Me, Myself & My Brompton

You can easily picture Saturday evenings in Catalonia by thinking about tapas, beer, terraces and plaças full of people until really late at night. That’s why Sunday mornings are usually quiet, because people rest and most cafes won’t even open until around 10 a.m. It’s the perfect time to enjoy a couple of hours on the bike. That’s what this post is trying to capture, places and things I see during my rides.

The Bike

While I don’t intend to turn this post into a bike review, let’s talk a little bit about the bike. Fortunately, Barcelona is one of the most bike friendly cities in the world, so a bike is a good investment, especially a folding one. When I decided to buy one I was considering two options: The Mini Folding Bike and the Brompton. A folding bike was a must, since leaving your bike outdoors in Barcelona is not a good idea. Plus I live in a really old building with super narrow stairs and no elevator. There’s simply not enough space to carry upstairs a “normal” bike. The amazing and practical folding mechanism of the Brompton helped me decide between the two. Brompton was the winner, even if it was a considerably more expensive option.

Speed

Surprisingly, despite the small wheels, a Brompton can be really fast. What I realised is that the number of gears doesn’t matter. What is important is the range of the gears, so a 3 speed Brompton can be super sufficient for almost any type of need, longer distances or hilly terrains. I got the 6 speed option because the black edition comes with 6 gears by default, but I don’t use all of them.

places to ride

Barcelona offers a lot of options when it comes to riding your bike, from your neighbourhood streets or the city’s famous parks to the seaside, which seems to be a favourite among bike riders. Most of my pictures were taken in the Poble Nou area, the former industrial heart of the city, now famous for its streetart.