Folding Bikes on Metrobus Racks?

A post and comments on the Chasing Mailboxes blog today reminded me that I've been meaning to post these photos for some time now.  We get asked now and then about whether or not a folding bike can fit on the racks that are mounted on the front of Metro buses, and Charles shared his experience with me, and took these pictures. The answer, at least in the case of a Brompton, is yes! I suspect other folding bikes can be mounted on the racks in much the same manner, but you may want to pick a less busy time to try it out, so you're not tying up a bunch of anxious commuters!

Check out the pictures and attached video to see how it's done!

More Brompton Colors in Stock!

We just got in some more Bromptons, and I think folks will like the array of colors, including a few really sharp looking two-tone combinations, such as a claret main frame with cobalt blue extremities, as well as a racing green main frame with sage green extremities.  Very pretty!

Right now we have mostly 6 speed bikes, along with one 2 speed. A couple with the S-type flat bar, one with the multiposition P-type bar, and the rest with the traditional M-type bar.

Bromptons come in many colors!

Fourteen, to be exact, and you can mix and match any two. And then there's the "raw lacquer" option, which you can see on our demo bike.

Today we got this bike ready for a customer who ordered a very striking paint scheme... Hot Pink main frame with Cobalt Blue Extremities. Pretty sharp looking, huh? Lots of other fun combinations to try... and we have the sample chips here so you can see what works for you.

Brompton World Championship - Time To Register!

That's right folks, as of this morning, registration is now open for the Brompton World Championship! This 13.1 mile race around the grounds of Blenheim Palace (birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill) is not to be missed. As you can see by my photo from 2009, all riders are required to wear "business attire" - dress shirt, tie, and jacket! The race is open to 750 riders, and rumor has it that it might fill up fast, so register now! It's a fun day at a beautiful location, and it's part of the larger Bike Blenheim Palace event, with various sorts of competitive rides, and all manner of cyclists and cycles around.


More of my photos from the 2009 event can be seen here:

BWC 2009

Brompton Meetup Ride a Success!

I didn't get the chance to join them, but the Brompton Bicycle Club meetup group had a great time this past Saturday.  The ride started and finished at our shop, and it was fun to meet some new faces in the local Brompton crowd.

Here they all are, posed with their bikes, after their ride out to Reston and back. They're all smiling, so they must have had fun.  Watch this spot for news of future rides, or join up here:

http://www.meetup.com/Brompton-Bicycle-Club/

First 2011 Bromptons Have Arrived!

Yesterday I unpacked and prepared four new Bromptons, the first of the 2011 bikes we've received. Two are waiting to be picked up by their future owners, but these two are here for you to come see and test ride! The bike on the left is an M6R, in the new Sage Green color, and the bike on the right is a P6R, in the new Claret color. Both are really great colors, I think. There's one more new color for 2011, Hot Pink, but I opted to order these two at this time.

A Good Christmas Eve...

... for us and for our customers!

In addition to the evening Luminaria Ride, we had a nice little flurry of activity during the day. Three new happy Brompton owners were introduced to their bikes, and one happy fella went off with a shiny, new, black Optima Baron!

Here's one of our new Brompton riders, with her brand new P6R in our parking lot. Many happy miles ahead!

First BWC Weekend Report!

From Charmaine, our "customer in the field"... here she recounts the events of Saturday, October 2nd, the day before the actual race:

Just a brief note about the Brompton 100 bike ride on Saturday -

I got to the meet-up point pretty early for the Brompton 100 ride - I definitely didn't want to miss it. :) I took the Tube to a station not far from where I needed to meet up with 99 other Brompton bikers for a 10-mile ride from central London to the Brompton bike factory, for the awards ceremony. A number of the riders were "dressed up" in funny or business attire, and they were neat to see. :) As we gathered, the Changing of the Guards (horses) came down the street, so we got some pictures of that. :) We then got on the road and rode along safely, regrouping as needed and "bunching up" at lights to get as many of us through the lights as we could. The route was pretty convoluted - lots of turns, but everyone stuck together. We rode past Buckingham Palace and then past pretty city homes and areas. We rode through the Brompton Cemetary, which was pretty and peaceful (though in spots very weeded and overgrown). Then through the suburbs and along the Thames River and finally got to the Brompton factory, where they were being presented the "Queen's Award" for Enterprise in both Innovation and International Trade categories. This is the second Queen's Award they have received. Evidently only 16 other companies in the UK have received this award - so it is a big thing! A lieutenant who was dressed in his military uniform, presented the award. Andrew Ritchie was present as the Managing Director of Brompton, Will Butler-Adams graciously and humbly received the award. :)

We had a tasty lunch while a good jazz band played. Then we were given a tour of the Brompton factory, which was neat and made me appreciate all the parts to the bicycle (all of which are handmade and assembled). Only the painting of the bikes is outsourced.

So it was a fun afternoon and I'm glad I had the opportunity to attend! :)

Charmaine

Something different from Brompton

The bike shown may look just like all the other Bromptons you've seen here or elsewhere, but this new M6R has a feature we haven't had in the store before - the new-for-2010 Brompton-specific Shimano Dynohub! This little beauty, show here to the left, generates power for the front and rear lights as you roll along.


Some of you may remember the old "bottle" style dynamos that had a little roller that rubbed on your tire, making an annoying noise and adding a fair amount of rolling resistance. Until this year, that was the most affordable dynamo option for a Brompton, and it left a lot to be desired.


Well, this new system is a vast improvement. The hub is silent, and the resistance caused by the dynamo action is remarkably low. The headlight is a halogen lamp in a large, bright reflector, and the tail light is a very bright LED unit. In addition, the tail light is equipped with a "standlight" feature, a capacitor that charges up as you ride, so when you stop, the tail light still glows. The stock Busch & Mueller Lumotec Oval headlight doesn't have this feature, but there are after market options that both have a standlight and are even brighter.

So how much does this setup add to the cost of a new Brompton? That's the really good news... it's only a $113 upgrade from a bike with no lights at all, and only $52 more than the battery powered lighting package offered by Brompton.



Now the real dynohub aficionados are no doubt thinking "but it can't possibly compare to the excellent German SON dynohub!" Well, you're in luck, because Brompton also offers that option, which also comes with a higher quality headlight to boot. The price? Well, that option adds $503 to the base cost of a Brompton!

So for now, I think this is probably the best "bang for the buck" lighting system available from Brompton. You get a good, solid, reliable system.. all the components have a proven track record (I've had several different bikes with Shimano dynohubs and B&M lights for a number of years, and have never had any problems with any of them), and the price is right.

Come on in and take a look... and take it for a test ride, to see if you can feel any significant drag with the light switched on. I think you'll be surprised.