Brompton owners

First upgradings

I'm an idiot. Wrists were hurting a bit, had a look online and consensus seems to be ergon grips. Read a few things all saying you had to cut the old grips off. Bought some and chopped the old one off but couldn't fit the ergon. Then realised that the original grip was held on by an Allen key and didn't need chopping off.

I am not a smart man.

@Dick those cranks look fun. I think I've got some 170mm track cranks kicking about. What's the Brompton chain line supposed to be?

Supposedly a Q-factor of 160mm

From what I've read the octalink 118mm bb and putting the ring on the outside of the 7700 cranks replicates the 160mm give or take a mm or so.

Also got a loooaaaaaddd more goodies on the way......

I'm an idiot. Wrists were hurting a bit.

Return the bike before you carry on further for an M type.

Or fit the new M type handlebar plus new cableset (required).

Nah fuck that, position is fine, s type is spot on, just the grips are shit.

Load more goodies? Do go on... :)

All will be revealed soon enough...

Not sure if a solid grip will help but does push your hand in a better angle.

Might fit a flat bar on my M type, as the stem is shorter than the S type.

Plus I have access to all the Brompton parts at work, so it's all good.

My 40t chainring arrived with metal chain guard, hopefully will fit it tomorrow and shorten the chain by 4 link.

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Is not having a chain guard bad? I wasn't intending on putting one on when I replace the cranks and chainring.....

It help with the fold actually, but also I like to keep it looking close to stock, rather than going all blingy.

Not having mudguard also affect the fold as you wouldn't be able to wheel it with just the handlebar extended only.

Is there any benefit besides marginal weight and bling improvements to getting the ti rear pivot hinge axle and bolts? Did I read something about the steel one rusting up?

I got some Ti bolts & nuts but the haven't noticed any bad corrosion on those I didn't replace. I'd be tempted to say it's not worth it. I have had more trouble with the brake callipers when it comes to both cosmetic and functional corrosion. Had to rebuild the front after it seized last year but preventative GT85 as a polish and greasing the spring where it slots into the back of the pivot seem to be the key - do it before the salt gets in there especially if you are riding country lanes with extra salt!

Also re. grips I put Ergons on my first Brompton buy not the last two and have got used to it, don't panic!

Glad you're enjoying it so far, hopefully will bump into you at TH fairly soon again to compare helicopter taped bits.

No no no, hell no.

You need to change your rear hinge every year (base on folding twice a day five days a week), so that'll add up for almost nil gain.

And they don't rust, all the rear hinges I replaced is clearly smooth and almost rust free (the worse one was a 10 years old Brompton whose owner doesn't realised it need maintenance).

Half mile ride to the station with the ergons felt better instantly. More support for my wrists for sure. I did get the fake 6 quid eBay ergons with little bar ends, which I'm not particularly keen on, so will probably get a set without the little nubbins.

I'll steer clear or the ti pivot axle etc for now then, there's so much Taiwanese Brompton ti stuff on ebay though, hard to resist.

I'll arm myself with some gt85 and get spraying.

Oh and I'll keep an eye out for you at TH, guess it'll be the next time the trains are broken...

If you want to keep your warranty, don't replace part like that, Brompton are excellent when it come to warranty but will not do anything if fitted with aftermarket part such as those titanium hinge spindle.

I love titanium bolts, but I've kept the steel ones on the rear hinge. The only other steel bolts I can think of on the bike are those holding the wheels on and the crank bolts - all the rest are titanium. But the pivot hinge and bolts are effectively disposable as it's often necessary to drill the bolts out when replacing them, so having titanium ones seems just a bit too profligate.

Also, while titanium doesn't rust like steel it does have epic galling issues particularly when used in two titanium parts threaded together. Not too much of an issue if you use plenty of anti-seize, but given the hammering the pivot and bolts get from their location, I suspect galling would be an issue.

tldr; listen to Scoble

Cheers all, I'll leave that bit well alone :) And this pivot replacement is an annual event, is it?

And this pivot replacement is an annual event, is it?

Not for me, although on the old Rat Brompton I could feel the back end wagging from side to side under power due to the pivot bushes being well beyond their best-before date. How long they'll last depends how often you ride it and with how much vigour. I can't see any point in replacing the bushes (and the pivot bar if necessary) before there's detectable movement.

Yes, sometime even twice a years, but get them changed once you notice a very tiny play when checking the Brompton (catching it early greatly helped the poor mechanic who have to deal with your Brompton).

Left for too long will result in a new rear triangle (due to material have been eroded to almost paper thin), even a new frame where the hinge have worn it out to the point that a new one cannot be fitted.

The example I provided above were from customer bike that have not been service for around 5 years, and Brompton are designed to be a continual improvement product, making them keep their value up for longer.

it's necessary to drill the bolts out when replacing them.

FTFY.

Since there's nothing to hold on the second bolt once the first one have been removed, it's always resort to drilling (unless the muppet of a mechanic didn't put thread retaining glue on the bolt).

Tiny chainring is tiny, reduced a bit of weight actually being smaller and less link in the chain (-4).

So far it's perfect, I lose the top gear but having a low first gear is brilliant, actually great in traffic as it felt so much more natural starting off and going through congestion.

Starting off on 1st and 2nd then drop into a cruising 3rd gears, the only time I missed it is descending a big fuck-off hill in the depth of Surrey.

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So fucking weird to see a Brompton with a tiny chainring.

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Few more upgradings: