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Brompton Pacific Coast Tour

  


We did a lot of research on which folding bikes to purchase and ultimately landed on Bromptons for one reason: they fit in an overhead compartment (unless you’re on a tiny plane; more on that later). Yes, Bromptons are more expensive than Bike Fridays, Dahons, etc, but with bike luggage fees running up to $ 150 one way, we will definitely save money after just a couple trips.

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Travelling to the Netherlands

  


There are many options to travel on the plane with a Brompton bike. You can get a suitcase or a hard case that is designed for a folding bike, you can box it up at home or at the airport, you can also try gate-checking it, or bring it on the plane as a carry-on. I took a combined approach. Because I wanted to be able to ride to and from the airports and not having to rely on taxis or transits, I decided to get a portable transport bag and checked in my Brompton bike. Moreover, I already have enough stress as it is from flying, I didn’t want the extra stress from dealing with TSA and gate checking staffs.

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Brompton in the Greek Cyclades

  
A short adventure I have been dreaming of for years became wonderful reality and, in the best way, ended exactly where it began. It might seem sad. Actually I am, like today’s autumn wind.
But the sun slowly rising up behind the Attican mounts and ambushing them, is reminding me that there is always something good when a dream comes true and reaches an end, like a happy day finishing. Read the full report of a Brompton touring adventure covering 14 different islands.

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Jasper to Vancouver on a Brompton Folding Bike

  


Watch the video of a 1400 kilometres bike tour with a Brompton Folding Bike completed in July 2015. The tour starting point was Lake Louise, heading north to Jasper along the Icefields Parkway then returning on the same road back to Lake Louise before heading West to Vancouver via Whistler. The Brompton again was a joy to ride and made it a hassle free adventure.

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Brompon T-Bag for Touring

  

The T-Bag is a must have for anybody considering a cycling tour with a Brompton bike. It is the largest and roomiest of all Brompton front bags, which include the Folding Basket, the leather attache case or A-Bag, the small messenger bag S-Bag and the medium messenger bag C-Bag.
Having toured on a Brompton for a few years, I find this piece of equipment something I could not do without.

It has a capacity of over 30 litres but thanks to its roll-up closing system it can store much more when you leave the top unrolled and open. This is something I do for example when I go to the grocery store at the end of my cycling day and need to stock up on food. Simply leave the bag open and just put the strap on top across to secure your shopping and you are guarantee to be able to carry a large load! Bear in mind that according to Brompton the bag weight should not exceed 10 kg.

The greatest feature to me is the fact that the bag seat on a large clamp attached to the frame. This ensures that the bike stability is not affected and I personally feel that it gives my Brompton more stability than when I ride it unloaded. There is small zipped compartment inside which is convenient to store valuables and documents. When touring the clip system ensures that you can quickly remove the bag and always take it with you when you have to be away from the bike.
On the rider side there are two small compartments. The one to the right has an elastic closure and is an ideal location to store your water bottle. The right one has a waterproof zip and can securely store gadgets, your wallet your mobile phone or anything else you might want to have regular access to.
The surrounding mesh gives a lot of extra space. I normally use it to store the waterproof cover for my backpack, the bike lock and all the food I consume while riding.

The clamp system is very sturdy and having used it for over 4000 kilometres so far it does not show any sign of deterioration.

If you are considering touring on a Brompton folder this is the only option to store luggage at the front of the bike and an excellent solution at that.



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Dmitry and Mila Brompton packing list

  

Starting from our very first ride, Dmitry and I were excited to think about what we would do differently and better. We are traveling fairly minimalist (at least compared to bike tourists who have full size bikes, camping gear, and so on ), but we were both excited to lighten the load even more. After the first few weeks in Thailand, our main topic of conversation while we rode turned to re-packing, what we could leave behind, what we would acquire, how we would reconfigure our bags. We weighed ourselves and bikes outside a 7/11 in Thailand: Dmitry+bike+luggage was 97 kg (214 lbs), Mila+bike+luggage was 102 kg (225 lbs). Meaning that since Dmitry is a little heavier than me, I was carrying way too much stuff. (My bike is also about one pound heavier than Dmitry’s bike – 28 pounds as opposed to 27 because my handle-bars are a little higher).  Luckily, our two weeks in the US for the holidays allowed us to completely change up our rigs – paring out some things (mostly clothes), adding a few others (mostly bike repair items).

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Western Ghats on a Brompton

  

Taking our fully loaded Brompton six-speed bikes from sea level up to 1700 meters (5600 feet) required us to briefly engage the Brompton "super-power" - a quick fold, and into the back of a three-wheeled taxi they went. We have been traveling the world on our Brompton bikes for four months, through Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, and Nepal, but the ride up to the Indian Hill Station town of Munnar, nestled amid emerald tea plantations, was our biggest challenge yet. The route took us to the peaks of the Western Ghats, a mountain range that spans the west coast of India.
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