I've wanted to try a Brompton for a while now. Seems like the perfect combo of usability, practicality, and portability. And, as usual with anything I'm looking at, a rip-off price to suit.

So far, the only thing I've owned that I've been happy with are Twenties. Current Dahons leave me uninterested, and I absolutely can't stand how lousy their aluminum stems are. A Mini Velo ought to be fun though; all the benefits of a diamond frame with the small wheel combo. I've seen Bike Friday framesets, never ridden one, but they look promising.

I did pick up a Riese & Müller Birdy BD-1 a few years back. That thing easily beat the Moulton for weirdness. It also suffered from the too-long top tube issue (thank you, flat bars), folded like crap, didn't stay folded, and wouldn't stand upright when folded. I got it for less than anyone has ever paid for one of them (I paid more for the Moulton, and even that was cheaper than they usually come), and not even low price could get me to appreciate the thing. It was a complete pile of dog doo and I don't regret getting rid of it for a second. The forum software won't let me say what I really think of it, but believe me, it involves words form an infamous George Carlin routine.



I rode the thing home from work one Halloween eve, if you find Twitter threads of interest:

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-Kurt