Description
About the New World Tourist
The New World Tourist is a world-class touring bike, capable of fully-loaded trips over many weeks, and can still serve as your everyday ride. It is a custom-built touring bike that is “Best in Class” in reviews by thousands of people who have ridden it over the years, on every continent!
The New World Tourist’s ability to fold in 30 seconds allows you to put it into a car trunk, train seat, small ship cabin, or, with a little disassembly, pack it into an airline check-able suitcase for travel. Zero proprietary parts make it easy to maintain. It’s tested, tried and true, by thousands of riders!
We offer you many custom options, then hand build your bike to fit your size and particular riding plans. The New World Tourist has been our most popular bike since its introduction in 1992 and remains our best-seller to this day due to its versatility.
Select Options for Your Bike:
Choose your frame color:
There are many more colors available if you order your bike as ‘Full Custom’ when working with a Bike Friday Expert.
Upgrade and Accessory Options:
Electric Assist Option:
You can add an electric assist to this bike. It is a front hub motor pedal assist style and comes with a 36V battery with ~60km (37mile) range. This front hub motor system replaces the front hub in the front wheel. (*Airline checkable LiGo 10X will be released soon. Read more HERE*)
More details on the 350W front hub motor:
- No motor resistance, unlike a Shimano or Bosch Mid-drive
- Very light! The whole system adds only ~ 11 lbs to your bike
- Very Quiet!
- Disc brake compatible
Made-In-House Chromoly Rack Options:
Rear Rack:
Our rear rack takes standard panniers, has a 55-pound weight limit, and has plenty of clearance under the rack for use with the Bike Friday Under-bag. And it packs flat to easily fit in a suitcase with the bike.
Front Rack:
Fits standard panniers. Rated for 25lbs each side. A must for a properly weighted touring bike for best front/rear weight balance and ride control. And it packs flat to easily fit in a suitcase with the bike.
Travel System Options:
Travel Case plus packing materials: to protect your bike while traveling
Travel Trailer added to Travel Case:
The Bike Friday Travel Trailer frame can be added as a choice to the Travel Case to make a full travel system. The Travel Trailer includes everything you need to make a Travel Case into a tow-ready trailer. The system includes the aluminum trailer frame, two (12″) wheels, protective socks for packaging and one reflective flag and thumb nuts to connect your travel suitcase.
The trailer package also comes with a rear hub axle mounted hitch. This hitch can be used in place of a bike-specific hitch, or as a connection method on another bike so you can swap your trailer system quickly to another bike. There is a male air nipple included as well (integrated into the axle hitch).
The gross weight limit for the trailer is 75 pounds. This includes the weight of the trailer (6.7lbs/2.95 kg) and the average case weight is 13lbs, so the total capacity for your gear is 55lbs.
All felt packing bags and blankets are made from Eco-Fi fleece, a product made of 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles.
Soft Travel Bag:
The updated travel bag is now 10 inches wider to fit larger frames and tire sizes, features side cinch straps and stuffs into its own pocket. The Bike Friday Travel Bag allows you to easily carry or store your Bike Friday. Quick-fold your bike, fit it into its durable bag, and zip up! Black nylon coated pack fabric. Two sturdy woven handles and an adjustable shoulder strap allow you to carry your bike onto the bus, train or elevator with ease. A good way to keep it protected in the trunk of your vehicle too. Fits all single Bike Fridays. Wt: 672 grams. Rolls up to 4 1/2″ diameter, 14″ long. Proudly made here in Eugene, Oregon.
How to fold your Bike Friday:
Applicable to all Pocket Bikes (New World Tourist, Diamond Llama, All-Packa)
How to order your bike on this page:
- Follow all the steps in the drop-down menus above then “Add to cart” and follow steps in your cart to purchase.
- A Bike Friday Expert will follow up with you to determine your sizing, pick-up /ship date (production takes 5-7 weeks on average) and confirm any other needed details about your order.
- Then you get your bike!
Additional Ways to Order with More Options:
We offer many more options than we can post here without overwhelming people. We can likely build what you are looking for. Just contact us and tell a friendly Bike Expert what you are looking for.
