Bike Friday Pocket Rocket rebuild

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schs
Posts: 283
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:43 pm
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by schs

The last bike project this year :mrgreen: Yesterday, I finished the build and today I took some photos. It's a Bike Friday Pocket Rocket from 1999. I had the frame repainted and fitted a Campa Chorus 12 speed groupset. Occasionally I will take some detail photos. Weight as shown is 9.4kg.

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by Weenie


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schs
Posts: 283
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:43 pm
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by schs

Build list:

Frame and fork: Bike Friday Pocket Rocket from 1999; the frame was repainted (powder coating "Candy Red")
Headset: Bike Friday
Stem: Bike Friday
Handlebar: 3t Prima 220
Seatpost: Thomson Elite 0mm setback
Saddle: Selle Italia SLR XP
BB: Praxis Works BSA Road 24mm
Cranks: Rotor ALDHU 24mm
Chainrings: Rotor 58T+44T
Front wheel: rim SMC C38-23 20L, hub Carbon-Ti X-Hub Road SP 20, spokes Sapim Race, nipples Sapim Polyax
Rear wheel: Felge SMC C38-23 24L, hub Carbon-Ti X-Hub Road SP 24 (XDR), spokes Sapim Race, nipples Sapim Polyax
Tires: Schwalbe One
Quickrelease: Hope Road
Cassette: SRAM RED XG-1290 10-33
Chain: KMC 12-speed
Front derailleur: Campagnolo Chorus 12-speed
Rear derailleur: Campagnolo Chorus 12-speed
Brakes: Campagnolo Chorus Skeleton Dual Pivot
Levers: Campagnolo Chorus 12-speed
Pedals: Shimano Dura Ace PD-7810
Bartape: BBB FlexRibbon
Last edited by schs on Fri Dec 31, 2021 8:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.

schs
Posts: 283
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:43 pm
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by schs

I posted some additional pictures on my blog.

Marin
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Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

That pretty awesome!

dcj10
Posts: 91
Joined: Sat Nov 13, 2021 4:22 pm

by dcj10

Great photography. Can't seem to go wrong on this forum with candy red. Powder coating giving a great result here, to me at least. What made you go for powder-coat?
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First reserve Pegoretti steel 2012 Ciavete paint viewtopic.php?f=10&t=168091

schs
Posts: 283
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:43 pm
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by schs

dcj10 wrote:
Fri Dec 31, 2021 6:07 pm
Great photography. Can't seem to go wrong on this forum with candy red. Powder coating giving a great result here, to me at least. What made you go for powder-coat?
Thanks!
I thought that the folding frame wont be treated very carefully (transporting on trains or buses) so the paint should be sturdy. Time will tell if it's good enough.

c50jim
Posts: 1015
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 4:42 am
Location: Calgary

by c50jim

This bike brings back a lot of memories for me. I bought a Pocket Rocket in 1999 since I had recently changed careers and was planning to do a lot of traveling. Mine had 9 or 10 speed Centaur with some huge chainrings and 11-23 on the back. I switched to something like 55/42 rings since I was about 50 when I was riding the bike and planned to do a lot of hills. My first trip with it included Ventoux and Bonette, among others. Did 85 km/hr going down Ventoux and it was fine going up Bonette, the highest paved road in France. I used it on several other trips but had trouble with finding decent tires. Always carried a couple of spare tires ands several spare tubes since there was no way to get new ones en route. Wheels didn't look as nice as yours since BF was using 36 (!!!) spokes on those little rims and they sure were stiff. Packing was easy and I laughed when we transited through Heathrow during the mad cow days and my wife had to open her bike case for tire inspection and cleaning but mine just sailed through unopened. Sold the bike after about five years and have traveled with S&S coupled bikes since but have always wondered what happened to the old Bike Friday.

