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Happy Bath Day

Started by Just zis Guy, you know? · · Last activity · 6 posts · 366 views

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01 / Original postHappy Bath DayJust zis Guy, you know? · 28 May 2005 02 / This pagePosts 1–6Page 1 of 1 · chronological order 03 / Latest replyPost #6Just zis Guy, you know? · 29 May 2005

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Original section
UK and Europe
Published
28 May 2005
Last activity
29 May 2005
Original author
Just zis Guy, you know?
Posts
6
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Public discussion
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366
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0
Topics
Folding bikes

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  1. Original post
    Just zis Guy, you know?
    Archived post
    #1

    I've just got back from a quick trip to AVC in Bath to check out the
    Bike Friday tandem, just to make sure Pete fits on the back without
    further modification. And of course he does. Which is quite
    remarkable, really, as he is a small eight-year-old, and I am over 6ft
    and can also ride stoker on the same bike!

    We went by train, AVC being in the arches under Bath Spa station and
    us living only a mile or so from Reading. Good move: we didn't have
    to wait more than ten minutes at either end, door to door time under
    1.5 hours some of which spent cycling (hurrah!).

    I took the Brompton. In the small Brompton "pannier" (no, I don't
    think it's a pannier, I call it the Brommie-bag) I fitted two thermos
    flasks, a large insulated sandwich pack, books and other activities
    for Pete, tool pack, money, phone etc, water bottle, lock, snacks and
    other munchies. Seemed like a fair bit of stuff but it fitted OK.

    AVC were fine as usual, helpfully stowing our bikes and bits for us
    while we went on a test ride of a bit over an hour's duration. The
    bike is as good as I remember, it rides much like a "grown-up" tandem
    but rather more responsive at low speeds. The downside is that it is
    not fast, although I daresay it could be made so with the right tyres
    and maybe drops. I don't think I've ever seen so many bottle cage
    bosses on a bike!

    If you flip the front position down it should fit across the back of a
    car on a wheel-support rack, which is a plus.

    So we've chosen the right bike, all I need to do now is get it built
    and delivered.

    One other high point: a Bulleid "spamcan" hauling a train of 11
    Pullman cars, and suffering serious traction difficulties as a result,
    followed by a rather bizarre train headed and tailed by Class 31s of
    about 45 years' vintage but with only 5 carriages - maybe to meet
    timings? Maybe they wanted to match timings with Class 158s? Same
    top speed, but 158s accelerate fast. Oh, and some steam movements to
    watch at Didcot, as ever.

    Guy
    --
    http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

    "To every complex problem there is a solution which is
    simple, neat and wrong" - HL Mencken

    Report
  2. Tony Raven
    Archived post
    #2
    Just zis Guy said:


    I took the Brompton.

    You have a Brompton? How did I miss that? Do tell! Does it fold and
    unfold?

    Quoted message said:

    AVC were fine as usual, helpfully stowing our bikes and bits for us
    while we went on a test ride of a bit over an hour's duration. The
    bike is as good as I remember, it rides much like a "grown-up" tandem
    but rather more responsive at low speeds. The downside is that it is
    not fast, although I daresay it could be made so with the right tyres
    and maybe drops.

    Did you ride up to the University? That would slow you down ;-)

    Quoted message said:

    So we've chosen the right bike, all I need to do now is get it built
    and delivered.

    I'm sure Hanz will do a fine job and if they don't you can always call
    him. Not many bike company owners you can call up and they will take
    your call.

    --
    Tony

    "A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought" Lord
    Peter Wimsey (Dorothy L. Sayers)

    Report
  3. Mike K Smith
    Archived post
    #3
    Just zis Guy said:

    I've just got back from a quick trip to AVC in Bath to check out the
    Bike Friday tandem, just to make sure Pete fits on the back without
    further modification.

    [ Story trimmed]

    We missed you by a day then. My wife and I went out there on Friday for
    a long-anticipated test ride of some folding bikes. We took a pair of
    Airnimal Chameleons for a test ride out along the Bath-Bristol cycle
    track to Saltford where we had a nice lunch outside the Bird in Hand.

    Returning to AVC we then had a shorter test ride of the Bike Friday
    Pocket Rocket, but both of us were smitten with the Airnimals.

    Delivery will be in a few weeks, but we have a tour of the Scottish
    Borders between now and then so I'm sure the time will pass quickly.
    Soon we'll be folding and unfolding with the best of them. Not to
    mention dismantling to do the whole James Bond Bike-In-A-Suitcase thing.

    I'm sure that someone at Airnimal used to work in Q branch. "Now take
    good care of this one, 007".

    Mike

    Report
  4. Just zis Guy, you know?
    Archived post
    #4

    On Sun, 29 May 2005 20:18:22 +0100, Mike K Smith
    <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    <[email hidden]>:

    Quoted message said:

    We missed you by a day then. My wife and I went out there on Friday for
    a long-anticipated test ride of some folding bikes. We took a pair of
    Airnimal Chameleons for a test ride out along the Bath-Bristol cycle
    track to Saltford where we had a nice lunch outside the Bird in Hand.

    Good, innit? Enjoy the new bikes. Take them to parties - be... no,
    too obvious.

    Guy
    --
    http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

    "To every complex problem there is a solution which is
    simple, neat and wrong" - HL Mencken

    Report
  5. Tony Raven
    Archived post
    #5
    Just zis Guy said:

    On Sun, 29 May 2005 20:18:22 +0100, Mike K Smith
    <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    <[email hidden]>:

    Quoted message said:

    We missed you by a day then. My wife and I went out there on Friday for
    a long-anticipated test ride of some folding bikes. We took a pair of
    Airnimal Chameleons for a test ride out along the Bath-Bristol cycle
    track to Saltford where we had a nice lunch outside the Bird in Hand.

    Good, innit? Enjoy the new bikes. Take them to parties - be... no,
    too obvious.

    RFD: uk.rec.cycling.fold.unfold.smugness ?

    --
    Tony

    "Don't argue the matter, the difficulties will argue for themselves"
    -W.S. Churchill

    Report
  6. Just zis Guy, you know?
    Archived post
    #6

    On Sun, 29 May 2005 20:45:31 +0100, Tony Raven <[email hidden]>

    wrote in message : said:

    RFD: uk.rec.cycling.fold.unfold.smugness ?

    Sod that, with the recent rush of crossposted cageritis I think we
    need a new group for discussing cycling ;-)

    Guy
    --
    http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

    "To every complex problem there is a solution which is
    simple, neat and wrong" - HL Mencken

    Report

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