Cycleops
Legendary Member
- Location
- Accra, Ghana
....and hasn't posted since September. Another drive by poster? Who knows, but it hasn't stopped us having a bit of knock around fun.
Can't afford a Brompton ..
- Thread starter cycle_bug
- Start date
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Cycleops
Legendary Member
- Location
- Accra, Ghana
A neighbour has got several of those 'hangers' along the wall of his garage, and each one hangs a different kind of bike. Amazing! They all look very advanced to me, but when I mentionred this he replied that he keeps the good ones in the house. His lovely sports car is exiled to the driveway.
The OP probably found a delightful City Express for just over £150, and is pedalling around merrily at this very minute, wondering what all the fuss over Bromptons is about. Next week he'll put 2.25 deep tread tyres on it and go forth where Bromptons could never dare venture.
srw
It's a bit more complicated than that...
You should go to London. Thousands of Bromptons being ridden and carried, almost none left locked on the street. I dare say that anecdotes gathered in the country's largest city are slightly more representative than anecdotes gathered in Badgerville.So, let me get this absolutekly clear: neither you nor the majority of Brompton owners on this forum have any locks, bolts, bars, chains or any other security equipment to protect their folders, nor need they particularly bother with risk-transference services with regard to bike theft. Correct?
Well, that's strange, because out there in the BWW I often see a couple of Bromptons secured to bike-frames, the same two bikes I expect, but that's the only two that I notice in our high street.
- Location
- The TerrorVortex
I leave mine locked outside shops and the like where I live. In London it doesn't leave my person.
And yes, you can take them round supermarkets but a folded Brommie doesn't leave much room in the trolley for shopping. .
And yes, you can take them round supermarkets but a folded Brommie doesn't leave much room in the trolley for shopping. .
......should go to London....... meh! I didn't cross London every day, but often crossed it twice a week, cycling between main-line stations. And 'yes', I saw lots of Bromptons amongst the London folder-cyclists.
Look, London is good for Bromptons. You can take 'em on the underground. London is mostly flat and London's streets are in moderately good nick. Bromptons do well in London, but so do many other makes. One thing I noticed (2003-2010) on trains in and out of London was that I saw more Dahons than any other folders. That might read like a compliment, but the backhander is that a noticeable % of Dahon owners moaned about failed frames, poor customer service and aftercare and a bad attitude from the importers.
See? I even talk to riders of other makes than my chosen one....
If anybody wants to get to know a bit about folders all they have to do is ride the trains and chat to the cyclists.But........ Bromptons do not do well on rugged roads! I once had a Genie. You can spit if you like, but those fake Bromptons were a pretty close double and the early ones had hub gears (the later ones had derailleurs as I remember); I had so much trouble on our local private roads, but discovered that I could not fit deep tread and wide tyres, like most any other folder could have! It's no good..... if you can't ride with ease on local roads, tracks, byeways and seawalls, then you need to choose a bike that will!
As for your insistence that Bromptons carry their bikes everywhere, I can tell you that you won't be allowed to wander through all and any busy shops, or fast foods, museums, Harrods erc etrc clutching folded Bromptons. Who wants to carry their flippin' bike everywhere, anyway? I lock mine to convenient rails and posts wherever I go with a simple 3 digit security wire and have never had a problem. The only time I need to fold down handlebats and peddles is when I walk through boot fairs, or street markets, and my Zoom is a better bike for that...... you would love it! One little ride and I would have proselytised you!
Fair enough. But that's a big problem, because it means that when in London you are in fact (quite reasonably)stressed over your bike's security. If..... just if.... you happened to like a much cheaper bike then much of that worry would leave you. So far I luckily have not lost a bike, and I would be upset if I did, but I could snap my fingers at the cost of replacement..... but a Brompton?
...and you get dirty wheels touching your quiches.... yuk!
- Location
- The TerrorVortex
Quiche! How very dare you!! *shakes fist*
Everything in Tescburydi is wrapped in at least three layers of stuff anyway ...
And I once had a Brommie stolen in London. That's why I'm keen to avoid a repeat, even though it was insured. Can't see me needing to take it to London again.
Everything in Tescburydi is wrapped in at least three layers of stuff anyway ...
And I once had a Brommie stolen in London. That's why I'm keen to avoid a repeat, even though it was insured. Can't see me needing to take it to London again.
srw
It's a bit more complicated than that...
We'll need to wait for the Brompton series reboot for a Brompton which can hover for that one.
I would have been so upset, if, when far from home my folder had been stolen. And the messing about, calling Police, CAD numbers, Insurance form filling, no folder-bike for a while, feelings of personal loss, etc etc.
I wouldn't mind getting a cheap-day ticket and returning to London to cycle all over the place. But I wouldn't take my Zoom. I would take my folding trekking bike because I could travel further, faster see more, and worry even less because it's even less expensive than a Zoom.
Oh.... yes...... I've got two folders, but I'll leave the identity of the other one out for now or this web site might overheat.,
...nor down 'em.
jefmcg
Guru
You know they let alive, pooping humans sit in those trolleys?
