Let me first introduce George Nepia:
That's my Brompton bike's name... all the subscription and hire bikes are named (something I did not comment upon in my last post on Brompton https://www.hedkayse.com/blogs/news/brompton-bike-hire).
I picked up my Brompton bike this week.
Clealry the Brompton Bike's a great way of avoiding public transport (especially the focus during the COVID 19 pandemic), and in London my desire to avoid the tubes led me to the use of "Boris" bikes, cycling around London feels great, beautiful architecture, short disctances and now much better cycle segregation; the Brompton Bike is making this even better (and quicker)!
Having used the Brompton hire bikes in London (and been tempted in Portsmouth) on a number of occassions and finding them great to cycle around and importantly get between meetings, without the last minute panic of where to drop the bike off (or pick one up). I thought the subscription was worth a try.
Pricing is very straightforward:
|
Pricing |
Annual Fee |
Includes |
|
Annual |
£30/month |
Insurance and discounts from the merchandise partners - Hedkayse included |
|
Flexi - 30 days |
£42/month |
"You're riding solo - but we'll throw in a few treats in while you stick around". |
The bike gets a 6 monthly service, you need to drop the bike off at one of the Brompton Docking stations (all over the country - https://www.bromptonbikehire.com/docks), and the same if there are any faults. Not tried this element yet and would hope I can get a bike to use whilst being serviced.
The support desk have been helpful during my use of the hire bikes, my camera on my phone failed and the bike release and return is via a QR which was a little challenging!
As per the comments on the hire usage, they are lightweight (compared to hire bikes) convenient, no looking for parking and of course they can get you to and from your commute as well. So far so good, but only 2 days of usage in the role so far. But hopefully in December....