My first hands-on Brompton experience (More questions)

"Judith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I was surprised that the back end doesn't clip into place when the
bike is assembled. Does this take some getting used to when riding?
Also, this isn't how the "rear suspension" works, is it? ie the back
wheel falls down any hole you ride over?!

When riding it isn't an issue. However Spa sell a rather nice clip which
holds it together when you lift it up - I quite like having it. It's trivial
to release too, so doesn't affect the fold.

(much better than the previous thing they sold, which was a hook affair
which was rather difficult to release)

cheers,
clive

Judith said:

I was surprised that the back end doesn't clip into place when the
bike is assembled. Does this take some getting used to when riding?

Not at all, you don't notice it riding. It's only an issue to any
extent when you pick it up, but for the most part I find the fact
that the back hangs down makes it easier to carry (with the saddle
hooked over a shoulder while I hold the frame tube in my hand).

Quoted message said:

Also, this isn't how the "rear suspension" works, is it? ie the back
wheel falls down any hole you ride over?!

No, the suspension is the rubber block where the rear triangle
rests against the main frame just behind the seatpost. Gravity
forces the two sides together, especially with you sat on it.
Bumps result in the block getting compressed, it works remarkably well.

Quoted message said:

The C3E really is a bare-bones machine. No mudguards!

Quite!

Quoted message said:

I reckon I could buy an M6R+ and be happy that I had a "complete"
bike. I'd need to put the luggage bracket on the front

< 5 minutes with a screwdriver, though if you order one with one on
it would probably come with it.

Quoted message said:

I was offered a test ride but, by now, it was 5:30pm so I'll leave
that for another day.

Take a decent amount of time on it. Some people find them quite
twitchy at first, but they seem to dial in to the handling in a few
minutes.

Quoted message said:

They also had a folding "Land Rover" bike (20" wheels) and a full size
hybrid folder. The hybrid is really not what I'm looking for. The LR
bike would, I'm sure, look lovely in the back of my Discovery but
seemed very clumsy to fold and not as /nice/ as the Brompton.

The Brom folds better than anything else, at least in part because
the flip-under rear wheel parks the bike as a stable platform as
the first thing you do. Every time you'd fold another bike you'd
bought instead it would just [censored] you off unless it had real
performance advantages, and the LR bikes won't AFAICT.

Quoted message said:

So, I've still not seen a Birdy, Dahon, Moulton etc but I haven't seen
anything to put me off the Brompton.

A Moulton isn't really a folder, it's a bike you can easily take to
pieces. Which is fine to pack into the boot of your car for a
journey to a base camp, but which isn't really right to deploy in
15 seconds when you get out a taxi.
Bikes like Airnimals (I think Bike Fridays too, though ICBW) are
somewhere between full folders and separable, with a basic fold to
reduce gross volume and options to take things to bits for more
compact storage, but they're not meant to be as quick and easy as a
Brom. But any of those bikes will perform substantially better
once it /is/ together and on the road, so not really aimed at the
same market as a Brom.
A Birdy goes down almost as small and almost as quickly, and sort
of almost as easily. Ish. But the frame is stiffer and it rides
rather better, thanks in part due to very good full suspension.
But though the fold is good, it's not /as/ good.
If I had one bike to do /everything/ it would probably be one of
the above, but I don't have that particular problem! All those
bikes cost quite a bit more than a Brom as well.

For immediately accessible convenience you can't really beat a
Brom, and it rides acceptably well for most utility cycling jobs.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Judith said:

So, I've still not seen a Birdy, Dahon, Moulton etc but I haven't seen
anything to put me off the Brompton.

I recently went through that process. See
http://groups.google.com/group/uk.rec.cycling/browse_thread/thread/2a82356cfb41f465/fe3aad50a78944e7

Of course, YMMV. Clearly not everyone makes the same choice:-)

--
Nick Kew

Judith said:

After work today, I visited a (fairly) LBS to have a look at the two
Bromptons that they had in stock; a C3E and an M6R+

This was the first time I had ever touched a Brompton or even seen one
close-up.
I reckon I could buy an M6R+ and be happy that I had a "complete"
bike. I'd need to put the luggage bracket on the front and buy a
pannier/basket but, apart from that, it looked fine.

They also had a folding "Land Rover" bike (20" wheels) and a full size
hybrid folder. The hybrid is really not what I'm looking for. The LR
bike would, I'm sure, look lovely in the back of my Discovery but
seemed very clumsy to fold and not as /nice/ as the Brompton.

Another 4x4 driver looking at folders, why?

Nick Kew said:

Quoted message said:

So, I've still not seen a Birdy, Dahon, Moulton etc but I haven't seen
anything to put me off the Brompton.

I recently went through that process. See
http://groups.google.com/group/uk.rec.cycling/browse_thread/thread/2a82356cfb41f465/fe3aad50a78944e7

Of course, YMMV. Clearly not everyone makes the same choice:-)

Ah yes, I remember reading your folders review. Perhaps I need to do
the same as you and make a special trip to a bike shop which has a
decent range. Bath would be a bit far, but I think I've seen (on
websites) some decent-looking shops on t'other side of Pennines so
only a couple of hours away.

Judith

On Tue, 04 Oct 2005 20:30:22 GMT, Badger <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

They also had a folding "Land Rover" bike (20" wheels) and a full size
hybrid folder. The hybrid is really not what I'm looking for. The LR
bike would, I'm sure, look lovely in the back of my Discovery but
seemed very clumsy to fold and not as /nice/ as the Brompton.

Another 4x4 driver looking at folders, why?

I'm not sure the two things are connected, although one reason for
wanting a folder is so that I can put a bike under the load-space
cover rather than having to put the seats down.

I also like the idea of going for a ride then getting the bus home
(with bike!)

