Aussie on a Brompton

A name for our UK rental Kia Cee’d Eco has been suggested as Kanga (maybe related to my driving?). Without any driving manual supplied, I’ve resisted the urge to try reading any info off the Internet & just make do with some “on-the-job” training. Interesting little car, a turbo diesel manual with an “Eco mode” that turns off the engine when stationary, out of gear & with clutch out – but turns the engine back on when depressing the clutch. The dash is a maze of warning lights, gauges & dials & something new is noticed every day. Also, the first night-time drive was confusing, with varying light levels noticed before realising that there were directional lights that came on when the wheels were turned. I’m guessing we’ll learn more as we go along?

The important question was whether it would fit our Bromptons in the boot (as we’d booked a VW Golf after testing the Brompton fit – but realised that we may receive “an equivalent”). I’m pretty sure that the boot is smaller overall (especially with the rear wheel arches intruding?) but things fit. My initial loading determined that the saddles were best located in the outer rear corners & with a slight overlap of the wheels. Once in our first cottage stay, I rearranged things by folding up one of the bike bags & placing it to one side, then putting Ralph on an angle on top, with the saddle turned 90° & nestling into the end of the bike bag (& both removable pedals taken off). Robinson was then placed on the same angle beside Ralph, with the saddle resting on Ralph’s folded front wheel (with some padding between). On daily trips the Bromptons ride along in the boot (wearing their covers, if necessary), while helmets, bags, etc are carried in the cabin (& the 2nd bike bag is left in the cottage).

When space is at a premium when moving on to the next of our weekly cottage stays, we can cover the Bromptons & place luggage bags & helmets in the boot & carry the 2nd bike bag folded up behind one of the seats. I could probably carry the Bromptons & all luggage in a number of ways but this setup lets the bikes stay out of sight. The urge to upgrade to a larger car is best avoided, with dearer rentals, high fuel costs & no doubt many narrow lanes to negotiate?

This travel lark is rather hard work. Getting into London at 5am after a 13hour BA flight (on which I inherited a broken headphone socket & a super-hard seat squab) was the start of a wearying day. Heathrow added a little amusement with a gift “Celebrating a very special new arrival” but we weren’t fooled; it was for Will & Kate’s new arrival, not ours.

Next up was the rental car pickup & a few hours later we were done! Done with Europcar, that’s for sure! Long queues & sales tactics were not fun. Maybe we just got the sales agent from hell? Repeated upgrade attempts, lots of scare tactics for the heavy-handed “wear & tear” demands, confusion about phone contacts during our travel (turns out that Europcar want to keep tabs on our mileage – but we booked for “unlimited”?). Eventually we got to drive away in our “Golf or equivalent” Kia Cee’d Eco – with bike bags split between the boot & back seat (in Australia I’d checked that the Bromptons would fit in the boot of a Golf; fingers crossed with the unpacking for this one?)

Early arrival hotel check-in was completed & then a freshen-up before heading off to acquire 3G Sims for iPads & iPhones. Having researched carriers & Sim availability, it was interesting that we needed to find an O2 shop to get what we needed (rather than expect product knowledge at multi-carrier outlets?).

Day one then moved to wind-down mode, with a great pizza & Aussie red wine at the hotel – & then into a lovely comfy bed!

Day two saw the unpacking of Ralph & Robinson from their Vincita bags & accompanying clothing/padding? Ralph’s only issue was the mudguard stays needed a slight tweak to get tyre clearance again. Robinson with a rack had no mudguard issues (not even the front) but – oh no, a “bent ear”!? (ie rear frame roller wheel support) I’d pushed the seat post well down below the level of the Eazy-wheels but… (next time, remove the roller wheels?)

The Bromptons fit into the Kia’s boot (still can’t think of a name for the car?) was just ok; the rear wheel arches intruded & made things rather tight but we were “ok to go!”

