Brompton Folding Bikes

lisademps

Does anyone know where you can buy a Brompton folding bike in Dublin or Ireland for that matter? Does anybody have one and are they worth the expensive price tag? Going to New York in August so might be cheaper to buy one there I'm thinking? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

ba

I think Cycleways sell them...based on Parnell St in Dublin

eeeee

Moved to main forum you'll get more responses in here I think OP

tomasrojo

I bought one in Cycleways about six years ago. There's a waiting list, as they're ordered from the factory when you pay a deposit. Or at least that's how it used to be. It wasn't that long a wait, but that might have changed.

Are they any good? It depends what you want one for. I think they're really great bikes. Very versatile, in scenarios like this:

Renting a car (cycle over and drive back with bike in trunk)
Multi-modal journeys (making part of your journey by bus/taxi/train/private car)
Visiting dodgy neighbourhoods or just neighbourhoods where there's nowhere to lock (bring the bike in with you)
Small flats (store bike in a wardrobe, or a cupboard or under stairs, for example)


Handy as a spare bike too, but very expensive for that purpose!

tomasrojo

Another use, which was high up on the inventor's list of possible uses back in the day but didn't turn out to be that important, is for people on boating or canal trips. They have a way to spin to the shops or pub when they dock.

cdaly_

lisademps wrote: »

Going to New York in August so might be cheaper to buy one there I'm thinking?

Might be cheaper to buy but you'll pay to bring it home and likely have to pay import duties and VAT when you bring it in to Dublin.

bikedude

Cycleways
Snow and Rock in Dudrum (CycleSurgery) (had a few in stock last time I was there)
Hollingsworth Bikes Kilmacud
Foldable bikes are great, handy for short trips.
I miss mine and keep thinking about getting one again!

Agent Smyth

Hollingsworth cycles in Kilmacud are main dealers for them and nearly always have a couple in stock

kyashan

I bought mine at Hollingsworth in Kilmacud almost one year ago. The shop is one of the authorized dealers like mentioned by other users.
The guy in the shop will help you to "build" your bike and they will place the order for you: a deposit is required of course. I waited around 6/8 weeks to have mine.
In my opinion, it's a little jewel and it worth all the money spent. I'm using to commute from work and going around with my family. The fact that you can "pack" the bike and take in the office, on the Luas, in your car, in the shops is amazing. The fold is unique in comparison to other folding bikes.

There's a nice blog you can read about this bike: search on Google for the Orange Brompton. Currently, the blog's owner has opened a new one because he bought a Condor bike but you can still read the old post and check the journey those people made with those tiny bikes.

A piece of advice in case you're thinking to go touring with this bike: buy 6 speed. I have the 3 speed and on the "serious" hill sometimes I miss a lower gear...

Enjoy

brownian

Met a guy on a Brompton going over the Petit Saint Bernard pass from Italy to France, a few years back. Panniers, etc.

So, not just for the short stuff.

Of course, I expect that the smaller wheels are less well suited to rougher roads, big potholes, and so forth

tomasrojo

The only three aspects of my Brompton (bought about six or seven years ago, as I said above) that I did not like:

1) The standard saddle (actually never tried it, but had bad reputation, so I made sure to get a Brooks instead)
2) The rim tape; kept causing mystery punctures virtually every time I used it. I covered the rim tape with electrical tape eventually
3) The right-hand, non-folding pedal is hard to maintain because it's hard to get at the bearings, and being mostly plastic almost certainly not worth maintaining. Mine started making a cracking noise -- admittedly only recently -- and I just replaced it with an old Wellgo BMX-style pedal I had lying around, which is much better

Very minor gripes. It's a great bike, and I've got great use out of it, even getting some moderately long distances done (30km in a day and the like).

kyashan

I've recently upgraded my Brompton with a B17, the classic choice for a Brompton.
I didn't change it immediately because I wanted to test if the bad reputation of the saddle was real. I can say that's not that bad for the short trip and the ergonomic handle is helpful if you have to lift the bike. On the other hand, it's a bit uncomfortable on the long journey and in the summer it doesn't help the transpiration.
Luckily I found out that the Dutch shop was selling Brooks product, so I purchased the B17 immediately.
I'm very happy with my Brooks and I definetily recommend it: a Brooks saddle is aesthetically pleasent to see and a joy to ride (after the break in period of course).

Regarding the right pedal, I have to admit that recently I'm hearing a strange noise: don't know if it depends on the screws or it's breaking completely.
I checked around internet and I see many people are replacing the pedals with a brand called MKS from China, if I'm not wrong.
If my pedal give up soon, I'll replace maybe with one of those MKS, they look sturdy.

what_traffic

tomasrojo wrote: »

The only three aspects of my Brompton (bought about six or seven years ago, as I said above) that I did not like:

Would concur with point 1 and 3 as well. Replaced Saddle with a Brooks and had to replace the pedal with exact same symptom after a couple of years. Old bike as well though(9 years now and still going well, done a few replacements of parts).
I think the newer models probably no longer use the old saddle or these plastic pedals?