CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
To describe a Brompton on a cycle forum as 'a wobbly wee folding bike' however is to do them a great disservice. The steering is quick but stable, the frames are very strong and the weight limit is high. There are very few who could not ride one.
Putting aside that it was just a humourous little remark - comeonenow.jpeg, they absolutely are less stable, less comfortable, and less robust than a "proper" bicycle, and frankly I think it's only really the "cachet" of the brand that leads people to argue otherwise. They're neat little machines with a valid niche, but not practical alternatives to a proper transit-oriented cycle hire scheme which is what we really need and this kind of thing is, IMO, a distraction from.
I also suspect you're significantly overestimating how many people could comfortably ride them; plenty of current cyclists could, no doubt, but they're not even remotely as accessible to an everyday train-using person as a normal size robust granny bike would be.
Brompton experience I think we end up chalking up to YMMV. Certainly wouldn’t discourage anyone from trying one for themselves.
Also good to know about the Brompton Hires getting within touching distance of Edinburgh but I don’t think anyone was positing that 9 foldies in a locker is an alternative to the hire scheme still needed in the centre. Pretty sure an update on that is due at TEC in the next few months.
“YMMV“
I’m lucky, I have several bikes to choose from when ‘planning’ a ride/trip.
A Brompton wouldn’t be my first choice unless I needed to get on a train I expected to be busy.
“Wobbly” is of course subjective, but often a ‘first impression’ for people used to a ‘conventional’ bike. A few minutes of perseverance/learning curve is enough to ‘acclimatise’.
I’m used to small wheels (Moultons) and appreciate the ‘nippyness’ - quick acceleration.
I’m also used to hub gears. I really like the Brompton wide ratio hub (BWR). This is usually used with a 2 speed derailleur to produce 6 reasonably spaced gears.
Never actually ridden one. I like the simplicity of 3 speeds and am prepared to deal with the ‘gaps’ - fine for urban stop/start riding with some hillyness.
I have never understood the business model of ‘Bromptons in a cupboard’.
But
Very glad that it works for some people.
Works at Sheriffhall? - no idea.
Why isn’t this option available at Waverley/Haymarket? Indeed!
Obviously not a replacement for a ‘proper’/‘mass’ bike hire scheme.
#ThisIsEdinburgh
#It’sSpecial…
Sheriffhall does seem like an utterly weird choice.
Most of the Brompton hire units in London are next to railway stations, not P&Rs.
Isn't the idea here, to:?
- drive to Sheriffhall
- pick up bike, fold it
- get on bus to city centre
- cycle the last mile to destination
Or am I overthinking it?
I think, technically, according to Lothian Buses’ Conditions of Carriage, folders are only accepted in a ‘suitable’ bag. No idea if that’s enforced, or if a bag comes with the hire.
It’s a weird situation, but one entirely created by CEC’s complete misoversight of cycle hire in Edinburgh rather than by Midlothian or BBH.
An IKEA bag will suffice. You can’t get on a bus with paint. Eg if you carry it by the tin handle or in a B and Q bag now Homebase has gone fut. you cannot get on a bus with a fish supper unless you give the driver a chip. You cant get on a bus if you are pished. This one is harder to police/ define.
@neddie I think you’re right. I more meant weird in the context of having zero city centre locations and making Sheriffhall the first one in the region.
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