Without a doubt, Brompton - the
bicycle and the people behind it - are
pure genius. It's design and function
are pushing envelopes and boundaries all over the place and with the worldwide
following of fellow Bromptonites all over the world who am I to argue?
The
small wheeled but super powerful design and functionality is second to none. Not
the lightest but definitely the neatest.
Folding it up like a pocket handkerchief and leaving it under a desk, on
a train or in a shopping trolley it has become a working accessory.
The new kid in town is Brompton
Junction - a Brompton run shop, cafe and workshop on Long Acre in Covent Garden. The shop itself is the kind of creation which the late Steve Job would approve. Brilliant design, great pics, permanent
showing of the various worldwide Championships, excellent coffee and a bit of a
cool place to be.
The number of Bromptonites
whizzing around London is so high that quite soon there will be nearly see as many Brommies as there
are buses. And we all know who will be having the most fun...!
With the passion of its
followers being so high, Bromptonites are becoming a bit like groupies
following a rock band. Buying every
album, knowing every fold time and now there are a whole series of Brompton World
Championships in many, many countries. A
couple of years ago, I saw that particular years video and was caught up by a Bromptonite
saying "well any World Championship that automatically makes you a World
Champion just for competing...." What a result I thought!
So BWC 2013 included me and I loved it! An
absolute hoot. The attention to detail in working out the wardrobe took weeks! Goodness
knows how many of us arrived at Goodwood looking like something out of The
Great Gatsby. Definitely not about the winning but the taking part. Pimms, picnics and portraits - an absolutely
brilliant day that totally hid the fact - rather like Mrs Tiggywinkle -
that underneath it all, it was in
theory nothing other than a bike ride. Hilarious!
I bought my Brommie just over
two years ago. A friend of mine said I could have any colour that I wanted as long
as it was black!! He was so right. I am the accessory on the bike so I can wear
whatever colours I like. As a bicycle it's
nothing like any other bike I have ridden - apart from the enormous amount of
fun that cycling brings.
I had a big and unexpected
disaster with mine in that putting cleats on it, then folding and unfolding it
several times over five days I never quite managed a way of matching where the
seat height should be and I therefore put quite a lot of stress on my knee
which has taken quite a lot of money to repair and although now much, much better it is still not
fixed.
But, after the good work of
physiotherapy, I can't quite stop myself from riding my Brommie. Every. Single. Day!! I have just signed up for a Brompton London
Club (which is basically a Brompton London Fan Club!) ride from Reading to
Richmond in a couple of weeks. I have,
with some trepidation, put some new cleats (Speed Play) on it and am increasing
my speed a weency bit.
This week, my Brommie's annual service was due so I booked mine in at Fitzrovia Bicycles in New Cavendish Street who could do the full service apart from one pin thing that only Brompton can fit. I booked the pin in
with Brompton and headed off to Covent Garden.
What a place and despite my reticence with my knee issues I have been
bowled over.
The staff were fantastic. From the Marvellous Mechanic via The Awesome Assistant Manager right up to The Magnificent Manager
they really were top top top! I asked the Assistant Manager what he thought the effect on bike shops in the
area that sell Bromptons would be and he explained that as they don't offer the
Cycle to Work Scheme customers do and will continue to buy their Brommies from
their local bike shops. The manager took
my feedback on board about my knee and about the straps on the Ortlieb bag
which are too short. (The O bag)
In booking in my Brommie, it
seemed there had been a mix up on when I needed it back and rather than make me
reschedule my whole diary and various appointments, he simply took a new
Brompton from the shelf and gave it to me as a demonstration/loan model and let
me ride into my life. Before he did
this, he took a pair of scissors to the stem and made a scratch on what the
seat height should be so I didn't aggravate my knee. I nearly fell over in amazement. Outstanding.
He then arranged to have my Brompton delivered to Fitzrovia Bicycles for
its service. Well, if I had been on my
bicycle I would have fallen over. This
is why Brompton is at the top of the market.
Top product matched by outstanding customer service. When he then offered to have the
demonstration bike collected from Fitzrovia Bicycles I put my foot down and said that he
had already gone beyond the pale and that I would work that one out.
I carried about my world and
thoroughly enjoyed riding the new Brompton.
There was one thing though and I can hardly believe I am going to write
this down but I found myself co-ordinating my wardrobe with my red Brompton. Out went the pink Gore Jacket and in came the
black Rapha and black and red Castelli jacket.
How ridiculous but how totally important it is to look uber cool (as humanly
possible that is) on a Brommie.
Many Brommie owners I know cycle big distances - London to John O'Groats, London to Paris, London to Geneva sort of thing without even thinking about it. I don't
think I am going to cycle to Scotland on it but Reading to Richmond -
here I come!! Thank you Brompton. Truly. I am a complete convert. It's only a question of time until The Oxford Dictionary lists Brompton - the way of doing things brilliantly.
