Foldable Bikes Party: Racing a Brompton by Buckingham Palace is exhilarating, and ridiculous

Tuesday, 2 August 2016

Racing a Brompton by Buckingham Palace is exhilarating, and ridiculous

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When is a race not a race? When it’s a Brompton World Championship Final, of course. The dress code at this year’s event in central London was formal but fun — jackets, shirts and neckties for the men, but that still left a lot of room for colourful outfits. Some racers turn up to win (they can be identified by the clipless pedals), but most were there for the giggles, and love of their diminutive folding bike. BikeRadar’s Jamie Beach was in the latter category and tells us about his horse for the course…

I bought a Brompton bike at the beginning of this year on the UK’s Cycle To Work scheme. Partly so that I could drop my kids at school then speed off to the train station, before getting onto a packed carriage. Partly because I wanted a town run-around I could fit into our small front shed. And, yes, partly because my ideal number of bikes is N+1, and I’ve always liked the eccentric-yet-practical vibe of these British-made bikes.

There were some big names at the sharp end of the pack, including former pros David Millar and Michael Hutchinson, plus reigning champ Mark Emsley

So with encouragement from others on the BikeRadar team and after a lot of research and a test ride or two, I went for a Brompton M3L, in a raw lacquer finish and weighing about 12kg. That means it has the M-type handlebars (the classic ones with an upright position), three gears via a Sturmey-Archer hub, and mudguards but no luggage rack. The raw lacquer finish is beautiful and shows off the welder’s skill very nicely. Though I was sorely tempted by the racing green.

After months of commuting on this little bike, I’d definitely say that I’m happy with it. The fold is superb, the ride is nippy yet stable enough to get me around Bath’s many hills and cobbles, and I love the well-thought-out details like the little rollers for wheeling it about, and the rear suspension block. I can see why these bikes inspire so much affection. But what’s it like to race? I was invited by Brompton to find out.

Knighthoods all round

This year’s Brompton World Championship Final was held during the Saturday evening of RideLondon, the city’s massive annual cycling festival that now claims over 100,000 participants. Eight quick laps were planned of St James’s Park, past Horse Guards Parade, and finishing down The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace to cheers, applause and possible knighthoods from HM The Queen. OK maybe not the last bit, but I was definitely looking forward to laying down some rubber outside such a famous landmark. Each lap was 2.15km (1.34 miles), giving a total race of 17km (10.5 miles) over eight laps.

There were some very colourful outfits on display, including at least one fascinator feather, a top-hat-helmet, authentic Lederhosen, Union Jack bow ties and some WW1 army uniforms

My Brompton M3L

The Brompton World Championship Final 2016

Is it possible to tuck on a Brompton? Yeah I tried to do just that coming down The Mall a couple of times

You can read more at BikeRadar.com

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