León to Santiago by Brompton?

[rafikiphoto]

Has anyone cycled the León to Santiago section on a Brompton or similar small-wheeled folder? I have a Brompton H6R. Which route did you take? Any tips? I'm a regular cyclist.

 

[Penbaysail]

I have a Brompton but I used a 26” mountain bike for cycling the Camino. I needed all of the lower gearing, and I wished that I’d had a front shock absorber rather than a rigid fork (it was an old used bike) for some of the trails. Consequently, I stuck to the roads most of the time. The climbs to Foncebadon and O’Cebriero were amongst the longest I’ve ever done, and the descents were fast and sometimes hair-raising. A Brompton wouldn’t be my choice if I cycled again, but others have done it.

Good luck and Buen Camino

 

[Kanga]

Take care! There have been at least two fatal bike accidents on the steep rocky descents.

 

[rafikiphoto]

I have a Brompton but I used a 26” mountain bike for cycling the Camino. I needed all of the lower gearing, and I wished that I’d had a front shock absorber rather than a rigid fork (it was an old used bike) for some of the trails. Consequently, I stuck to the roads most of the time. The climbs to Foncebadon and O’Cebriero were amongst the longest I’ve ever done, and the descents were fast and sometimes hair-raising. A Brompton wouldn’t be my choice if I cycled again, but others have done it.

Good luck and Buen Camino

Thanks for that; very informative. I have a Thorn Sterling MTB with suspension fork and a Rohloff 14 speed internal gear hub so that sounds my better choice. I live in Spain and ride the Brompton quite a bit on gravel/dirt roads but not hilly. I will travel from Seville to León on the Alsa bus so I thought the Brompton would be more convenient but they will take normal bikes on that route so I may alter my plans.

 

[Penbaysail]

Your Thorn bike sounds like an ideal choice. I haven’t used an Alsa bus, but FlixBus carried my full sized bike from SdC to Bordeaux, but I had to put it in a plastic bike bag that cost about €5 plus pedal removal & turning handlebars. Buen Camino!