Frequently Asked Questions
REMOVABLE PEDALS
Why would I want my bike pedals to come off?
Scratching. Those same cleats that make pedals so reliable in mud, rain, trail riding, and heavy commuting also make pedals dangerous when not riding. They can scratch shins, cars and other bikes, particularly if you are maneuvering a heavy e-bike and watching other things.
Space. When pedals are removed (and especially if the bars are turned also) your bike can now fit in far less pace. Tame a herd of bikes.
Security. Who’s going to ride off on the bike with no pedals?
How are these better than folding pedals?
Folding pedals don’t completely get out of the way. They simply provide a new orientation for scratchy surfaces, while saving up to 50% of the pedal length. Removable pedals save 95% of the pedal length.
Did you design these?
We designed and patented the award-winning, destruction-tested Flatbike Pop-Off Pedals. Wellgo, manufacturer of 15% of the world’s bike pedals, designed the Wellgo removable pedals.
How do I know if these pedals fit my bike?
All crank arms have 9/16” threading at 20 threads/inch. The difference is in the variety of “cup” depths, where pedals thread into the crank arm, with carbon cranks having a deeper depression. Flatbike pedal latches include a selection of washers to match your specific cup depth. Wellgo pedal latches do not go into the cup.
You sell multiple brands of removable pedals. What’s the difference?
The patented, award-winning Flatbike Pop-Off Pedals have passed the ISO-4210 destruction test suite for mountain bike pedals, have a latch system that combines instant removal with redundancy against accidental release.
Wellgo removable pedals are available in three types—MTB, SPD, and flat—allowing easy swap-outs for different types of riding.
Can I ride my bike like usual with removable pedals?
Flatbike pedals are explicitly tested for 100,000 cycles without an accidental release or breakage. And many of our customers have had years of successful use with Wellgo pedals. We will always recommend our pedals first, but consider Wellgo removable pedals to be the second best on the market.
Have you thought about doing removable SPD pedals?
Flatbiek Pop-Off SPD Pedals, along with road pedals, have been designed and prototyped since April 2025, but cannot be produced until we find a quality manufacturing source that allows for retailer margins.
Until then, we have removable SPD pedals as part of the Wellgo system family of pedals.
FOLDING STEMS
What’s the reason for a THINstem?
The widest part of a bike is the handlebars---great while riding, but a needless obstacle when storing or transporting a bike. Now that obstacle can go away in seconds, with no tools.
I can fold my bars sideways with a hex wrench. Why buy this?
A tool approach works only when you have a tool, either stored consistently in one place or carried with you anyplace you might want to fit your bike easier. A hex wrench (applied to both steerer stem screws) also affects your fork tightness over time. And because those are steel screws threaded into tapped aluminum, the wear & tear eventually loosens your stem’s grip during everyday riding. None of this happens with a THINstem.
Did you design these?
Flatbike did not. But we have worked closely with the inventor, passing along suggestions from our own customers that have made it into successive versions of THINstems.
How do I know my bars won’t turn when I’m riding?
THINstems are quadruple-protected against accidental turning:
- Your spinning bars automatically center when they drop down into a divot, preventing further turning.
- The main latch is a cam lever, much like on a bike seat post and just as secure and reliable.
- Together, these features made THINstems reliable enough to pass the ISO-4210 MTB destruction test suite.
- Newer THINstems even have a secondary latch at the bottom that secures the bars even if the main cam level is not secured fully.
How do I know if this THINstem will fit on my bike?
For a THINstem to fit, you need:
- a horizontal threadless stem with no cables routed through it (or a quill stem adaptor to allow for this)
- a handlebar that is either 1” (25mm) or 1.25”(32mm),
- and enough extra brake and shift cable to raise the bars about ½” (12mm) and allow for turning.
Will this change how my bike rides?
THINstems raise your handlebars about ½” (12mm). With some riders this change doesn’t matter. With others, the raise eases the lower back and is an improvement. And yet others don’t want their bars raised---moving a compression ring can reduce the height change slightly, but not completely. If you are concerned about this height change, place your fists on top of your bar grips while sitting on your seat. How does this feel?
Do you sell these only in one length?
To simplify decision-making, we sell THINstems only in 70mm length, usable with handlebars of 1.25” or 1” diameter. If you require a 90mm version, let us know (e-mail customer_care@flatbike.com) and we’ll connect you with a contact.
DISTRIBUTION
Where are you located?
We are based in Kirkland, Washington, just east of Seattle in the Pacific Northwest. Our inventory is based here, we check quality here, and we do not dropship.
Can I buy these in stores?
Not yet. While retail distribution is an
eventual goal, we have not yet pushed it hard as we are focused on building
consistent quality into our supply chain.
