Brompton Hard Suspension

Brompton have offered an alternative to the standard suspension block, in the form of the ‘hard’ block for sometime now. It’s available for ‘heavier’ riders or for riders who prefer a firmer ride. Now I’m not by any means heavy so I imagine that puts me in the second camp. I do prefer a stiffer back end, all of my previous bikes have either been hard tail XC bikes or rigid trials bikes. I thought for the price I could get it for, it would be worth a try just to see how I get on with it. 
Just in case anyone reading this is considering getting one of these I usually either order my bike parts from SJS cycles or get direct from a suitable shop if I’m desperate, but SJS let me down this time, with P&P it would’ve worked out at £9! So I decided to test out Simpson Cycles which is based in North London. I ordered through the website on Sunday evening and received the block on Tuesday morning not bad for £3.70 plus free postage! Also, there was a hand written note thanking me for my custom and with the name of the person who had packed my order; a small thing but a nice touch. very little physical difference between the ’soft’ and ‘hard’ blocks, I think the difference I could see was just down to the softer block having been used. The only real way to tell the difference between them is that the ‘hard’ block has a small yellow spot on it; though from what I’ve read this will rub off fairly quickly. I fitted the block immediately, which is a very simple matter of removing the nut at the back of the current block and swapping the fittings over. While I was there, I wiped out all the old grease which was more dirt and salt etc and regreased. It’s worth greasing as the suspension block can be the cause of a curious squeak! I’ve since taken the Brompton out for a quick 2 mile spin to run some errands and the difference is immediately noticeable. Not only can you feel every lump and bump in the road (which, due to the cold snap are painfully frequent, more on that later…), but somehow the rear end of the bike feels much more in line with the rest of the bike. I think the hard block in conjunction with Marathon Plus tyres could be a lethal combination for my lower back. I will leave it on for a while and see if I get used to it. I do like being at one with the tarmac, but if it starts getting painful it could be a step too far.

In summary, for the lighter rider, the hard block does give the Brompton a much more positive and rigid feel but you pay the price and lose the ride comfort. If you’re umming and ahhing about changing to the hard block, I think for the money it’s worth buying it and giving it a bash and see if you get on with it. I will update after I have covered some more serious mileage…

New Tyres Please...

I've finally taken the plunge and purchased some new tyres. I've had the yellow labelled brompton tyres on since I purchased my bike what must be a year and a half ago and I've been nothing but impressed with them. But I had a puncture last Thursday (only my second puncture in over 1500 miles) which really brought home how much I need my bike to be on the road and how much I rely on it! It was only a slow puncture so I could get where I needed to be using a series of 'pump stops'. Bit of a nightmare, but at least I could remain mobile!

      So on Saturday morning I once again utilised Velorutions price matching (includes matching against online retailers) and bought a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Pluses. I was going to go for the normal Marathons but I've read nothing but good reviews for the Marathon Plus on the Bromptontalk forum (on Yahoo chat, if you've not been there, check it out). It was a bit expensive, but less expensive than time wasted walking somewhere with a flat or having to take an extra taxi/bus/train/whatever because I have a flat. So I set about putting them on when I got home, now I expected them to be a little difficult as I have an incompetency when it comes to dealing with tyres with a stiff bead, so I set aside a few hours. Well, two broken tyre levers and one self inflicted flat later I'd managed to get them on! They were noticeably heavier than the yellows before I put them on the bike, but now when carrying I can't really tell the difference. I've not done any mileage on them yet, but I will do an updated review as soon as I have got some miles under the rubber...In the meantime, if you're thinking of getting Marathon Pluses then do so, but for the sake of all that is holy, buy some metal tyre levers, take your time and don't pump the tyres up until they are back on the bike...Not that I did that...

Snowy January Ride!

