I did a coastdown test against a conventional bike and decided the Brom would be Hard Work.
Really? That's interesting: during the ride I was constantly freewheeling and braking to keep away from the back wheel of the guy in front, both when they were freewheeling and when they were pedalling! We'd be travelling the same speed, but they would slow-down quicker. Maybe it was the drafting effect, but when I was in front then I didn't notice the riders behind having to do that as often. What I did notice on the London-Cambridge last year was we had a head wind and the B's upright position meant I was exposed and I was MUCH more tired after that ride than after the Dynamo, even though it's only half the distance (maybe it was the lack of bacon buttie midway).
IIRC, my B became more sprightly when I swapped the (then) stock normal elastomer for the (now stock) firm one last year, which tightened the feel of the bike up a lot; I got the rear pivot bushings done about the same time, which also helped. Have you tried the firm? I also have my Schwalbe Marathons pumped up really hard -- I am loath to go to Kojaks, because I don't think they look as nice (too skinny) and I am worried that the much smaller profile will lead to lots more punctures -- I hit a lot of potholes on the ride, because I am not used to the hand signals coming back from the lead cyclists, but thankfully I didn't puncture.
I do wonder what it would be like to do any long distance on a "proper" road bike, but to be honest, I like the quirky nature of the B and I think there's more kudos (unless you're on le Tour) in doing any long ride on something a bit different, like that guy on the Boris Bike last year and the girl on the Ordinary/Penny Farthing back in 2010 -- now those sound like HARD to me!
