A while back there was a thread about aleged 'bias' in AtoB magazine (http://www.atob.org.uk/) in favour of a certain diminutive small-folding commuter bike.
I don't read the mag so couldn't really comment. But now there's a digital edition I can kinda see the point.

Exhibit A (part 1) (http://www.exacteditions.com/exact/browse/392/428/1755/2/45/0/)
Exhibit A (part 2) (http://www.exacteditions.com/exact/browse/392/428/1755/2/47/0/)

To save you the time I'll paraphrase the 'review' the links above lead to.
"I rode 3 bikes, a Bike Friday, a Birdy, and a Brompton. The others were awful even after I welded several tons of new crap onto them, but the Brompton was the best [sneer] because it's British and it can go a thousand miles with no effort and because I can get two hundred of them into the boot (trunk) of my [atonishingly vulgar] Bentley..."

What an idiot. Worst road-test ever. Bikes aren't even comparable as they're kind of for different things.
Next week: 'Sandals versus Airmax Runners versus Steel-toecapped work boots. Which make the best wedding-wear?'

Ugh. I'm ashamed to be on the same island as this fool.

Cough.
I'd like his workshop though....

Without commenting on the substance of the review, what struck me most was how much money this fellow had to throw around. Rohloff versions of each bike, "the Bike Friday fits well enough in the boot of my Rolls Royce, but it's a tight fit for the Bentley", etc.

Must be nice.

teh best bike in the world is theone you have and use.I dont worry how it goes into the bently

He didn't say if he'd done 'a rohloff' to the Brompy. That was my gripe - that in his eyes the 3 speed base model was better than the other two after the mods...! More. Money. Than. Sense.
But we're all really rich like him in the UK... Bring on the party! ;)

This article was very similar to those found in Cycling Plus.

His comment that a 3 speed Sturmey Archer hub was perfect for a hundred mile ride is incredible. I guess he was thinking about looping central London for 100 miles, but one involving hills or mountain ranges requires a triple or Rohloff hub.

I did like the girl although.

Well, I found a 2-speed hub good fun for the 1200 km (and about 10,000 m climb) of Paris-Brest-Paris but agree that YMMV.

The OP should note that the review was not done by an A2B staff member. The Brommie did get fitted with a Rohloff.

I agree that particular article was a bit 'fingers down throat' ..... trophy everything ! written by a guest writer who seems poles apart from green living editors - I'd say a blip on otherwise pretty damn good mag, (ok with a slight Brompton bias) ..... I find it a damn fine read - cant help but read it when it drops thro letter box - which is rare !

Well, that was a little over-the-top, but the AtoB guide still has good things to say about the Friday and Birdy:
http://www.atob.org.uk/Buyers'_Guide.html

The Brompton is still the bomb if you need a quick, compact fold. If only they'd sell a stock model with real-world gearing....

Bike Friday is the best anyway,and you can not compare with a Birdy please this bull****
I Love my Bike Friday New World Tourist

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Raleigh-Folder-Folding-Bike_W0QQitemZ160098407720QQcategoryZ98084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

From those that have bike fridays, there's no way it takes an hour to get it into a suitcase. I can get a full S&S frame into a suitcase in 45 minutes, with significant disassembly.

The guy is arrogant, has an unpleasant and boastful style, but his conclusions seem fair, if you see past they arseholery. He doesn't say the Brompton is perfect for a 100 mile ride with the 3 speed, he says it's the only one on which he would attempt one, out of the box; and makes it clear that this is because of the major faults with the other two, all of which he details.

So I'd agree, he comes across as a complete arse, but at the same time, he seems to have something valid to say. Reminds me a little of Dutret, in the SS/FG forum!

The guy is arrogant, has an unpleasant and boastful style, but his conclusions seem fair, if you see past they arseholery. He doesn't say the Brompton is perfect for a 100 mile ride with the 3 speed, he says it's the only one on which he would attempt one, out of the box; and makes it clear that this is because of the major faults with the other two, all of which he details.

So I'd agree, he comes across as a complete arse, but at the same time, he seems to have something valid to say. Reminds me a little of Dutret, in the SS/FG forum!

Well, yes and no. The problem with the weird cable routing on the Friday is well-known, particularly if you have open cables on the main tube, no fenders, and ride in the rain. It's no more than an irritation on the bikes I have, but if the Rohloff's return spring isn't adequate, I can see it being a major problem. The issue with the bronze bearings is well-known, too, but only applies to bikes of a certain vintage. I think that BF stopped using the bronze bearings 5 years ago, and has used a steel bearing since then.

as for this:

>Wanted - Old fashioned track bars (curving immediately from the stem), Lyotard Marcel Berthaud Pedals, MKS GR9 Pedals

I can't believe that you can't get this stuff in the UK. American Cyclery in San Francisco (http://americancyclery.com/) can definitely provide you with the bars and MKS pedals. I think you're out of luck on the Lyotards though.

