don’t have a ton of options. Also I see they had a folding stem at some point, but it was discontinued?

2. Is there a kickstand or something to hold it up when folded, or at least something to protect the little prong it balances on.

3. I bought the bike without pedals, got it home and realized the crank threads are entirely stripped. It has a non square taper (external?) bb. Any crank recommendations that would not require a new bb and keep hearing similar. Something xd2/silver ish but for a modern bottom bracket?

4. While I’m having to get a new crank, is 1x ridiculous on a folding bike?

5. 2 racks came with the bike. A Topeak and a bike Friday rack. I’m surprised the bike Friday rack is as tall as the topeak which is made for a normal bike. Why are bf racks not much shorter like brompton racks?

Thanks!

[Joe Bernard]

1. There should be a shim inside the threadless 1-1/8 stem to step it doej to the steering mast, every BF I've owned came that way.

2. The "kickstand" is similar to Brompton if you put the BF rack on, the bike will park on it (disclaimer: I've seen this, my BFs didn't have racks). That rack is 'normal bike' height to facilitate using touring panniers, the low rack on Bromptons is basically useless for anything but a trunk bag and being a kickstand.

3. You'll need to determine if the bottom bracket is Octalink/ISIS "pipe style" or outboard bearings. If you post pics of the cranks we'll probably be able to sort that out.

4. 1x is great for a folder, lots of Bike Fridays are set up that way.

5. See 2

[Drw]

Thanks Joe,
Attempting to post a photo from my phone. Should be attached but it’s always dicey

[Joe Bernard]

Yep, that's newfangled outboard bearing style. Time for folks who know this newfangled stuff to chime in!

[Drw]

Haha well at least I now know. Also maybe with crank ideas we can now tailor it towards a 1x, since that’s a viable option.

[Bill Schairer]

My NWT is a 1x with an internal 3 sp/ 7 sp cassette hub. I think you need to run it with a chain guard to keep the chain on. I have from time to time made it a 2x but found, I guess with the short drive line, it would change chainrings on its own.

Bill S

[Drw]

Thanks bill, that makes sense. I see they sell one if you are running just a single front ring.

I’d also be fine removing the current bb and going with a square taper/familiar crank. Just not sure if that’s all compativlble. I’ve been stuck in my ways and am not familiar with this new stuff.

[Joe Bernard]

Yes, your Llama should have a normal 68mm BB shell, the two-piece crank with outboard bearings just looks and mounts differently. It doesn't require a special shell.

[Kent Peterson -- Eugene, Oregon]

Those cranks are FSA Gossamers. The BB shell is a standard 68 mm, so you can replace the outboard bearing BB with a square taper if you want.

Kent Peterson
Eugene, OR USA

[Kent Peterson -- Eugene, Oregon]

I run 1*8 on my e-Friday. A 1*10 is probably how I'd set up a bike if I was building a Friday for myself today.

BTW, since SRAM discontinued the 3*9 hubs (successors to the 3*8 and the old Sachs 3*7) keeping those old systems running is becoming more and more an exercise in grave robbing. Kind of like at the end of the space shuttle program when NASA had to grab a part from the Enterprise (which they'd donated to the Smithsonian) to make one of the last shuttle flights happen.

As for Bike Friday's horrible website, I was just commenting today that our company slogan should be:

Bike Friday: We build bikes, not websites.

Kent Peterson
eBike mechanic at Bike Friday in beautiful Eugene, Oregon

[Drw]

Thanks Kent. Any idea on appropriate spindle length? I know the crank will have something to do with that.

[Kent Peterson -- Eugene, Oregon]

Your crank will be the deciding factor in BB spindle length. There's nothing weird about Bike Fridays in that reguard so you can just follow whatever the crank manufacturer specs.