Time to Brag on the Bike Friday Pocket Crusoe

Or, my first official review of the bike, after having had it a while.



I have a Bike Friday Pocket Crusoe in enno orange color. I've been riding it since mid-April, and now have way more than a feel for the bike, and enough history to write a worthwhile review. So here it all is; the good, the bad and the orange! By the way, I use the bike for commuting, touring, some road riding for speed, grocery getting and general errand running. It has seen light trail duty (crushed gravel) as well.


Specs: 24 speed: 8-speed cassette 11-32; SRAM 3-speed internal hub. BF "H-bar" handlebar; v-brakes.

Upon delivery, the seatmast mini-forks that clamp around the seatmast quick-release were slightly bent in one direction, and pinched shut a tad too much. A call to BF got me the assurance I needed to gently bend them back into position and separate the forks a smidge so they would fit around the QR hub. No harm done and a 5-minute fix. Not a problem since and BF made a note in my account to document everything, should there be any future issues. BTW they also offered to replace/fix the part themselves, but I am far too impatient for that!


The gear cables stretched a lot, more than any other bike I have owned. It took a while for them to settle in, as in a couple weeks. They've been on point since one last adjustment months ago. You absolutely need a work stand to do any adjusting beyond the barrel tensioner. The design of the bike has the rear derailleur cable and IHG cable wrap tightly around the frame at a fairly acute angle, so there's no wrenching on the cable to tighten it without a stand.


The v-brakes are great. Compared to my other folder, these worked better right out of the box. In fact, I still haven't tightened the brakes and it's now mid July! The front brake is only slightly mushy but well within spec (I can't squeeze it to the bar or even come close yet).

The fit is excellent, but then this was a custom order straight from BF. I vasilated between calling myself a type 2 rider (slightly upright position) and type 3 (slightly forward/racing). BF decided I was a 2. Turns out I am more a 3 these days. The ahead stem can be flipped over to change it to a slight downward angle to lower the handlebars. I also have the folding stem riser, which is a straight, vertical tube to which the stem attaches. I am not sure if this is BF kosher, but I slid the stem about 1 inch down the tube to get a bit more racer positioning. I have found I am now pretty dialed in.

So how does the bike feel and ride? I forget it's a folder. It rides like a full-size bike. It really cruises around town, and I think it climbs better than any full-size bike I have ridden (mountain and 10-speeds in my past). The bike also feels totally solid. The BF design eliminates handlepost folds and so stiffens up the cockpit. I really have heard no groans or complaints from the bike when I crank. The frame seems rock solid. All I really have done to this point is oil the chain and keep the tires at the recommend 100psi. As long as I do that once every week or so, the bike is damn near silent, except for the pleasant whir of the internal gear hub.

Shifting: The SRAM drivetrain is flawless in its shifts, if a bit clunky. You feel certain gear changes, but they are always dead on with no skips. I have no problem with the slight whunk and it doesn't affect the shift at all. The 3-speed internal hub is the same. A silent shift and you feel the tension increase or decrease without a squeak. The only consistent drivetrain noise I hear is a bit of a clatter when I am on the 8th cog. It's still a perfect shift, no jumpback, but the bike clatters (like a mini-vibration) while on the 8th cassette cog. I have not done any investigating, but will do so. I can't see where the chain might be hitting the frame, so it may be something else. The gear range overall is great, especially at the low end, which is what I wanted for touring and hill climbing. I could max out the top end on a steep descent, but this is not a concern for me. Frankly I keep my speed down out of fear.

The fold: not so great. Well, the rear triangle tucks under quickly. The quick release works perfectly. No problems there. The seatmast folds down easily enough, though pushing the water bottle cage out of the way is a slight hassle, though a pretty good engineering feat, too. But I find the handlepost "nesting" onto the frame, and latching with the strap a bit messy. I always seem to get grease on my hands. Also, the chain does pop off, so I bought the BF chain retainer which definitely helps. It's a clumsy fold overall on their pocket bikes, but not insurmountable by any means. I do find that I try and fold as little as possible, though.


The folding strap is attached around one of the two braze-ons for a second water bottle, on the rear side of the seatmast. One problem I induced was after attaching a water bottle here, I then tried to reattach the fold strap. Apparently one screw of this pair is longer than the other. One is meant for the braze-on to which the strap attaches (the longer one I think). Not noticing the length difference, I took the longer allen bolt and started wrenching it back into the lower braze-on, and it started to pry the braze-on off the frame. So that braze-on is only partly attached to the frame. Seems a bit of a flaw to me, encountered by my stupidity perhaps.

Overall, I am totally impressed with this bike. It has yet to fail me in any way (the braze-on notwithstanding). It feels lighter, less cramped, and more solid than my Dahon Speed P8. In fairness, this is in fact a lighter bike by about 5 pounds stock, it was a custom fit, and cost a lot more than the Dahon. But not having a folding handlebar/stem riser really seems to help. Bike Friday does a good job dialing in the fit, too. The welds look great, the powder coat color is great and rugged and, well, I just don't want to ever ride my other bikes. This bike is fun, fast and useful. I highly recommend the bike and the company. Customer service is so good as to be unheard of in any industry. Go get one. Now.