ROUND*UP! Exploring the Compact Bike Universe

May 16-18, 2003 Emailable link to this article: http://www.bikefriday.com/bf/roundup2003

Full text of story below but for those into the multi-media experience:

COMPACT SLIDE SHOW: Click here

COMPACT CINEMA: An 11-movie, walking, talking, folding tour of Round*Up 2003, shot with my Canon S230 Digital ELPH. You'll need something like Quicktime (free download) to see them. I admit I compressed them pretty small so that even those with a 35-lb steel internet connection could have a chance to see them, so they're more like moving Monet paintings, but the sound is MPEG4 great!

1) Fixing a flat with the 'Power Bar' technique (752kb)

2) Folder line-up at the station (940kb

3) The Bicycle Activist I: Nancy Drye and Bob Thomas (2.1Mb)

4) The Bicycle Activist II: John Dowland (956kb)

5) The Bicycle Expert I: John Schubert (1.1Mb>

6) The 30lb+ circa 1960 folder that won the Folding race (580kb)

7) Hanz folding SatRday in the Folding showdown (884kb)

8) A Classic Raleigh folder circ 1960 with doting owner (1.8Mb)

9) The Mayor of Philly speaks and Larry Black of Mt Airy Bicycles paints by numbers

10) A flotilla of folders hit the streets of Philly (932kb)

11) The Riese & Müller Frog: Talk about compact! (632kb)

ROUND*UP 2003: EXPLORING THE COMPACT BICYCLE UNIVERSE

WHAT's THE WEIRDEST, wackiest thing to come out of Pennsylvania since a tofu philly steak shake? Since we're still waiting for the latter, I'll have to say Round*Up, 'The first USA Small Wheeled Bicycle and Folder Fest', which unfolded one fine, drizzly Philadelphian weekend in May 2003.

Oooh yes ... the weather was as British as a Brompton for this 3-day sidewalk expo that attracted the who's what of the compact bicycle world. Just let your jaded 700cc eyes glaze over the following list of exemplary exponents.

The makers.: Channel Wasson, USA Brompton importer, who towed a giant valise full of mysterious personal effects behind his trusty Brompton; Michael Lin, CEO of Pacific Bicycle, all the way from Taiwan, whose factory makes, among others, the Birdy and Airnimal (and you thought fancy gadgets only came from the land of Vorsprung Durch Technik); Peter Reich, CEO of Swift Folder, the cleanest looking folder next to the Friday; Gilbert Anderson, the USA Moulton/Pashley Importer, with a slew of sexy, spendy spaceframes; Len Rubin, money-no-object titanium Brompton maker; Graham Herbert, designer of the Airframe, the bike which folds neat as a kiddie's stroller ... and of course, Hanz Scholz, co-Founder and designer of Bike Friday, with game show assistant Lynette Chiang .

The aficionados. Then there were the non-hardware wielding illuminaries: John Schubert, tech writer for Adventure Cyclist magazine; David Henshaw of Britian's quirky folding bike journal, AtoB Magazine; Larry Black, of Mt Airy Bicycles , one of our most dedicated dealers, and many independent aficionados who brought along their renovated Raleighs, bouncy Bickertons, Breezers, Birdys and Bromptons and other compact creations. If there were any gaps in the brand line-up, Trophy filled them with their eclectic range of folders, including something which resembled a single rollerblade with handlebars and seat, called a Handybike.

Hanz, drawn to Handybike's curious poster featuring a sultry woman holding up her thumb and forefinger with the respective finger pads about three inches apart and the headline 'Size matters', rode the invention, and declared that "for what it's trying to do, it actually rides pretty nice."

"It's probably the most innovative of what's here", he said, always mindful of that balancing act between the quality of the ride vs the fold.

But enough decal-dropping.

The Friday on show. Hanz and I took the red-eye to Philly with 5 Bike Fridays in suitcases: the Sat R Day overseat, the Twin Air tandem in its single suitcase, Hanz' personal Air Friday, my new left-folding Crusoe and a brand new Pocket Rocket Pro Petite with the new Shimano Capreo 9-tooth cog, so I could do my darndest in the Tiny Time Trial and optimistically leave the competition sucking my slipstream. But hey, I am a slow touring cyclist. What was I thinking? More about how I didn't exactly whip their butts later ...

Our host: Mike McGettigan, Trophy Bikes: Trophy Bikes, a wonderfully earnest and cheerful bike shop owned by personality-plus Mike McGettigan, who specializes in folders and 'Skillful Repairs'.

