Why I Bought the Brompton T Line (and Why I'd Tell You Not To)
Cycling · Published 5/27/2024 ·
Here’s the translated body:
A faux-Brompton…
Search for “faux Brompton” in Korea, or “trifold” overseas, and you’ll turn up a flood of bikes that look like a Brompton but maybe aren’t quite. And at some point they’ve quietly worked their way deep into our everyday lives. What this means is that as Brompton’s patents have gradually expired, dozens of similar products have been designed, manufactured, and sold, mostly out of Taiwan and China.
I do ride a Brompton.
And not just any one — the T Line, the most expensive of the lot.
I’d like to say a few words about that. First off, the T Line costs 8.59 million won. It’s 12-speed, it weighs such-and-such, blah blah blah… I’m honestly not the type who cares about any of that. But I am the type who’s drawn to using the flagship model. Among the people around me there are the ones who keep it casual, the ones who put an entry-level bike to really good use, and then there’s me — the “I don’t really know much, but I’m going to experience the very best anyway!” type. Everyone’s got their own perfectly good reasons. Everyone except me, that is…
I’m just the type who gets curious about flagships — the products each maker claims to have poured all their best technology into — and wants to experience them if I can. Do I then get all worked up and obsessed over how much better and more amazing it is to use? Nope. If anything, it’s the opposite. I buy them and barely use them… or I use them for a little while and then sell them secondhand at a massive loss… And it’s not just bikes — this same spending pattern, this same way of using services, this same drive toward the best possible quality as a maker, runs through other parts of my life too.
But even so, I don’t have the stamina, the money, or the time to chase the best in every single thing around me and every service I use. I just pick one or two things I like and go with those…
So, is the Brompton T Line good to ride?
Ha. Let me lead with the answer… yes. It is good, I’ll give it that.
But is it worth the money? Is it the kind of thing where nothing else will do? Ask me that and I can answer instantly: “Don’t buy the T Line.” I recently came to a realization. I’m not going to insist on owning the best anymore… I’ve done enough of that. That said, selling a Brompton would mean taking a big depreciation hit, and I’ve already bought it, so I’m planning to ride it hard for the next ten years.
I don’t think it’s worth the money. 8.59 million won is enough to do a whole lot of other things. ^^
Let’s focus on the memories!
A bicycle is a wonderful means of getting around, one that generates so many memories. To some it’s transportation, to others it’s exercise equipment, and to others still it’s a tool for building memories with their kids — a genuinely feel-good thing. As a tool everyone pays for and uses, it’s also a great thing to compare and argue over — this one’s good, that one’s not. It’s eye-catching, too. But that’s exactly what they want. Who? The sellers. ^^
Once you’ve bought it, that’s the good bike. Just use the bike you bought to exercise your hardest, build memories, do some fun tuning, and enjoy it. I just really wish people would stop saying this and that about other people’s spending choices. The choice is yours to make, isn’t it? Haha.
I’ve decided to focus on the memories.
What’s precious are the memories I’ve piled up riding around here and there. The bike itself isn’t precious, hahahaha. The reason I bought the Brompton T Line is simple, really… If you just look at me and think, “Huh, so there’s a crazy guy out there who buys a bike that expensive?” — that’s about right.
Thank you.
#trifold #brompton #fauxBrompton #bromptonTLine
Contact: bumseok.view [at] gmail [dot] com
