This post was written in January 2020, a smaller update was added in November 2021, and a large update was added in March 2022, with further small changes in April 2022 and January 2023. The original January 2020 blog post remains more or less as written!
January 2020 post
A few weeks back a friend and I were offered a Riese und Müller Birdy that dates from 2001. The hope was that we could make something of it and use it, as the thing had been sitting in a storage room unused for more than 5 years. The bike itself had cost 2199 Deutschmarks (1125 Euro) 18 years ago. It also had a carry bag with it. Having used a Decathlon folding bike before (reasonable, but not very pleasant to ride), and not having enough cash for a Brompton, this project was worth a try.
As it looked… and below with the broken mudguard, luggage rack (removed) and old elastomer.
First an assessment: what does a foldable bike for city use need?
Mudguards (this one had an unusable cracked plastic back one, nothing on the front) and some way to mount a bag on it (this one had a bent, very low luggage rack and nothing else). In addition the handlebar grips were all mushy, the pedals stiff and missing reflectors, and the saddle damaged on the edges. The rear elastomer that softens the ride fell apart in my hands. And a new chain is always a good idea. The tires looked OK, but the reviews of early Birdy tires were not good, so those and the inner tubes were replaced too. There were mounts for lights, but no lights. There was also no lock. Brakes and gears all looked OK, so for the moment those stayed.
So the purchases for the repair were as follows:
1. Saddle – Decathlon Sport Komfort 500 Red – €9.99 (normally €18.99) (ordered with Decathlon online) – simple semi-sporty saddle
2. Pedals – Decathlon Folding Pedals – €12.99 (ordered from Decathlon online) – Birdy normally does not have folding pedals, but these worked well on the Decathlon folding bike I used to use, so were chosen here to save a bit of space. They are heavy but reliable
3. Tires x 2 – Schwalbe Marathon RACER 40-355 18 inch RaceGuard – €27.90 (ordered from eBay here) – puncture proof
4. Inner tubes x 2 – Schwalbe Nr.5 18 Zoll Presta Valve – €15.00 (ordered from eBay here)
5. Chain – KMC X8 Chain Silver Grey 8-Speed 114 Links – €9.95 (ordered from eBay here) – KMC recommended by a bike-mad friend of mine
6. Front and Rear Reflectors – unbranded – €3.95 (ordered from eBay here)
7. Front and Rear Lights – unbranded, USB-rechargeable – €11.98 (ordered from eBay here)
8. Grips – Velo Attune, asymmetric to fit the grip shift gears – €14.90 (ordered from eBay here) – I like ones that you can rest palms on, so these are perfect
9. Rotating Bell – unbranded, goes around the handlebar so very durable but small – €6.00 (ordered from eBay here)
10. Aluminium mud guard supports x 2 – unbranded – €13.80 (ordered from eBay here)
11. Black metal mudguards – unbranded – €5.00 (one off from eBay Kleinanzeigen, similar on eBay for €19.90 here)
12. Birdy Elastomer – Standard medium hardness red – €19.90 (online from dedicated bike shop Per Pedale here)
Two items – neither of crucial importance – have long shipping times and have not arrived yet
1. Anti Theft Quick Release QR Skewers – unbranded – €9.75, shipping from Singapore (ordered from eBay here)
2. Kickstand – unbranded – €4.29, shipping from China (ordered from eBay here)
Two purchases needed a lot more consideration
1. Lock – Abus Bordo Granit X-Plus 6450/85cm – €74.99 (usually €95.99) (ordered with Decathlon online)
The issue here is where to mount a lock on a folding bike? A D-Lock is too large to mount, and chains I always find messy. So a foldable lock was the best bet. The Abus Bordo Granit was the best rated foldable lock in Stiftung Warentest’s May 2019 study, although I went for the shorter and lighter 85cm version as opposed to the 110cm version.
2. Bag – Decathlon Businessbag 500 15 Litre Black – €39.99 (ordered with Decathlon online)
Most Brompton riders mount bags on the handlebars, but there was no way to put a Brompton mount on the Birdy. A regular rear luggage rack impedes the folding mechanism, so that was out too. So the best compromise was a Decathlon handlebar mounted laptop bag, that uses a standard Rixen & Kaul mounting system.
