Can't afford a Brompton ..

[John the Monkey]

I think that Bromptons are fcking awful bikes and can't believe that people think otherwise.

 

[Kell]

PS - someone's sellign a Bike Friday...

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/bike-friday-pocket-crusoe-for-sale-£350.205898/

 

[PoisonIvy]

I got my Brompton on the Cycle to Work scheme and I adore it. The folded size and the fact that they hold their value swayed it for me. A monthly Oyster card worked out much more expensive than the £80 out of my paycheque, which was how I justified the cost.

 

[Gixxerman]

I have a Dahon Vybe C7A for my 2.5 mile each-way park-and-bike commute. I got it for the decent price of £299 from Halfrauds. It comes with full mudgaurds and a small backrack and has 7 speed Shimano derailleur gears and being ally weighs in at about 10.5kg. The build quality seems OK so far. I had to modify the front mudguard a bit to stop a rattle, but apart from that, it seems to be holding up ok. It does creak a bit when you are pushing hard up hills. The 20 inch wheels give a decent ride on the minefields that profess to be roads in Lincoln. Not the most compact of folds, but it fits in my boot ok. Gearing range is a little limited (top a bit too low, bottom not quite low enough), but that is what you expect from a folder. 18 mph is probably about top whack on the flat, unless your legs are capable of exceeding my maximum cadence of about 120rpm. Reach 30+ mph regularly down Lindum Hill and it seems to be stable enough at that speed.

 

[Melvil]

I think that Bromptons are fcking awful bikes and can't believe that people think otherwise.

Need a bit more info?

If I had to choose to ride one of my bikes, yes I would ride my steel Reynolds 531 campag Athena road bike as it just fits me and goes like the clappers. But if I was going anywhere involving a holiday or public transport I would take the Brompton. It is also the only thing that I can store at work where any other bike would need to be left outside and get nicked. Very very practical. Overpriced? Yes. Too heavy? Sure. Hard to fix punctures? Absolutely. But even so I cannot think of a better folding bike.

 

[Cycleops]

But even so I cannot think of a better folding bike.

Perhaps that's why they have been such a sales success and nobody has taken their crown despite many imitators. I don't have one but maybe one day.

 

[Brand X]

I bought a Ridgeback Envoy last year for £130 in pretty well spotless condition, it's a re-badged Dahon. Bromptons really are the best, but they're wallet-bustingly expensive and I only use my folding bike occasionally.

 

[Sandra6]

If you intend to fold the bike regularly and need to pick it up and get on a bus/train - or even fit it in the boot alongside other things - then you need a brompton.
Nothing else folds as small, or as simply.
I have a carrera transit which are currently £300 ish, that I quite like. It rides well, 3 gears is plenty and it folds small enough to fit in the boot. I wouldn't want to have to pick it up and carry it though.

 

[Kell]

I don't know about quickness on it's own. I could lift my old Dahon Matrix (with the hinge, not the lockjaw) off the train, unfold it in the air, and have it locked and ready to ride as the wheels touched down on the platform.

But it's the combination of small, simple, and quick that means the more I look at other options, the less I see something to tempt me away - more expensive or less expensive.

 

[Ken Breeze]

if you can't afford, or rather, can't justify a Brompton then what's a good sub£500 way of enjoying a folder and general cycling?

Then when I prove i stick it, save for a fancy Brompton

Seen Raleigh and Giant even do then at a much lower price but does cheap have to mean nasty?

Bromptons are fantastic bikes.......for what they're made for. The fold is a work of art and there's a typical slightly eccentric Britishness to them. Definitely a keeper. I've also had Dahons and Terns which in all honesty having 20 inch wheels perform better on the road, the Dahon was definitely lighter too..... Both of these have come and gone while the Brompton stays. There comes a time in life where quality engineering and a bit of quirky design far outweighs the latest technology and a bit of weight saving.

