Editor’s note: This is a guest review by Joshua Reach of Desertscrub Magazine, reprinted here with his permission. Walter sold Joshua his Diamond Llama before he knew Joshua ran a magazine, so this review was not something we asked for. Joshua first wrote about the bike in Issue 4, and this is his follow-up after almost a year of riding it. The words below are his own.
By Joshua Reach | Desertscrub Magazine
It has been almost a full year with my Diamond Llama foldy from Bike Friday. Regular readers might remember an initial impressions review back in Issue 4 at the beginning of the year. At the time, I was unable to really ride the bike due to knee issues. Nearing the end of the year, I still have knee issues, but have been able to ride the bike quite a bit – even flying with it to Portland in August for the Made Bike Show. I’ve got a lot to talk about, including some upgrades to the bike since getting it. Let’s get into it!
The Ride
This bike rides pretty much like a normal bike, but at the same time feels very different. I know that’s not really helpful, so let me explain. Starting off from a stop is easier because of the small wheels, but the upright riding position feels similar to my Mongoose ATB and Surly Skid Loader. It feels comfortable and sort of familiar. Getting up to speed and keeping up with bigger-wheeled bikes is possible, but does require ever so lightly more effort and rotations. In the end, it’s minimal difference, but when you have a knee injury those little differences do make a difference. A good difference for taking off, a bad one for keeping up due to the extra rotations.
Aging Cyclist Note: the step through frame is the first point of contact with the ride itself, and has been the easiest bike to get on and off of with a wonky knee. I actually enjoy this part a lot as swinging my leg over any of my other bikes has been a problem this year.
Back to the riding part of this bike. The handling is slightly different than a normal bike. Shorter handlebars on any bike require slight steering movements, and that’s especially true when paired with 20” wheels. It’s easy to adapt to, and really doesn’t present any issues unless you’re at low speeds trying to balance. I noticed I oversteered a lot at first, then figured out the right amount of movement to keep myself from yanking the bike back and forth.
The smoothness of this bike is probably the most impressive. It’s like butter on the 1.75” tires, but solid in terms of build. It may fold into pieces, but when locked-in this doesn’t feel like it’s going to fold apart while in motion. Flex is natural like any steel bike and bumps can be a bit more jarring with small wheels, but the bike holds its own. I honestly thought I’d be able to feel the flex in the joints of a folding bike like this, but Bike Friday did really well making this a sturdy ride.
The Drivetrain
This bike originally came from Bike Friday as a 2×8, with a front derailleur and Microshift setup. It was fine, but as I folded this up more and more to put in the back of my car or a Waymo, I noticed that the front derailleur got moved and out of alignment a lot. I wanted to go to a 1x setup if I was going to pack this in a suitcase to travel with.
I took the bike to Rage Cycles in Scottsdale and the guys there did an awesome job finding a couple options for me to choose from. This moment is why I wanted a Bike Friday over a Brompton. Bromptons fold neater, but at the expense of less customization options. The Bike Friday could fit way more different components that my go-to bike shop could easily work on.
We landed on a 1×10 Shimano Zee setup with a 46t Wolftooth chainring and 10 gear Shimano cassette. This gave me the wide range of gears I wanted, like easier ones for hills, and kept everything in a tighter package without the front derailleur. Most of the miles I’ve done on this bike have been with this setup and I’ve loved it. The hills in Portland were a real test for this, and I was able to make my way up them with ease – including a 10% grade on the way to my hotel one night.
Fun side-note: I was able to share this setup with some of the folks from Bike Friday while out in Portland. It was pretty cool being able to show them the bike with all the little mods and adjustments I’ve made and the guys at Rage Cycles made. I also learned this paint scheme was a very unique, one-of-a-kind color combo. Nice! I said this in my Portland issue of the zine, but once again to the Bike Friday folks: it was wonderful meeting and chatting with you at Made and the Sim Works X Peace Sports ride.
Accessories & Mods
Speaking of mods, there’s a lot of things I’ve added to this bike since I got it at the beginning of the year. The Sim Works Taco pedals and a Swift Industries bag were new purchases, but there were a lot of things I added to the bike that I already owned.
