Commuting by train with a Downtube folder!

AlwaysBiking

Hi folks, I'm a newbie to this forum so thought I'd introduce myself a bit.

I'm a lifelong, full-time cyclist (I don't own a car) and have always cycled to work. And home again. (Obviously.)

On 1st July I'm going to be starting a job in a nearby town, so for the first time in my life (at age 44!) I shall be getting a train to work each day from Bedford to Flitwick. Ten minutes on the train with some cycling at either end. Perfect!

I really wouldn't want to give up my daily cycling, so I wanted to be able to use my bike at both ends of the journey (also to save on commuting time), so I thought long and hard about getting a folding bike that I could take on the train without restriction. Having my choice somewhat limited due to being 'not very flush', I did a lot of looking around on the internet, and as a result, I recently become the proud owner of a rather groovy Downtube folding bike that was on offer at the Velochocolate website.

This is my baby:



I'm far from being an expert on folders - this being my first nervous venture into folding territory - but I'm impressed with what you get for the price, including full suspension and a nine speed derailer. It rides well too, which is just as well, cos I've decided it's going to be a complete replacement for my old (and very clapped out!) MTB. To be honest it's made me feel like a kid all over again! Getting a new bike does that, doesn't it, no matter how old you are! I didn't actually realise that I would get stared at so much on a folding bike, but I guess that's cool.

So yeah, I shall be going from a solely cycling, cross town commute, to a bike-train-bike commute and I'm looking forward to it.

And the best bit of all is that as I live in a flat, and storage/security/vandalism has always been a major headache, I am now able keep my bike in a cupboard at home!



So peace and happy commuting to you all!

daniel_b

Looks quite smart for a folder.

How much was it then?

I used to live in Leagrave, not a million miles away from Flitwick.

Dan

AlwaysBiking

Daniel B wrote:

Looks quite smart for a folder.

Cheers - I thought so too. 8)

How much was it then?

I got it for £224 inc delivery from the Velochocolate website. That was actually cheaper than buying direct from Downtube where the same bike was £269 plus delivery, if memory serves. I love using the internet for identifying what I need, then researching to find the cheapest place to get it! I well remember life before the internet and I don't know how I survived!

I used to live in Leagrave, not a million miles away from Flitwick.

Cool - as it happens I'll be in Leagrave on Sunday for a Tae Kwon Do grading - to which I'll be travelling by train with my new bike, natch!

Cheers.

RufusA

Welcome to the forum!

I always enjoy reading the first post of a new member, when it introduces a new(ish) product in glowing terms

Do keep us posted over the next few weeks, would be interested to hear how it fairs after regular commuter abuse. Though the USPs of nine gears and suspension should be fun!

Rufus.

p.s. I hope you didn't take Sam's last orange one!

AlwaysBiking

cheers rufus, i'll update this thread with the ups and downs of regular bike-train-biking as i get used to it and learn what's good about it and what's not.

um, what's a USP by the way?

RufusA

AlwaysBiking wrote:

um, what's a USP by the way?

USP = Unique Selling Proposition/Point

i.e. marketing speak for what makes your product stand out from the crowd.

Rufus.

SamWise72

RufusA wrote:

p.s. I hope you didn't take Sam's last orange one!

Nice to see my customers turning up here! Must be doing something right.....

Still got Orange and White, but sadly no more black.....