Brompton

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

Quoted message said:

At the risk of opening up a whole pandora's box...
Does andyone have experience of commuting on a brompton (or indeed other
foldable)
a reasonable distance (I'm thinking approx 12 miles each way)? -
undulating, but not
really hilly route. Is this sensible?
One of the drivers for this by the way is simply to take a bike into my
office.

I do 3 miles each way daily on my Brompton in London as part of a longer
train-assisted commute, and find this is barely scratching at its
capabilities. I will frequently go for longer jaunts around London or
elsewhere and notch up distances of 40 or 50 miles in one go (albeit with
stops); on one occasion I missed the last train home from London and had to
ride home (41 miles of hilly terrain, though in the middle of the night);
didn't get tired until the last 5-10 miles, and this was a fairly non-stop
run where I was trying to get back as quickly as possible.

Over longer distances, especially on non-urban roads, the slowness does
become apparent; especially if you're used to a fast RBk.

Graham Dean said:

At the risk of opening up a whole pandora's box...
Does andyone have experience of commuting on a brompton (or indeed other
foldable)
a reasonable distance (I'm thinking approx 12 miles each way)? -
undulating,
but not
really hilly route. Is this sensible?

Plenty of people do L2B on a Brompton, and the only Audax I've done
this year included a bloke on a Brompton too. All of these people
looked like they were enjoying themselves!

--
jc

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

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

At the risk of opening up a whole pandora's box...
Does andyone have experience of commuting on a brompton (or indeed other
foldable)
a reasonable distance (I'm thinking approx 12 miles each way)? -
undulating, but not
really hilly route. Is this sensible?
One of the drivers for this by the way is simply to take a bike into my
office.

I do 3 miles each way daily on my Brompton in London as part of a longer
train-assisted commute, and find this is barely scratching at its
capabilities. I will frequently go for longer jaunts around London or
elsewhere and notch up distances of 40 or 50 miles in one go (albeit with
stops); on one occasion I missed the last train home from London and had

to

Quoted message said:

ride home (41 miles of hilly terrain, though in the middle of the night);
didn't get tired until the last 5-10 miles, and this was a fairly non-stop
run where I was trying to get back as quickly as possible.

Over longer distances, especially on non-urban roads, the slowness does
become apparent; especially if you're used to a fast RBk.

David,

Many thanks for the reply. I'm beginning to realise that, of course, you can
do most things on a brompton - it's
simply a matter of choosing to... I think I need to give it a try!

Cheers,
Graham

"Jeremy Collins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:op.st87m2gs4al0tm@office...

Quoted message said:

Graham Dean said:

At the risk of opening up a whole pandora's box...
Does andyone have experience of commuting on a brompton (or indeed other
foldable)
a reasonable distance (I'm thinking approx 12 miles each way)? -
undulating,
but not
really hilly route. Is this sensible?

Plenty of people do L2B on a Brompton, and the only Audax I've done
this year included a bloke on a Brompton too. All of these people
looked like they were enjoying themselves!

--
jc

Sounds like I'd just better try it!

Graham

in message <[email hidden]>, Graham

Dean (') said:

At the risk of opening up a whole pandora's box...
Does andyone have experience of commuting on a brompton (or indeed
other foldable)
a reasonable distance (I'm thinking approx 12 miles each way)? -
undulating, but not
really hilly route. Is this sensible?

Do you already have the Brompton? The USP of the Brompton is that it
folds /really/ small /really/ quickly; there are other bikes which fold
nearly as small nearly as quickly which are reputed to ride better (e.g.
Birdy, Bike Friday, Airnimal). Not that I've got anything against
Bromptons.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

my other car is #<Subr-Car: #5d480>
;; This joke is not funny in emacs.

Graham Dean said:

Sounds like I'd just better try it!

Doing a relatively long commute will also give you an excuse to get
yourself a BromSON dynamo hub for the dark nights. Not that an excuse is
needed.

Colin

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

Quoted message said:

Graham Dean said:

Sounds like I'd just better try it!