Me, I'd like to find some old-fashioned leather biking shoes to use with toe-clips

Thanks, but American Cyclery can't provide me the bars I'm looking for. Nobody makes them now - I've seen the Soma Major Taylors etc, but that's not the look I'm after. It's the 30's/40's look I want, as on the bike below. I can also get GR9's here, no problem, but I'm looking for someone with a used pair to trade. Likewise the Lyotards (which are long out of production). I'm a retrogrouch born and bred, and the bars, in particular, are to use on a 1940 frameset.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Samuelw72/BatesBars.jpg

Not sure why anyone reads AtoB. The ONLY cycle mag worth reading is Velovision (http://www.velovision.co.uk/index.html). Every issue a joy, and a good focus on folders, as well as all manner of other non-standard bike weirdness. A free online pdf of recent issue is here (http://www.exacteditions.com/exact/browse/399/442/1952/1/1)

I wanted to revive this interesting thread on AtoB. These are the lot that call the Brompton clone, the Merc a rubbish bike. If they have issues on it being a copy then don't mention it but don't mislead potential readers.

The very same magazine gave an unfavourable review of the Downtube FS which totally contradicts a much better and objective review from the folding society site on the very same bike. They promised to store the review bike for collection and then sold it on.

A review that judges a folder to be automatically better because it's British and to brag about their Bentley sums these types of people up. Who needs to subsribe to such bigoted rubbish when we have such a helpful and knowledgeable folding bike community here and then some very good reviews on the folding society pages too?

"... fold into a suitcase in 30 seconds"? Bike Friday claims that?

Neat handlebar adapter.

"... fold into a suitcase in 30 seconds"? Bike Friday claims that?


No, that's the "quickfold" time.

I'm an A to B subscriber, and I like the magazine for a lot of reasons - but I just had to shake my head when I read this article, it was so bad. I generally like the reviews by the magazine's regular reviewers, and although I can detect a slight Brompton bias, it's nothing like you see in this review.

(Although I do think that the Brompton is sort of underappreciated on this side of the pond, since you really do have to see the fold in person to understand why the Brommie is so popular for multimodal commuting *despite* the peculiar gearing and subpar brakes; if I had a particular kind of commute, I'd buy one in an instant).

(Although I do think that the Brompton is sort of underappreciated on this side of the pond, since you really do have to see the fold in person to understand why the Brommie is so popular for multimodal commuting *despite* the peculiar gearing and subpar brakes; if I had a particular kind of commute, I'd buy one in an instant).

I have a multimodal commute, and when I got my Strida (about three years ago, when the price was about $300) I wasn't completely thrilled with it, so I thought I'd try a Brompton for comparison. I rode my Strida to the store, and test rode a $1400 Brompton for a while. You're right, it's beautiful the way that thing folds up. But if you get beyond the way it folds up, it's a pretty dull bike, even disregarding the peculiar gearing and subpar brakes. When I got back on my Strida, I was astonished at how light and lively it felt; and the brakes work, too.

Since then, I continually wonder why people rave about the Brompton. It's not awful, but it's not great, and it's dreadfully expensive for what you get. So... what gives?

With this in mind, I read that ridiculous review, the one with the Bentley and the hot chick, and one thing became clear: If you show somebody two bikes, one priced at $1400 and the other at $300, and they assume the more expensive one is better, then you can't trust their objectivity. And that's why I don't read AtoB.

No, that's the "quickfold" time.

I did not think so. I am surprised that the editors let something go that is factually false.

I think I'm in love...with Laila.

Not sure why anyone reads AtoB. The ONLY cycle mag worth reading is Velovision (http://www.velovision.co.uk/index.html). Every issue a joy, and a good focus on folders, as well as all manner of other non-standard bike weirdness. A free online pdf of recent issue is here (http://www.exacteditions.com/exact/browse/399/442/1952/1/1)

No, the ONLY cycle mag worth reading is the Lauterbrunnental Leaflet (http://yehudamoon.com/index.php?date=2008-02-14)! :)

That is ace... We need more bike comic-strips...

Hey... I was full of bile the night I wrote the original post eh?

Nope LP you reconstituted their bile and put it into perspective lol!

I'd give the author more credence if the motor vehicle he loaded the folding bikes into was a Mini Cooper. Rolls? Bentley? Gimme a break!

I'd give the author more credence if the motor vehicle he loaded the folding bikes into was a Mini Cooper. Rolls? Bentley? Gimme a break!

And when the chauffeur the one is putting the bike in the vehicle, does it really matter how nice the fold is?

Well, I found a 2-speed hub good fun for the 1200 km (and about 10,000 m climb) of Paris-Brest-Paris but agree that YMMV.


That's quite an achievement! Can you recall what year it was & which bike you rode, out of interest?

