This was the third Cycle Show at Islington: I went to the first two and enjoyed them, but I originally decided against going this year, as nothing remarkable was expected, and there was nothing in particular that I wanted to investigate, I don't like London, and of course there is also the cost. This intention was increased when the list of exhibitors was found to exclude Brompton, Carradice and Airframe, amongst others. I did, however, get a ticket for the Trade Day (Thursday 23 September) just in case I should change my mind. In the end I did change my mind a couple of days beforehand, though not for any particular reason.
As usual, I chose the Chiltern Line to travel to London - slightly slower and less convenient than Virgin to Euston, but much cheaper (less than half the price). In a change from my usual practice, I decided after studying the timetables to ride to Galton Bridge and catch a train direct from there to Marylebone, aiming to catch a corresponding train back, and cycle from Marylebone to and from the show in Islington. Choice of bike came down to either the old T5 Brompton (bringing it out of retirement), or the Airframe - the only two very portable folders available to me at the time. The decision was not made until just before I left - the Brompton was chosen on the grounds of possibly fitting onto the train slightly more easily (I very rarely use these particular trains, and was not sure about the longer shape of the folded Airframe). In the (temporary) absence of a folding pedal I fitted one of the MKS pedals which unplugs - it occurs to me that this does also discourage casual thieves if you take the pedal(s) with you when you leave the bike, though secure cycle parking was reportedly on offer at the show anyway.
The ride to Galton Bridge was uneventful; very light drizzle was falling, but only turned into a heavy shower just after I arrived at the station, which I mistakenly took to be a good omen for the rest of the day. The train was on time, and I enjoyed a relaxing journey to London, arriving just a minute late (due to waiting for a platform at Marylebone). The ride from Marylebone to Islington presented no problems (though I hardly ever cycle in London, and don't know my way around at all well on the surface). The bike was easily parked in the secure parking area of the underground car park (fenced off, with staff in control, and tickets to identify the bike and owner - very efficient).
For me there were really only 4 'must see' stands. It's a bit difficult listing them, as the order may be seen as having significance - well, perhaps it does, but don't make too much of this, as a lot depends on particular individual interests.
This is a completely new folder designed by Jon Whyte. There were lots of machines on the stand - made from production tooling, but hand assembled, and probably there will be minor differences in production models. This is one of the best folder designs to appear in recent years, and it could well pose a threat at long last to Brompton (in the past anything aimed at this market has frankly had little to offer compared with the Brompton unless it was cheaper, and this meant inferior performance too). There are many ingenious features about the design and folding. It does NOT try to copy the Brompton - for example, there is no frame hinge - but it is very compact when folded, weight seems very competitive with Brompton, and the riding position seems good . There are two models - hub-geared (4-speed Shimano) Commuter model and a 9-speed (Capreo) sports tourer. They don't have any suspension, not even the rather basic rubber bung of the Brompton, and don't yet have a quick release luggage system, but they still look very interesting indeed. Production proper is targetted for Christmas, and I hope they are going to let me have a bike to test. Incidentally (!?) 16 inch wheels, and ANOTHER new tyre for this (Brompton) format. By eye the tyre looks a bit bulkier than the Schwalbe Marathon, but if you want a slimmer tyre, the other tyres of this format are of course available. With the standard tyre the mudguard clearances looked a bit tight to me (and the front mudguard is actually a structural member), though a change of tyre would ease the situation (it is OK for road use, but I'd be slightly worried about even Milton Keynes Redways with the current clearance). Price is not finalised, but looks very much in line with Brompton prices. Well worth looking at, and I can't wait to try one (unfortunately when I went down to the test track there wasn't one there).
You must all know AVC (under this or other names)
of Bath. Officially or unofficially they seemed to be the prime representative
of folders. They had Moultons and Airnimals (both companies present themselves -
see below), but they also seemed to be the official representatives of Brompton,
Birdy, Airframe and Dahon, none of whom were present themselves (in the case of
Dahon, apparently there wasn't room on the Fisher Leisure stand for them!).
Grahame Herbert of Airframe was on the stand when I was there, though I didn't
see reps of any of the other companies. They were also of course representing
Bike Friday, for whom they are the UK distributors. Richard and Gary of AVC plus
several other AVC people were in attendance, and it was good to see folders so
well represented by them, though I must admit there were some pointed questions
I would have liked to have asked the companies themselves, and of necessity the
model range was generally not the complete one. The Airframe on display was a
rather smart black colour, with the new Sturmey-Archer 8-speed gear (see photo
right). Nothing new
from Brompton - we all hear rumours, but as yet nothing concrete has emerged.
PS:
Julian Kowalewski has sent me this additional picture of the S-A 8-speed hub in
the Airframe - better, I think, than my picture.
