What I Could Not Do This Morning

This begs so many questions. Is your Brompton new? What did you do before? How well to the small tires cope with pot holes and other pavement problems?

As a mountain-state commuter I am interested in the bicycle commuting habits of city folk. Living in a fairly small town most of the time I don't have to deal with public transportation at all. When I do I can just throw my bike onto the bike rack on the front of the bus if there's room or underneath if there's not. I think even the light rail allows people to bring along full-sized bikes, but that's Denver and I don't get down that way very often.

I have long lusted after a folding/ motorized bike (Brompton or Birdy with a Bionx kit) to take along on Amtrak trips. It's hard to justify the cost though for the frequency I'd get to use it.

Sent by Dave Wiley | 2:16 PM | 5-14-2008

@Dave -- Our Brompton is a few years old, but essentially never used. It's very, very maneuverable in traffic -- the flip side being that it felt a little rickety at first.

I haven't yet hit a good pothole. Not sure I'm looking forward to that. Otherwise, the small wheels seem fine. We've got rough pavement all over the place, and so far so good.

It's much faster than I would have expected. In general, it takes me three or four more minutes to get here on the foldie than on the bigger rims. That's offset by not having to lock and unlock. I also tend to ride more conservatively, just because the standing start goes a little more slowly.

Sent by Laura Conaway, NPR | 2:40 PM | 5-14-2008