Bike Friday 10 Year WarrantyWe have a strong warranty on our frames against defects in material and/or workmanship for 10 years. Warranty is non-transferable. Bicycle components (excluding tires, chain, cables, etc.) generally have a 1-year limited warranty. CLICK HERE for full warranty information.
Read New World Tourist Customer Bike Reviews Below
You can also do more exploring on your own first by clicking on the
“Advanced Designer for bike geeks” button to find our bike configurator.
Submit your review | |
Dear All! Since five years I am a very happy daily Bike Friday rider on my New World Tourist. I use it daily, on shorter and longer distances, sometimes it comes with me by car or railway. This is a very sturdy bike - I do not care a lot, I ride at all season, and each ride is a pleasure. The bike accelerates well, we have many steep hills, on high speed while going down it reacts perfectly pre visible. Even with heavy load. I was in the beginning a bit doubtful because of the little wheel size, before I used a made to measure 28inch "normal size" bike, but the little wheels go well even with all our potholes, I ride wide tyres. The only really bad thing are those special Bike Friday mudguards, this is nothing to be proud about. I replaced them by real well fixed mudguards, they aren't heaver and it folds as well. Also maintenance is easy, the bike uses nearly no special parts, which makes it much better compared to what I had before as folding bike (Brompton and Riese & Mueller Birdy).
But there is no heavy import duties on American products in Europe, which is really sad as this bike merited to be known wider!
All the best, and keep going on, Henning
Our Bike Friday electric NWTs are the smoothest riding bikes we've ever had and we've had many. Now, as we are 75+ y.o. we need the e-assist to help us up the steeper hills. Easy to shift with our Rohloff hubs, easy to employ the e-assist and smooth as silk riding make these a joy to ride. Best of all, as we get older, mounting a heavier, bigger e-bike can actually be dangerous. The Bike Friday experience- smaller wheels, lighter bike even with battery and motor, and having a low step through as well as lower center of gravity makes for safer riding too. As my husband said, other e-bikes feel like they are in control of the ride. On our NWTs, we feel like we're in control--and very comfortable. They feel like a bicycle, not a machine.
My wife and I bought our World Tourists in 1991. We also purchased suitcases/trailers, soft bags and fenders. We have traveled with them, used them as daily riders and hauled groceries in the trailers. Other than routine maintenance and replacing tires, brake pads and chains the bikes have never needed any major repairs. The bikes are built in the USA and are of very high quality. I highly recommend them!
My New World Tourist is a great little bicycle! I purchased it in 2017 and have used it for many bike journeys and trips around my community. Built to my specifications, it's a perfect fit - easy to get on and off of as well as being sturdy on long rides carrying panniers, etc. And, it provides a smooth and comfortable ride even on those 50 mile days. I've not had a minute's trouble with it. If you are considering this bike for purchase, I highly recommend it. The hardest choice will be deciding which of the cool colors you like the best!
I ordered a New World Tourist on short notice for my trip across northern Spain. Walter was very helpful in walking me through the many options, and they rushed it to me in a timely manner. It was my first folding type, so I didn’t know quite what to expect.
I was surprised how similar it was in performance to a traditional bike. It’s not nearly as fast on those little wheels, but it cruises at a respectable pace, and pedaling was quite easy (those wheels have a low moment of inertia, to use physics talk). I traversed the length of the Pyrenees during my trip, so I got accustomed to its performance on mountain roads, where it acquits itself quite well. With the lower torque of its small wheels, it requires pretty aggressive downshifting, but the 18-speed option covered the full range of grades that I encountered.
I did a maximum of sixty miles in one day. Being a comfortable ride, it’s certainly capable of more, but not being nearly as quick as larger bikes, it would make for a long day. Personally, I wouldn’t be very keen to do a century on it.
The bike is easy to maintain, containing no oddball proprietary parts and coming with a basic toolkit - on serious trips to remote places, you would need to supplement it with a few extras to cover all possible problems.
Folding the bike is an intuitive process after you’ve practiced it at home a few times. And having suffered through dragging a fullsize in its case through airports and train stations, I found the compactness a real godsend.
Overall, the New World Tourist is an excellent international traveler. After having ridden it through everything northern Spain could throw at it, I would confidently take it on any future on-pavement adventure.
