The Burke is a series of titanium folding bikes created by a company called Seattle Cycles, based where else…Seattle. This company has focused its efforts on micro-mobility solutions since 2015. The Burke models were designed by Dr. Mike F. Yap (who also designed AIRNIMAL folding bikes which are sold in the UK), are manufactured in the U.S.A., and utilize titanium due to its strength and lightweight characteristics. If you want to learn more about manufacturing bikes with titanium check out our Moots factory tour video.
Seattle Cycles has a simple design philosophy – folding performance (foldability, overall folded size, and portability) with simple hinges and titanium coupled with bicycle component performance equals great folding bicycles.
The Burke offers 3 different wheel sizes – 20″, 16″ and 8 inches (frame similar to a Strada). As mentioned in the title we will focus the rest of this review on the Burke 20.
Burke 20 packed with high-end components
We have to be upfront the Burke 20 is not on the low end of folding affordability but then again neither are the components. While there are three Burke 20 options (different gearing groups) the Burke 20 – SRAM XX1 is the most expensive.
As with all the Burke folding bikes their entire frameset is made with Grade 9 Titanium (frame, fork, steerer stem, handlebar, and seat post). This makes for a seriously light folding bike at 17.4 lbs excluding pedals and saddle. Still have never figured why overall bike weights exclude two of the most needed parts of a bicycle! The Burke has a 5 step folding process and can be folded in less than 15 seconds.
The XX1 has eleven speeds and is equipped with SRAM’s X-Dome 10-42T cassette on the back wheel coupled with a SRAM Force 1 54T crankset up front. This gearing provides 420% of gear range ( 24.3 to 102 gear inches). Don’t believe us? Check out this fancy bicycle gear calculator. Fast and precise shifts are thanks to an X-HORIZON™ rear derailleur and an X-Actuation 11-speed carbon fiber trigger shifter. Lastly is the crankset which is comprised of 170mm Force 22 carbon arms and an alloy spider with X-SYNC™ technology. Shimano V-brakes, brake levers, and MKS detachable pedals finish out this impressive feature set.
We know your first thought is with all these high-end components, like a fine wine, what kind of lock would you pair this with? To be honest, at the pricing listed below we cannot honestly say a lock would be necessary because we could not let it out of our sight! The Burke 20 is extremely light, built for speed (even though it’s only powered by human effort), and is for that Robb Report reading folding bike aficionado.
Seattle Cycles Burke 20 Pricing and Specs
The Seattle Cycles Burke 20 folding bike is currently priced at $6,500 USD. While we did not continue with the checkout process we hope this price includes free shipping. The Burke 20 comes fully assembled and has a limited lifetime warranty on the titanium folding bike frameset. The main features are as follows:
FRAMESET Grade 9 Titanium frame, fork, steerer stem, handlebar, and seat post
CRANKSET SRAM FORCE 1 170mm x 54T w/ GXP Bottom Bracket
CASSETTE SRAM XX1 10-42T XG-1199 with SRAM PC XX1 11-speed chain
SHIFTER SRAM XX1 X-ACTUATION 11-spd Trigger Shifter & SRAM XX1 X-HORIZON rear derailleur
RIMS 20-inch (406) Alexrims DA16
TIRES 20 x 1.35-inch Schwalbe Marathon Tires
BRAKES Shimano V-BRAKES, BR-T780, DEORE XT with Shimano BL-R780 brake levers
PEDALS MKS QR AR-2 – EZY Detachable Pedals
SEAT Leather saddle
WHEELBASE 1050mm
FOLDED DIMENSIONS 28″L x 22″ H x 12″ W
WEIGHT 17.5 lbs (without pedals and seat)
Photos courtesy Seattle Cycles