Shipping for the whole lot was just under 40 Euro, and I needed a few odds and ends from my local DIY store (see below) for about 10 Euro.
So that gives a total of 330 Euro.
UPDATE AFTER 2 MONTHS OF USE – MARCH 2020
So the Anti Theft Quick Release QR Skewers and Kickstand arrived from China. Skewers are easy to fit and work well. Kickstand is a pain – because there is basically only one mounting bolt – the axel bolt. This means the kickstand turns a bit. It works, but you cannot put much weight on it.
The front and rear reflectors arrived from eBay but fitting these was a bit of a pain. The front one has to be mounted right at the bolt holding the front mudguard, or else you knock it when folding the Birdy. The back one I mounted under the saddle, and this then cracked at some point when the saddle flexed, and needed to be stuck back together. At some point I need to better reflect how to better resolve this issue, but for now the reflectors are holding.
Despite them initially looking OK, the original brake blocks turned out to be horrible – they produced loads of dust. So I replaced them with PROMAX brake blocks with removable pads (ordered from eBay here) – cost is 20 Euro, but I have these blocks on another bike and like them a lot. This takes my total cost to 350 Euro.
Most annoying however are the mudguards. The aluminium rods I used to secure the mudguards have a tendency to bend (and this can happen when transporting the Birdy) and this then means the mudguards touch the tires. These sometimes need bending back into shape before setting off. The space at the top of the front wheel – between tire and mudguard – is very restricted, and the tire can easily rub here. The allen key bolt I used to secure the back mudguard also kept coming partially loose (loose enough so the mudguard would rattle, but never enough to drop off), and this was then replaced with a longer bolt that seems to hold. In short: what was already a messy process to get the mudguards to work ended up being even more work – but I think things are fine now.
But then the good news: this bike is fantastic. It rides well, and is fun and quick to ride. I have already taken it to Rome, Bruges, Maastricht, Brussels, London and Aix-en-Provence, and cycled it from Tourcoing to Lille, and from Bruges to Blankenberge and back. Having it with me on business trips, especially to small-ish cities where the only public transport is buses, has been transformative.
Then what needed to be done for the repair?
The Birdy has a special system to mount the saddle on the seat pole, but this only needs Allen keys to adjust it.
Tires and inner tubes need bike tire levers to remove and replace, and 18 inch tires are hard to fit (the smaller the tires the harder it is).
Pedals are hard to remove without a dedicated pedal wrench – without that you probably need a bike shop to do it for you.
The old chain had to be removed with a chain tool (you could saw it off I suppose!) and the new chain was precisely the right length had a quick fit link to fit it.
Lights and the elastomer could be mounted without tools. The handlebar bag can be fitted using just screws and a Phillips screwdriver.
The velcro straps provided with the Abus Bordo lock are too short to go around the Birdy frame, so I used 4 long cable ties to mount this – they cost a few Euro at my local DIY store.
The frame and all components needed cleaning – rags, and WD40 for a few places, and some acetone to remove sticker glue residue in a few spots.
In short: all of that is pretty normal…
But there is a problem. A big problem. The mudguards.
Lots of Birdy bikes do not have mudguards. For good reason! Because – especially on this early Birdy version – they are an absolute pain to fit. Doing so required hours of work, and a lot of trial and error.
Rear wheel
Here how to mount the mudguard is quite obvious – there is a mounting screw hole on the frame above the tire, and two holes above each end of the axels – as shown:
The problem is to then get the mudguard supports mounted at the right angle – position them too low and the bike handlebars will not fold! You need an angle of about 35 degrees upwards at least!
You need a number of different 5mm bolts to secure the guards and the supports, and some fat washers to bring the mudguard closer to the wheel from the frame. I also used a Dremel to cut the supports to the correct length, and I also shortened the mudguard as well – using the Dremel to cut it. You might also need to drill further holes in the mudguard to mount it as well. But, with a few hours of work, and some trial and error, it works.
Take a deep breath. Because that was the easy one!
Front wheel
There is only one mounting point for the mudguard on this Birdy – on the front above the wheel, as shown:
The problem is that a mudguard with just one mount is always loose and wobbly. You do need to use this mount though, and need a long bolt, 5mm width, for this – the one I used was 35mm in length, and was bought from my local DIY store.
