DC Brompton Ride was fun!

On Sunday, March 20th, the first ever Brompton Bicycle Club Ride was lead by Charmaine R., who bought her Brompton here at bikes@vienna, and has now raced in both the World and US Championship. 
The "club" is a DC area Meetup Group, made up of Brompton owners and riders.  The inaugural ride was great fun, taking us around some of the prettier parts of the city, with a stop for lunch on the river.  Of course, we had to pose with our Bromptons at various points, such as here at the Lincoln Memorial.

We got lots of comments and questions about our bikes throughout the ride.  People are fascinated by the look of the bikes, and even more intrigued by the folding and compact size.


The next ride is slated for Saturday, April 30th, starting right here at bikes@vienna, at 11:00 am.


Find out more about the group or join here:http://www.meetup.com/Brompton-Bicycle-Club/


(photos courtesy of Charmaine R.)

Congrats to Tom!

Congratulations to our own Tom Fritz, for his top 10 finish in the Brompton US Championship!  And to his wife, Beryl, for being team support and showing the bikes@vienna "colors" on the promenade ride to the start point!

Don't forget, this weekend only, in celebration of the BUSC (and Tom's finish), all in-stock Bromptons are $75 off, and  test riding a Brompton gets you a $1 off coupon for a pasty at Pure Pasty, our nextdoor neighbor from across the pond!

Big Brompton race results are in

First place same as last year. Best dressed same three as last year but over the top wit a costume change in middle of the race without DQ!!! My time 22:22. Putting me at 10th place.

Tom
Tlfflt1983@gmail.com

Start 1237

The best technique I saw was to run with folded bike to edge of road. Unlike me I ended up trying to peddle through soft grass

Ready

Current estimate start time. 1220

Almost Ready

Nearly ready

Getting ready

Tims bike, Tim's number but that is not Tim

Arrival at the arrival tent.

The organizer organizing

"don't peak early" Red advises during streches

Arrived at Phily. Advice. Race jitters

International racer Red providing domestic Green the benefit of his experience on staying focused. "start to work on the competition at the photo shoot"

Bromptons leaving Va

The race bikes heard we were going to Philly. So lickity-split they were folded and nestled in place. Red called shotgun. But Beryl took the seat

Brompton US Championship This Weekend!

That's right folks... the second annual Brompton US Championship is this coming Saturday in Philadelphia, PA!  Our own Tom Fritz, shown here awaiting the start of last year's race, will be riding again on his snazzy Apple Green S6R.  Follow his adventures here and on Facebook on the day of the event.  In addition, at least one of our customers will be riding, so we may have more news to report after the race.

As you know if you've followed our blog for the last couple of years, the Brompton Championship events (the US in March, and the World Champs in August this year), have a different "dress code" from most bike races.  As you can see by Tom's outfit, "business attire" is the order of the day... all riders must wear a dress shirt, jacket and tie.  You might think this would lead to a stodgy looking field of riders, but creativity is the order of the day, with many wild and wacky ensembles.  The first place finishers in the male and female categories will get airfare to England for the World Championship! Best Dressed winners will get some other prize... last year it was a Brooks Barbican messenger bag, a very nice and very expensive piece of gear.

Online registration is closed, but there should still be slots open on the day of the event.  Even if you can't race, it's a fun event to watch, and it's part of a day's worth of racing in a lovely location, Fairmount Park.  If you don't yet own a Brompton, now is a great time to buy one!  This weekend only, we are offering $75 off any of our "in stock" Bromptons, in honor of the event.  And anyone who comes in to test ride a Brompton will receive a coupon for $1 off a Cornish style pasty at Pure Pasty, Virginia's first pasty bakery, and our next door neighbors.  So come on in and try a taste (or two) of Britain's finest!

Information about the race and a link to registration is here:

http://www.bromptonbicycle.com/busc/2011/

Photos from last year's event are here:

Brompton US Championship, March 20, 2010

New Xootr Swift Folder in the shop!

We just got in and assembled the first Xootr Swift folding bike to show up here.  It's a sharp looking and very nice riding bike. Available in five sizes, with further fine tuning of the fit made possible by the design, it's worth a look and a test ride.  It comes in blue and silver, and sells for $749.  The fold is quick and easy, but not the most compact by any means, and it doesn't stand by itself when folded.  On the plus side, it takes seconds to fold... release the two seat post releases, slide the post up, fold, slide the post back in to trap the back wheel.

Take the wheels off and take a few other steps, and it goes into a standard sized suitcase:

http://www.xootr.com/swift-suitcase-packing-instructions.html

So who should consider this bike?  Folks who want something smaller for their apartment, or to tuck into the trunk or back seat of your car, perhaps.  Or someone who is considering one of the 26" wheel Dahons... this bike rides as well, but folds a bit smaller.  It can work on Metro also, but it might not be my first choice for that, given how tiny a Brompton gets when folded.  However, it's half the price of a typical Brompton.  Price-wise, it competes with some of Dahon's models, and in some aspects compares very favorably.  Like all folding bikes... and all bikes, honestly, it's a set of compromises.  Xootr's slogan is "A great bike... which happens to fold" and I think that sums it up pretty well. 


 Come in and take a look and test ride, and see if it works for  you!

 Reviews can be seen here:

http://www.xootr.com/xootr-news.html

And thanks to Xootr, you can download the recent Bicycle Times magazine review, which also reviews bikes from Brompton and Dahon as well.

http://www.xootr.com/Merchant2/documents/bicycleTimes009Article.pdf