I used to ride a bicycle up to 12,000 miles a year – now I would just fall off. I have developed a balance problem and so decided to try a trike. Now, everyone says that trikes are for people with balance problems, but I tried one with two wheels at the back and could not move! Most roads have camber and with two wheels at the back on a slope, you are sitting at an angle and my ears kept telling me that I was falling. So I then tried a trike with two wheels at the front, which was much better, because my eyes could see that both wheels were on the road, passing the message to my brain that we were not, in fact, tipping over.
So I bought a new Newton trike with 700C wheels. It seemed a great idea and the answer to my problem, but it soon left me very annoyed, as it had lots of faults.These ranged from an unfinished braze, through to brakes that jammed on all the time, with lots of problems in between. It was pretty unrideable. I took it to St John Street Cycles in Bridgwater and they eventually spent eight months re-designing and rebuilding the whole front end, producing the superb machine I now own and enjoy.
…Stephen Parry secretly converted a Brompton into a trike for me…
Without Wheels
Not the smallest folding package in the world, but tiny by trike standards
Meanwhile, I was without wheels, so Stephen Parry, designer of the SP Brompton and a friend, secretly converted a Brompton into a two wheels at the front trike for me. He turned up one day with a big smile on his face and asked my husband and myself to visit his workshop as he had something to show us. Initially he was concerned about whether it would be stable enough, but it was fine. I took it for a ride, but was gone for so long that Stephen and my husband got worried, as they thought I may have fallen off. No, I was just enjoying riding the unusual trike and having a wonderful time!
The trike has the usual Brompton 3-speed hub, plus a double chain ring, giving six gears.V-brakes on the front are operated by a twin-cable lever, backed up by the standard rear brake.
The frame folds like any other Brompton and the handlebars fold down onto the top tube. Not super- compact, but easy enough to get into the house for storage – most trikes are such big beasts that it’s impossible to get one through the front door.This one even fits in the back of a car. Folded dimensions are approximately 92cm x 92cm x 66cm high. [558 litres or 20 cubic feet. Eds]
Far Superior
I have now done well over 600 miles on the SP Brompton Trike. My usual route is 26 miles including a 1:6 hill and I rode this route about twice a week for many months. I did manage the hill, but found it difficult with such limited gearing. I considered asking Stephen to put more gears in, but by then, SJS Cycles had rebuilt my Newton trike and as that had 24 gears and a more traditional (less upright) riding position, it was better suited to the longer rides that I wished to do.
One very noticeable difference between the two trikes, was that the SP Brompton, which really was a prototype, was far superior in build quality and functionality (it worked!) to the production Newton trike. But having now spent a total of £3,000 on the Newton, I have decided to keep it, as it is better for longer distances.
The SP Brompton Trike obviously cost money too, although it was only about half the cost of the Newton. I would give it excellent marks for build quality, functionality and foldability/versatility.The only comment I would make, is that if you are going to use it regularly up steep hills, you would want more gears.
Steve Parry, SP Bicycles . tel 01934 516158 . mail spbicycles@btopenworld.com