Actually there were 2 stands, both featuring the excellent Velovison magazine, ICE (Trice recumbent), Airnimal and the very interesting KMX Karts recumbent tricycles (non folding)- not just the established children's version, but also the new X series version for children. On the Airnimal side, the new, and very reasonably priced, Joey was on display for, at least for me, the first time. They also had the Rhino - we mentioned this in another recent report. I bumped into Pat Douglass and John Bradshaw (amongst many other old friends) on another stand, and Pat confirmed how delighted she is with the Rhino - more comments from her on this soon, I hope (and on her KMX!). ICE had their new, low price, T and Q models, not folders of course, but much more modestly priced than previous models, and the basic machine is still made to the very highest quality. They also had their most compact model, the Mini (which rather oddly is smaller than their Micro) broken down and stored in a large suitcase - perhaps I could get the machine sans-suitcase into the Smart - LUST!! Of course, even then the Trice is nearer £2000 than £1000, but the new KMX X-Class recumbent tricycle starts at around £600. It is a much cruder machine - no, to be fair, cheap and cheerful. It's not as sophisticated as a Trice, and certainly not as stable, but in a way it isn't meant to be. Of course it does not even have the limited portability of the Trice, but if you have been tempted by a recumbent trike in the past, but just could not justify the price, at least until you knew you could live with it, the KMX could well be a good introduction. I tried one on the test track (4 laps of part of an underground car park, and found it fun under these rather unrealistic conditions, though the limitation were pretty evident even in these conditions).
Above Left: Airnimal Joey -
rather similar in general appearance to the existing Chameleon, but at a much
lower price - economies include no rear suspension.
Above Right: Trice Mini recumbent tricycle can be fitted into a large case - not
a quick job, but possible.
Below: The KMX X-Class - a very modestly priced recumbent tricycle (not a folder
though)
Shaun Moulton and Dan Farrell (of Pashley) were manning a stand on which pretty well all the range was represented, including the new twin-pylon model and the Bridgestone Moulton in the latest forms - the sport separable and the reduced price on the less highly specified models.
PS: Julian Kowalewski has kindly reminded me of a very important development I forgot to mention originally - a special and VERY limited edition re-issue of the Moulton AM2. Shaun Moulton has managed to track down a relatively small number of Sachs Duomatic hubs, and so a few more AM2s, to the original spec, are being built.
Above Left: The new dual pylon Moulton. Right: The pylon model can be put in a suitcase.
There were other things of course which may interest some of you,
including electric folding bikes. Specialized and Trek had their existing
folders on their stands. Also on show was the Koga Founder S (see photo right). This is a rather solid
looking machine, but with suspension. I tried it on the test track - it feels a
bit heavy and unresponsive - I'm not sure about foldability. Handlebar height is
adjustable, but even at its lowest it was rather high for me. Suggested retail
price is £995, so, even taking account of the suspension, it faces stiff
opposition.
Matthew Dobson had his Flea folder, built as a project in his degree course.
The wheels are extremely small, and it is specifically intended only for very
short journeys, though it does sensibly include a carrier suitable for a
briefcase. It's not a production bike, and would probably have limited appeal if
it were, but an extremely creditable achievement in the context of a first
degree project.
The Brompton was easily recovered from the parking area (in the sense of no hassle, but very secure as you were not allowed into the fenced off-area, and had to hand over the ticket for the bike), and the ride back to Marylebone was quite straightforward. I just managed to catch a slightly earlier train than planned, although this would mean a change of train in Birmingham, but still quicker than the original plan. Fortunately I got into the second rather than the first carriage, as it turned out that the door between these carriages was not working, so those in the first carriage did not get a trolley service (even the train manager was unable to release the door with his key), During the journey we were told that there was a broken down train at Smethwick Galton Bridge, and therefore no trains were running from Snow Hill to Stourbridge, various alternative bus services being offered (why it was taking so long to move a broken down train was not disclosed). A bit later, after we arrived at Warwick, our own train also filed - the brakes would not release. After prolonged attempts to solve the problem, we were told to get out - the driver would then release safety over-rides and remove the train, and we would have to catch the next one. It proved less easy than this - it took a long while to be able to move the train, which of course prevented the following train getting into the station. In the end we had a wait of an hour or more before the faulty train was finally removed, and the next one arrive. This was the one scheduled to go on through Galton Bridge to Kidderminster - but of course it could not do so due to the blockage at Galton Bridge. By the time we reached Birmingham it was getting close to dusk, so my option of riding home from Birmingham along the towpath or by road was rather unappealing, so I got off at Moor Street and walked to New Street to catch a train along the other line out of Birmingham. Since this would at least get me nearer home via Tipton, and it would be dark, I had to purchase another ticket to complete this journey. I finally reached home something like 1.5 hours later than I had hoped, and rather exhausted by the unexpected excitement of the journey.
Copyright (C)2004 Ferrets Anonymous
Last updated: 28 September 2004