OLD STREET On that day, me, my girl and our Sinclair A-bikes got off the tube at Old St. Station to get some digital prints done. My travel card didn’t work on the exit, so I had to ask a station staff to open the gate for me. (*mind you, A-bike is small enough to get through the normal gate!) While my mind was occupied with wondering why the machine on the gate didn’t recognise the ticket, the station staff caught me with a surprise. “How did you find the bike?” My mind went blank and just replied, “Err… it’s slow, but quite okay.” What an awful answer that was! I should have told him how good A-bike is, and how much I love it right? Anyway, he told me he’s actually looking at A-bike to buy. It was new to me and made me really happy.

Is every Londoner shy to the “new” thingy?

SHAFTESBURY AVENUE
After we’ve done with a photo lab at Clerkenwell Rd., we cycled the road down towards central via Holborn. Our A-bikes provided comfortable smooth ride, and we got off our bike at the end of Shaftesbury Av. Over there, we had a conversation with a gentleman who’s wondering if A-bike meets his requirement — daily long distance ride.

I told him what’s good and bad about A-bike, and he expectedly concluded “probably not”, and I agreed with him.
I personally would love to do a long ride with my A-bike, and some A-bikers out there had done it already, but I suppose it’s not everybody’s cup of tea.

“…but I really like the idea of the bike!” He added though.

SOHO
I was rolling my A-bike in fully unfolded “A” shape, and my girlfriend’s A-bike in my backpack (Yes, she refused to carry hers…Argh!), walking through Soho. Then we got approached by a young lady at Brewer street.

“Can I ask you something about your bike?” “I met a guy with the bike on the tube the other day, and I’m really really intrigued by it. It’s so small!!”

Since the lady caught us when we were thinking to ride again, I took out the A-bike from my backpack and let her feel the weight of a normal A-bike (mine is no longer considered normal). It was funny to find a bit of disappointment on her face when she lift it up.

“erm… it’s a bit heavier than I thought…. but it still much lighter than other folding bikes, isn’t it?”

I said yes and explained to her how well A-bike fit into Londoner’s life style. She gave us the double-thumbs-up and said “Perfect!!”

However, she told me that she found A-bike in Selfridges is a little pricy (GBP170 according to her). I gave her some website addresses including Mayhem UK Ltd. to find a better offer. I hope she gets one soon and enjoy A-bike life.

CARNABY STREET
Riding our A-bikes on the quiet alleys of Soho to the café at Great Marlborough St. was absolute delight. Nothing beats Sinclair A-bike for this kind of short A-B journey, which we get a lot in London.

Later on, I was there explaining all about A-bike once again to a gentleman at Carnaby St.. I realised that I got much better doing that compared with earlier that morning, and made my girlfriend said to me “You talk a lot on A-bike, almost like a rep!”

Most of the people (including the gentleman at Carnaby) came up to us on that day were seriously considering to get A-bike. This proves how much Londoners seek portable booster for their mobility.

I’m not an A-bike rep, but I can say this. Although A-bike is not super cheap and its tiny wheels make you look like a bear on a tricycle when you ride it, A-bike works real great in London — needless to say it’s also the lightest, the smallest and the cheapest foldable-bike-in-a-bag. so,
C’mon Londoners! Get your A-bike now!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 18th, 2007 at 1:22 pm and is filed under A-Bike Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.