The Brooks Saddle had been on two other bikes, but looked best on this one. The Fairweather stem bag is another permanent fixture to the Diamond Llama. I didn’t want to put a water bottle holder on the frame (though it does have the mounts), so I went with a stem bag. I was surprised that the bike still handled great even with a heavy water bottle attached to the tiny handlebars. I thought for sure it would throw the balance off.
It gets even better as I added the Fairweather Multibag I had on another bike to the front of this Diamond Llama during my trip to Portland. I wanted a sling bag that also fit securely on this bike, and was shocked when the handling remained super sturdy. The weight of all the camera gear, extra water, and shopping hauls didn’t throw off the handling at all. The bike felt balanced and the bag fit perfectly on the handlebars with the velcro straps. I couldn’t believe it.
It makes sense, as these Diamond Llamas (and the All Packa’s) are built to be loaded up with gear. I will say that the bike didn’t stay up with its kickstand when loaded up, but most bikes wouldn’t with this much on the front.
The final big mod I added to this bike was the Heavy Duty Slime Tubes (which the guys at Rage installed early on while tweaking the brakes). If you live in a desert, I cannot recommend self-sealing slime tubes enough. I wouldn’t go tubeless on this foldy as you need to deflate the tires to pack the bike in a suitcase. The tubes keep all the sealant inside the tire, not all over your bag. I haven’t had a single flat on this Bike Friday during all my riding around the desert. Pulled a few thorns out, but never lost tire pressure and never had to change out the tube.
Final Thoughts
I’ve fallen in love with this little bike. It’s not something I take on long journeys yet, but mostly because of my knee issues at the moment. It is perfect for traveling with and will definitely be on future trips with me. Even just being able to throw it in the back of my car or a Waymo is nice (when the trains stop running). It makes for a great city bike that can be brought pretty much anywhere.
That said, I don’t fold it up a whole lot. I mostly leave it unfolded and locked up out on the bike racks. A big reason is this doesn’t fold as neat as the Bromptons many of my friends have, but also I generally don’t mind locking this outside the patio at the end of a ride with everyone else’s bikes. It’s fine out there. It’s also extremely sturdy with parts that can be easily adjusted if they take too much a beating out on the public racks.
A question I’ve asked myself for a while after first being introduced to folding bikes is: are they for everyone? The simple answer, yeah, they are. The ride is great and I think most people would enjoy a bike they could fold up and throw in the back of their car. More serious roadies or mountain bikers would probably skip this kind of bike, but the casual rider or tourer would probably really enjoy something like this. It changes how you think about a bicycle.
I will say the price point of this bike is pretty high at just north of $2,000 USD brand new for mine (fully built out). Keep in mind this is not a disposable bike. It’s a bike you keep for a long time. Compared to cheaper folding brands, the Bike Friday feels like it’s going to last decades, and they usually do from what I’ve seen of other owners. They’re also less expensive than Bromptons and can be found on Facebook Marketplace for even cheaper. In fact, a friend of mine just got a several year-old Bike Friday that’s great shape for a fraction of the price of a new one.
Finally, when it comes to the big foldy brands; I personally would recommend a Bike Friday over a Brompton. Sorry to my Brompton pals – I do love your bikes, but I love Bike Friday more. This is especially true if you’re someone who wants to work on their own bike and wants to be able to customize or maintain the bike at your go-to bike shop. The components are simple and readily available – it’s really the frame that’s the star here. Sturdy, folding frames that pack easily for those of us obsessed with biking everywhere we go – that’s the joy of a Bike Friday and ultimately why I went with one.
Our thanks to Joshua for letting us share your review here. We loved reading about a year with your Diamond Llama, and we hope you did too.
If you enjoy honest, independent bike writing, check out Joshua’s own magazine, Desertscrub. It is a high quality printed seasonal publication rooted in the grassroots of the US and Arizona cycling scene, covering cycling in the desert year round, through intense sun, 110 degree summer temps, cacti and dust storms. Print issues are available at cost. You can find it at desertscrubmagazine.com.
