Vincita Sightseer Brompton Bag first review

Vincita motto. 

First thing first and to get it out of the way. 

The bags were provided by Vincita for my review and I did not buy them. They have asked that I do a review and share my thoughts on their bags. 

They also very kindly sponsored a set of B132B and B206 garment bag to readers of Smallwheelsbigsmile.  
I will select one lucky reader who will share on their ideal travel adventure on a Brompton using this bags. Leave your comments on the blog entry.  It will be limited to Singapore readers. So send me your ideal travel adventure K? 

Just riding along, the sun, the sky and the sea! 

Cycling in a foreign land is one of the coolest and nicest thing to do to see a country. It feels daunting at the first time, then you would wonder why you never considered bringing your foldie for ur next holiday. 
It happened to me too. After some encouragement from my friend Francis, I finally did my first trip with a Brompton back in 2010. 
It was awesome experience where you really saw more off the beaten track.... even in a city like Tokyo.  Like this gem of a place tucked away in one of the numerous side street. 

Vincita B132 with my brompton.  The silver tab is just duct tape with my particulars and contact number

My first attempt on bike travel using card board box strapped to a portable trolley. Boy that was fun....   

I started off my bike travelling adventure using a cardboard box and then got a Lojel hardcase which was offered good protection but on the heavy side. To make it easier for air travel, I got a Vincita B132 Softcase bag(thanks Woo sister!). It was very roomy and I could dump my clothes (in a plastic bag)and helmet and all with no stress. For added protection I put cardboard on the side. 

Notice the cardboard support at side... not sure if it works but it makes me feel better :) 

B132 fits a Bike Friday pocket rocket too.

Other than the Brompton, I realised that the B132 bag could also fit a Bike friday Pocket rocket nicely with quite a lot of room for clothing and stuff. Something which you can consider if you are looking to get a bike bag for travel. 
Earlier Oct this year, Vincita released a updated model of the B132. It's called the  B132B Soft Transport Brompton Bag- Sightseer. 

It is slightly smaller compared to the B132. The idea is to make it easier for short trips and be able to deploy directly from the Airport/ train station. In addition, they also created a internal bag (for your clothes and stuff) which would fit nicely into the B132B. Frankly I was quite skeptical their idea would work. So I was glad to have the bag and I did a trial test to see if it would all work out.  
The construction of the bag is quite good (similar to the B132 I had previously) and as what you would expect from a bag manufacturer who have done bike related products for a while. 
Below is a size comparison of the old and newer model. 

Left is the older B132 and the right it the B132B Sightseer

Closer to you is the newer B132B and you can see that its smaller. And fits the Brompton just as well

The B132B fits the Brompton much tighter. Same padded and durable fabric construction. The pack on the right is the "internal sleeve"  aka B206 Garment bag  

The Vincita 132B also have an improved bigger roller wheel that is great for moving around the train/ airport 

Internal garment bag fit into the frame of the Brompton. This helps to reduce overall bulk. 

After ensuring the Brompton would fit into the bag, I also simulated a 2 day trip worth of clothes and stuff. It is all fits in very nicely. 
Lastly, I watched their youtube link to see how to fold/compact the bag and carry it via the Brompton rear rack.  It took a bit of fudging as you need to fold it in a certain way. However I am sure with more practice, that could be done easily.  
My biggest concern was will it be too wide to ride? I strapped it on the Brompton and rode around my neighbourhood. It's worked!  Here's how it looked when on the Brompton. 

The idea is to fly to another country. Roll up the bike bag and straight go exploring! 

If you use the side hook on the Brompton. There will be no heel strike.

The bag sticks out some what, so do cater for the clearance esp on crowded side paths 

Final conclusion
I did not have a overseas trip to really test it out in actual airport condition. When I have a chance, I will try it and update how it fared. 
The B132B bag is targeted specifically to those who want to pack their Brompton with no dismantling. Fly in to location and ride with minimum fuss. Explore and sightsee... pack and fly home.  With the explosion of cheaper budget air fares, I can see more would try to bring their bikes for their next holiday. Try it one day, you will be glad you did. 
So what would be the ultimate short trip experience u like to do with the Brompton? 
Update by Vincita on 25th Nov2014:  
"The B132B brompton bag is now available @ Urban Transporter, 985 Bukit Timah Road. #01-16, Singapore(589627) Phone: (+65)83663521