Folding Bikes - Hyde Park meet June 1st 2008

Four of us turned up for the meet. Two of us found each other at the QE Gate and we then proceeded to the Boathouse where we managed to locate 2 other erstwhile Foldiniti. We couldn't locate Snafu21 (Sue) and hope you are OK! There were 4 of us (Me, Francis with the Brompton), Carl with the Pacific Reach, Ian with the Dahon Jestream and last but not least Nigel with his recently procured Hammerhead!

Some photos below. Will add more once I check the others are happy to have their photos posted! Please feel free to post any of me as bad as they might be!! :roflmao2:

We had a pleasant chat about bikes and then Carl kindly bought us all tea and we sat outside the Boathouse overlooking the lake. The weather turned out to be very pleasant after some downpour early in the morning. We then cycled around the perimeters of Hyde Park and into Kensington Gardens. We then sat at a bench for a while and also tried each others bikes out. It was great that all four of us had such markedly different bikes which made it all the more fun. Shows how interesting this genre of bikes is. Some passers by were even fascinated too and stopped to stare at the range of unusual bikes! The Brompton isn't that unusual normally but the raw lacquer finish does seem to draw some onlookers on occasion!

We also cycled up by Buckingham Palace (pictures pending) which was completely car free which was very nice. Carl came all the way from Leicester so it was a great sightseeing tour for him. Although I've been these routes on foot, I've never cycled them so it was still a great experience to cruise these areas on a folding bike!

Some photos below:

1) All the folders outside the Boathouse in Hyde Park London

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3239/2541841564_c346d103e0_b.jpg

2) Carl's Pacific Reach. Has a very neat clip on bag! A serious & very capable tourer. Pacific of Taiwan also make the frames for the excellent Birdy range of folders.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/2541844158_ebb905619a_b.jpg


3) Nigel's mad Hammerhead! Very fast cycle to ride, Really nice road bike and a veritable bargain at £250 clearance. Nigel is a real shark on this bike just like its namesake!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3276/2541846830_dd663a3d46_b.jpg

4) Ian's gadget laden Dahon Jetsteam which features ergon grips that I want so badly for my Brompton, once I get the handlebars and gearshifts modified!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2091/2541022837_37d9c5dccf_b.jpg

5) Yours truly with my raw lacquer Brompton (Also known as Nekohime's Internet Crush!), a small backpack and rain gear just in case the Gods didn't smile on us!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2308/2541850610_bb48a07134_b.jpg

CONGRATS to all the folderisti who made it, and got their Life Memberships of the HPFBS, and some great pix. Yours truly failed in style, having booked a hotel in London, got there on Saturday night, parked the car in Bloomsbury, and went carousing in Notting Hill. Stocked up on food & coffee thee night before, not to get one wink of sleep on Saturday night. Up at six am trying not to be ill and feeling like death warmed up. I blame the fish course.

Great to see the folders in the park though, and sorry I couldn't be there. Still feeling ropey 24 hours later. The salmon has got its revenge.

Next time.

Looks like you guys had a good time.

I'm really sorry I didn't make it - I was all prepared, set off on time then had a 5mm long pinch flat rip it's way through my front tyre bout a mile and a half into the journey, so had to limp home folded on a bus. Even a field patch wouldn't have saved me - I've fixed it this afternoon and it's already flat. And to think it was a new blimmin' tube yesterday too. Gah!...

But enough of my whining - glad it was a success and I truly hope to make the next one, [this subject to me not being on holiday :)

Huw

Looks like you guys had a good time.

I'm really sorry I didn't make it - I was all prepared, set off on time then had a 5mm long pinch flat rip it's way through my front tyre bout a mile and a half into the journey, so had to limp home folded on a bus. Even a field patch wouldn't have saved me - I've fixed it this afternoon and it's already flat. And to think it was a new blimmin' tube yesterday too. Gah!...

But enough of my whining - glad it was a success and I truly hope to make the next one, [this subject to me not being on holiday :)

Huw

Sorry to hear your misfortune LP. Actually mentioned to to other guys why the forum's finest Brompton owner and honorary folding bike poser didn't turn up to show off his fine steed!

LP, don't you think it's worth the tiniest weight gain and small increase in rolling resistance to employ Schwalbe Marathons on your rather fine bike? We were only talking about this trade-0ff today.

