Can A Folding Bike Climb? Superbike Vs Brompton Challenge!
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- Опубліковано 20 лис 2021
- Brompton bicycles are synonymous with the city: folding bikes that can be taken on the train and which help to get you around on flat terrain. So what happens when you take a Brompton out of its comfort zone? Can a folding bike climb? We brought along multiple British Hill Climb champion Andrew Feather for a race. It's pro on a Brompton versus Ollie on a superbike!
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Leave us a comment below! - Спорт
I always love watching Ollie attempt to measure himself against a pro bike climber Andrew. Because he is the most mortal compared to the rest of ex-pro rider GCN presenters. I think the majority of us can relate to him. His pain is our pain. And his defeat is our defeat. He's like the people's rider. Nice video Ollie.
the 105 of the presenters
the 'Everyman" of the crew for sure
Except that Ollie is a machine compaired to the rest of us!
As far as I know Andrew isn't even a pro!
Well said
Hitting that like button because Ollie's dignity has been dragged through mud yet again. Hats off to Mr. Feather! But equally, Ollie's emotional strength 👍
wonderful reply!
He got smoked by a guy on a clown bike. Mini little thing you basically ride remotely through stilts lmao
Some say he's a road cyclist, and that he gets dropped a lot. All we know is he’s called Ollie.
Are we trying to make Ollie the Stig of GCN? lol
Excellent. I use a Brompton as my main bike regularly commuting on it. It’s far faster than many think and when it’s pouring or I’m too tired to cycle home, I just fold it and take the bus! Awesome. Thanks for the film
Dang, im doing something wrong. I feel like going uphill in my foldy is so difficult! Im going to try and take it out more.
@@BigTummyAche Try a smaller ring up front, I hit some massive hills and a 38t works great without losing too much upper end speed for commuting.
On a 2 or 3 speed, it definitely is. But that has nothing to do with it being a foldy, but with the nature of gearing. Get a 6 or 8 speed if that's an issue in your area. Or alternatively, go for the electric upgrade.
Brompton is quite a machine. I'd love to have the bike at half its price
Feather is such a machine. Although he had the advantage of matching shoes. Can we please get a video of Connor on the Brompton?
A seatpost the size of a flagpole 🤣
@@jonathanzappala HAHAHAHHAHA
Love that suggestion.
@Mike Hoyer 🤣🤣🤣
Here we go
Andrew may have been on a Brompton, but it was Ollie who folded at the end.
nicely done
That has to be caption of the week.
Or in Ollie’s case, caption of the weak.
Next time on Oli trying to beat Andrew Feather, can an average cyclist on a superbike beat Mr Feather on a unicycle while pulling a tank
...while juggling burning chainsaws blindfolded and a monkey on his head pulling his ears
@@spoeny ... throw in flat tires as well
He would still win! 🤣
:))
HAHAHA
Always a joy to see Andrew Feather in a video.
It's always a great video when the feather is involved, he is such a cool and relaxed dude 👌
Followed someone who was on a Brompton on my morning commute once and was surprised how quick he was, I actually drafted him for a while 😝
Such a tiny frame is pretty aerodynamic
I’ve got a couple of Brompton’s now I seldom get on my road bikes ormy mtb .it’s become my go to Bike I love them
Seems gearing is the issue. Not that Bromptons would want higher gears for commuting, but Andrew could have pulled out more if he'd been able to shift up on the flat. Great race and great fun.
That's kind of the point though. Of course the super bike is going to ride faster than a Brompton. The point was if Ollie could win with such a huge advantage. He still got dropped.
Exactly, 14" wheels are going to give you low gearing to begin with, then you're limited on how big a front sprocket you can fit (50T stock I believe). The road bike was always going to be faster when the hill leveled out. The only other aspects where the Brompton was significantly worse than the road bike is weight and tyres. Any other differences would have had minimal impact on the race.
@@eoinkenny3188 16" and one of the things that's great on smooth surfaces is they have much less rolling resistance than taller tires. The studies are pretty interesting actually. Less inertia to overcome being lighter and smaller as well that's why the Brompton climbs Hills so freaking well. If I could get one more higher gear on my 6-speed Brompton I would be extremely happy. I've seen guys put a double chainring that they manually switch between for when they are wanting to cruise at speed and still have a reasonable gear range just not as low for all the stops and starts and needs to keep flowing ahead of city traffic.
