Are Small Wheels Really That Funny?

I’ve been riding the Brompton around work quite a lot - it’s just perfect for zipping between appointments in an area that’s just four miles by six.

It seems to have a strange result on younger chaps though. A young chap alone - nothing. Silence.

But in groups, one of them will burst out in “oh-look-at-me-laughing-at-that” laughter. I think he’s probably the one who feels his masculinity threatened by those small, 16″ wheels (that say I have no need to compensate for anything), and in an effort to divert his chums attention away from his own inadequately proportioned *ahem* wheels & head tube, will start to laugh.

Strange.

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6 Responses to “ Are Small Wheels Really That Funny? ”

  1. Kim on March 8, 2011 at 10:46 pm

    Are Small Wheels Really That Funny? Yes, next question…

    Well actually when I lived in Aberdeen, I had a colleague who used to ride in from the station on his Brompton. I lived not far from the station and saw him passing the end of my road on morning, I mistakenly thought I could easily take him on my shiny new Norco. Big mistake, every time we reached a hill, he just pulled away from me, I never did catch him…

  2. Patrick Carr on March 8, 2011 at 11:05 pm

    A lot of my work is in schools and youth centres. (I work for a lovely little CTC project called bikeclub.org.uk ) My Brommie and I provoke a different reaction. “Cool bike, Mister!” is about the most common. It could be the setting that provokes politeness, but I’ve heard the same from young people in my North-East village too.

    The only rudeness I’ve encountered was in London, when I complimented a fellow Brompton owner on his powder-blue colour choice, and was met with fear and loathing in equal measure.

  3. tom on March 9, 2011 at 6:58 am

    I always assume that young men who shout out at other men in public are repressed homosexuals. One day their cry for attention will attract the right sort of guy, until then the rest of us need to be tolerant. Apparently women on bikes put up with far worse.

  4. John the Monkey on March 9, 2011 at 8:21 am

    One does get used to smiling and agreeing “Yes, it is just like Transformers.”

    Mrs Monkey fairly hoots with laughter at the sight of me on my S-6L, she says it brings to mind a circus bear.

  5. PaulM on March 10, 2011 at 11:54 am

    Unfortunately, South West Train passengers don’t seem to find them that funny - they seem to resent the fact (or deny it altogether) that folders are carried as luggage if they are folded, so not subject to the cycle carriage restrictions.

    That’s why, if you stand at the main entrance to Waterloo of a morning, you’ll see literally dozens of Brommies pass by in a space of a few minutes.

  6. Algernond on March 12, 2011 at 2:21 pm

    Some people do look quite odd on their Bromptons though: http://plixi.com/p/83437042