Brompton owners

Has anyone used the B&W Foldon Box to travel with their Brompton?
http://www.probikekit.co.uk/cycling-accessories-nc/b-w-foldon-hard-bike-box/11185502.html

Verdict?

It looks to be the most spacious of bike boxes for the Brompton which allows me to stuff cycle clothing in there too.

You were lucky, very lucky.

And Marathon Plus is not recommend for Brompton.

I bought one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43lW4KBMpNg

Passable as a suitcase and not a bike box on a plane do you think?

Possibly.

There are hard cases that would work better for that.

What I am going for is:

• British Airways only allows a single piece of checked luggage for a 3 week trip (economy, natch)
  
• I've paid for an extra piece of luggage
  
• It's SF and if I take a full-size bike it will be stolen, so the Brompton comes instead
  
• Most Brompton bags fit just the Brompton and nothing else
  
  

But... as you can see, 1 small piece of luggage for 3 weeks, and 1 bag for the Brompton.

I wanted the largest possible bike box for the Brompton so that I can stuff all of my cycle clothing, tools, pump, etc all in there too.

The B-Bag is too snug, same with the Polaris Eva and the B&W hardcase.

This B&W foldon box however... has a lot of space inside whilst fitting the Brompton pretty well. So I can roll clothing, stuff in bin bags, and fill out the space nicely.

That this box collapses too is just a great bonus. Allows for future potential to ride to/from an airport and to strap the box onto a backpack.

An alternative would have been to use a full-size bike box/bag and have tons of space... but with nothing to protect the Brompton and prevent it moving wildly in such space I felt it would probably damage all of the clothing I'd stuff in there.

If you're flying BA you've got an extra piece of sports equipment so you can check two bags with no extra fee.

I did it with one of these http://www.vincita.co.th/collections/brompton-bags/products/b132b-soft-transport-bag-for-brompton-bike with bike and a load of clothes packed around plus another bag and it was fine.

Plus you can have a hand luggage sized bag and a laptop bag.

Why?

Tyres rubbing due to it's being too wide, likely to blow up on worn rims (rare but it happen), cause problem with the hinge which is the main issues.

As a rules, my workshop (with recommendation from Brompton themselves) no longer fit Marathon Plus as a precaution.

Ever notice that they don't listed Marathon Plus anymore on their site?

That is good to know, as you know I just had my hinge replaced in January. I have been running Pluses for years. After this set is worn, perhaps I will switch to the regular ones.
How does it impact the hinge, vibrations from riding in a city like London?

I've got Marathon Plus tyres on my Brompton. They work like a charm. No issues, no punctures.

I've been using M+ since 2009 with no issues. One year I did +9000 miles so not a light user.

Doesn't matter, we still recommend not fitting them until Brampton find a solution (since 2014).

What do they do to the hinge, Ed?

Full brake overhaul complete.

I'm pretty sure it was the standard marathons that were the problem, wasn't it? The outer circumference was too large for the fold and putting undue pressure on the rear hinge in the fold.

No it's the Marathon Plus, not the standard Marathon which is the de facto choice nowadays.

@h2o it interfere with the hinge when folded, because it's too wide, it's pushed to one side.

Dammit I am out of town for the Brompton Urban Challenge this year.

The best/worst Brompton ever.
http://imgur.com/a/xK9U8
Its such an expensive mess.

Anyone know how to date a brompton just from the frame number? Serial sticker is long gone, it's an L5...

I also need to get a frame clip as it's a bit fold-y otherwise - what parts do I need?

As in to attach the rear triangle to the main frame?

It'll fit all Brompton.

Yeah, I'm not sure which set of parts I need though - for example not this one as the frame is definitely pre-2007 but then this one seems vastly more expensive and isn't specific about frame age...

Edit: oh and I don't have an official pentaclip, just one of those ancient folded steel ones - is that going to cause fiery death at some point?

Should be called the Retro-Fit, but price seemed to be the same.

SJS is useful for all thing Brompton.

Cheers Ed!

Check your rear hinge while you're at it, if you use it 5 days a weeks, you'd need to replace it yearly.

I have to replaced 2 hinges yesterday, and a frame swap because the copper insert bonded to the frame because the customer neglected it since new (2011).

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@edscoble - are you able to remove the main frame and stem hinge pins - not the pivot for the rear triangle, but the pins holding the main frame and stem together? I've got a frame I want to strip right down to its component parts for a bit of blingification.