Comments on: Perhaps It Has Begun!

By: Shopping, Sightseeing, Science | Cosmic Variance

Shopping, Sightseeing, Science | Cosmic Variance — Tue, 23 May 2006 01:27:50 +0000

[...] At this point, I should rant on -as I have in the past- about how silly it is that people now have stuck in their heads that the current wheel size is somehow the end of the story and they automatically assume that if your bike has smaller wheels (and all the advantages you get from that…like being able to fold it up very small and carry it on your shoulder!!) that somehow it is not a real bike anymore as they are somehow “too small”, and how it seems to make no difference reminding them of the existence of gears which help to compensate, just as they did before in moving from penny-farthing to “regular bike”. Makes no difference. Sigh….head-bang-on-desk-noise. But I’ll hold my tongue, and just point here. [...]

By: Relatively Pleasant | Cosmic Variance

Relatively Pleasant | Cosmic Variance — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 02:16:49 +0000

[...] It is that time of year again. Because I am insane, I am teaching -by choice- two classes this semester. One of them is quite small, having 12 students, the other is not. The small class is my electricity and magnetism class. With a class this small, it is nice sometimes to have a change of scenery, and -if the material can handle it- I show up one sunny Spring day (after the hard slog through rainy Winter days) and declare that we are going outside to sit under a tree. There are several lovely spaces on the USC campus perfectly suited to this, and so we go outside. Last year, when I first had the idea for doing this, eventually I thought to buy a little portable whiteboard in case I need to write or draw something. (I discovered that the board fits perfectly into my Brompton’s front carrier bag, sticking pleasantly out of the top as I cycle along!) [...]

By: Angelic Grad School Interview | Cosmic Variance

Angelic Grad School Interview | Cosmic Variance — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 17:33:55 +0000

[...] (3) (Ok. Three things of note.) He seems to have forgotten what must have been the weirdest thing of all. As we were walking along wheeling my bike (the ever-wonderful Brompton) two British visitors cycled by and one of them was riding a Brompton. Of course, they shouted out, pulled over and we chatted for a while, and together shook our heads in lamentation of the lack of other such bikes in the region, etc. They were on a conference visit, and had popped their folders into a suitcase, just as I described in an earlier post. They were then able to appreciate LA properly by cycling around. Needless to say, I was over the moon about this, and enthused about it for a while. [...]

By: Commuting, I | Cosmic Variance

Commuting, I | Cosmic Variance — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 06:40:31 +0000

[...] So I’ve spoken here about my frustrations about the myths about Los Angeles, and the fact that so much is missed by many because they’re in their cars. In particular I’ve spoken about public transport (such as the fact that it exists but almost nobody uses it), and I’ve spoken about walking, and cycling. But it must seem all so abstract. So in a fit of frustration at not being able to bring you all along with me and just show you, I decided the day after I did this post that I’d take you with me on one of those mornings when I decide on the way to the bus stop that I’m not going to stop for the bus….. I’m going to go all the way to work on the bike. Yes….the cute little Brompton that everyone living in a city should have to displace their car activity. (I dream, I know.) (See for example here, and here.) [...]

By: Found! | Cosmic Variance

Found! | Cosmic Variance — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 03:22:09 +0000

[...] So I found the other Brompton! (See this link for background on why this is a big deal.) I saw it yesterday parked (poor thing) near a bench, but did not have my camera, and I was hosting the colloquium speaker (Chetan Nayak….he came to give that colloquium I saw him give in Aspen, which I described in some detail here) and so it would have looked a bit odd to have run screaming back to my office to get my camera (I’ve been carrying it every day since the last sighting, except yesterday of course). [...]

By: Alejandro Rivero

Alejandro Rivero — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 19:48:34 +0000

By the way, I was just thinking on another way to get into the tram... line.

By: Clifford

Clifford — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 23:42:58 +0000

Lee, Paul, others…Thanks so much for your comments and personal stories. So I’m not a nutcase (or if I am, I’m in good company!) It’s so great to know I’m not alone in this!! We’re way ahead of our time….I hope others join in one day soon!

