Drove down to the Scottish Borders a few days ago with ChoccyMuffin to visit my mother in Selkirk and we spent an hour or so wandering about Galashiels on foot taking a few zones, mostly uniques for ChoccyMuffin. Now, I find turfing on foot slow and tedious when compared to cycling. Then I had an idea, why don’t we get two folding bikes that are reasonably lightweight, compact, easy to fold and carry in the car?
So, that’s why we starting looking at folding bikes, and after much calm discussion and deliberation settled for the Brompton, one of the most well-known folding bikes, opting for the C Line Explore 6-speed model ordering one in Sunset Orange for me and another in Yuzu Lime for ChoccyMuffin. We decided to keep our custom local and ordered from Edinburgh Bicycles at Bruntsfield who were very helpful when we popped in for a wee look and test ride.
The Brompton bicycle comes in a wide range of flavours starting at the basic £950.00 A Line and ending in the most expensive £4745 titanium and carbon fibre T Line, with the C Line and P Line models in between. I won’t go into all the technical details, you can find those on the Brompton website, but I will say they are ideal for the purpose we require. What we were after is a compact folding bike we can carry inside the car when we go away for a few days turfing. Yes, we could take our normal bikes but that leaves the problem of security, for example, when we stop at a café or when staying somewhere overnight. With the Brompton’s we can either lock them inside the car or take them inside with us.
The Brompton bicycle is a good model of the more you pay the less the bike weighs. The weight savings are largely down to the use of titanium frame parts and carbon fibre components. Roughly speaking, to save 1.00 kg of weight you spend another £1000.00. I would love the T Line One single speed but £4250 is a lot of money and I don’t really like the blasted titanium finish. Had it been painted, well, that’s another story.
- A Line Utility, 3-speed, £950.00, from 11.50 kg.
- C Line Urban, 2-speed, £1299.00, from 11.35 kg.
- C Line Explore, 6-speed, £1449.00, from 12.00 kg.
- P Line Urban, 4-speed, £2270.00, from 10.00 kg.
- P Line Explore 12-speed, £2580.00, from 10.50 kg.
- T Line One, 1-speed, £4250.00, from 7.45 kg.
- T Line Urban, 4-speed, £4520.00, from 7.95 kg.
- T Line Explore, 12-speed, £4745.00, from 8.80 kg.
I will admit they are something of an unusual compromise, especially with the small 16″ wheels and fairly basic gearing. It would also be fair to say they are rather unusual to look at, or be looked at when someone is riding one. They also have something of a cult following as well and anyone riding a Brompton tends to regarded as rather odd, weird, eccentric or even a complete fruit cake! But then again, we are turfers, so have already started down that line, so should fit right in.
We popped into Edinburgh Bicycle a few days ago and took a couple of C Line Brompton’s out for a spin around the Bruntsfield area outside the shop. They are definitely odd at first but you soon settle down after you get over the initial strangeness, steering wobbles and different riding position. Initially, I wasn’t expecting very much from them but was pleasantly surprised how capable and agile they were to ride. The gears took a bit of getting used to, a combination of a 2-sprocket cassette and a 3-speed internal hub gear, but once you got the hang of it, quite impressive really and actually jolly good fun.
As well as taking them with us on holidays, I can also see other uses for the Brompton’s. For example, on days when the car isn’t available, I can hop on the bus into Edinburgh (or elsewhere) with bike in hand, literally, and spend a few hours turfing or hunting down those ephemeral turfer uniques. Mind you, Lothian Buses only allow bicycles that are “folded and fully enclosed in a suitable carrying bag”.
Thankfully, that should not be a problem as the IKEA sells the Dimpa bag which is exactly the dimensions required to fit a folded Brompton and at only £3.00 each won’t break the piglet bank. The Dimpa bag is also small and light enough to be easily folded up and carried in a rucksack when not in use.
So, with bikes both showing as “in stock” at Edinburgh Bicycle and not from the supplier, they should be with us in a few days. Looking forward to seeing how good a Brompton is for turfing and tinkering about with lights, phone mounts, tyres and no doubt something else as well. Will it be Ultimate Turfing Bicycle No. 3, probably not, but should be fun finding out. Back soon.
Image curtesy of Brompton.
Copyright ©2024 Gary Buckham. All rights reserved.