I then searched for further solutions for the second mount, and started with the one explained by Alexander Gottfried here. This uses a Rawlplug inside each hinge as a mounting point.
This was my first try, as seen from below:
Putting the aluminium mudguard supports on the outside of the mudguard, and cutting and bending them to shape, nevertheless resulted in the supports being too wide – they would snag on the frame when folding the bike (you can see the narrower frame parts in the picture above).
The solution was to cut two notches into the side of the mudguard, again using the Dremel for this, and to keep the supports straighter and narrower, as shown here:
This leaves only 6mm of so between the support and the side of the tire, but I can live with that – and the bike folds! This is how it looks:
This fix took a lot of messing around, and filing and bending metal. And without a Dremel or equivalent tool would not have been possible. Not for the faint hearted!
I contacted Riese and Müller to enquire if a mud guard kit for this Birdy was available, but after three weeks still do not have a reply.
So did all this work make sense?
Time will tell. At the time of writing I have only ridden the Birdy for 20 minutes. The ride quality is excellent, and everything works well after the repairs. Folding it is a bit of a pain – I am not as good as this dude yet! All folded it measures 35 x 75 x 57 centimetres, and fits neatly in its carry bag. I will take it with me on a 10 day work trip to France, Belgium and Italy next week, mainly as a means to avoid French rail strikes in a few places, and we will see how it fares. As I gather experience with it I will update the blog post accordingly. But for now I am content – it all works, and seems to behave in the way I want!
For the moment though, here a few photos after the repairs!
November 2021 update
After more than 18 months of intermittent use of the Birdy it’s time for an update!
First and foremost, this bike is great. It has allowed me to cycle in places I otherwise would never have been able to visit – it simply allows me to think differently and plan my trips differently. So I am immensely happy to to have completed this project.
I have only done one small repair since completing all the steps listed above – to replace the old grip shift gear lever with a new SRAM one (€11,64 from eBay here). The rubber on the old grip was coming loose in my hands, and the new one shifts more smoothly too – a simple and worthwhile upgrade.
A few reflections about choices made, and components used…
- The front mudguard remains a pain. In retrospect it would have been better to go for plastic rather than metal mudguards, as these ones rattle (especially the front), and scratch easily (especially the back, when folding the bike – scrapes the floor).
- I am not the biggest fan of the Abus Bordo Granit X-Plus 6450/85cm lock. I find it hard to use, and often hard to get the end into the lock at the right angle. Plus the outer rubbery-sort of covering of the lock damages easily. That said I don’t know what better alternative is available, and I like how compact the lock is.
- I am glad I added the kickstand, but the design of the one I purchased is pretty poor. It does not really hold the bike very steadily. Although having said that I am not aware of any other sort of design I could have mounted instead!
- The Decathlon folding pedals are quite slippery with some footwear. Going for ones like this – more similar to the ones Dahon uses on its bikes – might have been a better idea.
Anyway, all of those points are comparatively minor – but bear them in mind if you’re attempting a similar project!
March 2022 update
As I am currently planning a massive trip for summer 2022 with the Birdy, it was time to do some more fundamental rebuilding of the bike, eliminating some of the problems that have become clear with extended use.
The three areas to address were the mudguards (again), a luggage rack, and the kick stand. And new pedals.
Mudguards
The main problem was with the front mudguard on the original rebuild. The space between the frame below the front suspension spring, and the tire, was so small so as to mean that the tire would from time to time touch the mudguard. This was especially the case if the mudguard had accidentally been knocked when folding the bike. In the end the tire touching the mudguard wore away the rivets holding the mudguard in place.
The problem from the original rebuild reared its head once more though – the lack of availability of 18 inch mudguards to even purchase! I discovered the kids bike manufacturer Puky used to use 18 inch wheels, but could find no stockist with those mudguards in stock. So it was back to eBay for alloy mudguards instead – these unbranded ones were a little narrower than on the original rebuild – €19,99 + €5,99 shipping.
These pictures show how these are mounted – the alloy was sliced away with a Dremel cutter to mean there is no metal between frame and wheel, behind the reflector, any more (2nd picture). Edges were filed down to make them less sharp, and mounting was done in the same way as in the original rebuild, and a strip of Tesa textile sticky backed band added at the point where folding the bike scratches the mudguard on the floor.
