Originally Posted by
HGR3inOK
Our shop in Oklahoma City may be your nearest Brompton dealer. We often work by appointment since many of our customers are outside the OKC area.
Thanks! I just might be in touch. I'm going to try to get in touch with a local owner to take one for test ride.
Originally Posted by
berlinonaut
The thing is that there are best practices regarding ergonomics and some of them are counter-intuitive. One of those is that a wide, massively padded saddle feels more comfortable when testing but is in fact less comfortable to harmful when riding, another is that a higher handlebar-position is more comfortable. Again this is true when trying it out and proves to be false when riding a distance more than a couple of kms.
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Thanks for the in-depth response! those pictures are extremely helpful. I was going to ask you to clarify "ergonomic" from you previous post, but this did it perfectly.
Originally Posted by
bargainguy
OP, I know you're jonesing for a Brommie, but I really recommend not buying any bike until you have a chance to test ride and go over it first, much less a folder. If this is your first ride on a Brompton, or on any folder, you owe it to yourself. Saves a lot of trouble and heartache later on.
I do think this is good advice. I found the blog of a Brompton M owner less than 30 minutes from me, so I'm hoping to reach out to him in the least creepy way possible, and see if there's any chance he'd let me take his bike for a spin.
Originally Posted by
badmother
My
experience (not opinion) is that if a person want to ride upright to want to ride at all then for gods sake let them do so! If they ride more and more (and the body is in fair condition) they wil after some time seek towards the position you tell us is the best- becouse theyr body is then stronger and they are interested in riding faster, further and more effectivly. If you try to force them to start off in that position most of them are going to stop riding wery soon, unless they have to keep riding for some time (like economy or no drivers license) but they are not going to enjoy it.
I hope we can agree that riding upright is better than not riding at all?
This is an interesting thing for me to consider. I'm 28, pretty young and spry, and I'm already used to the bent over position of drop bars (or their hoods, to be accurate). So If the slightly bent position is an "evolution"/point people try to get to, it seems that I could "skip" the H. The problem is, I'm just not sure that's something I want. The whole reason this journey started was to find a more upright bike from what I currently have. I'm sick of looking at the pavement in front of me, and having to crane my neck to enjoy my surroundings. My interest in going fast is minimal. Sure, it's fun to speed around a bit, but my rides can generally be described as leisurely. I ride so that I can be outside, enjoying my surroundings. I ride to think. As a writer, I like to poke along and let me mind wander a bit.