I bought my first BikeFriday New World Tourist in 1994, a used one from BikeFriday. I used it for my first around the world tour. I watched people with full size bikes fumble around trying to box it at the airport. The suitcase/trailer combination is the best, for all around travel situations, airplane, bus and even hitchhiking.
I rode the BikeFriday in 2013 from Lisbon to Istanbul. I gave each country about a month. I rode the train and bus several times to keep on some kind of schedule. In Spain I got a train ticket for me, $60. For the bike?they wanted to charge me $100. I folded the bike and put it in the suitcase, within his view of course. I really only “needed” to fold it 3 or 4 times in 7 months, but still a great option.
I was planning a trip around France and Spain for April/May 2022. I wanted to bring my full size E-bike, but the train restrictions made it impossible. I hadn't seriously ridden my BikeFriday in 9 years. So I took it to a local E-bike shop and had front hub motor and BIG battery installed. I got the bus from Ljubljana, Slovenia to Paris, France for only $35 euro, the train was $200 +, and no bike.
I changed buses in Paris, stayed overnight, assembled the bike and rode to a friends house. She wanted me stay longer, then drive me to the next friends house. She didn't have a bike rack, so I folded it and off we went.
I was in camp and a French man came by to see the BikeFriday setup. I explained the bike folds into the trailer. He started saying the bike was? (His English was just Ok), S I helped him “INGENIOUS”? He gave me a resounding YES. Yes, the BikeFriday is totally ingenious. If you want to travel and keep your carbon footprint down at the same time, the BikeFriday is the ticket for Green Travel. (not on airplanes): If you';re buying a made to order BikeFriday, I suggest the internal hub (no derailleur) and Disk Brakes.
While I primarily ride and tour alone, I do, from time to time, join for organized rides for specific causes. The rides are, of course, normally across the country (USA) from where I live, and traveling with a full-sized bike is... Let's say, a pain. I have seen the Bike Friday ads in various magazines over the years, but never was interested in such a "unique" looking bike. But then I signed up for a ride during the spring of 2017 that change my mind. I decided to purchase a NWT for use during future loaded touring and specifically for the then upcoming ride (that was, of course, across the country from where I live). Since receiving the bike it's been ridden many thousand miles, and although I have a stable of multiple quality bikes, the one I ride most is the BF. If you are considering purchasing one, I strongly recommend you do. I've created a few videos that give a more comprehensive review:
https://youtu.be/BDvwn3wlp1k
https://youtu.be/4pNCtJNehk4
We bought our bikes in the fall of 2017 and have ridden around our hometown near Orlando Florida and traveled in our RV to a few sites with our bikes. This summer I have ridden in Mackinac Island, MI, Sugarcreek and Dayton Oh and we are currently in Avon Colorado where we chose to ride the Vail Pass bike ride on the Gore Creek bike trail. The top of the trail is it 10,600 feet and drops to about 8000 feet by the time we got off the trail in Vail. This is a ride where we used a local outfitter to shuttle us to the top and then you ride back down to the shop.
The ride starts with absolutely gorgeous views and it’s a quick downhill ride. About 10 minutes into our ride it starts raining hard with hail. There is no place to take cover for miles. We both just continue downhill as fast as is safe riding the wonderful disc brakes that we know we can count on. About 30 minutes into our rain and hail we finally came to an underpass where we could take shelter with several other cyclists. By this time our shoes are squishy wet and we are soaked.
Once the rain let up we continued our ride. Of course, the trail is still wet and we are still getting splatter. It’s the first time we traveled by air with our bikes. We took the racks off and decided we didn’t need them and didn’t even consider bringing our fenders. Not a smart move on our part. We know that we have quality components and can count on the disc brakes. We love our bikes and are having a blast with them. Thanks for providing a quality product.
David and Judi George
Clermont, Florida
My wife and I completed a tour from Jasper, Canada through Glacier NP to Bismarck, ND to St. Louis, MO to Yorktown, VA last summer (2016) on our Bike Friday NWTs.
We had a lot of unexpected travel before we started, so there wasn't time for many "break-in" rides. We just rode into shape.
Getting to the start involved a car, a bus and a flight, so it was great to be able to have the bikes in suitcases! Our panniers were checked and/or carry-on.