The rear mudguard likewise needed to be shortened, but was simply mounted in the same way as the one in the original rebuild.
Luggage rack, and kick stand
The luggage solution in the original rebuild has its limits – the handlebar mounted office bag is fine for a laptop, and clothes for a couple of days can go in the Birdy rucksack. But as I am planning a longer trip this year I needed a better solution – a luggage rack. But the problem is that unless this rack is low (so as to not block the folding mechanism) and far back (to avoid the problem of my foot snagging on pannier bags). And of course Riese+Müller no longer sells luggage racks for this old Birdy.
So the solution was to combine two different racks – the top of a Fahrrad Gepäckträger Aluminium 24-26-28 Zoll verstellbar Silber (eBay €16,99) and the supports from a Bike-Parts Gepäckträger 16-20″ (Schwarz) (Fahrrad24 €14,35):
These were mounted at the bottom unto the frame with Pletscher Strebenendplatten verstellbar (Fahrrad24 €6,90). A Busch & Müller reflector (eBay €4,29 + €2,55 postage) was mounted on the back.
This is how it looks:
The luggage rack has to be as flat as possible – so as to not cause problems in the folded position. I used a Dremel to cut off the curved D-shape bar on the brake end of the luggage rack – you can see where this was removed here:
One off the support bars from the Bike-Parts Gepäckträger 16-20″ (Schwarz) was rotated 90 degrees and deployed parallel to the mudguard to make sure the luggage rack does not tilt backwards when loaded:
And this is the bottom of the luggage rack – with the wheel arch support also mounted here on the Pletscher plate. The bottom bolt also now secures the kick stand as well, preventing it swivelling as it did before:
And what about the luggage to then mount on the bike?
The Decathlon office bag uses an older style twist Klick-fix mount. But I was lucky enough to be able to find an end of line Red Cycling Products WP100 Pro II Handlebar Bag Red (cost €28,48, but no longer available) that fits on the same mount – I will keep camera kit in here on my tour. I have bought some clip-on USB front and back lights (eBay €6.78) and mounted these on an old GoPro mount on the bag:
I had originally planned to mount Vaude Karakorum Pro panniers on the luggage rack, but this proved to be a problem – more on this below!
Pedals
I put the Decathlon pedals from the original re-build on my other foldable bike, and wanted something with a more rubberised grip for the Birdy. Messingschlager folding pedals (Fahrrad24 €11,00) were the solution – although I hope the bearings in these loosen up a bit!
The result
Here is the rebuilt bike – with a Quad Lock compatible mobile phone mount (eBay €13,99) also added, and the USB rear light moved to be mounted under the seat. All the revisions cost approx. 85 Euro, so I am now at a total of 435 Euro – and this is how it all looks:
April 2022 update
The #CrossBorderRail project, and the kit I am going to need to take along for it, has prompted a bit more re-thinking.
The luggage rack mounted in March 2022 is rock solid, but trying to mount Vaude Karakorum Pro panniers on it did not work – as those are about 40cm long – and hence snag on the derailleur. So it was back to the drawing board…
This led me back to Ortlieb – my favourite company for the supply of bike bags. Ortlieb Sport-Roller Classic bags are only 30cm high, and are intended to be used on a rack on the front fork. Even those proved to be too long for the Birdy rack on the back – as you can see on the left here:
The solution was to drill three extra holes in the panniers, and move the Quick-Lock2.1 mount down by 6.5cm. The extra holes were then filled with the stoppers as shown on the right picture – supplied for €0,99 inc. the screws each from the Ortlieb replacement parts shop (these stoppers are standard on some other Ortlieb bags, hence how I knew the system).
In terms of total volume the two small Sport-Roller Classic bags are not going to be enough, so I then added a 31 litre Ortlieb Rack-Pack on top, longitudinally, and bound this on with some bungee cords. The whole setup looks like this:
And there was then one further addition: Quad Lock mounts. I have one on the handlebars for navigation (with an old iPhone) and one on the step (for when I want forward facing video when I am cycling) – it looks like this:
I cycled more than 800km on the Birdy during my #CrossBorderRail project this summer, and that understandably put some strain on the bike!
