Silver component is the new safety upgrade for all Tikits.
I posted a safety notice from Bike Friday a while ago regarding some potential cracking that can happen in the area of the seat mast supports. Well Walter posted this photo of his Tikit with the new safety upgrade in place. The silver bar in the photo above stiffens the area and will avoid any cracking problems.
If you have a Tikit and you haven’t spoken to Bike Friday about getting this safety upgrade please contact them or the dealer you got your Tikit from.
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I got mine today, and it was NOT painted.
Thanks Ken – I updated the post. I inferred from Walter’s post that BF would paint the braces, but I guess that’s not happening on existing bikes and may not happen on new bikes. We’ll have to see.
I just chatted with Walter, the piece is stainless steel, so it shouldn’t need paint or powdercoating.
I guess polishing is an option…
I wasn’t thinking rust protection just aesthetics, but it would add extra cost and effort to what is already an expensive undertaking.
Maybe they would paint it for a small fee. Or you could replace the whole unit when the new design comes out.
Got my Aardvark snail mail certified yesterday. Unfortunately I had the keyhole crack and am waiting for my replacement seat mast.
I don’t mind stainless so I won’t bother painting it.
I’ve installed mine and the frame feels much more rigid, overall. There used to be a subtle “drooping” sensation if I picked the bike up by the seat and the bars – that is gone.
Anyone else notice this?
Also – the brace interferes with holding the handle a bit. Oh, well.