I couldn’t resist a visit to the Singapore folding bike shop “Mighty Velo”, listed as selling Bromptons, as well as Strida & Montague bikes. Situated within a light industry area (containing a typically Asian endless variety of fascinating shops dealing in absolutely everything?), the neat, small frontage opened into a well stacked display of bikes & accessories. Immediately I could see that my trip was going to be worthwhile, with lots of Bromptons & neat shelf displays of folding bike stuff to review. Just looking, mind – but the small shop layout was a delight to observe.

Topping one rack was 4 Limited Edition Bromptons; my first sighting of such bikes was to be this set of Royal Wedding, London, Jubilee & Barcelona models! Another first sighting was the coloured solid-rubber tyres that I’d read about. With about 10 varying colour Bromptons in sight, as well as coloured tyres & grips to choose from, it was fascinating to watch customers “mixing & matching”. Singaporeans seem to like colours with their bikes!

After checking out various accessories, including Monkii cages & Akslen lights (more first-sightings for me), I could have happily walked away. However, while taking some photos & chatting with the assistants, I was told by one female assistant, “oh, you should meet the owner…” & they disappeared into the workshop. Out came the owner, Vivian & introduced herself, chatted & proceeded to give me a full tour. What had seemed to me to be a good stock of Bromptons, turned out to be just the demonstrators! (in every handlebar style, various saddle-types, all the transmission models – along with the frame colours & coloured & normal tyre choices!) To assist the choice, a customer could be taken into the workshop & able to see all the shelves of stock bikes (according to Vivian, “the most two-colour bike stock of any shop”), which I estimated at over 70 bikes – but then there was the storeroom behind! At this point I was distracted by being shown a couple of Mando Footloose electric bikes (from the designer of the Strida bike, Mark Sanders) & having an explanation of Singapore’s eBike rules & regulations! All very exact & restrictive in an emerging market?

Yes, I couldn’t resist a purchase or two. While a customer picked out a Brompton Oratory jacket, I snapped up a pair of Brompton cycling socks (I had been wondering if my choice of socks for the BWC would do?). Also, I just had to take some Singaporean Brompton Velcro straps. I have a use in mind for securing things, although Vivian explained how they came about: it seems that Singapore’s MRT transport system is very specific about bikes being folded before travel – so R-model Brompton owners can fold their bike but leave the seat up to ease pushing/rolling & still retain the frame locking via the strap fastened around the frame & rear wheel? Some practical “local bling”?

Oh yes, a few Montague bikes were sighted as well as probably about 20 Stridas? My apologies but the Bromptons were a bit overwhelming… Now let me see, maybe another trip to Singapore & a visit to Vivian’s workshop & storeroom, finishing with a thorough explore (on the new Brompton) for a couple of weeks?

I like Singapore – although my visits have been few & just shortish flight stop-overs. An ideal stop-over before our UK trip: as in Australia, RHD vehicles & lots of English spoken? Sadly I’m not sure when or if there will be a repeat, as this one was booked prior to the Qantas/Emirates tie-up & it seems that Dubai is the new Singapore for Qantas Aust/Europe flights (maybe I should say no more until I encounter a Dubai stop-over on the way back to Australia?).

I was almost blown-away by the hotel breakfast on the first morning. Well. yes the food was good but I encountered a gale when entering the serving/seating area. Looking up, there was probably the fastest, biggest, most-bladed fan I think I’m ever likely to see! Having a closer look, I noticed the name on the body. Later, for curiosity I thought I’d Google it to learn more. Just as the website selection was starting, my hotel WiFi login screen was presented (again?). Once (re-)agreeing to the terms & conditions I found that another search returned nothing anything remotely like it!? Momentarily puzzled, I then realised the WiFi was filtering out my search term (too offensive?). Oh well, I’ll resume my search for “Big *ss Fans” on another leg of the journey.

