BikeLife: Brompton Borough Roll Top Bag

Daniel Milnor

May 28

One of my goals in life is to spend as much time as possible traveling with my Brompton, and one of the essentials with this goal is having front luggage. Enter the Brompton Borough Roll Top Bag. For those of you who aren't familiar with this brand of folding bike, the Brompton comes with a front luggage mount. Various companies around the world produce bags specifically for these bikes as many Brompton owners use their machines for work and for commuting. Carrying a computer, a change of clothes, some food and plenty of extras is just par for the course for Brompton devotees.

*Enter the Brompton Borough Roll Top Bag.*

The back of the bag is lined with massive pockets and both sides of the Borough also have mesh bottle pockets which are mandatory for water hounds like me. This is the largest bag in this line and I bought this specifically for my upcoming needs. Later this summer I will use the train system and this bike and bag combo to hit three East Coast cities. I'll be working for Blurb, so my equipment needs could cover a wide range. At the minimum I will need at least one camera, my computer, drives, audio kit and at least one change of clothes as East Coast cities during summer means insane heat and humidity. I'm banking on the people I'm meeting with being okay with me soaked in sweat. (I'm not kidding.)

*This thing is massive when fully opened up.*

*The inside is HUGE and also has a built in laptop sleeve.*

The Borough has a shoulder strap as well as a crossover strap on the front that allows for things like helmets or jackets to be stored quickly. Although not entirely waterproof, this bag comes with a bright orange rain cover and is very secure when it comes to downpours. (And yes, the orange bag with go nicely with my flame lacquer model.) So, Brompton as Blurb vessel is nearly complete. I might swap the Schwalbe Marathon Racer tires for the more robust tour version of this tire. Changing flats on a sixteen-inch wheel with Schwalbe tires is no joke and it's NOT easy, so a more puncture resistant tire is a must.(The local bike shop keeps these on hand for this exact reason.) I've been running the Marathon Plus Tour on my other bikes for over a decade. And lastly, I need to swap the grips for Ergon models and I need to swap the seat, again. This seat was new to me, one ride, before my wife rode it and said "You need to make your seat my seat." Now I must find another. I REALLY want this to work folks. Using the bike to nav cities around the world is a high priority for me. We gotta get more butts on bikes, and this might be a good way.