The pakiT: From 24 years of industry experience comes a breakthrough, offering you freedom in your “pocket,” or backpack!
Help us take it over the edge and hit 150K!
Growing a network of dealers is a very necessary, and costly, long-term business strategy.
We want everyone to be able to get their hands on this bike; we're sure they'll love it! Building a sample to send to a dealer costs us anywhere from $1,000-$2,000 per dealer. It's a solid investment, but it can take several months to pay for itself. Hitting 150K will allow us to make enough samples to begin a significant expansion of our dealer network!
And to say thank you for hitting this goal, we'll give every backer a free pakiT Kickstarter t-shirt!
Our goal is to offer you a daily life with the personal freedom to explore the joy of flying on light wheels, access to the open air, and connection with the world around you. All in a remarkably compact bike that fits you and can be taken anywhere.
Based on 24 years of building high performance travel & folding bikes the pakiT is a breakthrough! It surpasses all other bikes in history with an amazing combination of being light weight, folding compactly, very clean (no chain oil), built to your size, and with a high quality ride!
- Light Weight: 14.9 lbs/6.8 kg to 22 lbs/10 kg.
- Compact Fold: Folds in under 25 seconds to 38in x 24in x 10in (96cm x 61cm x 25cm).
- Fits in Backpack or Suitcase: In 1.5 minutes it packs into a backpack that is 28in x 17in x 8in (71cm x 43cm x 20cm) and in 3 minutes into a standard suitcase for airline travel.
- Clean: Comes with a belt drive instead of a chain, no grease! (Chain options available after Kickstarter).
- Built to Fit You: There are 6 sizes, with a lot of room for adjustability, to ensure that the bike fits you well! Sizes to fit people from 54”/136 cm to 76”/194 cm & weighing up to 220 lbs. (100 kg).
- Great Quality Ride: Uses standard bicycle design geometry. This yields balanced handling and comfort, giving a great ride all day, wherever you go.
- Easy to Maintain Over Time: Having all standard industry components allows for easy upgrades, maintenance, and replacements for many years of riding!
- Handbuilt in Eugene, Oregon USA: Domestically made for over 24 years. You can call the factory and actually talk to the kooky bike nuts who built your bicycle!
How it works
Want to see how quickly the bicycle folds? Check out this short video for a step-by-step guide:
Check out this video to see the basic options for carrying things while riding:
Why we created the pakiT
More and more people are living busy lives in the city, stuck inside buildings, trains, buses, cars and airplanes for 95% of each day. We wanted to build a bike that clearly fits a busy city lifestyle, while offering people more joy and health with a super-convenient design that allows a bike to always be with them wherever they are.
We believe people are happier and healthier when they are free to roam under their own power, and do it daily. The right bike is what makes this possible. For 21st century city life, the bike needs to easily travel, be compact, light enough to carry, sized to fit the rider, and have a high quality ride. The pakiT, equipped with all of these traits, will truly liberate a busy person in the urban jungle.
We have found the limitations of most folding bikes are:
- Heavy - Hard to take up stairs, into buildings, onto public transit.
- Have Greasy Chains - Hard to keep nice clothes clean.
- Come in Only 1 Size - Doesn't fit most people well for regular riding.
- Few Gear Options - Hard to ride on hills or at a fast pace.
- Proprietary Components - Makes customizing impossible or costly.
The pakiT bike is a breakthrough that addresses each of these areas:
- Light - Easily carried with a single arm, or in the backpack.
- Belt Driven - Grease free, maintenance free, lasts longer than a chain.
- Come in Multiple Sizes - Fits a wide range of riders from 54" to 76".
- Many Gear Options - Great for whatever style of riding you prefer!
- Standard Industry Components - Easy to upgrade & customize.
Some Tester Comments:
"I loved my tikit but the ride on the pakiT has a very sporty feel and I like it better. I'm impressed with the 3 speed, we have a steep hill near our house and the gearing worked well."
