What does FAQ stand for ?
Won’t I have to pedal more on a small-wheeled bike ?
How much do Birdys weigh ?
How big is a folded Birdy ?
Are there any advantages in having small wheels ?
Is the Birdy suitable for longer distance rides ?
What is so special about the Birdy compared to other folding bikes ?
What are the advantages of a Birdy compared to a large wheeled bike ?
How does the riding style of the Birdy differ from a large wheeled bike ?
Why is the Birdy so expensive ?
Is the Birdy suitable for mountain biking ?
Could the bike fold up while I’m riding ?
What does 'riese und mueller' stand for ?
Where are Birdys made ?
How old is the Birdy ?
How many Birdys are sold each year ?

FAQ stands for "Frequently Asked Questions". It is a term that has become commonplace on internet websites as a way of handling the most typical questions that people might ask.

No. The wheels may be about half the size of a large wheeled bike – but the front chainring (large cog) is about twice the size. This means one turn of the pedals on a Birdy will rotate your wheels about twice as many times compared to the wheels of a large-wheeled bike and hence you will move the same distance.

We've compiled this information on the specifications page for each of our Birdy models. Please see our products pages for details.

This is a good question and is actually a bit tricky to answer. The folded size varies slightly depending on whether things like barends are installed and how far forward or backward the saddle is located on its rails.

Also, in the folded position some items such as barends do stick out a bit increasing the width of the bike. But this kind of increase is only really important if you were trying to fit the bike into a very rigid walled space (like a cupboard).

Most Birdys fit into a tip to tip measurement of

Width: 35-39cm
Height: 58-61cm
Length: 76cm to 79cm

Other factors influencing the size of the folded Birdy are: whether an Ahead stem is attached and what length it is, whether mudguards are fitted, even the kind of derailleur can make a small difference and the type of front hub.

Small wheels are naturally light – great for when you are carrying your Birdy.

Spoke and rim breakages are extremely rare due to short spokes and small diameter rims which result in very strong wheels.

Small wheels have a low inertia which means you need less energy to get them moving. This results in fast acceleration and lets your Birdy glide up hills. The center of gravity is lowered, resulting in improved stability. As a result, luggage can be carried low resulting in improved stability as well.

The steering on small-wheeled bikes is more responsive. This can be quite useful in cities where there are always urban obstacles thrown into your path.

Absolutely. The suspension on the Birdy smooths out perfectly the natural harshness of smaller diameter wheels, giving you a comfortable ride without compromising on weight and speed. The geometry of the Birdy is designed to give you a riding position like on a large wheeled bike. (relatively sporty - similar to a mountainbike). A range of different set up possibilities make it easy to adjust the bike to different riding styles and riders sizes.

The combination of a good riding position, wide gear range, and a small amount of suspension mean that you can ride your Birdy in comfort all day. A very well designed carrier system (front and rear) makes it easy to carry 25 kg of luggage, making the Birdy perfect for long distance touring with panniers and luggage. Many of our customers use the Birdy for long distance touring (eg John and Cathy, who cycled 7,000km through Iceland (see photo) and Northern Europe. They found the bikes very comfortable to ride throughout their entire trip).

A lot of Birdy owners (including ourselves) ride the 600km Big Rides that are happening each year all around Australia. We have also done extensive cycle touring in Japan, New Zealand and Australia. We love riding the Birdys on these long distance rides and prefer them to any other large wheeled bikes for this purpose.

The Birdy is a true folding bike. In less then 15 seconds without any tools the Birdy can easily be folded. Some so called 'Folding bikes' are in fact 'Take Apart bikes'. Tools, passion and time are needed to disassemble them.

When the Birdy is folded it stays together as one unit, which makes it easy to carry and lift. On some folding bikes, pieces (like the handlebars) hang off the bike when its folded - connected by just a fragile brake or gear cable. In other cases, parts (like wheels) have to be carried separately from the bike.

The fast and easy folding and the ability to stay as one unit when folded makes the Birdy a fantastic city-commuting bike. Folding and unfolding your bike whenever it is convenient and useful can be a great advantage. Eg if you want to jump on a bus or train you can already see coming, you still have enough time to fold a Birdy up. Or if you feel your bike is unsafe in an area while you are visiting a friend or go shopping, just fold your Birdy up and take it with you.

The Birdy has a strong joint-less main frame whereas most other true 'Folding Bikes' have a folding joint in the middle of the main frame. Because of strong forces exerted on the main frame of a bicycle, a folding joint in this position can become weak and dangerous over time. Also, on some folding bikes you can feel a flexing in the folding joint, which feels uncomfortable and unnerving to ride especially at high speeds. On the Birdy the folding mechanism is ingeniously incorporated into the suspension allowing for a jointless main frame that is strong, stiff and rigid. We are confident and proud about the strength of the Birdy frame and offer a 25 year warranty on main frame and rear swingarm breakages.

Front and rear suspension on the Birdy give you a smooth and comfortable ride. You might think suspension is unnecessary for you, just adding to the weight of the bike and reducing your speed - but keep in mind that small wheels do not offer the natural suspension effect that large wheels do. A small wheeled bike without suspension and high pressure tyres can make your ride very harsh (maybe even harsher than on a racing bike). As the front and rear suspension on the Birdy are both incorporated into the folding mechanism, you end up with a very light, simple and low maintenance suspension system.

The Birdy is lighter than many other folding bikes. Weight is important on folding bikes because you are more likely to carry your bike. The Birdy is made from a strong aluminum alloy 7005, which makes the bike light yet strong, rigid and rust resistant.

