Folding Bikes - I gave myself asthma coming home today

When I got off the bus, I just hit the ground sprinting on alicestrong's bike. Now, you all know I'm a pootler, but today was special and I needed to ride home as fast as I could. One mile into my journey home I began feeling my lungs seize up, but I kept hammering. On the hill right before my place my lungs were in total pain, but I still kept hammering. On my driveway I felt like I was gonna die, but I threw open my front door, and guess what was waiting for me?

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SdF0uuk3iUc/SdQUKdpCV5I/AAAAAAAAB5I/oYfTtj6Lo2M/s800/100_0230.JPG

Racer green M6L, with schwalbe marathon tires and pump. Totally worth the asthma!! :thumb:

Big thank you to alicestrong, for lending me her bike these past couple of months, which enabled me to pool up the funds to buy my dream bike. :love:

edit: better pics coming soon; I was just so excited about it that I had to post within 5min of opening the box, lol.

Way to go Nekohime! Love that bike too! That was really grand of Alicestrong to lend you her bike.:thumb:
Ernest

Yeah, if it wasn't for alice, I would be eating only seaweed and rice from now until...around June. :p

I'll post some comparison pics of alice's classic dahon stowaway and my brommie later, before I return it to alice.

NICE! I want to see some action shots. :)

nice one. i wonder when will i be able to get a nice folder like that.........hmmm let me take a nap and dream....

vic

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I have what I think are the exact same floor tiles in my kitchen. Sad to say I can not grace them with such a beautiful machine.

Envy is pumping through my veins. I think I will have to go out on my Brompton knock off and calm down.

I have what I think are the exact same floor tiles in my kitchen. Sad to say I can not grace them with such a beautiful machine.

Envy is pumping through my veins. I think I will have to go out on my Brompton knock off and calm down.

Yeah, that is my kitchen too. Or the part of the kitchen that meets the hallway and dining room, anyway.

I promptly removed the Brompton decal before the parental units got home. If anyone asks, it's a merc, ok? Don't tell my mom I spent over a grand on a bike. :p

I won't tell as long as I can have a go on it.

Only a grand?

Tell her you're lucky it's not a top of the range Friday.

Oh, and where are the rest of the pictures?

Oh, and where are the rest of the pictures?

I was at work today and didn't get a chance to take it out for a proper spin yet...:cry: But here are a couple of the other hastily taken pics from right out of the box:

Fully folded

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Park position

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Tomorrow I will only be in the office for half a day, so I will take her out for a proper spin and take lots of pretty pics!

Hope you are really enjoying your new Brompton:thumb:

Just wanted to warn you about the left folded peddle.... you should really unfold the peddle first before swinging the rear wheel from its “parked” position, otherwise you risk catching the peddle on your rear frame and scraping the paint. Also leave the peddle as the last thing to fold when folding the bike.

As regards being expensive, well, yes they are compared to a lot of cheaper bikes... but a Brompton is only expensive if it is left in a cupboard and rarely used. Bromptons hold their value well so just think of it as an investment.

Hey Nekohime, congratulations on your new bike!

As promised, comparison pics between the Classic Dahon Stowaway and the Brompton M6L (which I have named Vendetta C. Ritchey--C for Cornelia), plus a mini-review of both bikes.

Side-by-side, unfolded, both at maximum extension: the brommie has a longer wheelbase, but not by much--just a couple of inches. However, the brommie has much more cockpit room than the dahon. I am more stretched out on the brommie, but I don't know yet if that is better. I think I like the upright and swept-back bars of the dahon better, but I haven't ridden the brommie enough to get used to it, so we'll see after a couple of weeks if I still prefer a more upright position.

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This pic has the brommie set to my liking, and the dahon set to my 13yo little brother's liking. Yes, he likes the handlebars waaaaaay high.

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Folded pics: hands down, the brompton is the winner when it comes to folding down. Although to me, it seems that the two bikes have almost the same folded size, the brommie is much neater and thinner, and it will fit into tight spaces on full buses better.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SdF0uuk3iUc/Sdf67tDRk3I/AAAAAAAAB7E/CIv2p6tlElw/s800/P6250678.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SdF0uuk3iUc/Sdf7ZHnS2mI/AAAAAAAAB7c/O7tkdCNWIY8/s800/P6250675.JPG

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Nitpicky comparison points: I truly dislike the brompton saddle. Ugh. Will replace it with an Electra cruiser saddle like Folder Fanatic has on hers and like what was on my Piccolo. The dahon one, cheap though it is, is surprisingly comfortable for my tush. Both saddles have bag loops, which are fun.

The brakes on the dahon are drum brakes, which, if not squealy, would have been much better than the brommie brakes, which are extremely mushy. Cable hang is heinous on both bikes, though at least the brompton cables do not get in the way of the fold like the dahon's sometimes do. Also, the dahon's pedal gets in the way of the fold sometimes, but the brompton's never does.

Weight-wise, the brommie, even with hub gear and derailleur, is much lighter than the dahon with hub brakes and derailleur. The dahon is built like a tank and is as heavy as one too. However, both are a very stable and non-flexy ride.

And finally, an action shot of the Brommie:

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Bonus pic--Charlotte (Univega Arrowspeed Mixte) and Vendetta hugging. Awwww...:love: I named them that as an inside joke between me and teh bf (watch Making Fiends to be enlightened).

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Very nice, neko! :beer:

Very nice! How did you get your Brompton for only $1k?

Very nice! How did you get your Brompton for only $1k?

It's last year's model, so they had it on sale. Got it from clevercycles.com for a wee bit over $1100, including shipping. Highly recommend them, by the way; they are very helpful and respond to phone or email questions very quickly!

Why not get a Brooks saddle?

I think it'd be a perfect match for a British classic.

Why not get a Brooks saddle?

I think it'd be a perfect match for a British classic.

I think so too. I will eventually get a honey special flyer for it, but right now I can't justify the expense yet. I need to spend on the more needed upgrades like the bag w/ frame and carrier block, better brake pads and levers, ergon grips, and mirror.