Ralph & Robinson seem to have survived the journey unscathed – as far as I can feel? They’ve remained bagged so far – owing to the shortness of stay? – & even though a Brompton is a great way to get around, seeing the Singapore sights involves a lot of looking up! Also, the weather is mostly “hot & steamy” & I gather that good riding times here are very early & very, very late – times inconvenient for now?

The last day of the stay here is Monday & that’s an opening day for the Singapore Brompton dealer, “Mighty Velo” (closed Sunday & Tuesday?). I shall try to find this little shop; sounds appealing by what I’ve read?

Ralph & Robinson have been packed for some days, awaiting their trip “home” (& their participation in the BWC 2013). We’re almost ready to go, just “fine tuning” what & where everything else will go. The pressure’s off really, because the theory seems to have worked out, with my expectation that we could get by with just a Brompton bike bag & a single cabin bag each.

For more than a year I’ve been looking at bag systems, wondering how to cope with the air travel baggage allowances for economy patrons such as us. Buying Robinson & inheriting a Brompton B bag was the start but I later realised that the bag was an earlier model & was an extremely tight fit (maybe from the Brompton SWB-days?) let alone having much space for travel clothes, etc. Researching other choices wasn’t very encouraging but then I noticed the new Vincita bag for Brompton (B132 model). This bag from Thailand seemed a similar style to the Brompton B bag – but much larger. It was even thought by some users to be too big & the manufacturer had also produced a more tapered-shape bag. My preference was for the earlier bag & as it was still available, I crossed my fingers & ordered one. If it worked out, the plus point was going to be that it seemed astonishingly good value; even with a large air-freight cost it was half the price of a B bag! When it arrived it looked like it was going to be ideal; good quality, spacious & well-engineered?

When Ralph was obtained, it came with a (well-worn) B&W hard-case. For me, one factor against using it was the issue of storing/transporting it while traveling around by rental car. Once Ralph was equipped with Ergon grips & come the final planning for a trip to the UK, the possible use of the case was resolved when I found that the lid wouldn’t close – I was going to be up for some bike disassembly! Back online to Vincita & an order for another B132 bag, this time not bothering to request the earlier large bag & expecting that the later bag would be suitable.

So, this week saw everything come together & I was rather relieved that there are no last-minute dramas or changes of plan! My slightly smaller Vincita bag has Ralph (wearing a Brompton cover), the small Axiom on-bike luggage (containing various spares & bits), 2 pair of shoes, a lightweight suit-bag (containing clothes – definitely no suit!) & a couple of small stuff-sacks. Robinson (also wearing a Brompton cover) in the other Vincita has a Brompton C bag (with frame & bag separated) & a myriad of packing cells!? (It probably wouldn’t be safe to describe what my wife is packing – but it seems to have fitted?) Onto the scales & they’re in the range of 26-27 kgs – fitting within the checked-luggage allowances for our planned flights. Oh, & the bags comply with the 158cm dimensioning restrictions! Rather weighty & bulky but then it’s not just the BWC we’re heading for!

Oh, & how’s the Brompton packing been arranged? Most travelers seem to recommend removing the saddle so off it came & got bubble-wrapped & placed between the front end of the wheels, with straps containing the saddle & tensioning the wheels together (with partially deflated tyres – just in case?). Next the hinge bolts & Brompfication clamps (& springs) came off & got bagged (although I wondered about some advice to just do up the clamp bolts? It seemed risky for any major strike to the bolt head area & so I decided that naked was best – but added padding to the hinge faces). Padding was also attached (via tape, straps or removable cable ties) to the handle bars, seat-post top, LH crank arm (remembering that I run MKS removable pedals), along with a large piece of dense foam placed inside the bag on the RH side (ie extra padding for the handle bars?). That’s it – now to trust the Vincita padding & clothing (in a suit-bag placed inside the bag on the LH side).

Our adventure awaits…

All the tinkering is over & Ralph & Robinson are ready for their little UK trip & BWC appearance! There’s possibly just the Sydney Tweed Ride to negotiate (damn you, TdF & cold mornings!) & then the packing can begin…