Mike hopped about like a skipping chain making sure all were bonding - brothers and sisters in sub-21" wheels.

Got stuff? Trailer innovations: A couple of innovative trailer manufacturers completed the fold: BikeBox from Vancouver, headed by Brit "bovver boy" Andy who is also a Drum'n'Bass DJ at the ripe young age of 44; and Simple City headed by a kilt-wearing Scottish lad whose prototype folding trailer-carry bag invention was nothing short of ingenious.

The Friday fold. With people admiring the Bike Friday Twin Air tandem (hoisted up high above the salivating masses), we met and gret more than a dozen Bike Friday owners who had made the pilgrimage to meet their maker - Hanz Scholz.

Among them were: Tim, owner of an extravagent 4 Bike Fridays who just can't get enough - he is determined to get a SatRDay; Hodges, a hard core tourer who punishes his New World Tourist from Alaska to Botswana; Andy Gulati, who bought his pre-ownedPocket Rocket Pro on ebay but loves it like his first; a young couple who have fortunately been indoctrinated into small wheels well before they reach the average BF owner age of 48, even though they already passed the SUV owner age when they were born; a courier who can fold his Pocket Metro faster than Lance sitting on it, Steve from New York, who enters all the AlleyCat messenger races and wins, and so on.

We were privileged to be hosted by Peggy and Mike Chambers in their beautiful home, Peggy being the owner of a Merlot Dura Ace Pocket Rocket Pro which she rides in order to stay 'a few miles in front of Mike'.

Valley Forge ride. We managed to drag ourselves away from the curious throng for a 40-mile round trip day ride to Valley Forge on a flat-as-a-tortilla rail trail. Some of us took the train, and I have to say we were treated like a president when he lowers taxes - we were given an entire carriage to ourselves and no snotty attitude from the conductress - even with a Bickerton back wheel poking across her path.

Meeting famous advocates on the path. On the road we met the famous Nancy Drye and Bob Thomas (see movie clip), who spotted us because they too, have Bike Fridays. "If I could only have one bike it's the bike I'd have," proclaimed Nancy, completely unprompted except for the fact I poked my camera in her face and asked her to say something nice about her New World Tourist.

It was fabulous to see guys like the jolly fella who'd had a heart surgery recently but was out there on his 3-speed Raleigh shopping bike puffing up the slight inclines with very little cursing.

Part way I managed to get two flats, simultaneously, at the same time, all at once, in both tires. I have been raving about Schwalbe Stelvio Kevlars for 6 months now, and I guess after riding through glass-strewn shoulder lanes in Hawaii and thorn-infested verges in Australia without a single psssssshhhhtt, they'd reached their use-by date. In fact, on inspection they were worse than a laddered fishnet stocking. So much so, the 'power bar wrapper technique' had to be employed (see movie).

The lectures. Saturday started out with the advertised series of 'compact lectures' staged at a little podium on the pavement outside Trophy.

John Schubert read a romantic ode to the folder, in particular of the awesomeness of the Moulton, especially if money is an an object you happen to have in scads. Graham Herbert, an architect who knows how to not to bend things, demonstrated his riveted folding Airframe. The fold was so impressive I was even prepared to forgive the slightly jellyish ride and fork out $1000 for one. Truth be known, if I had cash and space I'd have my own private museum for all these wonderful creations, and I'd choose the one to ride which suited my needs at the time. I always said if I wanted a bike to hang on the wall as art, it'd be a Strida, but I can't ride it 'cos you have to be 5'4" or taller. Waaaaah!

Peter Reich talked about the sleek Swift, which is for me, by far one of the most elegant folding bike designs next to the 1960's non-space-frame Moulton.

"I'm not going to talk about hardware at all, I'm going to talk about the Bike Friday community," whispered Hanz emphatically, but ended up being suckered into a discussion about gears ratios as we all do on our day off.

I wanted to take time out and gloat over the range of Timbuktu and Ortleib courier bags at Trophy, but the interest in our bikes was so intense I had to do what I came over to do, that is, talk to folks about Bike Friday!

A beer or three ... That evening, all crowded into Fergie's pub to view my Cuba by Friday slide show. I opportunistically passed out cards promoting my forthcoming book to be published by Random House Australia, The Handsomest Man in Cuba , with the not-so-soon USA release date of August 1, in the faint hopes I might generate enough sales to go back there one day.