I'd be interested to read a Birdy review from this girl:

http://stridasingapore.com/forum/index.php?topic=2112.new#new

I'd give the author more credence if the motor vehicle he loaded the folding bikes into was a Mini Cooper. Rolls? Bentley? Gimme a break!

This is the man in question (on right) from his site. Could he be any more of a British-upper-class stereotype... lolz!
http://www.bikebrothers.co.uk/andrewhague_files/nhah.jpg

He does appear to have earned his stripes as a genuine contributor to cycling though so maybe I'm being a bit harsh.
http://www.bikebrothers.co.uk/andrewhaguecycles.htm

A stunning bird on a stunning birdy :D

Pardon the expression ladies.

Lots of my female students think that folding bikes are the coolest thing ever. Isn't it wonderful that the growing base of users is no longer dominated by the male fraternity!

I quote Nekohime and missincredible as such examples.

I test rode a Birdy yesterday. It took me a while to get use to the somewhat stiffer steering but it is a stunning looking bike and pure quality in the frame and components. Fold is reasonably neat too. By the time I got a quote with a hub dynamo and some minor extras it came to £1500 ($2985) That was a deal killer, even on the UK cycle to work scheme with tax relief! I still covet one though when the time is right. The Birdy City with 8 speed hub gears in the anthracite colour. Stunning....................

He does appear to have earned his stripes as a genuine contributor to cycling though so maybe I'm being a bit harsh.
http://www.bikebrothers.co.uk/andrewhaguecycles.htmActually LP there are some very amenable British upper class types. You get all types of people across the social spectrum. However the bias to Brompton as a British marque would be unavoidable here. I love Bromptons and admire Andrew Ritchie for sticking to his principles. However, they are not the only great folding bike engineered on this planet as most of us know on this forum.

I cannot admire the family that run AtoB for the lack of objectivity in their reviews and outlook.
Recently, road tests elesewhere have questioned the Brompton's place at the top of the pile, but we can see no viable challengers. New scrummy titanium bits have put the bike back at the cutting edge. (AtoB website on guide to folding bikes)Give me a break Titanium is not cutting edge, carbon frame folders are. Besides Titanium only makes the Brompton slightly lighter and at the premium of £440 as an 'a la carte upgrade'. That's extremely poor bang for buck even if one argues the Brompton is a differentiated brand. 'No viable challengers'. Challengers in what? Fold compactness, ride quality, innovation, value for money, longevity? Dahon make folders that weigh below 8kg, Birdy and Bike Friday make some wonderful lifetime quality folding bikes with excellent versatility, and finally niche players like Downtube make good quality folders at accessible prices to all. Absolute drivel they are writing. This is not good objective journalism or information for prospective buyers.

Again, they rubbished the Downtube FS in a review in December 2007. This is in direct contradiction to most views on these forums and a review on the very same bike from the Folding Society. Now those guys are a decent lot and have great knowledge. Together with this forum group, the Folding Society and Sheldon Brown constitute a treasure trove of knowledge on folding bikes.

I just cannot understand why (some) british ppls fond of bromtons that much.
Brompton bikes do look very good and is pratical in many ways, but it is not 'better in every way'
I used to own a 3sped brompton for a while. I tried to commute with it but it was frustrating to climb 10% hills with its ridiculous high gear range and was scary to descend hills with poor caliper brakes..

And I still cannot understand why peoples are fitting HEAVY and EXPENSIVE rohloff gears to folders which are supposed to be 'portable'. You can buy entire dure ace, sram red or campy record groupset for just the price of hub, maybe plus a decent set of lightweight wheelset too.


One can build a really nice birdy mod with that budget, i.e. 20 speed DA or SRAM drivetrain / sub-1kg wheelset / Air suspension etc. Complete bike will weigh < 8kg and they will ride like a nice roadie.
Compare it to 13kg~ rohlloff bromptons and you can see who is the clear winner here...

The guy is arrogant, has an unpleasant and boastful style, but his conclusions seem fair, if you see past they arseholery. He doesn't say the Brompton is perfect for a 100 mile ride with the 3 speed, he says it's the only one on which he would attempt one, out of the box; and makes it clear that this is because of the major faults with the other two, all of which he details.

So I'd agree, he comes across as a complete arse, but at the same time, he seems to have something valid to say. Reminds me a little of Dutret, in the SS/FG forum!

That's pretty much my take. The "Ultimate Folding Bike" was devoloped basically on the thinking that the Brompton design is the best to build upon. I've been kind of pissed at some of the aspects of my tikit. (poor cable routing, lousy derailer/shifter, cheap chain ring, factory assemply was bad, no instructions, into a suitcase my ass, rides nothing like a big boy bike, though rides "different" and well, etc.) With a lot of tweaking, I've got it to where I like it now, but I was annoyed at the initial price because of how much I ended up replacing on it. Just the frame and the wheels/tires remain. If I were in the market for a second folder (and I'm not) I'd try a Brompton. Folding bikes need to fold, and that one folds really well.