Since writing the original post I have long abandoned using the original Birdy rucksack / cover, and have replaced it with a Tern Carry On Cover (€44,95 on eBay). This works in a different way to other covers – there are two straps you fix onto the bike frame, and these are connected to the shoulder strap. The cover over the bike itself is very thin, and just keeps the muck off you – the cover takes none of the weight. And that means the cover folds down super small (it has an integrated bag). It works very well, and I can highly recommend it over any other cover I have tried. Here I am at Berlin Hbf with it.
And then to changes to the bike itself…
First, the luggage rack began to wobble due to the single mounting strut above the mudguard (see above), so this was replaced with dual struts connected to the part of the frame where the seat post goes when the bike is folded. This design is rock solid.
Second, the Abus Bordo lock proved to be really annoying. Sure, it folds small, but I always get it snagged on things when locking the bike with it. So I sold it, and replaced it with a Litelok One – 500g lighter, and much nicer to use. This is mounted below the frame, and hung over the saddle when the bike is folded. It works very well so far!
Third, the Messingschlager folding pedals (see above) proved little better than the old Decathlon ones – the rubber on the edges fell off, and the folding mechanism did not fit firmly. These no name cro-mo folding pedals – €17,99 on eBay – are doing a much better job so far. The fold is not quite as small as the Messingschlager ones, but when folded out they are firmer, and the rubber to stop your foot slipping much better. They are the best folding pedals I have found so far.
But the work on the Birdy is never done! I had wondered why the front brake was occasionally sticking, and it turns out that the spring system in one arm of the still original Avid V-Brakes was damaged, presumably simply through over use. And the brake arms hence need to be replaced. And as you can see here, these V-Brakes – with an arm length of approx 105 mm – are even a fraction too long. The cable touches the suspension spring, as you can see here:
But the problem is Shimano’s V-Brakes are all 107 mm length, and the standard from other firms is generally 110 mm. The only viable V-Brakes I can then find are Tektro M 530 (€16-€18 per pair on eBay) – these have now been mounted:
I am happy with the result – the Tektro M 530 brakes are short enough to fit on the Birdy perfectly. Strictly speaking I only needed to replace the front brake, but reasoned it would be better to replace both – I cannot have the other one failing in the middle of a field in Slovenia or something!
So for now the bike is good enough for adventures in 2023!
Eventually I will have the perfect setup on this bike! ? And one day I will tidy up this blog entry. But not today!
Nice article! Wondered about the Decathlon folding bike – thought about buying one – but would you recommend it?
Thanks
It depends what you want. I was using the predecessor of the tilt 120 – i.e. the one with 7 gears, Shimano SIS. It’s excellent value, and it folds easily and quickly. Not as compact as a Brompton, but OK for commuting if you have space to put it – it’s OK in the bike compartments on Belgian trains, but would not fit under a seat in a British train.
My problem was two fold. First the tires it shipped with were horrid and needed replacing – so that was a 30 Euro upgrade for a start. Second, and more serious, I found the riding position uncomfortable. I am 1m 83 tall – not super tall – but I could not get the seat post to the right height, and the handlebars are close to the saddle, meaning I found the riding position somehow cramped. If you’re shorter than I am it might be OK. If you are taller, take care! Do test one at a Decathlon before buying.
Great article. Thank you. I just bought a used MK2. Lots of wonderful ideas. Where can I get a carrying bag please?
Good question. Searching a bunch of German forums comes up with nothing (I am pretty lucky my Birdy had that bag with it!)
Here are a few links:
https://birdy-freunde.de/mybirdy/transport.html#tasche
https://birdy-freunde.de/mybirdy/transport.html#rucksacktasche
https://www.cyclingforums.com/threads/dahon-doubleplay-or-carradice-folding-bike-carrying-bag-stock-in-london.16972/
(that Dahon Doubleplay is probably the best one)
I bought a Mark 2 Birdy, with the monococque frame, in 2006 just after it was introduced. It was a replacement for a vintage 1988 Brompton which was written off in an accident at Hyde Park Corner. I bought it for its ride quality which was certainly superior to the new Brompton I tried at the same time, but quickly concluded that it just didn’t work for what I intended, which was multimodal commuting where I was folding it up three times a day (for the train to work, the train home, and at the office) and stuffing it under the seats on the train. There is still nothing which beats the Brompton for that.