-John C Ittelson
"I've ridden a number of versions of Dahon and other folding bikes and there is no comparison. The pakiT rides like a regular bike"
-Bobbi L Kamil
http://www.treehugger.com/bikes/pakit-may-be-most-compromise-free-folding-bike-yet.html
http://bicycletimesmag.com/new-bike-friday-announces-pakit-ultralight-folding-bike/
http://www.bikerumor.com/2016/09/15/bike-fridays-new-pakit-city-bikes-start-14-9-lbs-fold-backpack/
https://gearjunkie.com/roundup/emerging-gear-08-25-16#BikeInABackpack
The pakiT Passes the Private Plane Test with Flying Colors:
Who is Bike Friday?
A family of passionate people who love the joy and liberation that a great bike offers when it fits, rides well, and you can easily take it with you. We have been designing and building high performance travel bikes for the last 24 years in Eugene, Oregon. Our bikes range from Touring and Road bikes to Cargo bikes, Tandems, and even Triple-rider bikes! Most pack into a suitcase for convenient travel.
We have designed several "firsts" starting with the world's first suitcase travel bike, folding recumbent, and custom folding tandem. We have, for nearly a decade, manufactured the lightest folding bike available anywhere- the 16 lbs. Pocket Rocket Super Pro. Not the bike for everyone, but an important step toward realizing the pakiT.
Founded by two brothers, Alan and Hanz Scholz, Bike Friday has now entered its second generation with daughter Hanna Scholz at the helm as President of the company.
Bike Friday is proud to be a bike factory run by a woman. Hanna's vision is to help people live high quality, active lives with high quality, convenient bikes that are a joy to ride and are easy to take anywhere.
The Bike Friday Team
See our team in action on the Bike Friday Factory Tour:
Why do we need your help?
Designing and developing a new bike is expensive. And spreading the word widely is a real challenge for a company of our size. Our commitment to custom build our bikes in the USA makes us unusual, as most bikes are built in Asia. We have proven that it is possible to build successfully in the USA, and with the pakiT we can make an important, and timely, contribution to the world.
We have been sustained since day one by the passion and commitment of our customers, employees, and our local community, all of whom truly believe in the impact that this new bicycle will have. And now, we need your support to launch this bike to the world.
We have already spent over $100,000 with hundreds of work hours from our small, talented team of two designers to get the pakiT to this stage. We have made ten prototypes for testing and have begun development of the backpack, rear rack, and fenders. We need your support to finish setting up production tooling and training, as well as finish development on accessories to make this remarkable bike available in significant numbers at a good price.
Funding raised will be used to:
- Deliver rewards to our Kickstarter campaign backers!
- Finish building tooling and delivery infrastructure to be able to deliver about 40 pakiTs a month (minimum) starting in January 2017. We've proven we can speed things up once we have the first level of delivery flowing.
- Train production team members to build the pakiT.
- Purchase Gates Carbon Belt Drives and other components & materials in significant enough numbers to reduce cost to the customer (that's a lot of belts...).
Passing our funding goal will allow us to:
- Purchase Hub Gears, Belt Drive parts and other materials for an even better bulk price to reduce cost to the customer and make this bike in larger quantities.
- Build pakiTs into inventory for quick delivery for people who don't need a fully custom build.
- If we significantly pass our initial funding goal there are several important goals beyond that. Establishing a wider dealer network in major urban centers and adding an electric assist package are our two most exciting stretch goals.
*After the Kickstarter campaign ends, the pakiT ELITE will be available, for a higher cost, with the ability for full customization.*
Risks and challenges
We are a small bike factory with 27 people total in Eugene, Oregon. We have been in business since 1992 with a lifetime warranty on every frame. Our customers rely on us every day for timely delivery of custom bikes just in time for their pre-planned international trips.
As a small business with a team of 27 we are dependent on the knowledge and skills of critical team members. If we had to work around the long-term absence of a critical team member there could be delays to the shipping schedule while we get back up to speed in the affected area of the business.
To fulfill the pakiT orders placed in this Kickstarter campaign we will order a container-load of components from overseas vendors. If our vendors are delayed in shipping components to us, or if there are shipping mishaps, the delivery schedule of the bikes could be affected.
In the unlikely event that delays occur, we will contact all affected backers with an updated delivery schedule.
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Funding period
- (31 days)