With nothing much of interest happening recently I’ve been quite quiet! This morning however, I awoke to a blanket of snow on London…Excellent you might think, another snow day. I however needed to be somewhere, which meant cycling to get a train from Clapham Junction. I left a little earlier as I was sure there would be some epic driving going on, and sure enough I wasn’t disappointed. Here are my personal highlights:
- The moronic Sainsburys driver who decided to tailgate me, flashing his lights and blasting his horn (which incidently was a lot quieter than I’d imagine a lorry of that size to be, perhaps it was over used…). I was cycling down the tyre tracks of the cars I was following, I couldn’t have been more than 15-20 metres away from the car in front, solid traffic in front of that and still he persists. I pulled over as I didn’t fancy getting killed today and he still manages to nearly kill me when I was pulled over. Sure enough less than two minutes later I sail past him as he’s stranded in the still traffic. Excellent work Sainsburys, you’re drivers are worth their weight..In what, I’m not sure..I would report him though I can’t remember the whole numberplate, rage/adrenaline and self preservation have clouded my memory, I believe it started KY59. If you happened to see a Sainsburys lorry driving like a moron down the A3 (Clapham Common West Side) or the A205 (The Avenue) this morning (13/01/2010) at approx 0750, let me know!
- The second gem was the woman in the clapped out Mondeo who’d only cleared one half of her windscreen in order to tackle the busy London rush hour. I doth my proverbial to you for a lack of effort. She cut across a lane of traffic following the car in front of her (who’d made the turn safely) resulting in her almost blind siding the car in front of me and me. We’d both preped for an amazing effort having seen the lengths she’d gone to to make sure her vehicle was ready for travel and no one was hurt.
This and other minor incidents happen in the course of a reasonably short 3 mile trip which takes approx 15-20 mins on a normal day. I may begin to chronical the more ridiculous as this method of sharing seems to calm the spleen.

Careful out there kids, and remember, they’re out to get you!

Wet November Ride

I don't think November 23rd 2009 will go down as one of the best days for a cycle, but commuting is an all weather sport! The only good thing about the wet weather is that the fair weather cyclists are gone; crawling back to the sweaty warmth and "dryness" afforded by the buses and tube; leaving only the serious cyclists the run of the cycle lanes. My morning commute is usually a fairly aggressive affair through the busy roads of south west London but this morning was possibly the most mellow ride I've had in a long time. I don't know if it was the drivers being more cautious because of the wet weather or just that all the planets happened to align in the sign of the sun god Raa?! But there was space being given aplenty, no suicidal pedestrians appearing from behind parked cars and no doors being flung open into my path. I'm even going to go as far as to say I enjoyed it. My enjoyable ride was then punctuated by a managable train ride when the heavens opened. I thought it was too good to be true, but I gritted my teeth and clutching my waterproof trousers I arrived into Southampton. Then (it must be Raa again) the rain stopped. Quickly stuffing my trousers away I made it to work with a smile on my face for once, setup for what has turned out to be a shocker of a day, but at least I can look forward to the ride home...

Touring Pannier Update

I've been living with the touring pannier for over a month now, so I thought it about time to share my findings!
The touring pannier has been an invaluable addition to my Brompton, in fact it has been so good I'm thinking of buying even more luggage; in the form of the C-Bag. The pannier has allowed me to do my shopping, carry ridiculous amounts of lunch, carry books, cat beds, spare clothing just about any load I could possibly imagine (upsettingly I did have to move some bags of gravel by hand/car, but they were about 20kg). The only initial downside was a slight sluggishness in the otherwise nimble Brompton steering, I soon got used to this and it is now fine. I sometimes have to remember that I can't fit in tiny spaces as I would otherwise do without the pannier on. i.e. between bumper to bumper traffic, it can be a little snug. The included rain cover can be a nightmare to get on due to its elasticy nature, but once its on its on and the rain doesn't get in and that's the main thing.
            Now, the reason I'm considering getting a C-Bag is for the smaller trips. I have read some excellent things about the C-Bag, mainly that it is easier to find things in than the touring pannier due to the yellow liner (this can be a problem with the touring pannier as it is like a tardis, I found a multitool which I'd totally forgotten I owned). The C-Bag offers a far more streamlined shape. I thought some talk I'd read of luggage affecting the streamlining of the Brompton to be fairly laughable, but after a slog home in a strong headwind I wasn't laughing!
           So I thoroughly recommend the Brompton touring pannier, if you carry a lot regularly it will be invaluable, but if you carry less and don't have thighs like Chris Hoy then you may want to consider the C-Bag! The C-Bag will definitely be on my Christmas list this year!

The Mayor of London's Skyride...