Cheers,

-cvj

By: Clifford

Clifford — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 23:39:24 +0000

Paul, Lee! Much of what you say sounds just like what I say! I also find that it is great for beating parking issues. Just came back from shopping in Venice and Santa Monica wher eI just parked several blocks away for free and got the bike and its detachable front tote-bag out and hit all the shops I wanted to….

See my earlier posts (see top of the main post whose thread this is) for my description of taking my bike to Aspen in a Samsonite case….etc.

Cheers,

-cvj

By: Clifford

Clifford — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 23:35:46 +0000

Tom Renbarger: Thanks for the couplet! That is not the best logic to use!Using the car as a measure of how much you should spend on a bike is an arbitrary metric. If you must bring up the relative monetary concern, then consider this. If you use it enough, it’ll pay for itself in the amount of gas you don’t use, the amount of parking you don’t pay for, and more importantly: the amount of fun you have, the better health you’ll have, the less time you spend looking for parking, the more people you’ll meet as a result of all the conversations you’ll start, and the general feeling of well being you’ll have from knowing you’ll do the right thing.

Cheers,

-cvj

By: Tom Renbarger

Tom Renbarger — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 21:01:56 +0000

I must admit, reading through this post and its comments, and seeing the name “Brompton” prominently involved has caused the following couplet to run through my head for a while:

“Ain’t nothin’ but a ‘B’ thang, baby
One fold-up biker goin’ crazy”

Anyways, having gotten that out of my system, the fold-up bicycle idea has piqued my interest, but I sense that I would have to get over the fact that the bike would cost about a third of the price of my (used, obviously) car. For some reason that I am presently unable to articulate, this could be a psychological barrier to buying a Brompton.

By: Paul

Paul — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 00:03:03 +0000

I’ve been riding a Dahon Boardwalk D7 for about three months now and love it. (It may be an inferior brand, but at $300 is one of the cheapest good-quality folders available. Most are hundreds of dollars more. Still, it seems to be solidly built and is showing not much more wear than I would expect from an ordinary bike.) With some disassembly it fits into a 29″ Samsonite suitcase and comes in under 50 lbs, so I am able to bring it as checked baggage on an airplane without paying for oversize/overweight luggage. I’ve ridden it all over Santa Fe and Aspen and found it very easy to ride up the hills in both places. At home I use it to commute all the time (though it’s very flat here in central Illinois); it’s added a lot of flexibility to my commute, since if weather or evening plans have me catching a ride home in a bus or car, I can still use my bike the next morning.

There is something of a ‘cool factor’ to these bikes, but there’s also a certain potential barrier to doing things one doesn’t see anyone else doing. I seem to be the only person in town with one of these bikes. (And the only cosmologist not using a Powerbook.) So I cope with the ‘warning — not fitting in!’ messages by telling myself that I’m getting people’s attention for a good cause. I’m glad to see others out there also see these things as a means of popularizing bicycle commuting. As gas prices continue to go up, I think the argument will become easier to make.

Besides, I’m having a great time.

By: Lee

Lee — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 18:04:15 +0000

I bought a folding bike several months ago after encountering one while doing an internet search regarding bicycles in general (sorry, I’m afraid the bike is one of those inferior brands, not a Brompton). I was immediately impressed with the possibilities of its use and have found that, in practice, I take advantage of those possibilities. I agree with Clifford that performance and stability issues do not arise and although I have not yet owned the bike long enough to compare a folder’s longevity to other bikes, I believe that the bike is built quite soundly. Furthermore, I’ve ridden the bike as far as twelve miles and have found it just as comfortable as a full-sized bike.

Even if there were some issues in these regards, however, the convenience of folders would overcome them in my mind. Before purchasing this bike, I hadn’t ridden in years. Now, I commute to work, riding part of the way and then taking public transport the remainder of the way if necessary. Although many buses now have racks, I like the security of carrying the folded bike onto the bus with me (think rear end collision by the bus with another vehicle). I also find that being able to throw the bike into the trunk of my car more convenient than keeping a bike rack on the back of my car. As a result, I’ve ridden the bike a lot. For instance, when driving to congested areas with little parking, I often have more flexibility to ride to the fringes, pop the bike out of the trunk, and ride the remainder of the way.

