Brompton M6L Barbour edition
Price: £1,350, cyclesurgery.com
Frame and fork: steel
Gears: 6 speed
Saddle: Brooks

Here’s a random fact about folding, courtesy of the well-thumbed copy of QI’s 1,227 Facts to Blow Your Socks Off which sits in our loo: “If you could fold a piece of paper 51 times, its thickness would exceed the distance from here to the sun.” Good one, eh?

We love to fold, don’t we, and everything from picnic tables to high-velocity rifles has been fitted with hinges, so they could be collapsed into smaller, packable versions of themselves. Perhaps one of the strangest I’ve come across is the “foldable” canoe one of my friends created so that he could keep it in his cramped flat. Foldable is a bit of a misnomer as he simply sawed the craft in half and then fitted a series of worrying looking bolts to the join. The two halves now hang in his hall.

Of course, in bike land, however, when it comes to creased cycles, one brand reigns supreme: the Brompton. It’s all small wheels and big business. Considering it is just a folding bike, it’s hard to believe quite how far the brand has integrated itself into the way we live. Today, a city street or a commuter train just wouldn’t look right without a couple of these dinky-wheelers curled up in the corner.

Unlike almost any other bike you can think of, except perhaps a unicycle, the bike itself has its own distinct personality. It’s synonymous with a certain kind of smug metropolitanism. To ride one it’s best if you are called Will or Jonty, and probably best also if you didn’t do so well at uni because of, you know, rugger and beer and bants. They’re expensive and slightly ridiculous – like ski goggle tans or quilted coats for dogs.

Playing up to type, Brompton has now created a special Barbour edition – who else? It’s finished in what’s called “Gloss Barbour Green” and is complemented with a waxed Tarras bag which clips on above the front wheel. This model features a new M-type handlebar which is more ergonomic over distance and comes with six gears so you can tackle hillier routes. It’s the country cousin to the city model, but it can still be folded up into a compact package, perfect for public transport – though somehow I get the feeling this bike will more often be slung into the back of a Range Rover than on to a crowded train.

But don’t hold that against it. This Brompton, like all Bromptons, is a masterclass in precision engineering. It’s brilliantly designed with a specific function in mind – and it does that beautifully. It folds easily in less than a minute (the world record held by Thomas Ernst, a Brompton dealer from Zurich, is actually 5.19 seconds). It’s also great fun to ride. The commanding seating position and precise wheels make you feel like a trick cyclist. And it’s even quite comfortable over distance. A few years ago I rode from London to Brighton on a bright orange one without any issues at all.

It’s hard to believe Brompton is now more than 40 years old. The first one was built in 1975 in the South Kensington bedroom of designer Andrew Ritchie. The London-based company has expanded worldwide, and now has stores in cities including London, Amsterdam, Beijing, Tokyo and Barcelona. Every Brompton is handmade in their London factory by skilled craftsman, who have undergone an intensive 18-month training programme and each have a unique signature which they stamp on the parts of the bike they work on.

If you fancy a go, head to your nearest Cycle Surgery store. There, you can now test a Brompton for 72 hours for a fee of £30. If you buy the bike, they’ll knock that off the price. The shop will also give you a tutorial before taking the bike out – which I would definitely recommend. I’d also recommend you only take the test ride if you are serious about buying one. Because after a day or two you’ll find it very hard to return it – and before you know it you’ll be joining the folding classes.

On your bike

On Bike Building is a series of talks, demos, and displays between 1 April and the 27 May at the Barbican that showcase some of the UK’s leading frame-builders, including displays by Hartley Cycles, Isen Workshop and Saffron Frameworks; a live frame-building demonstration by the Bicycle Academy on 1 April; and a special panel discussion on 3 May featuring all of the frame builders involved in the series. The series is part of Make! – the Barbican Shop’s first ever season of events. Curated by the Barbican’s retail team in partnership with Crafts magazine, the season seeks to challenge people’s perceptions of craft by showcasing contemporary makers who are helping to redefine its meaning today. Many of the events are free. For further details and tickets, go to barbican.org.uk

Baggage, no trouble

Among the road riding community there are certain rules that can never be broken: number one among these is that a rack and pannier should not be fitted to a road bike. It wrecks the aesthetics, spoils the line of the bike and shows that you aren’t prepared to cycle with bulging pockets. Well that could all be about thanks to Tailfin’s revolutionary product. They have created a carbon pannier rack that will fit any bike, without tools, in a matter of seconds. It even clips on to frames without traditional pannier mounts and can safely by used on carbon frames. As far as I know there really is nothing else quite like this on the market. Applying high-end design principles to something as mundane as a bike rack elevates it from a workmanlike accessory to a biking essential. It’s strong, sleek and beautifully made. And you’ll never have a sweaty rucksack back again!

Rack and pannier from £319, tailfin.cc

Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @MartinLove166