I and 64,999 other people decided to go for a bit of a cycle around London on Saturday! Going by numbers alone, the Skyride seemed to be a success. The roads were indeed carless, priority was given to cyclists and the weather was good; all important factors when enjoying a ride. The only downside that I encountered was the amount of cyclists! There are a lot of people that should not cycle on the roads unless there are no cars and it is heavily marshalled; maybe these people would be good road racers?! There were some seriously unroadworthy offerings. One gentleman I saw had a rear wheel so heavily pringled that it was barely going through the frame. I felt most sorry for the bike doctor, that chap could not have imagined what was going to happen! In fairness he did seem to repairing approximately 14 different Apollo bikes at any one time; and I went past him a few times!
There was a good Brompton turnout, plenty of 2009 models. I'd not seen that many of the available colours in the 2009 matt finish, so it was nice to see some of the rarer colours (purple haze, cornflower blue, turkish blue, orange, baby pink and desert sand). I think the fact people are willing to spend an extra £25 or £50 just to make their Brompton individual speaks volumes about Brompton owners. Some people are not that fussed about what colour their bike is (or how useful it is: see Apollo), but Bromptoning is a way of life! I'm still yet to see a raw laquer Brompton up close; from the photos I think it may be my favourite finish along with cornflower blue. Maybe my next Brompton will be one of these colours. Seriously considering another Brompton, no I don't need one, but I really really want one!
Anyway back to Skyride, I would definitely do it again. I think it shows the amount of people that would be willing to cycle if the roads/cycle paths were safer. I also wonder if there are a finite number of people who should cycle in order to keep the number of road incidents down...

Brompton Related Luggage!

I've never been one to like panniers and baskets and alike, but the time finally came for me to bite the bullet and let the bike do the heavy lifting. I usually use a Crumpler Weenie to carry all of my belongings and I must say it has worked excellently for over a year; but it's just not big enough. With the wetter weather due any day now I like to be able to carry the waterproofs just in case. Now, there are plenty of options out there depending on type of Brompton, type of load and fashionable leanings; but I purely wanted to be able to carry a flexable sometimes large load. I looked at the Carradice range of bags and I was very close to purchasing the City Folder, mainly due to its classic looks coupled with modern twists (leather buckled straps conceal quicker to use plastic clips), but it just didn't quite cut it on the volume stakes. I also considered the C-Bag and the older S-Bag, but I think these are more for the laptop carrying Brompton user. I've made it pretty obvious, but I purchased the front Touring Pannier and I love it. There are a two different configurations of the bag available with frame or without and its worthing making sure which version you're getting if you're buying online.
I intended on purchasing online, then I found out that Velorution (http://www.velorution.biz/) do a price match ("Don't feed Cowboys and Chicken") with any UK or European retailer, online or bricks and mortar and it just so happened I was going to be passing the following day! Bonanza! I went in and sure enough they had it and, I didn't even need to use the price match as it happened the price on the website was out of date and they were selling at the same price as online retailers.
I thought the Touring Pannier would excel in the cold/wet weather but it also has its upsides in the warm weather (as I expect, does the other luggage); these mainly revolve around not having something clinging to you making you sweat more! Also it means, if you go for a cycle in the chilly morning, you have somewhere to stuff the jumper come sunrise! I have nothing but praise for the front pannier, there is only one downside which I have found so far and that is the slightly slower fold time, as you have to remove the luggage pre-fold. I have found that you can re attached the bag once folded (though stability is seriously compromised with uneven or heavy loads) and push the Brompton around shops. I also usually carry my Brompton, unfolded, down steps etc and obviously (I say obviously but the first time I went to pick my bike up with the luggage attached I managed to make a complete hash of it) now I have to grab the frame a touch nearer the headtube. The stuff pockets at the front and sides are good for drinks and maps. The clippable pockets at the rear are good for more frequently used items and also smaller things that would get lost in the 28 litre capacity of the main pocket! The clips for the main luggage hold seemed to be in a bit of an odd place to me, semi submerged inside the side pockets. It works, don't get me wrong, but it took me a minute to find them first go! I was also happy to find a rain coat for my bag tucked inside the divided internal pocket, so should it rain, everything should stay dry. I'm officially converted into a pannier user and I can't see myself going back...