Brompton Bikes
Discussion
I rode a 105 mile sportive a couple of months ago and a guy rode it on his Brompton ... he was actually pretty bloody rapid on it! I caught him about 35 miles in and we rode in a group of 4 for the rest of the ride ... he dropped off about 20 miles from the end (food station) and he struggled to do a turn in the last 30 or 40 miles but fair play to the guy for having to work harder than the rest of us.
My mum has one stuck in her garage gathering dust but refuses to let me have it but it's a beauty with exposed lacquered metal so you can see all the welding on the joints. Super light too. Will have another go next time I am down or at least get some pics as it looks stunning.
There is a now a pretty smart showroom on Acre lane in Covent Garden with lots of different variations of colours and accessories.
There is a now a pretty smart showroom on Acre lane in Covent Garden with lots of different variations of colours and accessories.
After searching for months on eBay for a secondhand one but finding the prices too high, I bought new at the beginning of Summer. Great to lug on the tube and get off a few miles earlier for the final ride in and then having the option to ride all the way home or throw it in a cab if it was too late and/or terrible weather.
Basically it's convenience got me cycling again. I even took it away with me to work elsewhere in the UK and used it to get from hotel to site.
Sadly it also made me dig out my unused proper bike, after selling my two decent ones to fund the Brompton purchase in the first place, from the shed and after clearing the cobwebs and a bit of oil applied, rediscovered what a joy it was to have big wheels and multiple gears.
So now I am using my old Giant and the Brompton is a great piece of British engineering that is a good talking point, stood as it is, in my lounge
Basically it's convenience got me cycling again. I even took it away with me to work elsewhere in the UK and used it to get from hotel to site.
Sadly it also made me dig out my unused proper bike, after selling my two decent ones to fund the Brompton purchase in the first place, from the shed and after clearing the cobwebs and a bit of oil applied, rediscovered what a joy it was to have big wheels and multiple gears.
So now I am using my old Giant and the Brompton is a great piece of British engineering that is a good talking point, stood as it is, in my lounge
Thanks to this thread I decided to cycle to the tube station for work yesterday but then I thought, don't be daft, it's only 5 miles across London to Bayswater, go the whole hog and come back by tube.
I allowed 45 mins as I wanted to take it easy and not arrive red faced and sweaty. All went well until South Kensington when a pretty girl on a racer whizzed by. Not having that I gave chase, being a bloke and wanting to prove that a Brompton is just as fast, even if powered by a slightly overweight middle aged man
So I arrived at work red faced and sweaty and in 25 minutes, thus early.
Come the evening it was dry if a little cold so cycled back but boy! are some of the commuter cyclists (I tend to cycle outside the rush hour) w*****s, no wonder we all get a bad press.
The pedestrianized bit of the south bank of the Thames between Battersea Bridge and Wandsworth Bridge had people cycling at, to their eyes, Tour the France speeds, diving in and out of pedestrians including loads of small kids.
One t
t was so determined to keep to his high average he almost took me out and then carried on angrily dinging his bell and shouting, scattering walkers like nine pins.
Keep it to the velodrome or organized races people. I'm quickish but will slow down when the situation demands it.
Anyhow, apart from that, it was enjoyable to be using the Brompton again.
I allowed 45 mins as I wanted to take it easy and not arrive red faced and sweaty. All went well until South Kensington when a pretty girl on a racer whizzed by. Not having that I gave chase, being a bloke and wanting to prove that a Brompton is just as fast, even if powered by a slightly overweight middle aged man
So I arrived at work red faced and sweaty and in 25 minutes, thus early.
Come the evening it was dry if a little cold so cycled back but boy! are some of the commuter cyclists (I tend to cycle outside the rush hour) w*****s, no wonder we all get a bad press.
The pedestrianized bit of the south bank of the Thames between Battersea Bridge and Wandsworth Bridge had people cycling at, to their eyes, Tour the France speeds, diving in and out of pedestrians including loads of small kids.
One t
t was so determined to keep to his high average he almost took me out and then carried on angrily dinging his bell and shouting, scattering walkers like nine pins.Keep it to the velodrome or organized races people. I'm quickish but will slow down when the situation demands it.
Anyhow, apart from that, it was enjoyable to be using the Brompton again.
croyde said:
The pedestrianized bit of the south bank of the Thames between Battersea Bridge and Wandsworth Bridge had people cycling at, to their eyes, Tour the France speeds, diving in and out of pedestrians including loads of small kids.
It's a shared use path but agreed, I feel that if you're cycling along a pavement then you need to watch out for pedestrians not the other way round. Same with those one way streets you can legally cycle down the wrong way. Expect that someone stepping out might not be looking the way you're travelling. Jimboka said:
The super light is good as the titanium rear triangle won't rust.. I read that the only weight saving though is due to the super light not having a pump! So not much weight saved by the 500ish premium!
FWIW I bought mine in the mid 90's, and the rear sub frame is still minty. There's a bit of light surface rust inside the tubes, but it's just that - surface rust. And there's the same sort of corrosion inside the main frame tubes, which you can see if you shine a torch inside the frame when it's undone ready to fold.For anyone who has an early bike like mine with the original single pivot brakes, it's well worth updating these to the latest dual pivot design. The difference in stopping power is huge.
I also put on a new front hub dynamo system with LED lights, and they are miles better than the old 'bottle' dynamo system that ran off the back tyre.
it's all ready for another 20 years use. (I'm not sure I will be though).
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