iThink therefore iPod

Guy said:

I have been riding one way or the other to work,
instead of pootling along on my Brom with the iPod and Sennheiser
noise-cancelling headphones.

If this weren't coming from you, Guy, I'd suspect a slightly
inflammatory attempt to start another long and tiresome "discussion".

By the way, did you read Matt thingy's column in the Guardian today? I
actually found myself sympathetic with him for once - wearing
headphones really is a great way to avoid having to listen to
ill-informed comments from idiot motorists.

And I've recently been getting rather more than usual in the way of
such comments - probably irascibility caused by being stuck in a tin
box with no air conditioning.

Also in today's Guardian, there's a run down of the best folding bikes
by Therese and Andrea of Velorution. Some interesting conclusions
reached.

Personally, I think their assessment is skewed by the fact that they
are obviously not long-distance commuters themselves. For example, they
are very impressed by the Airnimal Joey, which I am sure is justified.
However, they do admit that it is "more suited to the frequent flier
than the daily commuter" but conclude that since it rides so well,
"maybe you would just forget about the train and ride it all the way".

Nice idea but not entirely practical for someone like me who commutes
around 70 miles to work - besides, if the office was within riding
distance, I wouldn't need a folder, would I? That said, I could very
easily find space for a Joey or a Chameleon in the bike shed given half
an excuse. And maybe it would be a good choice for someone who doesn't
have secure bike parking at the office.

Another comment of theirs I'd take issue with is the one about a Dahon
Jack fitting easily into the boot of a car. This may be true if you
have no other luggage to carry and/or own an estate or MPV. But for me
with my small family hatchback, I find the idea slightly laughable.

However, I do /very/ much like the look of the Dahon Mu XL, which they
give top marks.

No mention of the Sinclair monstrosity in the list.

d.

davek said:

Another comment of theirs I'd take issue with is the one about a Dahon
Jack fitting easily into the boot of a car. This may be true if you
have no other luggage to carry and/or own an estate or MPV. But for me
with my small family hatchback, I find the idea slightly laughable.

Depends if you need the back seat. I used to have no trouble getting a
Raleigh Pioneer into the back of my Peugeot 306 with the seats down -
a big bike and fairly small car.

Looking at the size, I'm pretty sure that a folded Dahon Jack would
have fitted in the boot of that car even with the back seats in their
normal upright position.

--
Stevie D
\\\\\ ///// Bringing dating agencies to the
\\\\\\\__X__/////// common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
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Stevie D said:

Depends if you need the back seat. I used to have no trouble getting a
Raleigh Pioneer into the back of my Peugeot 306 with the seats down -
a big bike and fairly small car.

Well, yes... I have no trouble getting my non-folding road bike into the
car with the seats down, but I can't get the family into the car at the
same time, nor any meaningful amount of luggage.

Quoted message said:

Looking at the size, I'm pretty sure that a folded Dahon Jack would
have fitted in the boot of that car even with the back seats in their
normal upright position.

Sure, but again, not at the same time as any luggage, which limits the
usefulness of the bike. For example, I wouldn't be able to take the Jack
on a family holiday without fitting a bike carrier to the car, in which
case I may as well take the non-folding bike.

The point I'm getting at is that it's meaningless to judge /all/ folding
bikes by the same set of criteria. So while the Brompton and the Mu XL
are very similar and may be considered as alternatives to each other,
those two bikes have little in common with the Airnimal and are designed
for different types of use. And the Jack caters to yet another different
section of the market.

d.

Den 2006-07-26 14:03:57 skrev davek <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Also in today's Guardian, there's a run down of the best folding bikes
by Therese and Andrea of Velorution. Some interesting conclusions
reached.

Fascinating, is it available online? I couldn't find it on their website
or Google News.

Erik Sandblom
--
Oil is for sissies