I met John Dowlin, activist and maker of those wildly inventive bike racks shaped like pineapples and combine harvestors. Even the ideologically sound have to eat, and if you can make cool bike racks to earn a crust then why not?

The Tiny Time Trial. On the Sunday, Hanz and I dragged our sleep-deprived selves out at 6am for the Tiny Time Trial, an 8-mile slightly uphill blitz to see who ride like Lance with a hangover.

There were two Bike Fridays, one Swift ridden by a guy from NY in a Superhero "bumblebee" outfit, complete with skull-protecting showercap, two Moultons. The female contingent was myself on the new Pocket Rocket Pro Petite, and a fit fiftyish femme on a fancy Moulton.

Hanz went off first, and came in with 21 seconds, complaining that he should have warmed up first. I went second, was soon overtaken by Steve the Courier on his vintage Bike Friday, then the swifter-'n'-Superman bumblebee. I came a stunning second ... -last overall with 26 seconds. I never got up enough muscle mass to shift into that fancy new Capreo 9-speed cog, but when I do I will duly report on its performance. I should point out that this was the first time I had grasped drop handlebars in 15 years, and it did feel fast, much faster than my fully loaded touring rig...

Back at Trophy Bikes, curious folk were streaming in and out to get a test ride on these formerly oddball but now consummately cool velocipedes. The news media got wind of it and sent a reporter down. Bike Friday got a full fifteen minutes, and my mug appeared in the paper the next day, 'Lynette Chiang of a folding bike company' it said, usefully.

The Folding Showdown. The final event was the Folding Showdown. Start at the corner, ride down like a bat out of a SARS-infested sauna, stop, fold, walk to the corner, make-it-a-bike again, ride back. The outright winner was a mysterious dude on an old, 30lb+ solid steel Ross folder, at 34 seconds. He'd brought the curio down to swap it for something but was convinced to keep it as an heirloom for his offspring after the subsequent adulation he received. Very neat also, was the little green Frog Birdy. Hanz made a gallant attempt with the Sat R Day, which did not win, but, being the only folding recumbent, scored kudos for the effort. "It's a recumbent after all," he said.

Which folder for you? So with all these folding bikes to choose from, the question begs, what would make someone choose one over the other? It turns out there are steeds for deeds.

Said one of the Trophy Staff, who was overwhelmed at the array of pocket-sized inventions that had landed in his lap, "There's some cool stuff here, but when I look around, there is really only one bike here that says to me, "FAST", and it's the Bike Friday. The others say "fold" or something like 'cushy'." He pointed to my cheddar-yellow Pocket Rocket Pro Petite. "I look at that thing and as an ex-messenger, I know I could stick a single speed on that rig and just GO!"

There were quite a few women looking for the ideal compact bike and I, being the only female from the vendor side, was pressed for my unbiased opinion. It find that easy to offer, since I am first and foremost a Bike Friday customer of 7 years standing, and secondly, an employee. And since giving up my careers in computing and advertising, I cannot afford to own more than one bike. My advice is always the same: If first, you want a bike that rides like a full-sized performance bike; second, that you can fold or fit in a standard airline checkable suitcase, and third, that you can afford (a lot of people do not realize that Bike Fridays start from under $800), you would do well to at least look at a Bike Friday first.

It's not folding bike - it's a performance bike that you can take with you. "Rides as good as your best bike", as Ed Pavelka one said, he being a former senior editor of Bicycling mag and now owner of RoadBikeRider.

If your needs are weighted in any other permutation than this, there are many folders to choose from ... in fact, we have a nice Brompton here at the Bike Friday factory so that folks can make an informed decision when they ask us "so which is better?" There is no best 'folding' bike. There is only the best folding bike for your needs.

Farewell to the fold ... Finally, it was time to fly back to Eugene. The interest in Bike Friday at Round*Up was so intense, I never got to sample a Philly steak, let alone a macrobiotic tofu Philly steak shake. I do believe there are enough folk to form a formidable Bike Friday Club of Philadelphia - there is already a chapter headed by Ross Gould a couple of hours away in Paradise. Any takers? Contact me on bfclubs at bikefriday dot com.

Thank you to the indefatigable Mike McGettigan of Trophy Bikes for managing to lure the lore of the folding world to your doorstep. Please send encouragement to Mike at mcget at aol dot com.

See you at Round*Up 2004!

Note: I have already received a flood of email asking where to buy the above bikes, trailers etc... my answer is, with the exception of Bike Friday, contact Trophy Bikes!

For more Round*Up reports, follow this link http://www.bikefriday.com/roundup