Custom lots-of-titanium Brompton

Good stuff

I'm going for a bit of a black theme (surprise surprise) with mine - perhaps a little carbon here and there - ordered some basics (Ti; hinge clamps/bolts, easy wheels, stem clip)
Was looking for some of those Carbon mudguards but it seems brompification and a couple of other brompton tuning part companies that stocked them have ceased trading, which is a little annoying. I was really hoping for one of those Ti seatposts with the integrated clamp aswell, seems brompification were the only producers and I can't find any in stock anywhere :(

@veLLo used a truvativ external BB and chainset on his

A seatpost like this one? I've got one of the J&L ones (albeit not with the anodised top clamp bits) and one of the Brompfication ones, and on a cursory look I can't see any difference between the two.

The carbon mudguards are OK, although the flap fell off, but to be honest I should probably just have stuck with the black Brompton guards which are lighter and provide better coverage. The carbon ones on mine have started to crack, although they've taken immense amounts of abuse to date, and when they eventually fail completely I'll fit the black Brompton ones.

Does one happen to be selling one or either of said seatposts?!

There's no such thing as a Ti telescopic post, is there?

I'm afraid one does not. One is currently on the lots-of-titanium Brompton, the other is awaiting the start of the Brompton of Bling project. It's on the big pile of bike parts that I lie on when I get home, dragon-style.

Nope, they just do longer posts. It means the saddle doesn't go all the way down, but means you have a longer post.

Hmm, well at the moment I've got about 5 inches of telescopic post poking up. My one Brompton commute has made me think I'll probably just leave the telescopic inner bit at the right height and drop the outer bit, then just extend the outer to the max when I want to ride it. That should save buggering about getting it at the right height and I can't see anyone complaining because the saddle's sticking up a few inches. I'll measure it and work out if a longer ti one would do the trick.

Got an inch or so to play with (as it were) by flipping the saddle clamp.

One day I'll actually work out what the optimum height is for my Brompfication titanium post (it doesn't have the flared end like the real Brompton one so it has no end stop), chop it to the right length and make up a stop for the end of the seat post. It's been something I've been meaning to do for a long, long time and never got round to. The lack of an end stop means I do occasionally unfold the bike, hop on, and then wince as I discover the saddle's about 2 inches higher than it should be. The curse of short legs...

Haha, sorry to hear about your short legs. I was utterly confused this morning as my knees kept complaining that the saddle was too low, despite me raising the telescopic bit at every set of lights. I'm ashamed to say it took me 9 miles to realise the outer bit was slowly sinking...

Mine doesn't sink, but it does occasionally rotate if I go over cobbled speed bumps with enthusiasm. Unfortunately it's at the end of the thread on the homebrew QR clamp, so I need to extend the thread by a turn or two. It's been on my Things To Do list for at least a year now. There's a decent chance it'll still be there in a year's time, along with making an end stop for the seat post. As the old saying goes, if it's only a bit broken, don't fix it.

Anyway, short legs aren't all bad. They're handy on aeroplanes.

I'm the luckiest person alive because the extended seatpost stop exactly where I need it to be.

So satisfying.

(To be fair, I did move the saddle clamp a little to compensate).

Well, that was a good afternoon's read. i just picked up a Brompton and am wondering what to modify first...

Glad you liked it! Here's some more to read, because the bike's just had a fairly major refit.

Some of it was deeply unphotogenic but necessary. The bottom bracket had gone from clicking once per revolution to once per pedal stroke, so I've replaced that. I also had to replace the batteries in the rear hub, as they'd gone flat. The seatpost was starting to rock backwards and forwards despite the clamp being tight, so I removed the old seat tube shim (a hot air gun helped here) and fitted a new one. Despite making sure that the seat tube was spotlessly clean before I fitted the new shim, the new shim needed quite a lot of fettling before I could even get the seatpost in, let alone get it to slide up and down. It's still a bit tight, and requires a bit of wrestling to get the seat post to move up and down, but it's getting better with use.

I also found that the frame and stem hinges were getting stiff (possibly due to having given the bike an unaccustomed wash before doing the work) so I lubed the hinges and they're now nice and smooth again. Oh, and I also removed the 5 speed shifter for the 5 speed rear wheel I've got. I kept it on thinking I might occasionally want to use the 5 speed rear wheel. I haven't in fact used it at all since I fitted the Powertap rear wheel, so the shifter's off the bike and into the Brompton Bits Box.

I also took the opportunity to fit some new bling bits I'd collected together. The first was a block for the front bag mount. The standard Brompton plastic one is effective but fugly, while this one is effective and rather more elegant.

On a smaller scale, I also replaced the plastic clip which grabs the doodah on the stem when it's folded with an ali one:

And I've replaced the firm elastomer suspension block with a machined one with a metal spring inside. It's a lot, lot stiffer than the elastomer block so not so comfortable over the cobbled speed bumps on my way to the station in the morning, but much less bouncy on the way down the hill when I try to see whether my legs have got a 160rpm spin in them that morning. Overall, an improvement.

Hopefully that should see the bike working without trouble for another year or two.

The seatpost shim need to be reamed after fitting and gluing it in before fitting a seatpost in.

Also check your seatpost as it could be bent ever so slightly which can make a massive difference in being able to drop the pose without any stuttering.

BTW link for the front bag support? Actually look like a good option.

Yeah, I got conflicting messages from the collected wisdom of the internets as to whether or not reaming the shim was necessary. It didn't seem necessary before I glued the shim in place, but it was after I'd glued it in place, so I may have fitted it slightly off-centre. Lots of filing and sanding has made it work. The seat post is definitely straight, as I checked it.

I got it from Bikefun in Taiwan: http://www.bikefun.com.tw/admin/product/front/product.php?upid=2&page=11

Awful website, mind you.

@danstuff got any pics of your Brompton as it currently is? Just in the process of getting a 2nd hand S2L and looking for inspiration

Yeah, I got conflicting messages from the collected wisdom of the internets as to whether or not reaming the shim was necessary.

Best thing is to do what Brompton recommend.

This is what it looked like yesterday. Looks the same today, to be honest. The only external change I'm planning to make is to replace the modified stock Brompton chain tensioner with a modified NOV Designs one I've had knocking around for a while.

Then it's on to Brompton #2, which is going to make this one look very sensible indeed.

Ooops, forgot to add the picture. Here it is in all its crappy smartphone camera glory:

#sickbromptonbruh

#4reelbrah

Brompton #2 build starts here. Step #1. Disassemble Brompton.

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