{"id":3537,"date":"2022-08-31T19:13:25","date_gmt":"2022-08-31T18:13:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/scurry\/?p=3537"},"modified":"2022-09-01T22:16:53","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T21:16:53","slug":"a-declaration-on-bicycle-assessment-the-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/scurry\/2022\/08\/31\/a-declaration-on-bicycle-assessment-the-decision\/","title":{"rendered":"A Declaration on Bicycle Assessment \u2013\u00a0the Decision"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reader, I bought a Brompton. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Folded<\/a><\/p>\n

After all my research<\/a> \u2013 and a considerable amount of humming and haa-ing \u2013 I finally took Henry\u2019s advice<\/span><\/a> and went to my local bike shop to test-ride a couple of different eBike models. The cheaper one on offer there didn\u2019t work out \u2013\u00a0easy enough to ride and a motor with plenty of power, but nothing like the compactness of the folded Brompton. In the end, I decided that was going to be the most critical factor since I need to take the bike on a train to get to work. <\/span><\/p>\n

At just over \u00a33,000 for the six-speed Electric C-line Explore model the Brompton was one on the most expensive options, but the cost is mitigated since I can buy the eBike through the <\/span>Cycle-to-Work scheme<\/span><\/a>. This allows me to pay in 12 instalments that are deducted from my monthly salary before<\/em> tax. Since I am in the higher tax bracket, that knocks about a grand off the purchase price. Not bad \u2013\u00a0my thanks to the government. <\/span><\/p>\n

I took delivery yesterday and did my first commute to work today. It was\u2026\u00a0good. I reckon it will get better the more I get used to the journey. <\/span><\/p>\n

The motor has three settings which balance power and range. I reckon I will stick to No. 2 for most use but on the return home this evening, with its long, slow climb, I switched to No. 3. The motor kicks in as soon as you start pedalling and made the ride quick and easy. Quicker than the bus, and not too sweaty. <\/span><\/p>\n

I had a little trouble with the bright sunlight which made seeing the road tricky at times. London may be a great city, but its roads are pitted and uneven. On the way up to Hyde Park Corner from Victoria, I narrowly avoided a pot-hole that would have swallowed the front wheel of the Brompton and sent me flying. <\/span><\/p>\n

Otherwise, the main thing I need to work on is my folding technique. I missed trains by seconds going to work and going home because I haven\u2019t yet mastered the twists and turns of the mechanism that reduces the bike to a neat little package. When I got off at Victoria Station this morning, I discovered that I\u2019d somehow managed to catch the hook that locks the front wheel to the frame around the chain. All of the other passengers trooped past me as I struggled to unfold my contraption. I tried not to catch anyone\u2019s eye.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tomorrow, I go again.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reader, I bought a Brompton. After all my research \u2013 and a considerable amount of humming and haa-ing \u2013 I finally took Henry\u2019s advice and went to my local bike shop to test-ride a couple of different eBike models. The … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107,308],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-scientific-life","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/scurry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/scurry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/scurry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/scurry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/scurry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/scurry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3537\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/scurry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/scurry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/scurry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}