Doing a relatively long commute will also give you an excuse to get
yourself a BromSON dynamo hub for the dark nights. Not that an excuse is
needed.

Colin

This, of course, is the next step - working out what which model and with
what accessories -
all good fun though.

I've also come across a SP Brompton on google - seems to be customised
model? It seems
to get good reviews - is there a website??

Graham

Graham Dean said:

I've also come across a SP Brompton on google - seems to be customised
model? It seems
to get good reviews - is there a website??

The SP is any Brompton modified by Steve Parry. A lot of the things
found on SPs were to address the limitations of the T/L/C range of
Bromptons. Some of those limitations have now been addressed by Brompton
themselves with the new range of bikes, flat bars, lighter components, etc.

I don't think Steve Parry has a website of his own but his contact
details do appear on some site somewhere, Folding Soc?

Colin

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

Quoted message said:

Graham Dean said:

I've also come across a SP Brompton on google - seems to be customised
model? It seems
to get good reviews - is there a website??

The SP is any Brompton modified by Steve Parry. A lot of the things
found on SPs were to address the limitations of the T/L/C range of
Bromptons. Some of those limitations have now been addressed by Brompton
themselves with the new range of bikes, flat bars, lighter components,

etc.

Quoted message said:

I don't think Steve Parry has a website of his own but his contact
details do appear on some site somewhere, Folding Soc?

Colin

Colin,

Thanks - in fact it was the FoldingSoc where I read about the Steve Parry
version...
I'll have a proper look on the Brompton website re new range of bikes etc.

Looking at your organisation (Durham) - this is one of the drivers, I'm
moving up to the North East
to take up a post at Teesside Uni.

Cheers,
Graham

Graham Dean said:

At the risk of opening up a whole pandora's box...
Does andyone have experience of commuting on a brompton (or indeed
other foldable)
a reasonable distance (I'm thinking approx 12 miles each way)? -
undulating, but not
really hilly route. Is this sensible?

I believe that an Italian nutter has done L-E-L on a Brompton, so 12 of the
BRITONS' miles should not be too big an ask...

--
Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
Never trust a man with more than one moustache.

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

Quoted message said:

Do you already have the Brompton? The USP of the Brompton is that it
folds /really/ small /really/ quickly; there are other bikes which fold
nearly as small nearly as quickly which are reputed to ride better (e.g.
Birdy, Bike Friday, Airnimal). Not that I've got anything against
Bromptons.

Hi Simon,

No, a folder is sadly lacking in my bike collection (currently ranging from
a 1980's woodrup & vitus,
through to a tandem, dawes galaxy and trek mtb). I *think* the usp of the
Brompton
is what I'm after (the really small, really quickly bit) - to store in
office at work. I've looked
at the Airnimal and it does look very very good - tho it seems the Brompton
does pack away
much quicker and smaller.

Of course, I could simply get a hack bike and lock it up outside the office
(only has bars apparently, may need
to start a campaign for secure storage) - so I'm wondering now if I'm
actually using this as an excuse to
get a Brompton in any event..... ;-)

Cheers,
Graham

You'll want a 5/6 speed for undulating hills. Mine is an L6 with 12%
gear reduction.

To be honest about 6 miles each way on a regular (daily) basis would be
fine, 10 more of a drag, 12 would probably put the nail in the coffin.
Of course, 12 into work and bus/car/train home would be perfectly
acceptable. This from someone who has cycled London-Oxford (70 mi) and
Dunwich Dynamo (120 mi) on his, and regularly cycles 6 miles from
Hillingdon Oxford Tube stop to Greenford and back.

If it were me, and I really had to have a folder for those distances
and keep in the office, there are better solutions: Dahon's would be
first for price, Bike Friday for luxury, Airnimal for different (all
have larger wheels).

regards,
Daren
--
remove outer garment for reply

Dave Larrington said:

I believe that an Italian nutter has done L-E-L on a Brompton, so 12 of the
BRITONS' miles should not be too big an ask...