As we camp most of the time, my loaded bike was about 70 lbs. and hers around 60 lbs. I opted for disc brakes and a SRAM dual drive. Both worked very well and were easy to adjust. I did replace the chain and rear cassette at about 2500 miles into our trip, which is pretty routine maintenance. The steering on the NWT could be described as "sensitive" or "twitchy," depending on how you like it... I got used to it pretty quickly. Chugging up hills at 4 m.p.h. on a loaded bike is kind of sensitive no matter what you're on! The bike was solid and stable feeling on the flats and downhill.
My wifes' bike developed a rear hub problem half way through the trip. Bike Friday helped us coordinate with a mechanic along our route and shipped the needed parts there overnight - a well coordinated effort (and great customer service)!
We did get a lot of comments on the bikes along the way. Yet another way to make friends while touring.
By the way, we chose Schwalbe Ultra Marathon tires. We had one flat ( a piece of "road wire" ) and still have a lot of miles left to go on the tires.
This summer... a train from Sacramento to Seattle, to ride around National Parks, San Juan Islands and the Vancouver area! Folding bikes count as luggage on the train - no boxes!
Thanks, Bike Friday!
I've got a 2003 BF I love, and a friend has a late 90's model. Both are as good today as when made (obviously some maintenance and a few upgrades). You cannot go wrong with a BF; I plan on leaving mine to my son and grandchildren as that is how well they are built!
Henning Mellin –
All Season Commuter
Dear All! Since five years I am a very happy daily Bike Friday rider on my New World Tourist. I use it daily, on shorter and longer distances, sometimes it comes with me by car or railway. This is a very sturdy bike – I do not care a lot, I ride at all season, and each ride is a pleasure. The bike accelerates well, we have many steep hills, on high speed while going down it reacts perfectly pre visible. Even with heavy load. I was in the beginning a bit doubtful because of the little wheel size, before I used a made to measure 28inch “normal size” bike, but the little wheels go well even with all our potholes, I ride wide tyres. The only really bad thing are those special Bike Friday mudguards, this is nothing to be proud about. I replaced them by real well fixed mudguards, they aren’t heaver and it folds as well. Also maintenance is easy, the bike uses nearly no special parts, which makes it much better compared to what I had before as folding bike (Brompton and Riese & Mueller Birdy).
But there is no heavy import duties on American products in Europe, which is really sad as this bike merited to be known wider!
All the best, and keep going on, Henning
Wizard Woof –
Our Bike Friday electric NWTs are the smoothest riding bikes we’ve ever had and we’ve had many.
Now, as we are 75+ y.o. we need the e-assist to help us up the steeper hills. Easy to shift with our Rohloff hubs, easy to employ the e-assist and smooth as silk riding make these a joy to ride. Best of all, as we get older, mounting a heavier, bigger e-bike can actually be dangerous. The Bike Friday experience- smaller wheels, lighter bike even with battery and motor, and having a low step through as well as lower center of gravity makes for safer riding too. As my husband said, other e-bikes feel like they are in control of the ride. On our NWTs, we feel like we’re in control–and very comfortable. They feel like a bicycle, not a machine.
Jeff Igelman –
My wife and I bought our World Tourists in 1991. We also purchased suitcases/trailers, soft bags and fenders. We have traveled with them, used them as daily riders and hauled groceries in the trailers. Other than routine maintenance and replacing tires, brake pads and chains the bikes have never needed any major repairs. The bikes are built in the USA and are of very high quality. I highly recommend them!
Heidi Davison –
New World Tourist Perfection
My New World Tourist is a great little bicycle! I purchased it in 2017 and have used it for many bike journeys and trips around my community. Built to my specifications, it’s a perfect fit – easy to get on and off of as well as being sturdy on long rides carrying panniers, etc. And, it provides a smooth and comfortable ride even on those 50 mile days. I’ve not had a minute’s trouble with it. If you are considering this bike for purchase, I highly recommend it. The hardest choice will be deciding which of the cool colors you like the best!
Shawn Moses –
I ordered a New World Tourist on short notice for my trip across northern Spain. Walter was very helpful in walking me through the many options, and they rushed it to me in a timely manner. It was my first folding type, so I didn’t know quite what to expect.