Have fun with it. It's a very practical way to travel and I see them occasionally in Maui and around Banff. I'd recommend the suitcase if you plan to travel a lot since it's really easy to pack and protects the bike. It will also hold spare tires and tubes and other small parts.

schs
Posts: 283
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:43 pm
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by schs

c50jim wrote:
Sat Jan 01, 2022 1:07 am
This bike brings back a lot of memories for me. ...
Thanks for sharing your experiences. You did some nice touring: Bonette, Ventoux! That brings back some memories for me, too :)

I bought a Pocket Rocket second hand. Mine had Shimano Ultegra with a Capreo 9 speed hub and cassette (9T-26T) and chainrings 54 and 62T. Not exaclty what I need where I live :) Therefor I decided to rebiuld the bike and switch to a 12 speed groupset.

You are right, there are not that many tires to choose from. I decided to go for 28mm Schwalbe One and I will buy some spare tires. The Pocket Roxcket I bought came with the suitcase. What I will buy (or make myself) is a light bag for quick packing when I'm taking the train for a weekend trip.

schs
Posts: 283
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:43 pm
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by schs

The Pocket Rocket folded:

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nick12
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 3:33 am

by nick12

Is there a typo in the chainring sizes? This came with a 62T chainring??


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nick12
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 3:33 am

by nick12

c50jim wrote:This bike brings back a lot of memories for me. I bought a Pocket Rocket in 1999 since I had recently changed careers and was planning to do a lot of traveling. Mine had 9 or 10 speed Centaur with some huge chainrings and 11-23 on the back. I switched to something like 55/42 rings since I was about 50 when I was riding the bike and planned to do a lot of hills. My first trip with it included Ventoux and Bonette, among others. Did 85 km/hr going down Ventoux and it was fine going up Bonette, the highest paved road in France. I used it on several other trips but had trouble with finding decent tires. Always carried a couple of spare tires ands several spare tubes since there was no way to get new ones en route. Wheels didn't look as nice as yours since BF was using 36 (!!!) spokes on those little rims and they sure were stiff. Packing was easy and I laughed when we transited through Heathrow during the mad cow days and my wife had to open her bike case for tire inspection and cleaning but mine just sailed through unopened. Sold the bike after about five years and have traveled with S&S coupled bikes since but have always wondered what happened to the old Bike Friday.

Have fun with it. It's a very practical way to travel and I see them occasionally in Maui and around Banff. I'd recommend the suitcase if you plan to travel a lot since it's really easy to pack and protects the bike. It will also hold spare tires and tubes and other small parts.
You climbed Ventoux with a 55/42 in the front, with those tiny wheels?


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schs
Posts: 283
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:43 pm
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by schs

nick12 wrote:
Sun Jan 02, 2022 8:14 pm
Is there a typo in the chainring sizes? This came with a 62T chainring??
No typo :) I still have the 62T chainring. I switched to a setup 58-44 and a cassette 10-33. I posted a screenshot of the gear calculation in my blog comparing my current setup with a 50-34 and a 11-30 cassette:

Image

wooger
Posts: 79
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2021 11:32 am

by wooger

schs wrote:
Sun Jan 02, 2022 8:24 pm
nick12 wrote:
Sun Jan 02, 2022 8:14 pm
Is there a typo in the chainring sizes? This came with a 62T chainring??
No typo :) I still have the 62T chainring. I switched to a setup 58-44 and a cassette 10-33. I posted a screenshot of the gear calculation in my blog comparing my current setup with a 50-34 and a 11-30 cassette:

Image
Clearly a workable gearing for you, I guess that other posters have missed that smaller wheels functionally makes all the gearing much lower than it would be for 700c wheels.

I was about to argue with your chart calculations before I realised myself.

wolflikeme
Posts: 245
Joined: Thu Jul 30, 2020 5:13 pm
Location: USA

by wolflikeme

This is amazing :thumbup:

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by Weenie


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schs
Posts: 283
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:43 pm
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by schs

Thanks :) If the weather forecast is corect I will take to a ride saturday.

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