I'm sure some nutter will have done an equally long distance on a
unicycle but that would not necessarily be a recommendation for a 12
mile commute on one ;-)

--
Tony

"I did make a mistake once - I thought I'd made a mistake but I hadn't"
Anon

On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 21:38:17 +0000 (UTC) someone who may be "Graham
Dean" <[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

Does andyone have experience of commuting on a brompton (or indeed other
foldable) a reasonable distance (I'm thinking approx 12 miles each way)?
- undulating, but not really hilly route. Is this sensible?

It might take five minutes or so more than a cumbersome upright,
people's experiences vary. Other than this no great problem.
Bromptons are rather better equipped for commuting than most bikes
due to the mudguards, excellent luggage system and now much improved
tyres.

Quoted message said:

One of the drivers for this by the way is simply to take a bike into my
office.

You have to weigh up a number of factors. Do you want to wear out a
relatively expensive bike, or would you rather wear out a cheaper
cumbersome?

--
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.

daren said:

You'll want a 5/6 speed for undulating hills. Mine is an L6 with 12%
gear reduction.

I would agree with the 12% reduction and 6 gears.

Quoted message said:

To be honest about 6 miles each way on a regular (daily) basis would be
fine, 10 more of a drag, 12 would probably put the nail in the coffin.
Of course, 12 into work and bus/car/train home would be perfectly
acceptable.

My current commute is 7 miles into work and then the bus home on an L6
with no gear reduction. However the bus home at the moment is a bit [censored].
Journey home by bus takes ~55mins - 1hr20mins which is too slow. So
at present I am cycling both ways on the Brompton 3 days a week and only
using the [censored] bus service 2 days. But then is it really worth having
the Brompton for just 2 days? Maybe. I keep thinking about petrol driven
commutes. :-(

Graham Dean said:

At the risk of opening up a whole pandora's box...
Does andyone have experience of commuting on a brompton (or indeed other
foldable)
a reasonable distance (I'm thinking approx 12 miles each way)? - undulating,
but not
really hilly route. Is this sensible?

I've done 9 (flat) miles each way one winter (waiting for a new
recumbent) on a T5. No problems, apart from the chain dragging in deep
snow.
But do get a proper saddle!

Mark van Gorkom.

Graham Dean said:

At the risk of opening up a whole pandora's box...
Does andyone have experience of commuting on a brompton (or indeed other
foldable)
a reasonable distance (I'm thinking approx 12 miles each way)? - undulating,
but not
really hilly route. Is this sensible?

One of the drivers for this by the way is simply to take a bike into my
office.

I do about 9 miles each way, either on my T10 (!) or on a conventional
hybrid tourer. The diamond frame bike is slightly quicker on the road
but breakfast table to desk is quicker on the Brompton because it takes
less time to fold it and carry it in than it does to lock the other bike
and remove computer, lights etc.

Peter

P.S. And, if it becomes seriously inclement I can come home by bus or train.

--

www.amey.org.uk

In message <[email hidden]>, Graham
Dean <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

At the risk of opening up a whole pandora's box...
Does andyone have experience of commuting on a brompton (or indeed other
foldable)
a reasonable distance (I'm thinking approx 12 miles each way)? - undulating,
but not
really hilly route. Is this sensible?

One of the drivers for this by the way is simply to take a bike into my
office.

I commute 5.5 miles into central London every other day on my Brompton
T3. There are no hills on that route but occasionally I cycle back via
White City and that involves Notting Hill (does that count?). In middle
gear it's not difficult. Folded up the bike goes under my desk.

If I had to I could do up to 10 miles each way, but I'm not sure about
more than that. When I was a lot younger than I am now I used to do 13
miles from Alton to Basingstoke through the country and up and down
hill, and I have no fond memories of that at all.

--
congokid
Good restaurants in London? Number one on Google
http://congokid.com

I did the Gridiron 100km ride round the New Forest on a Brompton.
I used to take my shopping partially off-road and uphill on my T3.
(Waitrose to hospital in Salisbury).

Anything is possible.

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.