It then languished in the shed for some years until I had the notion of using it for a tour of the East Fjords of Iceland, where I only had to fold it for the flights there and back.
It came with a folding rear rack which tucks in neatly to the folded frame, and a similar cordura carrying bag which packs up to form a small rucsac, so with the addition of the “lowrider” front rack sold for the current Mark 3, and fitted with some fiddling, swearing and adjusting, I had a four-bag tourer.
I find the ride is in some ways superior to a standard 700C equipped bike. The frame is nice and rigid and although a bit twitchy as all small wheel bikes are, it handles well, accelerates well, and is comfortable over fair distances. I was riding almost entirely on paved roads with a max gradient of about 5%, with about 15km on one gravel section of Iceland’s N1 highway. My maximum distance in one day was about 76km, about 400km over 8 days. I had clothes etc for 10 days, tent, sleeping bag, inflatable sleeping mat and pillow, towel etc, plus pump, tools etc, and the bike handled all this fine.
In fact it worked so well, that I am planning another outing this spring, from Bordeaux to Toulouse along the Canal de la Garonne – a lot warmer and less wild and remote than Iceland!
I did find that the bag didn’t offer quite enough protection for the brutal handling it got on my flight to Keflavik and it was lucky I had packed a roll of Gorilla tape to patch up a cracked mudguard and chainguard, so next time I’m going to take a couple of inflatable camping pillows that I can partly inflate to provide extra protection for the more fragile parts.
Thanks for the comment!
I agree the bag offers little protection – I would not use it on a flight. But I am mostly going to be taking this on long train trips (Berlin to Aix-en-Provence next week, Bruges to Rome the week after) and for those purposes the bag will do just fine.
I agree with your point about the folding, and that this is not the bike for daily commuting, but I am also not going to be doing that – or at least not every day! 🙂 It will be mainly come with me on business trips from Berlin by train, once a week or every other week, and for that I think I can tolerate it!
Birdys are very good for commuting. I have covered about 40,000 km. The fold is not as good as a Brompton for sure but there is much more comfort. There are definitely folding racks for birdys as another commentator said. I have 1. Also there is a fix for fixing a Brompton bag mount block to the front of the bike and if you search for a paris-based Blog it has details. I have exactly the same 2001 Birdy: it now weighs is 8.5 kilos with carbon bars and 20 inch wheels with road tires. I would be careful of putting that bag on the handlebars because the original stem was weak at the top and occasionally cracked so check it frequently. I have cracked two of those and eventually bought a much more modern stem costing about 250 Euros. Hope you enjoy your bike I find them fantastic for daily use and the folding becomes easier as you master it. R&M are unfortunately not prioritising their old birdy spares and sometimes you have to order from Asia these days. On mud guards, most of us use plastic mtb mudguards / mud catchers with just one fixing Point. Not as good as yours but they do the job and cost under 20 euros.
Thanks for the comment! I will pay attention to that stem issue!
Re. the luggage rack – the Birdy I have had something like this on it:
https://www.liegevelo.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2006-02-25-Birdy-red-002.jpg
but I found that annoying when folding the bike.
Later versions have something like this:
https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/none/path/s50c41a0383961724/image/i620a580718e66cfb/version/1462380035/image.jpg
but that has a different spot to mount it than the frame of this older one does…
And yes, Riese+Müller are not very responsive to questions about these older models!
Re. the Brompton block – do you mean this?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/15496120@N05/19328578626/in/photostream/
Thanks Jon. Much appreciated. I had a Brompton but the thrill I get rising the Birdy cannot compare. Just when I havr about given up on folders 🙂
Hi Jon,
I’m happy to have found your article. Nice work to update your 2001 Birdy, its a great looking bike.
I’m in a similar situation here in New Zealand. Last year I bought a 2003 Birdy Mk1 from its first owner who had bought it new in Germany, and brought it with him to NZ.
It has been a well looked after bike, with an upgrade to a 7 speed Nexus hub, and a new seat a few years ago.
I’ve used it as a daily commuter for nearly a year, and during lockdown have stripped it down to give it a really good clean and check over.
I’ve found that there is a bit of play in one of the bearings that the rear suspension arm hinges on.
