* JUST THE TIKIT * Introducing the World's Fastest Folder with the Famous Friday Ride

March, 2007

Dear Bike Friday Friend of the Planet,
 

Please take just 5 seconds to observe the following demonstration:

TAP. SWISH. CLICK. GO.
(Better still, see it in action on YouTube and check out the tikitTM webpage).

You've just witnessed the newest, niftiest Bike Friday to date going swiftly through its paces: the tikitTM - an all-new, ultra compact, performance commuter bicycle.

We're unfolding it at a perfect time, when oil reserves are declining, the oceans are rising and people are spending way too much time stuck in traffic on their way to the gym to ride the stationary bicycle ...

The tikitTM is now the world's fastest-folding bike - and certainly the only one with the incomparable Bike Friday ride.

At our recent pre-launch in Europe, where folding bicycles have long been an established mode of city transport, 150 bicycle dealers from all over the continent gave the tikitTM an enthusiastic 'wunderbar' - for the ride, the fold, and the fit. You're reading this email because all three are important to you, so read on!

How fast is the fold?

5 seconds flat. No fiddly quick releases, latches or 12-step program to fold it. And no dangly bits either, it's all connected for fumble-free folding. It comes with 8 speeds, a saddle, pedals, fenders and a brass bicycle bell with a nice 'ding'. It features thoughtful details like folding pedals, and an optional front rack and pannier bag - that stays in place while you swish, click, fold.

How small does it fold?

The tikitTM folds into a 15"x24"x35" space - about the size of a small suitcase, or a trio of cases of beer/soy milk, whatever's your poison. No heavy lifting - it's under 25 lbs, and you can push it along on its own wheels like a cart (or 'trolley' if you live outside the USA).

The best way to get from A to B.

That is, the Alaska to the Boardroom.The tikitTM was made for city dwellers who need a way to get to and from the subway, train or bus in their daily lives, with no folding fluffups. When slipped into its 'nup, it ain't a bicycle' soft bag, it should glide effortlessly past surly 'no bikes in here, buddy' building managers.

It was also made for private pilots, RVers and boaters who want to get from their landing pad or dock to the clubhouse or grocery store and have a bike that folds into the precise and confined spaces of their craft.

You can optionally fit it out with front and rear racks and panniers for light loaded touring, or pop it in the optional Bike Friday TravelCase (a standard Samsonite F'Lite suitcase) for airline travel. The optional TravelTrailer, hitch, chassis and wheels all pack into the suitcase with the bicycle- after all, it's from the house of Performance that Packs!

Is it a custom Bike Friday?

It's close. The tikitTM comes in 3 frame size configurations, fitting riders from 4'6 to 6'6", and up to 255 lbs. Our towering IT manager Matt Jarvis was able to ride it with ease and safety, using a heavier gauge stem for bigger riders. Even with 16" wheels, a size used extensively by performance recumbent manufacturers, the handling is sturdy and sure - a 'rides like your best bike' Bike Friday hallmark.

We use chromoly steel because 'steel is real' - repairable anywhere in the world, and gives the solid ride not generally found in folding bicycles. Several gearing and componentry options are planned for the future, just like you've come to expect from Bike Friday, but for now, we're keeping it beautifully simple with 8 speeds, and just one stock color: Cream Soda Blue and Black. Update: we now have 1 to 24 speed tikits!

A gleam in Green Gear's eye

The tikitTM had been on the drawing board of Bike Friday Designer Hanz Scholz since 1994. It was prototyped in 2005 for a limited beta test audience, then returned to the drawing board for further development. It was the recent engagement of HPV (Human Powered Vehicle) champion and bicycle engineer Rob English that kick started serious development in 2006. Rob has many years experience designing human powered machines at the cutting edge of speed and technology. He holds the current British Hour record, at a shade under 49.8 miles per hour, narrowly beaten by the current world record speed of 53.4 miles per hour. He's now an integral part of the Bike Friday team, having relocated from England to Eugene, Oregon. You may never need to go that fast, but Rob thinks you should have no excuse for being late for work on a tikitTM !

A convenient solution to an inconvenient truth

For every mile driven in the average car, about 1 lb of CO2 is released into the atmosphere. A bicycle releases none (except the small amount you exhale as you save gas, your health and the planet at large... )

Peek in the Scholz brothers' garages and you'll see all kinds of curious inventions, from Hanz' converted biodiesel VW Rabbit, fueled by his own recycled chip oil, to prototype non-fossil fuel engines and other human powered inventions.

Check their electric bills and you'll see 100% wind power and carbon offsets purchases. They strongly believe that while living our fossil fuel hungry way of life is addictive, it is not sustainable. The tikitTM was conceived with a farsighted view of our future well-being in mind.

So while you've been riding (or imagining riding) the long and potholed roads between Alaska and Botswana on a Bike Friday, we've been busy working on a sustainable solution to the oil problem - a bicycle that will take you to and from the office, local park or your favorite burger nook, 'burning carbs, not hydrocarbs'.

Read more about Bike Friday's Expanded Mission.

The tikitTM Mission

The commuting world has been waiting for a bike that folds and rides great, one that isn't a scooter that tries to be a bike, or a rollerblade with a saddle; in short, waiting for a serious personal transportation alternative to the car.

Will people still laugh at your little wheels? You betcha, but you'll be laughing harder. Studies have shown that people who ride bikes are simply happier than those who don't. Our 16,000+ Bike Friday owners, many in their 60's and 70's, are a clear testimony to the value of moving under your own power. The tikitTM is a bicycle you can ride whatever your age and stage in life.

The tikitTM mission is simply this: More people on bikes, less people in cars, and a clean and healthy future for all. Get your tikitTM off the carbon express!

The Very Best in Cycling,

Hanz, Alan, and the Bike Friday Travel Team.
www.bikefriday.com