CONGRATS to all the folderisti who made it, and got their Life Memberships of the HPFBS, and some great pix. Yours truly failed in style, having booked a hotel in London, got there on Saturday night, parked the car in Bloomsbury, and went carousing in Notting Hill. Stocked up on food & coffee thee night before, not to get one wink of sleep on Saturday night. Up at six am trying not to be ill and feeling like death warmed up. I blame the fish course.

Great to see the folders in the park though, and sorry I couldn't be there. Still feeling ropey 24 hours later. The salmon has got its revenge.

Next time.


Get well soon Sue and hope to see both you and LP next time. Sorry to hear of both your misfortunes but most of all glad to hear you are safe!

Sorry to hear your misfortune LP.
I was mighty piddled. It deflated like a motorway blowout - I actually wobbled!


Actually mentioned to to other guys why the forum's finest Brompton owner and honorary folding bike poser didn't turn up to show off his fine steed!
Well I don't know about words like 'finest' when it lets me down so but nice to have been missed. At a pinch I could have set off again on the Twenty but that's off the road with no bars at this exact moment so would have been mega late and without a special folder-scope on my night vision googles would not have easily have found y'all even if I'd made it.



don't you think it's worth the tiniest weight gain and small increase in rolling resistance to employ Schwalbe Marathons on your rather fine bike?
You should see the tyres I'm GOING to fit..haha! I never learn! (19mm Primo Champs)
Seriously though - when I first started riding my 406 wheeled Twenty it had Stelvios and Marathon Slicks (I don't think they make them any more... Anyone?) and I seemed to get about the same amount of flats with either tyre. Admittedly Marathons have more tread than Marathon slicks but even so - the 'kevlar' didn't seem to do squat. Same with Conti Grand Prix. The cheapest tyres I've ever bought - 23 mm slicks for my 700c bike have never punctured in literally hundreds of miles so I think 99% of punctures seem to be about luck and 1% about the protection of the tyre.

And anyway - today's mishap was a pinch-flat on the inner of the tube for no real reason I can assertain. Could just as easily have happened with Diamond-encrusted Kevlar/Carbon Weave Battletyres™. :)

Sorry I didn't get the chance to meet you all anyway. Missed my tea and cake; Oh and get well soon Sue!

Looked like fun, hopefully the meet will grow (from little acorns...!). I notice Ian's Jetstream seatpost is almost as scratched up as mine. I think Dahon messed up on that, the black ones seem to get marked really easily- I bought a nearly new one on eBay to replace the one on my XP, and it's going the same way, even though I hardly lower it. And it's still rather stiff...really handy for the Nocturne race, not!! He has almost as many gadgets as me...I've got the Ergons, light fittings, reflectors, wireless cadence computer...and the DualDrive 'breezeblock' (a weighty but useful bit of kit) in the rear wheel.
Might join you some time, would be cool to check out some different machines.

LP, you're right about Marathon Slicks. Discontinued in favour of the Racer, but still available on an eBay shop. I'm not going to comment about puncture-worthiness of 'regular' Marathons in case I curse myself :)

We need to see pix of the coffee and buns. (Oh g*d, please don't mention food. )

Next meet 1st Sunday in July. Congrats to all, again.

That Pacific Reach, it looks quite desirable.

Hmmmm.

72921

All three bikes again...

72918

...and more lacquery goodness from the Brommie.

Great morning out, guys. Thanks, and am happy for you to post any pictures of me - if you really have to... :eek: Nearly didn't make it myself despite having the shortest journey to get there, and all on an empty stomach, but will definitely make an effort for July.

Ian

Sue, Sorry not to have met you on Sunday - I hope that you are now fully recovered. Perhaps you would like to give your Hammerhead an outing on June 14th in Bicester (your neck of the woods) - the next Folding Society Origami ride is scheduled for that date (you are probably well aware of this - perhaps you are even the organiser??) - details will be on the website (http://www.foldsoc.co.uk/origami/index.html).

I enjoyed reading your review of the Hammerhead on there bye the way - refreshing to see an injection of humour!

I never saw the point of Hammerheads/Smooth Hounds/Grooves - until I tried Nigel's Hammerhead on Sunday - great fun!

Hi All.

My g/f just had a ride on my HH7. "Why does it have those silly little wheels?" Five minutes later: " My G*d, that thing goes like a *%^%^&*^&*!"

The point of them is to be utterly impractical, and stupidly fast.

Thanks for heads up on Bicester Origami ride, I'll try and get there if house move permits.

Sue