Brompton: There's more to life than FTP and 53x11...

[ptourkin]

They are great for wheelies at Ciclavia:



i also love having a bike that I can adjust for anyone to ride. With they dyno and lights, a visitor can just jump on and go out for a beer.

[Nags&Ducs]

Originally Posted by weaponsgrade

Here's mine. Yes, that it is a King headset and a Moots Ti bar. I also made an upgrade to the stock steel post. The outer "seat post" is an aluminum tube that I cut out from a cracked aluminum frame. The inner "seat post" is the clamp from a Ringle seat post that was also cracked. I want to do something with the cranks next.

Speaking of customization, I would love to one day do a full blown customized Brompie. Would start off with a ti Brompie clone like such:http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...id=43546402016

Then use chi-chi and lightweight parts like King headset, Moots Ti h-bar, custom wheels, etc.

[Nags&Ducs]

Originally Posted by dem

Well if we're doling out Brompton love..

Funny story.. used to do a lunch ride up a local climb (San Bruno - site of NYD hillclimb) and one of the guys who rode was complaining the reason he was slow is he didn't have a $5000 bicycle. So I rode my Brompton one day instead. Same result.

How did you get a Celeste Brompie? Did they offer it at one time? The closest one in today's colors is Turkish a Green, but it's a very very light Celeste at best.

[fuzzalow]

Originally Posted by veggieburger

The issue I always had with my Bike Fridays was the rattles. so many tiny parts, it seemed I was always wrenching on something or another after every ride (esp headset).

Same situation with the Bromptons, or little maintenance needed?

Brompton makes one of the finest, if not the finest, folding bikes in the world. Since owning the bike the only bolt that has needed attention is the 10mm bolt on the seatpost quick release lever. That bolt needs a half turn every month or so to keep the seatpillar clamp tight enough. Rock solid.

As quoted from this article in Bloomberg Business on Brompton: The Cult of Brompton Folding Bikes

“The fold is a compromise,” Butler-Adams says. “Everything else must not be a compromise.”

The Brompton was intended and designed as a premium product. A bike company guided by and managed by engineers as opposed to accountants. If they have cut any corners on their bikes I can't readily find the flaw. A world leading product designed and manufactured in the UK. And also priced accordingly, which for what they are, I will gladly pay.

Ol' Blighty can still manage the stiff upper lip to make a world class product. A difficult choice to make in contravention to the conventional path of least resistance & cheapest manufacturing. Golly good because any time a choice is made to chase the cheap, everything associated with that process loses a little soul.

[goonster]

Originally Posted by christian

Record front hub

Brompton front hub is 74mm OLD.

Phil Wood makes one . . .

[93legendti]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

One of these days I'll have to take a photo of my bikefriday next to one of my "regular" bikes. FWIW bikefriday will make steerer tubes and stems in various sizes to help get bar position just right. This can be really nice for buyers of used bikes because they can change the "size" of an existing bike very easily at reasonable expense.
I bought my New World Tourist model from them as a "pre-loved" trade-in. When I ordered it they asked about my size/measurements and how I liked my bars. The bike arrived with perfect contact points. If someone else wanted lower bars I think it would be easy to cut the steerer down at home.
It looks like Bromptons fold into take-it-into-the store size faster than my friday. BF has a model called Tikit that is designed for quicker/easier folding but I think it gives up some of the "rides like a real bike" performance/versatility of other BF models.

I have 2 Bike Friday's (PR and PR Pro) and also owned a Tikit and a Pocket Crusoe. Sub 20 ibs, quick fold, drop bars, D/A 7800, Made in USA. I've had mine around the world, steep mountain climbs, and on fast group rides. Can be a commuter as well. Brompton is great at what it does, BF does more.

[OtayBW]

Bringing this up again:

What kind of gearing package do all of you owners like? Single speed? 2? 3? 6?...and why? I'm getting ready for a move and expect to do some fair amount of train commuting with a Brompton (or similar) ride to work from the station. Don't expect to be doing a lot of traveling with it, so I'm thinking single speed. Am I missing out on anything going that way?

Thanks.

[charliedid]

I ride the "shop" test ride bike all the time. I will own one this season for sure.

6 speed for me.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by 93legendti

Brompton is great at what it does, BF does more.

Having owned both, I've often compared them by saying that Bike Friday is a good bike that folds well enough, while the Brompton is a great folder that also rides pretty well. For a vacation bike with longer rides and touring in mind, I'd rather have a Bike Friday, for sure. Although I'd more rather an S&S bike there. But the Bike Friday is not even remotely in the same league as a Brompton for quick folding. I've pulled up to a rail station on mine as the train was coming to a stop (where there were only a few other people waiting, so the train wasn't gonna be there long) and EASILY had it folded in time to walk on with the other folks. It's about a 15 second affair when I'm not doing it a lot, maybe closer to 10 when I my muscle memory is engaged. A Bike Friday takes me a few minutes to really break down and have ready to stick in the back of a car and it's not neatly carry-able enough for a bus or train IMHO.

My Brompton is six-speed. There are times I haven't needed more than three, but enough times I have that I'm glad to have all six...

-Ray

[fuzzalow]

Gearing on my Brompton is 6-speed.

As most cycling enthusiasts are already facile with 10 & 11 speed cogs at the cassette, whatever number of gears can be squeezed into a Brompton will easily find a use. Whichever gears has not been the limiting factor on this bike for me, it is more down to rubber soled shoes like Quoddy moccasins on simple rat trap pedals.

The internal 3-speed hub has wide jumps to the ratio changes, the 2-speed d�railleur a much smaller jump. So to run up or down with the smallest jumps in gear ratio will always require a double shift.

[OtayBW]

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6-speed, huh? Wouldn't have guessed that, but I've got a shop/dealer fairly close. I'll have to check 'em out. Thanks.

[jamesutiopia]

Wife loves her Brompton. It works very well for areas served by Caltrain in bay area (super flat), and it goes (with all the other Bromptons) on the luggage car, so she can avoid the bike car circus.

It's way better engineered than most custom bikes I've owned, but the elastomer suspension ensures that it will never do well under pedaling pressure if you are a masher. Good-enough (but not actually very good) fit and a small number of gears definitely encourage mashing, even in riders who normally spin.

I am periodically tempted to put a Rohloff (and custom rear end) on it and ride up to Skyline...

[NHAero]

The regular Bike Fridays are travel bikes rather than folders (have owned two). I'd like to hear a comparison of BF's folder, the Tikit, vs. the Brompton. The Tikit is a Rob English design, looks like a very fast fold but haven't seen in person.

[tumbler]

Mine is 6 speed as well. I only use 2 speeds on my commute, but have used the rest on a few occasions. If I was purchasing one now, I might consider a 2 speed for simplicity.

[ptourkin]

Originally Posted by jamesutiopia

Wife loves her Brompton. It works very well for areas served by Caltrain in bay area (super flat), and it goes (with all the other Bromptons) on the luggage car, so she can avoid the bike car circus.

It's way better engineered than most custom bikes I've owned, but the elastomer suspension ensures that it will never do well under pedaling pressure if you are a masher. Good-enough (but not actually very good) fit and a small number of gears definitely encourage mashing, even in riders who normally spin.

I am periodically tempted to put a Rohloff (and custom rear end) on it and ride up to Skyline...

I have the -12% reduced gearing 6 speed and there's nothing I can't climb with it. A Rohloff would be overkill.