JV Helped Bicycle Inventor

Brompton's are brilliant, a 9 kg performance folding bike for this age of congestion and global warming. JV obviously came in at a critical early stage in their company's development.

Nick

There is considerable interest in the boating crowd for folding bikes. Much quicker than walking. Ideal compact transport for a quick spin round the town to do some shopping then back to the marina. Stow the bike(s) away and set sail again. I was surprised to see how many there were around the harbours this summer. Presumably many are PRC-made. Like almost everything else these days.

When I picked up my T6 a couple of years ago another guy came in the shop and bought two for his yacht (one for him and one for the girlfriend/crew).

Nick

Oh come on, no one needs six gears on a yacht, a two speed Moulton would do nicely.

I took my wife's T6 up to Tottenham Court Road to buy an iPod last bank holiday, locked it to a lamp post, was in a shop no more than 90 seconds and when I came out, yup, the lock was coiled on the pavement and the bike was gone. I've now becaome an avid reader of message boards telling you how to make your bicycle unattractive to thiefs. When the insurance comes through, we'll be getting another Brompton, damn fine bikes, although the new lightweight ones are a tad on the expensive side.

Diode100,

Sorry to hear about the loss of your wife's T6. I simply never bring a padlock with me so that I am not tempted to leave the bike outside (in Dublin, bicycle vandalism is as much of a problem as theft). So far no shop or bus driver has refused the folded bike. If I am going to the cinema or a restaurant then I bring its black fabric cover.

I'm currently looking at the possibility of the superlight version with 2 gears to take as carry-on luggage on aircraft.

Nick

There is a conversion kit which swaps the Brompton trolly wheels for some skateboard wheels with decent bearings, which is supposed to be quite an improvement when trundling the bike around.

The new model uses just the derailleur mechanism with two sprockets to get the two gears. I've tried a Moulton with a two speed Sachs hub gear, you pedal backwards a quarter turn to trip the change mechanism, it also has a coaster brake, a neat solution.

As to thief-proofing a bike, I found this on a message board:-

Yay! I'm an expert on this. Okay so here are my ten steps to a theft-proof
bike:

1. Spraypaint... the cheaper the better. Spray the whole bike frame and
make sure to spraypaint the tires and grips, too. It makes it look like the
owner is really dumb. Put some scratches in the paint so it doesn't look so
cherry. This should be easy to do since the spraypaint will probably just
flake off just by you looking at it funny.

2. Stickers! Get so many stickers that you're almost inhaling them. Get
them from your local radio station. The flashier the better. Apply
stickers to everything on the bike, especially the frame. Make sure to do
the saddle, too.

3. Duct tape! Put random duct tape bits so that they look like they're
actually trying to hold something together. Tape the saddle, too... this
makes the bike really cry out "I am a shitbomb!"

4. Cover up any and all brand names and models.

5. Put a crappy, broken, bent rack on the back for ultra-nerd factor. Add
rusty fenders and baskets to taste. Nobody wants a dorky bike.

6. Attach as many broken reflectors and light mounts as you can on the
handlebars, seatpost and seatstays. These will make it seem like the owner
keeps breaking lights, buying new ones, and never getting rid of the old
mounts.

7. Place tennis balls and cards in the spokes, and of course bar plugs with
streamers coming out. That might scare off even the seasoned thieves.

8. Apply the biggest, most gaudy bell... no wait, horn... on the bike...
something like this Barbie Deluxe Bicycle Horn:
Tell your son to honk it within 100 feet of any human or animal.

9. If you want to go overboard, find a cosmetically rusty chain and cassette
and put those on.

10. Lock up the bike with both a non-pickable u-lock and a cable lock!

If his bike gets stolen, I'll be impressed.