Product Showcase

Carradice has been hand crafting quality cycle luggage for over 70 years in their factory in Nelson, England. Not many companies that were started in the 1930's are still in business, but Carradice is. In fact they are still in the same town and continue to be in family hands.

We import the Carradice product because we feel that it is special both in regards to design and quality. Being a single store front makes importing quite a hassle as there are a good number of details involved in getting the product into the shop (what was the tariff number and who does the check for duty go to?), but as a specialty retailer we see great value in the Carradice brand and feel that it is worth the effort.
Here is a link our Carradice product: Carradice at Perennial Cycle

Their specialty is hand crafted bicycle bags made of cotton duck that are designed for long life. These new City Folder bags designed specifically for Brompton Folding Bicycles are classic in their style and feel, though they have updated features to fit the world that we live in. All three bags are massive and loaded with features. The black and the green (referred to as "originals" as they are made of cotton duck) are identical in design and features, simply different colors. The gray Carradry is designed to be a waterproof bag, while the cotton duck models are highly water resistant. The Carradry model is slightly smaller because it does not have the two back pockets, but rather two mesh pouches. Also, the Carradry model's Laptop bag is not removable to be used as a bag of it's own (unlike the cotton duck models).

SPECIFICATIONS:

Main Compartment:
16 x 5-1/2 x 14" (1232 cu in.)

Laptop Bag:
15 x 10 x 2"

Back Pockets (on Originals):
5 x 3-1/2 x 8" (130 cu in.)

TOTAL CAPACITY:
Originals > 1492 cu in., 25 Liters

The City Folders are very easy to mount and unmount from the bike (a 5 second task). Carradice uses the front carrier block and bag frame that Brompton has designed and manufactured on the City Folder. This system is strong, light and long lasting.

The bracket that attaches to the bicycle (Front Carrier Block) bolts onto mounting holes that are on all Brompton headtubes. This means that the weight does not influence the steering of the bike. When you turn the handlebars, the bag does not turn with them.

While the original models use a pair of nice looking leather straps to lash down the top cover, they have a nylon buckle (like the Carradry model) that works as the quick buckle and unbuckle for the top (these nylon buckles are hidden under the leather straps). The leather straps are to be used to tighten and loosen the fit of the top depending on how overstuffed your bag might be.

There is a laptop bag inside of the main compartment that is nicely padded with a few pockets (phone, camera and power chord). This bag is suspended  to prevent your laptop from banging the bottom of your bag each time you hit a bump. The cotton duck models use velcro straps to attach the laptop bag. This makes removing the laptop bag a cinch and they provide a separate small shoulder strap to allow you to use the laptop bag as it's own bag. The Carradry model's padded laptop bag is the same bag, though the bag is not removable. There also is a larger shoulder strap for walking about with the City Folder (all models).

Take a Look Mirrors are well designed, highly adjustable mirrors that attach to your glasses, helmet visor or your helmet using the stick-on helmet adapter. The mirror itself is a glass mirror of good quality and the components of the mounting hardware are stainless steel with brass sleeves. I have found the mirrors to be very durable and due to the brass sleeves being used as pivot points they are extremely adjustable. These are the best glasses/helmet mounting mirrors on the market.The designer of this product was a dentist and his first attempts at creating a cycling mirror was to tape a dental mirror onto his glasses.

The mirrors re sold in 3 versions:
Original
Compact
Original with stick-on helmet mount
The original has larger mirror (1-1/2" x 1") and longer reach (over 3" from the front of the mounting clip to the mirror). This mirror tends to work when mounting to a helmet visor or to the stick-on mounting adapter for helmets.
Being that the Compact model has a smaller mirror as well as less reach it tends to be best for those that are going to use the mirror with glasses. When attaching the mirror to glasses it will tend to be closer to your eye and thus the smaller mirror will suffice for seeing behind you without blocking too much of your forward view.

Over the years I have moved between handlebar mounted mirrors and glasses/helmet mounted mirrors a few times. Thus the excellent selection of mirrors at Perennial Cycle.

The last couple of years I have been switching between a few different bikes and am finding it easiest to have a Take A Look mirror attached to the visor of my helmet and thus I'm always prepared with a mirror. I am currently using the Original Take a Look attached to my helmet's visor. I actually have drilled a tiny hole in my visor and used a little zip tie to permanently attach the mirror my visor. I did this after losing a couple mirrors because I set the helmet down and accidentally knock the mirror off the visor...

I also ended up putting a bend in my Original mounting bracket model to optimize the position. Being that I switch between a laid back recumbent and an upright bike I feel that I have to play around with the mirror position a little more than I would have to if I was riding one or the other. The used the mirror for a while without the bend and then did my tweaking which has worked out very well.

I wouldn't recommend customizing your mirror until you have used it for a while and have gotten the hang of adjusting it. If you do choose to customize your Take a Look mirror be sure to make the bend on a stainless steel (silver) section of the mount. The brass sleeve is a softer metal and will be the first part to bend if your attempting to do this without a good grip (tools) and then the brass sleeve will break later as it's not thick enough to be bent. I used 2 needle nosed pliers to hold the stainless rod securely as I "formed" it.

The speedy, yet durable Schwalbe Kojak now is available in a 16" x 1-1/4" (ISO 32-349mm) tire to fit Brompton folding bikes! The Kojak is a bald high pressure tire with a puncture resistant layer (kevlar belt). This will no doubt be a popular tire on Brommies as many are using them to go some distance and the Kojak can do that oh, so well.

While the 16 x 1-3/8" (37-349mm) Schwalbe Marathon Tire will continue to be the most durable, longest lasting 16" tire on the market, the Schwalbe Kojak will no doubt prove to be nearly as durable with a more performance oriented edge. At a 1-1/4" with a pressure rating of 115psi the Kojak will add a bit of speed to any Brompton. A supple sidewall gives the Kojak a nice feel on the road (not as harsh as you'd expect for a 115 psi tire). Both the folding and non-folding have a nice, supple feel. Though the folding model is more supple.

Available in both a folding and non-folding models. The folding version is a bit lighter weight with a kevlar bead and higher threads per inch, while the non-folding version costs a bit less. The higher thread count on the folding model makes for a more supple and lighter casing. We measured the tire on a stock Brompton rim and the tire measured 30mm wide and 26mm tall. See all of our 16" (349mm) tires here. All our 349 tires will fit a Brompton except for the Greenspeed Scorchers (a little too chubby for the Brompton Frames).

Here are some details on the 16" Kojak:

SIZE: ISO 32-349 mm (16 x 1-1/4 in.)
PRESSURE: 115 psi
WEIGHT: 175 grams, or 230 grams for the non-folding
BEAD: Foldable Kevlar or Wire Bead
CONSTRUCTION: RaceGuard; 67 tpi, or 50 tpi on non-folding
Website Links: Folding Kojak here, Non-Folding Kojak here

Schwalbe was out in front of the pack several years back with a number of tires specifically designed for recumbent bikes and now we meet them again at the corner of the folding bike market. It's always good to meet old friends in new places.

Panaracer has come out with an urban commuting tire that uses Protex Shield Technology. This is a lightweight and supple protection layer that we will likely see on more tires in the future. A supple tire is a nice, smooth riding tire while a more rigid tire can be harsh. The combination of highly supple, yet lightweight make the RiBMo (Ride Bicycle More) special.
We have it available in 700 x 25, 700 x 28 and 700 x 32. Check them all out on this webpage.

Here's some info from the Panaracer website: