Tag: Brompton

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Brompton World Championship 2014

Brompton World Championship 2014

Brompton World Championship 2014July 27 will see the 9th annual Brompton World Championship return to the historic Goodwood Motor Circuit. As always the main focus is on the Brompton Treble of events, which will consist of the famous Brompton World Championship, the fast paced Brompton Sprint and a non-competitive 26km Brompton Meander – Those taking on all three challenges can then go head to head for the title of Treble Champion.

 

More than 700 riders are expected to take part this year making the sprint to unfold their bikes and head off on the 15km course around the Goodwood track. As is traditional the event will also include a range of things for all the family including a bike expo, event fair, picnic area and numerous child-friendly Brompton-related activities.

 

Will Butler-Adams, Managing Director of Brompton Bicycle comments on the Championship: ‘This event is of paramount importance to us at Brompton, it is our biggest opportunity to give something back to the Brompton community and meet the people from all over the world who ride our bikes. Racing on a new track last year was exhilarating, and I think I speak for a lot of Brompton owners when I say I’m looking forward to beating my time this year!’

 

2014 sees a record 16 satellite events taking place all over the world from Mexico to Japan, Germany to Australia. Further details of the Brompton World Championship at bwc.brompton.com

 

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News

Brompton Bicycle Launch UK ‘Junction’

Brompton Bicycle

Brompton BicycleWorld-renowned for their folding bikes, Brompton Bicycle have unveiled their flagship store in Covent Garden, the first of its kind in the UK; branded as a ‘Brompton Junction’ it follows the success of similar projects in Amsterdam, Hamburg, Kobe and Shanghai. Located on the site of the invention of the hobby-horse bicycle, the shop not only showcases the full range of Brompton bikes, bags and accessories, but also includes a workshop and café, which, for added quirkiness, serves Tregothnan tea, the only tea grown in the UK.
Commenting on their decision to open in London Managing Director of Brompton Bicycle, Will Butler-Adams commented: ‘Our first Brompton Junction opened in Kobe, Japan, two years ago, driven by the boldness of one of our keen dealers. Since then we have been desperate to open one in our home city. In London we want to put the Brompton, a humble bicycle, somewhere where people wouldn’t expect it, in famous Covent Garden. We want more people to realise that riding a bike in a city is for everyone, six inch Louboutin heels, funky Paul Smith jackets – they all work. Through the Junction we want to not only get Londoners on bikes but also show visitors from around the world how the Brompton can transform the way we get around cities.’
The store is open 7 days a week and can be found at 76 Long Acre, Covent Garden WC2E 9JS – map here. For further information on Brompton Bicycle in general see brompton.co.uk

 

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News

Brompton US Championship Race

Brompton US Championship Race

Brompton US Championship RaceThe undeniably quirky Brompton US Championship bicycle race – organised and hosted this year by Calhoun Cycle of Minneapolis – has seen amateur athletes from around America travel to the Midwest, suit up in business attire and go head to head on their folding, 16-inch wheel Brompton bicycles. Men’s winner, Stephen Regenold, and women’s top performer, Beckie Alexander, competed against ‘Bromptoneers’ from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Tucson, and Portland, Oregon, among other places. The winners both earn trips to London, this July to compete against a field of 1,000 contestants from all over the world in the Brompton World Championship.
The 2013 event took place in the aftermath of violent storms that downed trees and power lines around the course, but the weather didn’t deter a large crowd of spectators who turned out to line the streets. Runners up in all categories received prizes from event sponsors Brompton, Brooks England, Nutcase Helmets, Schwalbe North America, and Walz Caps. Four race participants – Ed Stiles, Francie Stefan, Cynthia Rose, Bryan Beretta – took home the Triple Crown Award, new this year, for their participation in all of the available events.

 

For further details and results from the Brompton US Championship Race see bromptonuschampionship.com and for details of the Brompton World Championship, part of the Orbital Cycling Festival (Goodwood Motor Circuit, July 27-28), see bwc.brompton.co.uk 

 

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News

London Cycling Campaign Awards

London Cycling Campaign AwardsBrompton Bicycles have won Best Product at the London Cycling Campaign award, hosted in the capital this week by Ned Boulting. The award, voted for by members of the public, is just the latest accolade for the seemingly timeless Brompton (see Cyclo’s feature of Brompton here) and in collecting the latest token of recognition Will Butler-Adams, managing director, commented,  ‘This award is a great recognition of the success we have had manufacturing our folding bikes in London for the last 25 years. Awards like this mean a lot to everyone at the company, manufacturing is a difficult industry and to get this recognition is fantastic’

 

Other winners of the public awards, which saw over 10,000 votes cast, included both Rapha and road.cc. There were also five awards for cycling initiatives chosen by the LCC panel; these saw a range of grass-roots projects commended, from TfL’s Safer Lorries Procurement Plan to Hackney Council’s schools Bike Around the Borough. The night was a celebration of just how much cycling in London has grown, with organisers saying, ‘The awards come at a fantastic time for cycling, and we’re thrilled so many people voted in our new-look London Cycling Awards, and congratulate our winners as well as everyone who was nominated… This has been an amazing year for cycling – more and more Londoners are enjoying cycling for their everyday journeys and it’s clear that cycling has really captured the imagination of the public.’

 

The full list of winners is:

 

Best London Cycling Initiative:?Transport for London ‘Safer Lorries’ procurement programme

Best Borough Cycling Initiative (joint award):?London Borough of Camden and City Of London, two-way cycling on one-way streets

Best Community Cycling Project:?London Bike Kitchen (pictured above)

Best Schools Cycling Initiative:?Hackney Bike Around The Borough

Best Workplace Cycling Initiative:?Heathrow Cycle Hub

Best Cycling Champion:?Sir Bradley Wiggins

Best Bike Brand:?Rapha

Best Product: ?Brompton folding bicycle

Best Cycling Communication:?road.cc website

Best Retailer:?Cycle Surgery

 

For further information on the London Cycling Campaign see lcc.org.uk

 

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Events

Brompton Urban Challenge

brompton urban challengeBrompton Bicycle have revealed details of a new non-competitive event for London, the Brompton Urban Challenge, set to take place on May 19. The format will offer participants something a little different to a traditional cycling event; orienteering skill and ingenuity rather than speed, will define the winning teams. In the urban jungle of the UK capital, teams of Brompton owners will ride around the city completing some Brompton-based challenges (Brompton track stand anyone?) and picking up points along the way by photographing the bikes in different places and scenarios.

 

Setting out from Brompton HQ at the Look Mum No Hands café bar in Old Street, teams will navigate between set checkpoints to be announced on the day; members of the Brompton team will be present at each checkpoint to assign teams new challenges, help to send photos back to HQ and even offer a few clues and route tips. Then once the challenges are completed, ‘Bromptoneers’ will be welcomed back to Look Mum No Hands for a post-event reception and some top refreshments.

 

The entry fee is a mere £10 and registration is now open with 125 places available (open to both individuals and teams) – further details and online entry at brompton.co.uk

 

For information on Look Mum No Hands, see lookmumnohands.com

 

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Featured Features

In Praise of the Brompton

The Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary would be an incredibly cumbersome name for a bike. Fortunate then that said church, overlooked by engineering graduate Andrew Ritchie’s bedroom workshop whilst looking for a good name for his prototype folding bike, was popularly know as the Brompton Oratory – or more simply still The Brompton.

 

Ritchie graduated as an engineer in 1968 with the intention of pursuing a career in computing, but found himself instead self-employed as a landscape gardener. In 1975 he came across a Bickerton folding bike (known as the Bickerton Portable and first produced in 1971) and decided he could improve on its design. With financial backing from friends he produced Prototype 1, which, despite larger 18inch wheels, bears an uncanny similarity to the models still produced in West London today – testament to both Ritchie’s genius and the phrase ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…’

 

Today, not only is the Brompton the go to folder for commuters it also boasts something of a galaxy of star fans. Top Gear’s James May, author Will Self (‘the first time I saw a Brompton folding bicycle, I fell in love with it.’), actor Woody Harrelson and singer Katie Melua – who, of course, claims to know how many bicycles there are in Beijing – all love the Brompton. But what is it that makes this such a design classic?

 

‘Brompton Bicycles possess three major qualities of a great iconic design,’ says Alison Hung of product design gurus LKK Innovation, ‘Aesthetics: it has an instantly recognizable image. Functionality: that answers its users’ needs for more convenience. Quality: a design that is carefully executed into a product giving it the quality that its users can always rely on. Although there are imitations Brompton Bicycles’ cult status has never been surpassed, and that is the staying power of a truly iconic design.’

 

The full Brompton feature will be in issue 3 of Cyclo for iPad coming soon. For issues 1 and 2 take a look at Cyclo in the iTunes Store – issue 1 is free, issue 2 just £1.49