The Birdy was originally designed as a city commuting bike, but a strong commitment by the design company to constant innovation and improvement, has turned the Birdy over the last 10 years into a fantastic touring bike as well. 'riese und mueller' the German designers of the bike have made significant frame developments over this period and have also developed a fantastic carrier system that allows you to carry up to 25kg of luggage. The rear carrier folds automatically with the bike (it doesn't even have to be touched). The front and rear carrier system barely increase the folded size of the bike at all.

Summary: The Birdy is a highly versatile bike. Because of its fast folding, the ability to stay together as one unit when folded, its light weight and suspension, it is a fantastic city commuting bike. In addition, its well designed carrier system, strong and rigid frame design (with 25 year warranty), full suspension and fast folding also make it a fantastic long distance travel and touring bike. Most other folding bikes suffer from some of the following deficiencies: they are either easy to fold but not that great to ride; or they have a weaker frame; or they are not able to carry much luggage; or they are great to ride but not easy to fold.

The Birdy is similar to a large wheeled bike, it rides as fast and is as comfortable but it is sooo much more convenient. You can take the Birdy wherever you go, on each holiday, weekend or business trip. There's no hassle trying to fit it to the roof top of your car, or on a bike rack. And it's easy to take it on an airplane or train. If you have any excuses for not cycling more often with a Birdy they might be gone.

Compared to most other conventional bikes the Birdy has a lower top tube. This means you can comfortably step over the top tube without having to swing your leg over the back of the saddle like on other bikes. If you stop suddenly and have to hop forward off the saddle, there's no chance of injuring yourself on the top tube. Also, because of the low top tube and the range of adjustments, the Birdy can easily be ridden by shorter people and elderly people.

The Birdy is also attractive to people who feel intimidated by large wheeled bikes. The low main tube offers improved safety, controllability and a lower center of gravity. The small wheels make the bike more responsive which is useful for riding in traffic. The low inertia (low rotating mass of the wheels) results in faster acceleration compared to a large wheeled bike and make the Birdy glide up-hills.

The Birdy has the weight of an average road racing bike, but compared to a racing bike it is more comfortable, offers a smoother ride and a slightly more upright riding position, which is in particular suitable for commuting.

The riding position is similar to a mountain bike (its quite sporty and is less upright than on many other folding bikes). Wide ranges of adjustments make it easy to accommodate for different rider sizes and riding styles. The Birdy is more responsive than a large wheeled bike. At first it might feel too twitchy for you but once you get used to it you will enjoy it. When you ride a large wheeled bike again after riding a Birdy for a while you're likely to find the steering heavy and cumbersome in comparison.

Because of the low inertia of the smaller wheels, the Birdy has a faster acceleration and glides more easily up-hill. Because of greater responsiveness of small wheels the Birdy should be ridden with at least one hand on the handlebar at all times.

The Birdy frame is manufactured by hand with considerable precision in a labour intensive process (check out the beautiful welding lines on the bike). Many measurements and adjustments are required during the manufacturing process. In fact the frame sections are re-aligned by hand three times during the manufacturing process to ensure the frame meets rigid requirements for folding: Once after initial welding, once after heat treatment and then finally after powder coating as a complete bike. All of these alignments are done by hand.

The frame design of the Birdy might look simple and straight forward but it is much more complex than meets the eye. For example the front and rear swingarms are perfectly in line when the bike is unfolded but they go out of line when the bike is folded. The very unique features of the Birdy (suspension that is incorporated into the folding mechanism, a jointless main frame and low weight) demand a complex frame design and complex manufacturing process. It is far more difficult to manufacture a Birdy frame than it is to manufacture a frame with a folding joint in the middle which can be done by machines.

Over the last 10 years, some companies have tried to (illegally) copy the Birdy to make it cheaper but to date they have all failed. Their attempts did either not fold properly or did not ride straight. We are proud and convinced about the quality, strength and durability of the frame and offer a 25 year warranty on the main frame and rear swingarm.

No, unfortunately not. Small-wheeled bikes are in general not suitable for mountainbiking on rough grounds because small wheels can get stuck in holes. However the Birdy can be used on unsealed roads and forest trails as long as the ground is not too rough. On unsealed or corrugated roads more concentration is needed on the Birdy, because the combination of small wheels and light weight frame can make the bike slip more easily.

No. When you sit on the Birdy, you end up compressing the main folding joints in the opposite direction to how they fold. This gives a high assurance that the Birdy could not fold up on you while you are riding it.

riese und mueller (R+M) is the German design company that designed the Birdy. The name comes from the two surnames of the mechanical engineers who own the company: Markus Riese and Heiko Mueller. R+M make a range of innovative bikes as well as the Birdy. You can take a look at www.r-m.de/ to see the full range of their products.

All Birdy frames are made in Taiwan by a company called Pacific Cycles. This arrangement has been in place since the Birdy's brth in 1995. Pacific was founded by George Lin who is a well known innovator in the international bicycle industry. Pacific have been making high quality hand-made bicycles for over 20 years.

There are differences in how each region obtains their Birdys. For example, in Australia we get completely assembled Birdys from Taiwan. However riese und mueller in Germany get the Birdy frames from Taiwan and do the final assembly of components in Germany.

riese und mueller have a close working relationship with Pacific Cycles and both companies work hard to improve the product through manufacturing and design improvements.

The Birdy was first developed in 1995 by riese und mueller. It has now gone through over 10 years of product maturity and refinements. This can be seen in current model Birdys which have an excellent folding action, are capable of being fitted with racks and luggage and they come with a 25 year warranty.

Approximately 14,000 worldwide.