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The Birdy is a folding bicycle designed by Riese und Müller in Germany and produced by Pacific Cycles in Taiwan. As of 2010 over 100,000 had been sold. Three distinct models have been marketed, the third (Mk3) sold from July 2015.〔http://en.r-m.de/the-new-birdy/〕 First released in 1995, it was the first fully suspended folding bike. The ride is regarded by some as more sporty than the Brompton, thanks in part to a stiff single-piece aluminium frame with road bike rider geometry and no hinge. Some prefer its stiff suspended ride and rapid acceleration to that of a full-sized bike. ==Specifications== thumb thumb thumb Markus Riese had the basic idea for the Birdy in 1992. The first prototype was quickly welded together from two old bicycles in his parent's garage (photos and German article (here )). After a year, Markus Riese and Heiko Muller built a prototype out of aluminium and won the “Hessian Innovation Prize”. The prototype was shown at two trade shows, Intercycle in Cologne and Eurobike in Friedrichshafen, and caused a stir.〔游淑琳 (Shu-Lin Yu) 元智大學國際企業系碩士 劉恒逸 (Heng-Yih Liu) 元智大學國際企業系助理教授. no date. ''Luxury Consumers’ Purchase Motivation: A Self-Concept Perspective''. http://ir.lib.ntust.edu.tw/dspace/handle/987654321/13792〕 The first Birdy bikes were sold in 1995 as a 'de luxe' folder, the first with full suspension. It had a high price tag, usually over US$1,000. Several specifications were available, most with dérailleur gears but including one model with a rubber belt drive. All had only one front chainring, and a range of gearing options on the rear wheel from 6 to 14 gears. There was a short period in 1996-1997 when a stock of blue frames entered the USA and were built up and sold with inferior 6 speed components, branded as 'Jeep Renegade'.〔Source: author, who bought one in 1997 for $600 online. The seller was soon stopped.〕 The Birdy's dimensions are small enough to take into offices, on buses, and to pack for travelling. It is the second smallest of the quality folding bikes (behind the Brompton), and is similar in size to the Mezzo performance folder: Width: Height: Length: The front suspension is unique among bikes currently on the market. The leading arm design provides anti-dive suspension, unlike trailing arm designs. The hinged rear swingarm is suspended by a urethane bush, that can also be replaced with a gas-filled unit. The bike has always offered standard rear dropout spacing, which allows a wide range of gearing options and disc brakes. Standard options currently include: 8-speed hub gear, 8-speed dérailleur, 24-speed SRAM Dual Drive hybrid gearing system, Rohloff Speedhub 14-speed hub gear. The more expensive models are now fitted with disc brakes. Wheels are 18" but a conversion can easily be made to the more readily available 16" size used by Brompton. For a long time there were no decent 18" tyres. Some have even fitted 20-inch wheels to the bike (a 10th anniversary limited edition had 20" wheels as standard ). For folding, the rear suspension tucks under the frame, the front suspension is unclipped and hinges back under the frame, and the seat post is collapsed. Lastly the handlebars hinge downward.〔http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owLv-_CPNJI〕 The front wheel can be left unfolded if the package is to be wheeled, for example when boarding public transport. Folding is relatively more complicated than for a Brompton and takes slightly longer. Available accessories are mudguards, front and rear folding racks, bags, lighting sets and some upmarket extra components sold in Singapore and Hong Kong, like gas suspension units. Two optional rear racks are available, the ''SL Carrier'' and the ''Expedition Carrier''.〔http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ivOJtldKu0〕 The former mounts directly to the swingarm, and allows only the use of a rack-top bag. The latter is a folding 16mm tubular rack mounted on pivots on both the main frame and the swingarm, which allows use of small panniers (e.g. Ortlieb Front Roller) when mudguards (fenders) are fitted. The mounting pivots for this rack have only been fitted to frames since 2003. Both racks are available with rollers which allows the Birdy to roll when folded. A slightly lighter Mark 2 monocoque frame, with greater support for the seatpost (top picture), was introduced in 2006 along with new component choices. The Mark 1 continues to be used with a slightly updated frame on some models, notably the World Comfort (7 speed Nexus, . The standard Mark 2 weighed (2013). Some riders have reduced the Birdy's weight to 8 kg using racing components, but this was only on the Mark 1 frames. Stock bikes ranged from (for the Birdy Speed with Tune and Shimano Ultegra road components) to over , depending on the setup. The heavier bikes tend to have 3x8 gearing systems, involving an internally geared rear hub and an external derailleur. The Birdy Race () was introduced in 2013 and has dropped handlebars, and Shimano 20-speed gears with two front chainrings. A smaller version of the Birdy, the Frog, was introduced in the 2000s, then withdrawn due to poor sales, and was back (on the market again ) from 2010. A mark 3 design was released in July 2015.〔http://en.r-m.de/the-new-birdy/〕 The frame looks the same as a Mk2, but the fold is smaller, the bike is slightly lighter, components have again been strengthened, and the front fork redesigned. The confusing number of models has been reduced to four. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Birdy (bicycle)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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