Judith

Judith said:

On Tue, 04 Oct 2005 20:30:22 GMT, Badger <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

They also had a folding "Land Rover" bike (20" wheels) and a full size
hybrid folder. The hybrid is really not what I'm looking for. The LR
bike would, I'm sure, look lovely in the back of my Discovery but
seemed very clumsy to fold and not as /nice/ as the Brompton.

Another 4x4 driver looking at folders, why?

I'm not sure the two things are connected, although one reason for
wanting a folder is so that I can put a bike under the load-space
cover rather than having to put the seats down.

I also like the idea of going for a ride then getting the bus home
(with bike!)

Judith

There I was thinking it was because of land-rovers legendary reliability ;-)

Niel, also a disco driving Brompton fan.

Peter Clinch said:

The Brom folds better than anything else, at least in part because
the flip-under rear wheel parks the bike as a stable platform as
the first thing you do. Every time you'd fold another bike you'd
bought instead it would just [censored] you off unless it had real
performance advantages, and the LR bikes won't AFAICT.

Yes, I noticed how clumsy the LR bike was to fold. I was only
watching but the bike kept slipping as the wheel rolled on the ground.

By the way, my current Brompton folding record is about 4 minutes!

Judith

On Tue, 04 Oct 2005 20:45:58 GMT, Badger <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Another 4x4 driver looking at folders, why?

I'm not sure the two things are connected, although one reason for
wanting a folder is so that I can put a bike under the load-space
cover rather than having to put the seats down.

I also like the idea of going for a ride then getting the bus home
(with bike!)

Judith

There I was thinking it was because of land-rovers legendary reliability ;-)

Lol!

Quoted message said:

Niel, also a disco driving Brompton fan.

Phew! I wasn't sure if I was about to get flamed!

Judith

Judith said:

By the way, my current Brompton folding record is about 4 minutes!

20 seconds is at the long end of typical after you've done it a few
times, 15 about normal. First time I tried to unfold one was about
quarter of an hour, while I tried to work it all out on my own and
ensure I didn't break it, and it took a while before I figured the
seatpost was locking it all together.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Judith said:

I also like the idea of going for a ride then getting the bus home
(with bike!)

Not in Edinburgh, ALL bikes are banned from buses. Especially since the
recent media campaign by the green party. :-)

stupot said:

Not in Edinburgh, ALL bikes are banned from buses.

Get the optional cover for a Brom and how are they going to /know/ it's
a bike?

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Quoted message said:

Not in Edinburgh, ALL bikes are banned from buses. Especially
since the recent media campaign by the green party. :-)

Why? What happened?
-rory

Peter Clinch said:

Judith wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

So, I've still not seen a Birdy, Dahon, Moulton etc but I haven't seen
anything to put me off the Brompton.

A Birdy goes down almost as small and almost as quickly, and sort
of almost as easily. Ish. But the frame is stiffer and it rides
rather better, thanks in part due to very good full suspension.
But though the fold is good, it's not /as/ good.
If I had one bike to do /everything/ it would probably be one of
the above, but I don't have that particular problem! All those
bikes cost quite a bit more than a Brom as well.

I think it was myself who suggested a Birdy to Judith. I was thinking
along the lines of her getting only one bike. She says she has a
hankering for a tourer and a folder and I reckon the Birdy would do
for both, mind you it would have to do with the 800 GBP plus price
tag.

Folds are what you make of them. My initial folds of the Birdy were
rather awkward, the fiddliest bit is folding the front wheel under,
but I'm getting the hang of it now. The other day I even managed to
get the seatpost to exactly the right height without looking when
unfolding it - it was only a couple of degrees off straight too. That
is one thing that r-m ought to add, a mark on the frame so that you
can get the saddle straight at the same time as setting the height
with the handy scale.

Quoted message said:

For immediately accessible convenience you can't really beat a
Brom, and it rides acceptably well for most utility cycling jobs.

I took my Birdy Red out on a cyclo-sportive last weekend. It managed a
rather hilly 70 km rather better than it's unfit rider.
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"

On 5 Oct 2005 07:26:30 -0700 someone who may be "sothach"
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

Why? What happened?

A load of claptrap from jobsworths

http://news.scotsman.com/archive.cfm?id=1927022005

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

Phil Cook said:

I think it was myself who suggested a Birdy to Judith. I was thinking
along the lines of her getting only one bike. She says she has a
hankering for a tourer and a folder and I reckon the Birdy would do
for both, mind you it would have to do with the 800 GBP plus price
tag.

I'd much sooner do a long ride on a Birdy than a Brom...
She could always sell the Disco and put /some/ of the proceeds towards a
New Series Moulton! ;-)

Quoted message said:

Folds are what you make of them.

Yes, but the way the Brompton is parked as a hands-off stable package as
the first thing you do really does make a tangible difference. Peter
Eland highlighted this in the recent V-V review, and he's a long time
Birdy owner and rider.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch said:

She could always sell the Disco and put /some/ of the proceeds towards a
New Series Moulton! ;-)

I got that the wrong way around. I meant "put the proceeds towards
/some/ of a New Series Moulton"...

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch said:

Quoted message said:

Folds are what you make of them.

Yes, but the way the Brompton is parked as a hands-off stable package as
the first thing you do really does make a tangible difference.

Sure does, just collected mine from PO and its looking rather dusty but
neatly folded sat by my desk, that makes 6 bromies in the building now!

David Hansen said:

On 5 Oct 2005 07:26:30 -0700 someone who may be "sothach"
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

Why? What happened?

A load of claptrap from jobsworths

http://news.scotsman.com/archive.cfm?id=1927022005

It was a bit unfair to liken Bromptons to Jaguars. After all, Bromptons
give a better ride and are more reliable than the hype.

...d