@@NoZenith yeah, I've seen people with the full 21-speed folding bikes with drop bar and even TT bar here... that's would be perfect for climbing
@@kakarot2430 it's been hard to find a Brompton in the states so I reserved one that a shop ordered to their spec from their spring allotment knowing that it would sell. It was basically what I wanted being a Black Raw Lacquer H6R with the wide seat (I didn't need that heavy stock rack as I'd intended to get something much lighter since I just want it for the folded stability andto mount Wheels,). They had chosen the 12% reduced gear ring and that low gear is literally Featherlite when going up a pretty decent incline, I live in a pretty big city that's cut through the middle by a river so there's quite a few Hills to deal with since the Riverwalk tends to go underneath Bridges (yay bike / pedestrian infrastructure that is entirely seasonal because it doesn't get snow/ice removal and floods some portions Every Spring and large portions every few years 😅). When I test rode the bike the H fit better than the M, the wide seat fit better than the narrow and the standard gearing was by far my favorite but you can't have everything 😆 I definitely run out of paddle as soon as I got on the level and I feel like an absolute fool when going downhill haha I basically Coast or spin like crazy to add any speed... and I crave another upper gear. I mean this bike is quite effortless to ride around in this gear set. I've only really used the lowest gear on one Hill and the ease put a smile on my face but I don't think I can keep up if I head out with friends with standard bikes... so I'm researching either increasing the gear ring teeth for the simplest, least invasive upgrade or starting to look into adding a sprocket to my cassette but I think that will be more expensive and quite a bit more technical... so I think I'm going to start with changing out my reduced gear ring to the stock Brompton one or equivalent and getting the longer chain. If I still feel too weak since I'm brand new to cycling I might go back to the reduced gear ring and delve back into stacking gear rings or adding a sprocket 🤔 I'm not even sure how many links I would need in the chain if I did do the two different size to gear rings. I've seen pictures of bikes done this way but I don't have any technical specs on if you need to carry two separate chains or if you can just pop it back and forth on the separate sprockets and have it work pretty well
Found a nice barely used 6spd CHPT3 Brompton for sale earlier this year, it made my commute so fun and I have to admit just folding it up and carrying it to the office without worrying about parking and locking it up was kinda nice.
Yeah more folding bike challenges!
It’s one thing to say that the engine matters and not the bike, but this is just a whole other class of engine we are talking about!
Andrew is a Ferrari engine in a very light car.
Andrew’s a Mercedes or Red Bull F1 car
So the comparison to his performance on a road bike is more interesting. 11min compared to 8:34 means the Brompton is 28% slower than his road bike ... maybe deducting some weather influence and not being trained for this type of geometry ... but even 20% difference is very significant.
Two different questions here, can a bike climb and is it any good at it.
First is a silly question because obviously all bikes can given a powerful enough rider and suitable gears, even with a 100kg trailer or cargo.
The second well obviously a lighter stiffer road bike will be better at climbing.
@@stefanwagener Don't forget, he ran out of gears. It does show how limiting a stock Brompton is in terms of speed through gearing, but otherwise it would have been much closer.
Every video featuring Andrew is a great one. Incredible athlet and apparently a great dude.
You gotta hand it to Oli - he's taking on a lot of challenges where the odds are clearly against him but he still puts up with it and takes the defeat with a grin. That's mega!
It's incredible. Olie is more than a decent cyclist (understatement), and still.... 😵
I think it's BS. Ollie lost on purpose....
500W+ for 5:00 is incalculably tuned.
@@DanTuber Then you've never ridden on a Brompton before nor any of the folding bikes.
Lol at the replies.
That shit is an INSULT to Andrew's skill.
Well done to you both, thank you for having a 'real' bike ridden everyday in all weathers for a change. Really good well done both of you
Just bought a Brompton so I’m loving these. Don’t live in a big flat city, don’t commute anymore (retired) so it’s great to see what else I can do with it. Bromptons are a blast to ride. Maybe give Jenny Graham a go bikepacking on a Brompton. I’d love to see that.
That would be torture. 16" wheel is, literally, the worst thing anyone could take off road. Bromptons have their positives but don't let this video inflate your expectations. They are horrible off road bikes. As are any bike with wheels this small.
@@cjohnson3836 people have ridden them a fair amount on nice hard pack so it could be done - you’d have to get a good location. Or just not expect to so hundreds of km.
