Although there was no Folder Forum this year, an informal gathering of folding and separable cycle enthusiasts was held at Weymouth from 14th – 16th May and attracted over 40 people. In terms of numbers, the event was dominated by Bromptons; the only Bike Friday representatives were myself on my NWT (Newt) and Colin and Nina Major with a Tandem Two’sday. A few other Friday owners were there, but were using other bikes on this occasion.
You may recall that the last issue of this newsletter showed the Newt in
small pieces, after having had V-brake fittings brazed on, but before
being powder coated. For various reasons it was some while before the
powder coating was done, and then I was too busy to collect the parts. It
was only the weekend before the event, when I realised that the Newt was
the bike to use given the hilly terrain and the need to transport quite a
lot of material to the event, that the need to get the bike back together
came home to me. I collected the parts on the Monday afternoon, and
assembly started that evening, being completed the following evening. A
brief test ride (only a mile) on the Wednesday showed that everything
seemed in order, so the bike was loaded up to start the journey on
Thursday – normally I’d consider that it is tempting providence
to use a bike for an outing of this kind without more testing after a
major rebuild.
Arriving at New Street station and folding the bike ready for the rail journey, I realised I had forgotten just how bulky a folded Friday is – it is not easy fitting it in anywhere on the main line trains. Our local trains carry any number of unfolded cycles free and without any need for booking, so I don’t often have to go through the folding process. Over the weekend I did quite a lot of folding and carrying of the Newt, as it had to be carried to and from my bedroom in the B&B each day, and this involved negotiating 2 flights of rather narrow stairs.
The weather was really good over the weekend, and people seemed to have a good time going off for rides in small groups. I didn’t cover a very big mileage, partly because on the Saturday I spent all day around the meeting point at The Pavilion in order to be available to greet any late arrivals. On the Thursday afternoon I had gone to Abbotsbury and visited the Swannery, where the young swans were just hatching out, and some others included Abbotsbury on their Saturday ride. On Sunday the most popular destination was Portland, although people rode out there in a number of small groups, rather than one large group, which seemed to have been judged more convenient. Even though we found a less steep route up through Fortuneswell than on previous visits, I was still glad of the 3x7 gearing on the Newt.
Overall the event seems to have been successful, and the modified Newt performed impeccably. The V-brakes are a big improvement over the Big Dogs, although it remains to be seen how they will be affected by deterioration in the cabling to the rear brake with time, wear and road dirt. The changes to the stem which I am experimenting with at present also resulted in a rather more comfortable riding position, with the bars a shade lower and further away than before. Oh, and the new colour? After much agonising I decided on black, which is easy to retouch, but not very good for photographs.
More photographs and reports on the event can be found on the Folding Society web site at http://www.whooper.demon.co.uk/foldsoc.
For details of how to join the Bike Friday UK User Group, please see the User Group UK page.
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Last updated: 6 June 1999
Copyright (C)1999 Ferrets Anonymous
URL: http://www.whooper.demon.co.uk/bfriday/newsh03/nwtwey.html