Gold-plated Brompton bicycle up for sale

The 24-carat-gold-plated Brompton S2L offered as a prize by the Environmental Transport Association last year has appeared on eBay with a ‘buy it now’ price of £1,999.

The Guardian website bike blog describes the Brompton as having been “pimped through flash, gaudy, and vulgar, out the other side into ironic, and beyond that into uber-cool. Perhaps.”

The bike started life as a stock Brompton S2L, which was stripped down, polished, plated in copper and finally covered in 24ct gold.

The bar-mounted selector has been replaced by a specially fabricated jockey shift gear change with a pool ball on top.

All cables are gold braid, the spoke nipples are gold. The plastic fittings you use to secure the folding frame have been replaced with stop cock handles.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “The person selling the gold Brompton has made further modifications since acquiring the bike – it will certainly turn heads for any future owner.”

40% discount on cycle insurance for folding bicycles

Cycle insurance from the ETA includes new-for-old replacement, third party insurance (in the case of an accident you may need to seek compensation or even deal with a claim by someone else), personal accident cover and if you breakdown, they will even come out and recover you and your bike. There is a forty per cent discount for folding bicycles.