@@cjohnson3836 I used to be skeptical about these small wheeled bicycle as well, but after getting used to it, it’s not as bad as it seems.
@@blinmann7007 No amount of will or self-delusion overcomes physics
@@cjohnson3836 I did not deny the fact that the ride is harsh but it’s just not as worst as I first thought
Always like seeing Andrew in the videos, he's an absolute machine and so humble.
No abuse from me Ollie. I am your size, a bit heavier, not a great climber, older and you would have beaten me up that climb by a long shot. Well done and highly entertaining and credit to Andrew who is an amazing climber and to Brompton for their cool little bikes.
What I visualize with that Brompton is....a more rigid stem arrangement and drop bar. Yes it would lose some of its space efficiency when folded but what a little bike it would be with a drop bar and a suitable cockpit to stretch out.
If Andrew could have stretched out with a drop bar on that Brompton and had the proper gearing not to spin out on the flat, he would have likely won by a wide margin, tiny wheels and all and beat all GCN staffers including Simon up that hill. The engine always rules.
Thanks for the great content from across the pond.
Conventional drop bars wouldn’t work well with the fold, but they used to have a bar with 2 levels, the ‘P’ bar. I have this on my Brompton P6R, incidentally mine is the same colour as the one in the video.
Another great video guys. Awesome as always. Keep up the great work.
Does Ollie just aim to get dropped at the earliest opportunity in any challange? Its a good job he the best presenter 👍
I always loved how some of the many folding bike i've had performed in climbing. It must be its low weight and small wheels which offer a great torque/effort relation.
This is the sort of content I have come to expect and enjoy from Ollie. And that Brompton looks like a blast to ride, something like a Schwinn Krate with ten-speed performance. And it'd be fun to have one and a Greyhound bus pass, ride around a city all-day and then ride the bus to another city for another day of sightseeing and wanderings.
Seem as Brompton is not bad! Ollie is a good climber and still been beaten! If my wife see this video I will have an other bike in my garage.
Most folks would look at bike and ridicule, fun but the bikes pack a punch and are very very practical. I ride a Foldie and have done many 100km+ rides. Its pure fun
I like all the GCN videos, and it’s always nice to watch GCN cover foldies. Maybe more of foldies and urban riding in future?
I think you just invented GFCN!
forget the others, just Bromptons. Go GBCN !!
Yes
This video brought a huge smile to my face! You guys are brilliant.
That’s a hack of a challenge 😀 love it👌🏽 great effort you both 💪🏽
So many ways one can be defeated... this one was pretty hilarious. I loved every moment!!!!
Age and health issues forced me into getting a step-through folder with 20" wheels. At first I had trouble adapting to the twitchy feel of it but once I found that the tyres need to be really well pumped up it has become a very pleasant and easy ride.
I have not seen the finish yet, so I do not know how this turns out (but I have a pretty good guess . . . ). Andrew, you are a really good sport for doing all of these videos. Thanks also to GCN for the content.
Only seeing this great video now!! Well done to Andrew AND Olly for bringing us some fun viewing!!!!
That was absolutely incredible. Yes it is a great testament to the Brompton, but even more it just shows how super human Andrew Feather is!!
He has Feather for name, it isn’t fair from the start
I'd love a Brompton.
Great soundtrack during the climbing bits
Love this video showing what a Brommie can do! Andrew wouldn’t spin out if he had the 6 speed Brompton. However, Good job guys. Can you also have Si or Oli do a bike packing video on a Brompton?
No, make Connor do it! Can you imagine the sight of him on a Brompton?
Fascinating not only to see how fast Mr Feather got up this hill but even to see how much quicker he got back his breath and could talk...
not just bikes this channel sells the views of Britain
Well done both of you. Your day will come to Oli, just keep on keeping on and have faith.
Damn, super surprised at the capabilities of that Brompton. I mean Andrew was going to be amazing regardless, however it's eye opening to see how little difference there ends up being relatively speaking. Good stuff, great video.
Really? 2 minutes out of 11 is 18%, I was surprised the disadvantage of the Brompton was so high.
@@ltu42 The Brompton is heavier, it has only 2 gears and the road bike has tires with much less rolling resistance. With a better hub the disadvantage may have been smaller
@@ltu42 This. People can't do statistics. That difference is massive, esp for the best climber in the world. The fact that he was spinning out on the flats after the climb says his body was capable of more than the bike was able to give him. On anyone who doesn't have his fitness and capability (literally, every single other person on the planet), this difference is going to be even more stark.
small wheels require less energy to spin, the same speed is way lower
Took 8 years and GCN finally features a Brompton.
Awesome ride Ollie. Not going to put you down. I was cheering on the final leg and still impressed you almost overtook Andrew. Quite impressed with that little bike too.
Awesome power from Andrew Feather... Incredible... Top Ride 🙂
Love this ! Always makes me smile when I cruise past a group of Lycra lads on my little Brompton. 👍
Not sure your smile is infectious.
Definitely the rider, I once got passed on Ditchling Beacon by Dr Hutch on a Brompton. I thought I was quick, I was wrong.
I absolutely love my Brommie and this video just reenforces that feeling.
I just imagine all the regular cyclists frantically checking strava to find out they were beaten by a guy on a Brompton...
I don't need to check 😢
I held top 4 spot on the steepest climb around here for a year on a brompton. I stopped commuting around there but ot was quite funny, people stop me all the time around red lights to ask if it's electric. You know, once they catch up.
Hahahahah
You mean all the Freds? lmao
I’ll never forget getting smoked by a fat commuter a few years ago. The pain never goes away.
What an incredible bloke Andrew Feather is. Amazing rider in every sense but so down to earth and normal. Brilliant
This kind of videos are so so awesome for my cycling loving boisterous brain, which also loves raw landscape shots.
Not going into the technicalities though.
If that was a six speed brompton, with kojak tyres, no mudguards or luggage block, it wouldn’t have been as close as it was.
I guess Brompton would have sponsored a nice S6E-X (six gears, no luggage rack / mud guards, and titanium fork and rear triangle) if they knew the bike will be used for racing.
@@chrislongitude or even used the new P edition…
Yeah, the difference between the Marathon and the Kojak is massive on my Brompton, and I'm not putting out 500w for a long climb.
From the looks of it, 50T instead of 44T would have made the biggest difference.
You guys come up with the best S#$T ever, the feather is such a dude. All you guys are such a great mix. Superb 👍👍👍👍
Great video! Many thanks. Loved Ollies timing pips! I have a Langtu 20" folding bike which I love! Much much cheaper than those lovely Bromptons here in NZ. Thought about buying another bike for road rides but realised that I just need the one bike. Gets me to the train and further afield to the gym. Also I am retired now.
Amazing effort..Well done
Great video again as always! Also love the fact the Strava segment seems to start in an art shop! If you click the green dot on strava it'll place you in an art shop next to the road. Maybe strap a large artwork to Feather's back next time Ollie? 🤔😁
Kudos to both 🔥
Impressed , nice Race , wonderful Idea
So thoroughly impressed by the Brompton and never seen one as sharp looking at this one. Hope the Brompton is part of the GCN stable and hope to see more of it in comparos.
Agreed. If so, they should get a T-Line, so they can compare apples to apples as they usually have the best bikes of every brand.
My husband once put SPD pedals on his 6 speed brompton and averaged about 2 mph less than on his road bike on a medium level training route. This little folding bike can really fly with a strong rider mashing the pedals. Thanks GCN for this entertaining challenge!
Love my Brompton. Got the wide range 6-speed version. British Racing Green, obvs
Soon to add to my Arsenal of bikes.
Aero Brompton is the way forward!
Same colour as Mine Daren. I love my road bike but the Brompton is so much fun ( and more practical for everyday life ! )
@@mellowgrellow1375 👍🏽 Good for the train and a great pub bike 🤣
I woke up this morning and heard on the radio that Ollie had been sacked. My heart sank but thank God it wasn't the GCN one. Two speed Brompton so rather limiting for Mr F, but a valiant effort from our man with the Doctorate in Synthetic Organic Chemistry. Ollie is a true inspiration to those of us who have never won a thing in our lives and are never likely to.
Superb engine indeed. Kudos, Mr. Feather 👍👍👍👍
Luv these vids Ollie, thanks mate
Great video mate.
Small wheel bikes are awesome...
I built a Moulton spaceframe with 63t:13 chain ratio and 34% hub overdrive gear that rolls on Tioga 20x2.10 powerblocks.
It's an animal.
We love you Ollie! Keep fighting for "the average guy" even though you would absolutely annihilate >95% of the commenters on UA-cam :-)
I love my Brompton fantastic bike, not surprised he got up there so quickly and well done Ollie for trying to catch him. I was going to ask for some more commuter bike content and now we have some.
We should cherish both Andrews, but particularly Mr. Ritchie for a classic bit of British engineering. Good to see the lights and mudguards (with crud-flap!) were kept on for the climb too
Incredible 🚴🏼💨
Thanks for the review, When u have a brompton and start browsing thru ur neighbourhood, that’s when u probably will say: hey i never know this alley, this shop, this cafe, etc :) have fun exploring
I would love a video on Andrew Feather on steel bike or mountain bike climb
Thank you very much for this video! At this time, I am looking for a folding bicycle and because of this, I am comparing a lot of brands. Brompton seems to be a brand, that will be usable for years ,because of its high quality. The need to have a tiny package, when the bike is folded, is given and the parts like light and porter are integrated and must not be bought seperately. This may be the reason, why the Brompton bikes seems to be expensive to the other brands, but if I am right, because of the usability for years, they are not expensive.
1:57 Andrew's little smirk in the background after "his name is Feather for pete's sake" 😂
Had a friend who did the Tokyo - MT. Fuji ride on a Bromton (very hilly and with very long climbs) while I was feeling the pinch on my Roubaix. Relatively low weight and gears helps.
Nice to see your video bro!
amazing, please do this challenge again with a brompton T line Please!!!
And that's on a regular ole Brompton. I'd like to see Feather on something like: Pacific Reach GT, Allen Sports Ultra X or Lios Nano. All high performance folders. Fun vid as always.
I live in Genova: an italian town full of hills.
Going backup home, I climb along a usual one with 23% gradient with my Brompton superlight.
I replaced the original bottom bracket with a titanium one and the original pedals with Ezy Allway.💪
Thank you
Nice n I enjoyed this video.
I have just purchased a Brompton and am amazed at its acceleration, which can only be down to the small wheels. It would be interesting to run the competition between a top spec Brompton and a top spec modern Moulton, which was, of course, the original small wheeled bicycle.
THAT WAS FUN TO WATCH!
I liked the way the drivers behind were respectful in following- (dont know if they were their parents or what, but....)
We love you Ollie!!! Great video!
Good performance of brompton hope ihave someday even second hand hoping can be useful here in philippones very expensive here
I love both my Bromptons, they are lovely to ride, but this video has blown away my excuse for being slow
I did a half ironman on a Brompton once, just coz I could :) I think I was about 20% slower than on my TT bike. Worst was a 10% hill, in spite of this video, folding bikes really aren't great on hills.
i believe many will want to know the spec of the Brompton
Very surprising!
Always nice to see a Brompton (with mudguards and flaps) outrun something else. They can be very quick. Many years ago, I jumped a red light at 6:45 am outside Waterloo (completely empty road, etc). Little did I know that the police were stalking the junction for errant cyclists, but furthermore, I had no idea they were chasing me. It wasn't until I'd stopped briefly at the traffic lights at the Strand end of Waterloo Bridge and then carried on into Covent Garden did they finally catch me. I had nearly 20 years on them, and they were completely out of puff when they finally pulled me over.
Now, if only I had known they were following me....
It depends on your folding bike. In 2008 Rob English (the British speed record holder) rode a Bike Friday Speeding Tikit Bike Friday in Philly's notorious Manayunk Hill Climb, coming in first in the folding bike category (and rather well overall). The Speeding Tikit has the same wheels and overall shape as the Brompton but is better geared and much lighter.
There is always a next time oli. Feather is the climbing god
Finally a folding bike segment I love it!
Glad you like it!
Great blessings from Colombia✌
Hello,shout out from philippines❤️
I can't spin out on the flat on my Brommie!! Nice fun video.
Yay! Can now claim to be in an exclusive club with Ollie of people who have been ripped apart by a guy on a Brompton whilst going up hill. To add insult to injury the guy was a track cyclist so I have less defence than Ollie, although he did like Andrew had impressive power output.
The video also reminded me I used to have a loop which included the gorge (when I Lived out that way) up new road shorter but as tough in a different way as the gorge turn left at the top (not right to the pub at priddy) then down the gorge and home. New road is not something I'd descend full tilt just too narrow
Brompton bring you everywhere! its amazing!