I’ve been looking on line to try to find a source for parts for the Mk1 Birdy, without much success.
Have you had any similar problems, and do you have contact details for places to source parts like bearings?
Cheers Jim
Hi Jim – that’s quite a story! I can’t imagine there are too many Birdys that far from the home market!
I am afraid I cannot help you much with your query though. I do not have the same problem as you do, but I did contact R+M to see if they could supply me with mudguards for my model and they basically told me to go to hell because my model was too old (OK, they told me slightly more politely, but it wasn’t a helpful response!)
The best bet is probably perpedale.de – they seem to be the online shop in Germany with the best range of Birdy spares, and were able to send me an elastomer for my Birdy very speedily. I would start with them.
Hi
This is all very interesting & it’s great you’ve documented it. I would have loved to have had a chat with you before you did all this work because I had a red mk1 Birdy which I used for commuting and came up with all the difficulties you have had. Broadly, these were the rack (where to mount) and the mudguards (a flappy joke). I did something similar to you for the front mudguard, creating one new mounting point and was proud of it looking very professional, seeing as I had spent many hours bending bits of mudguard spokes to create a really nice effect. But what I did regarding the rack was different; this was 2006 and I had just started commuting into London, wanted a Birdy but resented spending I think about £1200 on a new one. So, I bought a mk1 and then started noticing why the makers changed the design a bit but still called it a mk1 – broadly they changed the geometry of the front end so that a mudguard would fit it properly and above where the rear elastomer is bolted on, they created a hinge mounting point for the rack that would fold down automatically. Prior to this, the official rack for the mk1 Birdy was held up by a bit of wire which would break from time to time and was an appalling design. The new rack that fitted the newer mk1 Birdy was an identical fit for the later mk2 so it was easy to get hold of. But I went a stage further, bought one of the joke racks, copied the geometry of the later rack and the hinge. I created the missing hinge mounting point by mounting a piece of steel from a door hinge (cut to shape) and held it on by using the same bolt that held on the rear elastomer. I can dig out some old photos if you like. The advantage is that you can then fit serious bags higher up on the rear rack. I spent a lot of time on that project, but it really was worth it. Some years later I bought a mk2 (more rigid frame, rear hub gears) & sold the unique modified old bike for next to nothing. But I have happy memories of it!
Well done. What is the overall weight of the bike now (without the heavy lock)?
Hi Jon
Nice to come across this article; your bike is looking really smart. I’ve just inherited a Mk1 Birdy (in blue), not sure on year, but I know my grandad had years out of it even at 82!. I’d be interested to know your thoughts on the viability of repairs – seems like a snapped stem and lack of rear elastomer are obvious starters but I don’t know how deep my pockets will have to get. Perhaps I could send on some pictures and you might have some ideas on where to source parts? All the best, Jack
Hi Jack!
Thanks for the comment – this is *exactly* the sort of comment that makes me happy I posted this guide!
First the easy one – sourcing elastomer is not too hard. You can get these here:
Regular 50-90kg (red)
Hard 70-110kg (green)
Soft under 60kg (yellow)
Now to the more complex one… the stem. This is a well known problem with older Birdys (see this in German for example). But your problem here, like a lot of things for Birdys, is where / how to get the spares! Here in German you need to look for “Birdy Vorbau” – see this for example – and it says the replacement is not an easy job… I hope that helps a little!
Thank you! Great article. This explains why most Birdy bikes i see dont have fenders. I
Very useful article!
> Most Brompton riders mount bags on the handlebars, but there was no way to put a Brompton mount on the Birdy.
H&H from Taiwan just came up with an adapter to mount a Brompton luggage block 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/HH.design.net/posts/1294755097556866
Thank you I’m just about to buy a MK1 Birdy. The seller said to make her an offer, any idea of what I should offer her? As i have no clue at present, she said it has some cosmetic damage, don’t see an option to post a photo of it here.
Have a look at eBay Kleinanzeigen in Germany for an idea of prices? This search should do the trick. Important: check the handlebars and stem for cracks! That’s the most important thing to check in the older models!
Thanks for your post. It is not easy to rebuild old birdy here in Germany. I have an old birdy. I have lost the C Hook Clamping plate. Do you have any idea where I can buy it?
