GoKawiilI was chatting to a friend about my folding bike and I had the urge to write about it - because this falls in the category of “Things I wish I’d had decades ago”. And maybe I can encourage some others to try these wonderful devices.
Note: I’m 3 months into a new job so blogging has taken a back seat to drinking from a firehose of new domain knowledge, new people, new tech. I’m still playing with AI-assisted coding, but at a slower pace - I do hope to blog more about this when things calm down.
12 years ago I started cycling in London, commuting by train, and I used the bicycle hire scheme mis-named at the time “Boris Bikes”. It was OK but a bit of a hassle - bikes were heavy, payment was fiddly, and often the hire racks would be empty in the morning and full in the evening.
So I followed the advice of other commuters and got this beautiful device - it cost £1000 at the time, a fair bit of money, but on a Ride to Work scheme I could pay this weekly over a year, so it was £4 a week, pre-tax, which made it quite affordable.
It’s a Brompton - and they are a marvellous brand, but I don’t want to just say “Get a Brompton” as I’m sure other brands must be competing in this space - and Bromptons are pricey. So do your own research.
I also (after a couple of annoying flats) got puncture-proof Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres - and I haven’t had a single puncture since.
And like I said at the start - I so wish I’d had something like this years and years ago. So many years of commuting in Melbourne where I’d walk slowly to a station, or drive to a station and have to cram into busy parking. So many years where my bike would languish in a shed, probably with flat tyres because I only got it out on specific “exercise” attempts.
The folding bike:
Lives in my study. I have a nicer bike in the shed but almost never get it out because the bike in my study is so convenient.
Can be carried in one hand - it’s heavy, about 12kg plus bags, but that’s ok for short distances.
... continue reading