And, no doubt, there is a definite combination of “cool” and “geek” factors that cannot be ignored. I may own the only folder in my area (I’ve never seen any other around here). Some of my friends have given me grief over owning such a “contraption.” I have also received a lot of compliments and questions from people who are seeing the bike for the first time.

For example, about two weeks ago, I was folding the bike outside my office in preparation for taking it into my office (did I happen to mention how nice it is to not have to rely on the security[?] of public bike racks?). As I finished folding the bike, I heard this young, female voice behind me say, “That bike is sweet. It’s gangsta.” I am 51 years old and probably the only more boring guy in America is John Roberts. I could hardly have expected to ever own anything that could be referred to as “gangsta.”

I am assuming it was a compliment.

By: Alejandro Rivero

Alejandro Rivero — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 15:12:35 +0000

It could be worthwhile to remember that a good bunch of the initial car makers were bike makers. Something went horribly bad at these times.

By: boreds

boreds — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 13:34:24 +0000

it sounds cool

though I should add that even in my paved city I can feel a lot of bumps through what is ostensibly a mountain bike.

Fortunately I can cycle all the way to work as it’s a small city but the Brompton sounds optimal for combining with public transport….

By: did

did — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 11:35:23 +0000

There’s a severe carbon-fiber deficit in that little bike. Everything’s better if it’s made of carbon fiber.

Only half joking,
did

By: Clifford

Clifford — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 23:17:55 +0000

Ah….there’s a Brompton dealer in Palo Alto (the original US distributer in fact), so I’m not surprised there….its my own city I was excited about seeing one in…… but thanks!

-cvj

By: David

David — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 22:10:19 +0000

I have seen one of these being loaded on the train at Palo Alto heading toward San Francisco, presumably belonging to a Stanford person. Add one more anecdotal sighting to your collection in the quest to turn it into a dataset…

By: Clifford

Clifford — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 21:39:24 +0000

Hi spyder,

You said: “I am fortunate enough to live in a nice city that allows larger bikes to be racked on buses, with which one can access not only most of the city, but also some of the regional trail access points as well”

People may be surprised, but this is true for me too: All metro buses in Los Angeles have space for regular bikes on racks, and you can use them to go all about, and have access to the outdoors…..

cheers,

-cvj

By: spyder

spyder — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 21:08:47 +0000

there are so many innovative changes occuring now in bicycle development, that to argue for one platform over another, requires–as Clifford seems to do–incorporating factors other than actual performance capabilities. I am fortunate enough to live in a nice city that allows larger bikes to be racked on buses, with which one can access not only most of the city, but also some of the regional trail access points as well. Several of the buses contain racks that also can hold the newer recumbent models(though not the 3 wheelers thus far). These are amazingly efficient and effective means of speedy transportation around cities such as mine where there are plentitude of hills and dales.

25 years ago, when i was in peak performance shape, there was nothing more invigorating and thrilling than riding my road bike. At the time, teaching at CSUH, i felt nearly indestructible racing around the roads and hills of the cities of the East Bay region. Mike seems to feel that way about his now. Now that i am old and retired, i like the recumbent sitting down posture which supports my back and allows me a certain freedom when i carry groceries or books.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 19:10:55 +0000

I was on a club ride Saturday and two of the participants had folding bikes. They were not Bromptons, but I forget the brand. They said that they liked them for travel. They take many bike tours and can fold them up and put them in luggage, so there is no extra bike charge as Clifford just mentioned. They claimed to have done 80 miles in a day on them. I tried one and it rode surprising well.

However, I love my road bike. I love getting tucked down over the handlebars when I go downhill. However, as everyone knows the optimal number of bikes a person should own is one more than one currently owns, so I wouldn’t mind having a folding bike too.