Today Bike Friday is officially unveiling the Pakit. I've been riding a prototype of this bike for the past month. I can assure you, it's real. I work at Bike Friday and over the past couple of decades we've built and shipped thousands of bikes.
This is my prototype PakiT. It weighs a bit under 20 lbs.
We build all the Bike Friday's here in Eugene, Oregon. It's a pretty nice place to live and work
Unlike the production PakiTs, my prototype has a coaster brake and chain drive. Although I grew up with coaster brakes, I found I missed the ability to spin the pedals to just where I want them when I stop. Everybody who test rode the bike made the same comment. So all the production PakiTs will have cable-activated brakes.
The PakiT folds quickly to a narrow package.
The stem and handlebars detach and clip to the frame.
The bike folds to a very narrow package. We realized that a lot of folks will quick fold it and then walk into a crowded place like an elevator or a farmer's market so using a clean belt drive for the production bikes. But, down the road we will make the chain drive available as an option.
We've already build multiple PakiT prototypes and have a wide range of riders testing them. We have a factory that has already built thousands of Bike Fridays over the past few decades and we our experienced crew is ramping up to add the PakiT to our product line. The Kickstarter will let us bulk buy materials and gauge our first production run for this new bike.
The Kickstarter will tell you more about the Pakit. I like mine and it's a rough prototype. The production bike is even better and I think at least some of the people reading this blog might want one.
Keep 'em rolling,
Kent