I was surprised how similar it was in performance to a traditional bike. It’s not nearly as fast on those little wheels, but it cruises at a respectable pace, and pedaling was quite easy (those wheels have a low moment of inertia, to use physics talk). I traversed the length of the Pyrenees during my trip, so I got accustomed to its performance on mountain roads, where it acquits itself quite well. With the lower torque of its small wheels, it requires pretty aggressive downshifting, but the 18-speed option covered the full range of grades that I encountered.
I did a maximum of sixty miles in one day. Being a comfortable ride, it’s certainly capable of more, but not being nearly as quick as larger bikes, it would make for a long day. Personally, I wouldn’t be very keen to do a century on it.
The bike is easy to maintain, containing no oddball proprietary parts and coming with a basic toolkit – on serious trips to remote places, you would need to supplement it with a few extras to cover all possible problems.
Folding the bike is an intuitive process after you’ve practiced it at home a few times. And having suffered through dragging a fullsize in its case through airports and train stations, I found the compactness a real godsend.
Overall, the New World Tourist is an excellent international traveler. After having ridden it through everything northern Spain could throw at it, I would confidently take it on any future on-pavement adventure.
JEFFREY A BERNARDS –
“THE INGENIOUS” NEW WORLD TOURISt
I bought my first BikeFriday New World Tourist in 1994, a used one from BikeFriday. I used it for my first around the world tour. I watched people with full size bikes fumble around trying to box it at the airport. The suitcase/trailer combination is the best, for all around travel situations, airplane, bus and even hitchhiking.
I rode the BikeFriday in 2013 from Lisbon to Istanbul. I gave each country about a month. I rode the train and bus several times to keep on some kind of schedule. In Spain I got a train ticket for me, $60. For the bike?they wanted to charge me $100. I folded the bike and put it in the suitcase, within his view of course. I really only “needed” to fold it 3 or 4 times in 7 months, but still a great option.
I was planning a trip around France and Spain for April/May 2022. I wanted to bring my full size E-bike, but the train restrictions made it impossible. I hadn’t seriously ridden my BikeFriday in 9 years. So I took it to a local E-bike shop and had front hub motor and BIG battery installed. I got the bus from Ljubljana, Slovenia to Paris, France for only $35 euro, the train was $200 +, and no bike.
I changed buses in Paris, stayed overnight, assembled the bike and rode to a friends house. She wanted me stay longer, then drive me to the next friends house. She didn’t have a bike rack, so I folded it and off we went.
I was in camp and a French man came by to see the BikeFriday setup. I explained the bike folds into the trailer. He started saying the bike was? (His English was just Ok), S I helped him “INGENIOUS”? He gave me a resounding YES. Yes, the BikeFriday is totally ingenious. If you want to travel and keep your carbon footprint down at the same time, the BikeFriday is the ticket for Green Travel. (not on airplanes): If you’;re buying a made to order BikeFriday, I suggest the internal hub (no derailleur) and Disk Brakes.
Bob Furneaux –
NWT is my go-to bike – While I primarily ride and tour alone, I do, from time to time, join for organized rides for specific causes. The rides are, of course, normally across the country (USA) from where I live, and traveling with a full-sized bike is… Let’s say, a pain. I have seen the Bike Friday ads in various magazines over the years, but never was interested in such a “unique” looking bike. But then I signed up for a ride during the spring of 2017 that change my mind. I decided to purchase a NWT for use during future loaded touring and specifically for the then upcoming ride (that was, of course, across the country from where I live). Since receiving the bike it’s been ridden many thousand miles, and although I have a stable of multiple quality bikes, the one I ride most is the BF. If you are considering purchasing one, I strongly recommend you do. I’ve created a few videos that give a more comprehensive review:
https://youtu.be/BDvwn3wlp1k
https://youtu.be/4pNCtJNehk4
David and Judi George –
Rain and hail ride
We bought our bikes in the fall of 2017 and have ridden around our hometown near Orlando Florida and traveled in our RV to a few sites with our bikes. This summer I have ridden in Mackinac Island, MI, Sugarcreek and Dayton Oh and we are currently in Avon Colorado where we chose to ride the Vail Pass bike ride on the Gore Creek bike trail. The top of the trail is it 10,600 feet and drops to about 8000 feet by the time we got off the trail in Vail. This is a ride where we used a local outfitter to shuttle us to the top and then you ride back down to the shop.
