This little light of mine

I think of cute determination on the rare occasions when I see a Brompton. With Harris Cyclery and Broadway Bicycles now selling them it's become a lot easier to welcome a Brompton into one's tiny Boston apartment.

So while today is (so far) merely a two Brompton day, on Monday I saw a record-shattering four Bromptons around town, meaning three that weren't my husbands!!! (for the record, I didn't see Sexy Brompton or Elton from Harris, so that means there are at least 6 Bromptons in Boston!)

Last spring I saw a wonderful Brompton tail light modification. We have now implemented a version of this ourselves. Here you can see the new Planet Bike blinkie mounted to his rear rack:

Those two brass pieces are corner braces from the hardware store. I think a pack of four of them cost $2.50 but I could be off by as much as 50%. I just don't remember. They hold a Planet Bike Taillight Rack Bracket - you will need a set of screws and bolts (we conveniently had some, if you don't have some plan to buy these too).

The bracket is compatible with Blinky 3,5,7 and Superflash - had I known this I would have bought the Superflash, which is by far the best tail light ever.

Yes, the light is off-center. The holes were drilled into the rack slightly off-center. Don't know why.


Here you can see how the corner brackets and the rack bracket still keep the profile of the light within the Brompton's carrier wheels. This means that the light does not strike anything when the bike is folding and unfolding.

Here the light is safely folded under. You can also see another light dangling from the seat. I cannot find this light anywhere on the web, but I know it's out there. We bought it at Harris but they don't list it. It's great for a Brompton because it is so flexible and not impeding the seat post.


In one weekend we went from one tail light to three. Three tail lights are probably overkill, but given the dangers of cycling Boston it makes me feel better to know that he's visible. The helmet-mounted light moves with his movements (including checking traffic where it can't be seen anymore), the seat-mounted light swings wildly with all movements, and the rack-mounted light is low, but constant, and that's good.

Finally, apropos these darling Bromptons, you must remember:
Ce n'est pas un petit vélo, c'est un vélo qui sait se faire petit.