Grocery Shopping with the Brompton
 

I feel as if this has been covered before, but I don't think one can get enough of grocery shopping with the Brompton. Certainly I cannot.

I have just made a post about the pleasantness of going to the supermarket in Manhattan with the Brompton.

http://www.bromptonyc.com/2012/11/gr...-brompton.html

cheers.

Nice write up!

I'm going in to order a new Brompton this morning. Looks like I'll have to buy one of those nifty folding baskets once my bank account has recovered a bit. :love:

It's a habit that, for me, is now firmly entrenched. I'm surprised though that you find it easy without a rack, due to reasons of stability/balance.

I have one set of EZ wheels but no rear rack. Certainly I keep balance in mind when placing items in the basket (ie. i don't overload one side of the basket). The bike would tip over if I put all the heavy items towards one side. That said, I have had no big issues with grocery shopping regularly with the bike.

Does the front wheel touch the ground?

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You should probably go talk to them about it.

What do they do with my two links below?

FWIW, There are a lot of internet filtering sites. Most of them do silly things. You might make more progress pushing a big rock up a hill than trying to get them all "up-to-date"

hmmm talk with who about it exactly?

When I roll the bike, I lift the bike by the handlebar slightly so it is rolling on only the two rear ez wheels and the front wheel is not touching the floor

Yeah, I do the same except I use an S stem with aberhallo extender and flat handlebar. This allows me to control the bike with one hand in the middle of the bar, occasionally using the other hand for extra control. It's a very tidy system and really works great in smaller supermarkets.

Very instructive, especially for folks who have no idea what a folding bike is and how they might use it - hey, that's most everybody.

Lou

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Personally, I find the shoppingcart feature a gimmick. I would have to worry to much about the bike tipping over. The rack version that I have doesn't turn well either so now you have to lift the frontend as well. I like to have both hands available to pick out groceries and what not. Also I don't think the store would appreciate it if I stuff the non-paid stuff with all my junk in the bag or mix it with things I bought at a different store just prior. What works great is folding it up and placing the bike into the shopping cart. It likes to get a little pampered as well. ;)

It's not a gimmick! I do it every week! Hah.



I understand your qualms though.

1) balance i find to be not too much of an issue if you balance the load properly (ie. do not put all the heavy stuff to one side). Also, you can lean it against the shelf / side of a wall momentarily if you do feel it in danger of tipping over. i find that rarely have i had to hold onto my brompton for support or lean it against a wall to help it stand. Maybe my brompton just balances well... i have even put assymetric loads into the basket and have been able to keep it balanced.



2) Also understand your qualms about being mistaken for shoplifting! i find that more to be the case with a closed type bag such as the S bag or the courier bag. With an open basket, i have never felt like there was any suspicion whatsoever by the stores on me.



if all else fails or if these qualms still exist, certainly you can do the pampering thing and put your brompton in the shopping cart :).

Folded bike would probably fit in the Under basket shelf on a shopping cart, if not inside it.

I don't have a Brompton. I'll probably never have a Brompton, but if I did, I would totally take it shopping and use it like a shopping cart. That's just too cool. :)

Now that its in mode to bring ones own shopping bags, lots of people just fill up their own bags instead of grabbing carts. As long as your being consistent about it (e.g., only putting things in your cart and not in the pockets of your coat), I don't think you'll have a problem at most stores (at least not most stores I tend to frequent).

Cheers,
Charles

You would think so until you saw the size of the shopping carts they use in NYC...

So they are not uberbig, like the Costco ones..

That looks far more civilized than me improvising on my Birdy with no rack!

http://paularickert.net/albums/userp...e-shopping.JPG

This is a great point I will take a picture of my Brompton inside of the standard sized shopping carts they have at Whole foods or Trader Joe's supermarkets in Manhattan and share! they certainly do fit inside a shopping cart with space to spare for groceries

My XL-sized Tikit fits fine in a cart. Your Brompton would be a tidier package yet.

in the cake mix isle... ;)

Such an elegant looking bike, lovely.

Good post.

I have a Brompton with no rear rack and didn't think you could go shoping unless one purchased the version with the rear rack. I'll buy the special rear wheels and see how it works.

On another note, I've been to that market you went to on a Saturday afternoon. What a jungle!!! LOL. It was so packed with people, I just left because the lines moved so slowly. Don't misunderstand, it's a great store and wish there was one by my house. However, I will never go there ever again during the afternoon on a weekend. I can just imagine how full that store must have been the day before Thanksgiving!

Could not agree more!

that's why I only go during off peak hours, an hour or two before closing, at like 9 or 10 pm is perfect. the bike makes late night grocery shopping a breeze (no need to wait 20 mins for the subway / bus etc).

the lines are ridiculous on a weekend afternoon, just not worth the brain damage