The ride starts with absolutely gorgeous views and it’s a quick downhill ride. About 10 minutes into our ride it starts raining hard with hail. There is no place to take cover for miles. We both just continue downhill as fast as is safe riding the wonderful disc brakes that we know we can count on. About 30 minutes into our rain and hail we finally came to an underpass where we could take shelter with several other cyclists. By this time our shoes are squishy wet and we are soaked.
Once the rain let up we continued our ride. Of course, the trail is still wet and we are still getting splatter. It’s the first time we traveled by air with our bikes. We took the racks off and decided we didn’t need them and didn’t even consider bringing our fenders. Not a smart move on our part. We know that we have quality components and can count on the disc brakes. We love our bikes and are having a blast with them. Thanks for providing a quality product.
David and Judi George
Clermont, Florida
Frank Pedrick –
My wife and I completed a tour from Jasper, Canada through Glacier NP to Bismarck, ND to St. Louis, MO to Yorktown, VA last summer (2016) on our Bike Friday NWTs.
We had a lot of unexpected travel before we started, so there wasn’t time for many “break-in” rides. We just rode into shape.
Getting to the start involved a car, a bus and a flight, so it was great to be able to have the bikes in suitcases! Our panniers were checked and/or carry-on.
As we camp most of the time, my loaded bike was about 70 lbs. and hers around 60 lbs. I opted for disc brakes and a SRAM dual drive. Both worked very well and were easy to adjust. I did replace the chain and rear cassette at about 2500 miles into our trip, which is pretty routine maintenance. The steering on the NWT could be described as “sensitive” or “twitchy,” depending on how you like it… I got used to it pretty quickly. Chugging up hills at 4 m.p.h. on a loaded bike is kind of sensitive no matter what you’re on! The bike was solid and stable feeling on the flats and downhill.
My wifes’ bike developed a rear hub problem half way through the trip. Bike Friday helped us coordinate with a mechanic along our route and shipped the needed parts there overnight – a well coordinated effort (and great customer service)!
We did get a lot of comments on the bikes along the way. Yet another way to make friends while touring.
By the way, we chose Schwalbe Ultra Marathon tires. We had one flat ( a piece of “road wire” ) and still have a lot of miles left to go on the tires.
This summer… a train from Sacramento to Seattle, to ride around National Parks, San Juan Islands and the Vancouver area! Folding bikes count as luggage on the train – no boxes!
Thanks, Bike Friday!
Lin Brand –
I’ve got a 2003 BF I love, and a friend has a late 90’s model. Both are as good today as when made (obviously some maintenance and a few upgrades). You cannot go wrong with a BF; I plan on leaving mine to my son and grandchildren as that is how well they are built!
Robin Sears –
Performs in mixed flocks
I show up for group rides here in Lima on my chique black NWT and the people think they’ll drop me at the first city pothole/hill/dirt road/puddle/barking dog. But no. Whether we are with roadies or mountainees, my machine and I continue to stun and amaze with our prowess in all those conditions in mixed flocks. We can’t quite make it through deep mud (maybe it’s my technique), but we do well going across streams, up and down rough dirt tracks and roads, and through cow patties, and we burn the mountain bikes on pavement – up, down or flat. To say nothing of folding up neatly to carry into meeting rooms at the Ministry of Environment or weaving our way through Lima traffic.
I did switch the front shifter to a rotating thing with trim because I couldn’t manage to adjust the front derailleur quite right to eliminate annoying rub (and no, I am not engaging in chain-stretch gearing).
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the NWT. Thanks, Bike Friday, for making wonderful bikes that wow people.
Leslie –
I bought this bike new in 2010; my city did not have bike racks on the fronts of all its buses, Amtrak allows this bike on (simply folded), even when there is no baggage car, and I needed a bike with lower gearing for a Trans Am trek.
Funny now, looking back at my other bike, how much better equipped this bike was over my previous touring bike. Always take the time to calculate gear ratios/inches when considering a new bike. Suggested low end for climbing serious hills/mountains is 20 gear inches. The NWT screams past this at a little over 18. The fastest I ever went on this bike was 49mph. Extremely stable with front and rear panniers.
