Yes I know. The words ‘exciting’, ‘Brompton’ and ‘bag’ don’t sit comfortably in the same sentence. But bear with me. Brompton bikes are no longer the exclusive preserve of a particular kind of cycling geek. As the venerable Brompton’s domination of the global high-end folding bike market has increased it’s come to be appreciated by a whole new generation of international urbanites. The Brompton is now, officially, cool.
This is my latest one (or at least it will be when I’ve finished paying for it…) the very coolest Brompton of all, (IMHO) a 3spd with Titanium ends. I haven’t even ridden it anywhere that isn’t carpeted yet but it’s great to once again have a Brompton in the family.
Anyway, waffle waffle. I was approached recently by Demano a Barcelona based bag maker, whose range includes a Brompton bag. Very few companies make Brompton bags, Brompton’s own are the most numerous, unsurprisingly. And then there’s offerings from tradish’ Brit’ companies like Carradice and Brooks which, though extremely high quality and desireable, seem to hanker after a ‘Tweed Run’ view of the world. They’re nice and all but, you know, I don’t wear brogues and a Barbour and a deer stalker hat.
One of the things which attracted me to the Demano bag is the very thing which attracted me to the Dutch Clarjis bags which now grace most of the families’ bikes – their recycledness. Just like Clarjis Demano use old vinyl advertising banners. The result is an attractive, tough, waterproof and durable range of bags which has strong environmental credentials. And they’re all individually unique. And a big chunk less expensive than most.
The Demano Brompton bag is available from CitiBici, Barcelona (who ship worldwide).
The one they sent me was manufacturered using a banner which once advertised a Barcelona sketeboarding event, and to my delight, features the city skyline which includes a glimpse of one of the loveliest buildings on earth, Gaudi’s Basilica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia. Wonderful.
So, I await an opportunity to test this bag with eager anticpation. Full test coming soon.
Is this now the strangest looking Africa Bike on the planet?