Brompton owners

2 speed is little derailleur thing. 3 speed is hub gear (a kilo or so heavier). 6 speed is derailleur + hub gear.

2 speed is fine around london (and a bit lighter). Ergon grips are a great shout. Carradice bags are very nice if you get the luggage block thing on the front.

dibs saddle

I have s2l, is good for what I need, as train commuter, couple of miles at each end, occasional potter back from soho to home.
get luggage block, get s bag, get it with mudguards, swap out at point of sale flat bars on s type for some risers, make sure they sort out the extra length on cables, so bike still folds and doesn't hang too low.
swap out saddle for something lighter.
enjoy it..

Think I'm gonna go for a 3-speed but that's what I wanna use it for

If I go for the H style can I swap out the bars for the S type?

Was thinking of getting he tote bag and dynamo light - but otherwise v similar to this

Yes.

Not sure on the tote bag, would take what you think you'd shove in it and see how it deals with it. S bag is large enough for me to do impromptu shops, whilst still carrying the day to day...
Dynamo hub is up to you, @veLLo warned me off because of the weight, as you don't want to be adding weight to a Brompton, suppose it depends on how often you ride at night, or how often you lose and have to replace lights.

Thanks!

@veLLo warned me off because of the weight

Lifted Ti Bromptons, both two speed, one with and one without dynamo hub. While both were super cool bikes I'd love to own, I couldn't help but thinking the one with dynamo was detrimental to the great benefit of titanium Brompton. The difference when lifting the folded bike was quite noticeable. I don't know about how they ride though

If you have the H style you can't just swap out the bars, you have to change the whole stem (and recable?) so it's an expensive mistake to make.

I'm sure 3 speed is good but I know people who ride those who say the small gear is too small and the big gear is too big.......if thats the case then you're paying a weight penalty and a more expensive replacement cost for something you might not really use. Plus the mechanics of 2 speed are really straightforward.

yeah two speed is surely the best option. i have borrowed both two and three speeds in recent months. for London would only ever consider two (or single). though don't have a Brompton myself I do maintain the one in our house. cracking bit of kit

Two speed is fine for the flat (London) but sucks if you have to go up anything steeper than 5%

The gaps are massive on the 3 speed but it means that you have a decent range if you're actually using it somewhere hilly (I take mine up North with me sometimes).

At some point I have a plan of gearing it down a little so the top gear becomes the everyday use gear and the bottom a very low gear. I currenlty find myself switching between the middle and high gear and not happy with either a lot.

I've had an M3L since 2008, I got in new for £329 in a sale at my LBS, bog stock in boring black with no extras. Six months of cycling from the station to work instead of catching the bus and it had paid for itself. No locking it in the bike sheds, it sat beside my desk. I got hit by a car, low speed and just a few bruises. The driver's insurance paid out for a new bike, I just swapped some of the broken bits with stuff from my parts bin and kept riding it.

I can't help but smile when I ride it. I know I look like the bicycle equivalent of a clown in a clown car but I don't care. They're great but there are corners cut. The standard brake levers, saddle and crank were dreadful.

Everything has lasted well. I don't have much need for it now but I'd never sell it, jut so handy to have for the odd instance when I need it.

Meh.

I seem to have worn out one of the pulley wheels, to the point that the gear change fork was going straight over the wheel, then getting stuck trying to come back.

Guess the worn out one.

That's good to know - I thought the longer stem would be better as Im 6'2. Guess I just need to test ride some. How do you find the fit?

I think I would either go ss or 3speed but again will try them out.

Main use will be pub, cycling into town or cycling to/from work via public transport - so nothing strenuous.

The Dynamo adds 440g of weight, lights would add say 150grams if I go with the lighter tyres I can save 200g so that close to evening itself out. Is the weight issue purely down to how heavy it is to carry? The idea of dynamo sits well with the overall idea of a brompton to me, makes life easier/simpler.

Don't go SS. It's not like riding 700c SS, you'll be glad of the smaller gear of the 2 speed.

Stay with stock tyres, punctures are a pain in the arse. I've got some Lezyne USBs that can stay attached when it folds, no faff.

Brompton journeys are shorter which doesn't warrant dynamo and if you get a bag those lights can just stay in there with a 5cm USB cable to charge. Its completely unnecessary on a brompton IMO.

I'd get Brompton Kevlar tyres, they kinda sit between Kojak and Marathons. I havent had a puncture on them yet but from what I've seen puncture repair is an utter ballache.

Also think of other users apart from you who will use it. 100% get 3 speed at least and once you go 3, the jump to 6 doesent really add much price or weight. The new shifters are nice too. Replace stock brake pads with swissstop so there is not much rubber muck on the rims after a wet ride.

It is counterintuitive to lighten the brompton and changing anything stock like saddle or pedals defeats the purpose IMO.

you'll have to swap out the seat post for the extended or the telescopic, standard was too short for me, at 5'11", and the extended is pulled out all the way with the seat topper turned over to give me a little bit extra.

As @amey says puncture repair looks like a ballache, haven't done it yet myself (touch wood) but I'd go with heavier tyres myself, so I don't have to worry about it, rather than using that as a weight saving.

Also keep those tyres pumped up to 100psi, its surprising how much of the ride performance on a brompton comes down to how hard the tyres are..

also that barbour x brompton looks right up your street ;)

I'm 6'6" and the S bar is fine for me. That was on an 11mi each way commute through London last winter. As others have said, you'll likely need extended or telescopic post. I paid the difference for Cycle Surgery to swap it out at point of sale. Definitely test ride to see what feels best for you though.

Also as mentioned by others, I wouldn't recommend lighter tyres. Punctures really are a ballache. Now, I'm 90ish kg and I found the standard Brompton tyres good for a few months, but started getting punctures so swapped to Marathons. The better experiences of others might be because they're tiny racing snakes? Or maybe I'm just unlucky. The marathons are slower and not so grippy, but I'm happy to accept that if it means no punctures ever. Don't bother with dynamo lights.

Ok, you guys make valid points. Also no Dynamo saves me some money for 6speed and luggage. I had a telescopic in the spec.

I'm 6'2 and 90kg so very un-racing snake

The 2-speed Ti version is very nice.

I'm 6'2 and 90kg so very un-racing snake

Get marathons.