Hi,
I was wondering if you could help me identify the model of this Birdy, is it the same one you worked on in this post? https://imgur.com/a/R3hs70l
I’ve come across it for a fairly reasonable price, second-hand. Are they specific points of the bike I should look at if I were to view it in person before I buy?
Hi Jon,
Great to read through this again.
Impressive work with the mudguards!
Do you have a source for the plastic chain guides on the chainwheel?
(I’m getting my 20 some year old Birdy Blue ready to pass on to a friend..)
Thanks so much for documenting all of this! I’ve got a mk1 that was passed on to me by my dad which I’m currently restoring, and this article has helped me loads. Hope it brings you joy for more years to come!
Hi Jon
Thanks for posting this. It prompted me to do some work on my Mk1 Birdy to make it more useful. Some things I’ve found out:
1. The Mk3 mudguards will actually fit with a combination of the rawplug trick you mention for the front and judicious use of a cable tie on the back.
2. I’ve converted mine to use a Shimano Nexus 8 speed rear hub with a Brompton chain tensioner. It makes for a much neater rear package and doesn’t drop the chain off the rear sprocket when folding like my derailleur used to. It also removes the possibility of grounding out the derailleur on right hand corners with an adverse camber.
3. It’s weird that you found Shimano V-Brakes too long on your bike. I find the opposite – that, if anything, they foul the mudguards rather than the suspension. I guess R&M must have moved the location of the lugs at some point?
There are some photos of it here: https://www.bikeforums.net/23315124-post2436.html
Thanks for the comment!
1) Useful to know, thank you! I am sick of trying to work with metal mudguards, so might simply try some Mk3 ones next. I find I keep smashing the mudguards when folding the bike, and eventually break them – especially the back one!
2) Re. Shimano Nexus – I would *love* to do that on a Birdy Green I also own (not mentioned in this blog post – which reminds me this post needs some updating!) but what did you do for the spokes? Where did you find spokes of the right length? Or did you simply use a Mk2 back wheel, complete?
3) Another thing I have learnt through these Birdy repairs is that even *within* the Birdy Mk1 generation there are loads of small differences. Space between the top of the front fork and the wheel varies for example. There are at least 2 different designs of front wheel for Mk1s. There are geometry differences for the rear frame part. I will make sure I explain all of this when I re-write this post!
Re. point 1 – I forgot to mention that I had to cut a rectangular hole in the front. mudguard to get it to fit around the bolt lug in at the top of the fork.
Re. 2 – I bought some 18″ rims from Ali Express and spokes from SJS.
Rims: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003089126813.html
Spokes: https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/spokes/120-jtek-14g-stainless-plain-gauge-spokes-12-mm-brass-nipples-pack-of-6/ – I used 124mm on the rear and 134 on the front (an Alfine dynamo hub)
Re. 1 – if you look carefully at the aluminium silver mudguards I installed you can see I diid this too. Oddly the Birdy Green I own has a lot more space here than the Birdy Red. Hell knows why!
Re. 2 – that’s commitment! For the moment I have simply managed to buy a few second hand but never used wheels on Kleinanzeigen in Germany, meaning I have a spare front and a spare back one if I need them. And I re-rimmed the original back wheel with an official Birdy Mk II rim that works fine on a Mk I.
Ah, nice – I couldn’t find 18″ rims for love nor money in the UK, hence the resort to Ali Express.
Hi,
So glad that read your detail Birdy report.
I bought my first Birdy on 2023 and I love it very much. (2nd hand Birdy 2: touring 24 speeds)
About your mudguard problem. Have you ever try the birdy manufacturer – Pacific cycles website?
I guest there online store still selling the mudguard for birdy 2 and birdy classic.
I think front/rear fork of birdy 2 as same as birdy 1. (only the frame was difference, right? ).
Here the website of Pacific cycles online store:
https://store.pacific-cycles.com/Product.aspx?p=15
Mudguard:
https://store.pacific-cycles.com/Product_Detail.aspx?n=EC_P000084&p=2&page=3
Rear rack:
https://store.pacific-cycles.com/Product_Detail.aspx?n=EC_P000327&p=2&page=5
Front rack:
https://store.pacific-cycles.com/Product_Detail.aspx?n=EC_P000081&p=2&page=1