 

[oldwheels]

I have among other bikes a Brompton and a Bike Friday. Both are in use depending on need to fold quickly (Brompton) or for longer run with minimum fold the Bike Friday which does not really fold well quickly for public transport. Best used for back of car. Both seem to be made by slightly eccentric companies but never read much in the way of complaints unlike some other makes which do seem to generate some grief by breaking in bits.

 

[jefmcg]

Bike Friday which does not really fold well quickly for public transport.

Depends on which model you get.

View: https://youtu.be/fQscBxx7wLE


Though I think they've stopped making the tikit.

 

[oldbadger]

Need a bit more info?

If I had to choose to ride one of my bikes, yes I would ride my steel Reynolds 531 campag Athena road bike as it just fits me and goes like the clappers. But if I was going anywhere involving a holiday or public transport I would take the Brompton. It is also the only thing that I can store at work where any other bike would need to be left outside and get nicked. Very very practical. Overpriced? Yes. Too heavy? Sure. Hard to fix punctures? Absolutely. But even so I cannot think of a better folding bike.

I'm retired now, so don't travel the country with my folder any more, but for over ten years I trained and biked to training venues everywhere. I used a City Express, a 7 speed, ally, 16", mid folder which didn't take up much more space than a brompton. But punctures were no problem, and maybe less frequent because I could have 1.9" all-terrain tyres which probably handled bumps, sharps and ridges better. I never found out if I could take it on the London Underground because I cycled between main-line statrions so easily and quickly, so that's what I did. And the City Express, when unfolded, has a neat flat bar which I could sit on if all seats were taken!

It was a great folder, and I never felt the need to follow the favourite, but there was one aspect of the City Express which beat the Brompton....... it cost £169 with £10 for delivery. Now this feature removed any feelings of worry because I could lock it to a bike stand, go shopping (whatever) and forget it, because Bromprons might get nicked, but City Expresses don't because almost nobody knows about them.... no 'must have' aspect. And it was small enough to come with me into training and hotel rooms.

I changed it last year for a City Zoom, described in folder reviews as 'very odd', but this happens to ride beautifully and is better for me because I can bend the bottom bracket bar partly and reduce the bike's length by a couple of inches so that it fits in the plasti-bin outside my home. I chain bolted to thr bin's floor is its security.

Bromptons are without doubt the A+ folder but they don't do well on unmade or rough roads, or soft ground, have increased security risk because of their popularity and cost more than five (or more!) of my folder.

Call me cheapskate if you like!

 

[Fab Foodie]

I'm retired now, so don't travel the country with my folder any more, but for over ten years I trained and biked to training venues everywhere. I used a City Express, a 7 speed, ally, 16", mid folder which didn't take up much more space than a brompton. But punctures were no problem, and maybe less frequent because I could have 1.9" all-terrain tyres which probably handled bumps, sharps and ridges better. I never found out if I could take it on the London Underground because I cycled between main-line statrions so easily and quickly, so that's what I did. And the City Express, when unfolded, has a neat flat bar which I could sit on if all seats were taken!

It was a great folder, and I never felt the need to follow the favourite, but there was one aspect of the City Express which beat the Brompton....... it cost £169 with £10 for delivery. Now this feature removed any feelings of worry because I could lock it to a bike stand, go shopping (whatever) and forget it, because Bromprons might get nicked, but City Expresses don't because almost nobody knows about them.... no 'must have' aspect. And it was small enough to come with me into training and hotel rooms.

I changed it last year for a City Zoom, described in folder reviews as 'very odd', but this happens to ride beautifully and is better for me because I can bend the bottom bracket bar partly and reduce the bike's length by a couple of inches so that it fits in the plasti-bin outside my home. I chain bolted to thr bin's floor is its security.

Bromptons are without doubt the A+ folder but they don't do well on unmade or rough roads, or soft ground, have increased security risk because of their popularity and cost more than five (or more!) of my folder.

Call me cheapskate if you like!

OK, you're a cheapskate!

 

[Oxo]

Call me cheapskate if you like!

Go on then.......cheapskate.