Sweet Lord help me - Brompton bike!

jonomc4
jonomc4 Posts: 891
edited May 2013 in The bottom bracket
I can't believe I am writing this but I am shocked to say a old school friend (who is my age) has bought a Brompton bike. :oops:

I strenuously fought off / ignored the fact that I am middle aged. When a peer buys one you know that that's it - he has bought a practical bike - a decision that can only be rationalised in middle-age.

Anyone know if there is a support group I can turn to or is my only path that of alcoholism and old age?

Comments

  • capt_slog
    capt_slog Posts: 3,973
    Ye gods!

    He'll have sandals with socks next. Mrs Slog is under strict instructions to kill me if I ever go out in that combo.


    The older I get, the better I was.

  • jonomc4
    jonomc4 Posts: 891
    Oh no, I have arranged to meet him at lunch time near work for a beer tomorrow - what if he turn up with sandals and socks on and someone from work sees me talking to him?

    Seriously why would someone buy a bike because it is practical when there is so much carbon bling to waste your money on.

    Seriously though - Brompton - how fugly can a bike get?
  • navrig
    navrig Posts: 1,352
    As an engineer I have to say that the Brompton is a modern classic in design practicality.

    Nay sayers!!
  • jonomc4
    jonomc4 Posts: 891
    there is that word again - PRACTICAL - I don't want practical I want sexy, fast, light. Or maybe I have to face the fact that I am middle aged and need practical. Bah - throws away cycling shoes and looks for sandals
  • team47b
    team47b Posts: 6,425
    but wait till you meet up and find out it is a 'practical' electric one :D
    my isetta is a 300cc bike
  • jonomc4
    jonomc4 Posts: 891
    no fair! The electric one is for my wife not me - I have to face it - all around me are falling into middle age - I shall get there disgracefully!
  • simonhead
    simonhead Posts: 1,399
    See a fair few of them on the way into work and most of those riding them have leather elbow patches on their jackets.
    Life isnt like a box of chocolates, its like a bag of pic n mix.
  • team47b
    team47b Posts: 6,425
    jonomc4 wrote:
    no fair! The electric one is for my wife not me - I have to face it - all around me are falling into middle age - I shall get there disgracefully!

    oops hit that nerve on the head :shock:

    Honest it was a genuinely innocent comment, I didn't know you were already surrounded, sorry :oops:
    my isetta is a 300cc bike
  • jonomc4
    jonomc4 Posts: 891
    Hey no problem - I wasn't angry (I thought I had answered with a jokey tone) - but I thought you had read the post about me asking for advice on electric bikes as I am buying one for the wife and was making a joke about that. Genuinely I was not offended in any way by your post.

    I am offended by my friend buying a brompton though - I have just spent lunchtime in the pub giving him hell for it :)
  • navrig
    navrig Posts: 1,352
    jonomc4 wrote:
    I am offended by my friend buying a brompton though - I have just spent lunchtime in the pub giving him hell for it :)

    Hope you had a pint of Mild :)
  • navrig
    navrig Posts: 1,352
    jonomc4 wrote:
    there is that word again - PRACTICAL - I don't want practical I want sexy,

    You can have both:

    Nigella - sexy, cooks, looks good on the arm, intelligent, earns enough cash to keep the bike gear coming. Too big to want a road bike to spoil your cycling time.

    There are plenty of other eamples.

    However I would struggle under any circumstances to describe a Brompton as sexy.
  • RDW
    RDW Posts: 1,900
    Gold-bike-ETA_preview.jpg
  • simonhead
    simonhead Posts: 1,399
    Perhaps bike radar could sponsor a team in the nexthttp://www.brompton.co.uk/news/17003/brompton-world-championship-racing-to-goodwood
    Life isnt like a box of chocolates, its like a bag of pic n mix.
  • drlodge
    drlodge Posts: 4,826
    My Dad used to ride a Bickerton to work, the first of the folding bikes!

    bickerton2.jpg
    WyndyMilla Massive Attack | Rourke 953 | Condor Italia 531 Pro | Boardman CX Pro | DT Swiss RR440 Tubeless Wheels
    Find me on Strava
  • jonomc4
    jonomc4 Posts: 891
    simonhead wrote:
    Perhaps bike radar could sponsor a team in the nexthttp://www.brompton.co.uk/news/17003/brompton-world-championship-racing-to-goodwood
    Dear Lord - I hope the ambulance service attends with plenty of resuscitators :)

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