Suitcase: great for air transport, fair as a trailer. I have used the suitcase as a trailer twice. Once for a 2 week trip in the rainy Netherlands and once for a 3 day weekend. In the Netherlands, with mostly flat terrain, it tracked very well and I didn’t notice it much. However, the suitcase has no ventilation, so my wet/damp tent dampened everything else in the trailer. I had no way to segregate it, as I would have with panniers. If I had to do it over, I would repeat that method, since I did not have to stow the suitcase (but might devise a bungee net for the top of the trailer).
Buy the Cane Creek headset, get a tandem handlebar stem/and a short bit of handlebar tubing to attach to the steering tube (and take advantage of that vast real estate) and consider a thudbuster seat post. The bike has a slight learning curve; it is a little squirelly. It goes around obstacles much more easily than a regular diamond frame, but the little wheels will find the bottom of a pothole more quickly.
My NWT has over 15,000 miles on it and of my 7 bikes, sees the most use.
Jeff Scholefield –
New World Tourist bought in 2007. Cycled towing suitcase trailer the ACA Transam 2008, Lewis and Carke 2009 (St Charles MO to Rapid City SD), Northern Tier (Devils Lake ND to Sandpoint ID) 2011 and Rhine 2013. Also lots of day rides from my home in Salisbury, UK. Everytime I ride my NWT I smile as the small wheels and well balanced touring frame make a fun ride. Although there is weight penalty from towing the suitcase trailer versus using just panniers, there is no better system to fly and ride.
BicycleTouringPro.com –
The Bike Friday New World Tourist is thought by some to be the ultimate travel bike for long distance tourists. It’s small wheel base, low-step over feature, fully-loaded capabilities and its ability to fold up and fit inside an airline standard suitcase (thus saving you huge amounts of money when flying with your bicycle) are certainly appealing features for any world traveler.
Rick Zimmer –
After years of flying 737’s around the country and trying — usually unsuccessfully — to find a rental bike on layovers, I finally decided to bring my own.
I heard about Bike Friday from a few United pilots over the common air to air frequency enroute from Hawaii.
What a great choice.
My World Tourist in its Samsonite suitcase just clears the TSA scanners, fits in an overhead bin in the 737 when inserted handle first, or easily in the forward Flight Attendant closet.
It has completely changed my trip bidding strategy and now I tell people that I fly from bike trip to bike trip.
I purchased my bike used from a friend, but am planning on an upgrade soon. Several other pilots have followed my example and I can’t speak highly enough about my experience with the bike.
David Barker –
After much persuasion by a friend I first rode a BF in 1993, and immediately thought this it the best bike ever, and I was already a seasoned cyclist.
My New World Tourist is 13 years old. I’ve bought (and sold) other bikes over the years, but it’s still my favourite, no other bike can do all it does, and do it so well. Touring, shopping, group rides etc.
I’m always happy when I ride it. Over the years it has had many new parts as the old ones have worn out, and also a total factory respray (from yellow to multicoloured).
I bought a Carbon Express tikit a few years ago — really a thing of beauty. I loved to look at it, but I rode the New World Tourist 90% of the time. I also love that over here in the UK it is so unusual and unknown — I’ve seen five others in 13 years.
Every time you launch a new bike I want it. Present wish list — Nuvinci NWT, Carbon infinity tikit — Though I reckon I’d still come back to my trusty NWT, however many I owned.
I just wish the factory wasn’t 6000 miles away — but maybe that’s a good thing 😉 David Ps I once sold my NWT on Ebay (long story, don’t ask), and six months later it came back to me by chance!
Brian Ogilvie –
It really is performance that packs!
I’ve had my NWT for nearly two years now, so I felt like I now have enough experience to review it. My full review is posted at Crazy Guy on a Bike, but in a nutshell: the NWT is a fine touring and randonneuring bike.It’s comfortable, handles very much like a 700C touring bike, carries quite a load, and packs into a standard-sized suitcase (for US-based airlines).
It’s not ideal for people who need to fold the bike several times a day, but for everyone else who wants a packable touring bike, it’s well worth considering.