Can our store buy these from a major domestic distributor?
That’s a step beyond retail distribution, and
the margins require economies of scale that we haven’t yet reached.
Do you have a dealer on our continent?
Probably not yet. While we have gotten interest from several organizations, our only major international distributor is
currently in Japan.
What happens if I don’t want my product after I buy it?
Returns are rare, but they can happen. Part of the “portable adventure“ mindset is caring about the customer experience. We have no interest in keeping you attached to a product that you know from the start you don’t want to keep. So let us know. Contact us at customer_care@flatbike.com.
ORDERING
How often do you ship?
Typically every other day, or daily for urgent or large orders.
Do you ship to _________?
Probably. If we can ship complete bikes to locations like Doha and the Marshall Islands, getting bike components to you is certainly possible. We’ve shipped to most continents.
How much does shipping cost?
Shipping is free in North America, including
Canada and non-contiguous US). Shipping to Europe is typically about $20 for
the cheapest (and slowest) option, or about twice that for DHL. Australia and
New Zealand are a bit more, but we can usually bring it down a bit with early
communication (e-mail customer_care@flatbike.com).
South American shipping remains a problem. We have not yet identified any
shipping services that deliver inexpensively to South American countries, so
our products usually get there indirectly.
Does international shipping include Customs/Duties/VAT/special taxes?
It does not. We can help reduce these a bit, but in the end, we can’t pay everyone’s taxes.
Do You Offer Free Shipping?
For the US, Flatbike offers free shipping, including Alaska and Hawaii and APO/FPO/DPO addresses. Following US internet tax guidelines, there is no tax outside of Washington State.
For Canada, we offer the same level of service as the US, but cannot add additional freebies. This means that we will ship even longer distances for free, but Customs and VAT will be additional charges that we do not control.
Do You Ship Internationally?
Over the years, Flatbike has shipped to five continents, including bikes from Abu Dhabi to the Marshall Islands.
Even so, international shipping can still be challenging. We ship to Canada for free, but can’t pay customs and VAT. And in other countries outside the US & Canada, the shipping is not free, plus there are customs and taxes as well.
To blunt the impact of this challenge, we often offer custom coupons to blunt the impact of international shipping. Just email customer_care@flatbike.com to ask for a quote for shipping costs to a specific country and postal code. If we can cut the rate with a coupon, we will.
Is There Order Tracking?
All orders automatically get free notifications and tracking. You will get a confirmation of your order, then a confirmation of shipping with a tracking number.
Components typically ship USPS. Bikes typically ship FedEx. If any service is a particular problem in your area, please note that in the comments section of your order. And please check your email address in your order, so these notifications get to you!
What Forms of Payment Are Accepted?
Flatbike currently accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Venmo, PayPal, PayPal Pay Later, and Afterpay. We will evaluate other payment methods if there is sufficient demand for them.
What Do You Do with Customer Data?
In short, we safeguard it against misuse. We’ve outlined exactly what this means in our Flatbike privacy policy.
Can I Change or Cancel My Order?
Our goal is to provide an exceptional biking experience, from first order to daily riding and repeat orders. We can’t accomplish that by being difficult to work with.
If you need to cancel your order, just email customer_care@flatbike.com. If your order hasn’t gone out yet, it’s super-simple, and your refund is instantaneous. If your order is already enroute, then it’s more complicated and becomes a free-return situation with some mailing timelines involved.
Similarly, if your product has not arrived yet and you think it should have, email customer_care@flatbike.com, so we can either track down the shipment, or send a replacement, or cancel the order. (The worst resolution approach would be to simply cancel payment with the bank, introducing third-party timelines into the process.)
OTHER
How long have you been doing this?
We started selling “Flatten your Bike” Kits in 2016, entirely with third-party products. Our own designed and manufactured pedals didn’t come online until a successful Kickstarter in October 2024.
Are you bike riders?
We ride with wild abandon, stressing our bikes and components beyond what is reasonably expected. This is why our expectations are higher than average, and we specifically recommend products that we know are destruction-tested.
I read somewhere that Flatbike also sold full-size folding bikes. Do you still?
After selling bike-flattening components for years, we expanded into full-size folding CHANGE bikes, first as bike resellers for Changebike, LTD in Taiwan, and then designing, building and selling our own mid-range bikes with quality components on CHANGE frames. We even got as far as e-bikes.
This all ended in early 2025, when separate tariffs on bike frames and anything coming from countries buying Venezuelan oil (like Shimano parts made in Singapore) made US-based assembly no longer viable. Folding bikes on these frames, and the frames themselves, can be purchased directly from changebike.com in Taiwan.