Brompton owners

Got some MKS FD7 wide pedals today, lovely.

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They look nice. Might give them a try, the standard brompton ones don't fold with my spa cranks plus the platform on those looks much better.

Do look good, seem to be import only at the mo.

That’s right, though probably only a matter of time before they arrive with Freshtripe. Postage from Blue Lug was about £20 with no customs fees, not too bad if you happen to order other bits at the same time.

Brompton hive-mind.. do you have any ideas on this conundrum..?

Whilst carrying a Milian Pere child seat across London (with one end poking out of the top of a messenger bag) I arrived at my desitnation to find that one half of the seat-post clamp had vanished - I assume it worked its way loose and fell off (I vaguely recall hearing a mysterious PING! as I passed Emirates Stadium!).

.. the now missing, presumed lost forever, part is this (the side with the twisty knob thingy, including that half of the metal clamp)..

.. as Milian seem to be no longer trading the chances of finding a genuine replacement part seem slim - but equally it looks like the sort of generic clamp that might also be used for loads of other bike-related purposes? Or could be fashioned/3D printed somehow? Inevitably I'm a bit reluctant to consign the whole thing (which fetch £150+ on EBay) to the bin, for the sake of, what is probably, a £2 clamp..?

You’ll definitely be able to sort something to fit. Is the bolt missing too? That’s just an off the shelf bolt but if you can figure out the thread size from the presumably captive nut on the other side, you can probably find a nice threaded knob as a direct replacement. And because you’re on this forum, titanium pls thx.

In my world I’ve had a pay day rinse of upgrades for my folder…

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Yup, everything from the left side of the clamp is missing.. so bolt, knob and that half of the clamp sadly..

Hmmm, yeah that is a bugger, I’d be retracing my steps pretty sharpish.

Try searching for tube to tube T 90° clamps etc

Something with a quick release type clamp would be a massive improvement imho. Is the clamp shape perpendicular to the top tube part or slanted where it clamps the seat post?

I’ve done the retracing but unfortunately it was a few days before I even realised it was missing, so it seems a lost cause in that respect. And yeah the clamp is slanted which inevitably complicates matters..

I’ll keep my eyes open if something bodge-able shows up.
I had a productive afternoon though…

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The rack makes pushing the folded bike so much easier, but beware the higher centre of gravity.

Yesterday was mine and Liz's 20th wedding anniversary. So we had a little trip out. Liz wanted a night in a nice hotel and wanted a bike ride, we compromised. We rode to the train station, train to Cambridge, rode to the hotel. They were super nice and offered to lock our bike in a cupboard and give us the key
If the folders didn’t fit in the room ok. They fitted in the wardrobe just fine. We had dinner in the hotel. Then breakfast, muffins were borrowed for the ride later. We took a ride out to Fen Ditton and beyond, stopped at Stow-Cum-Quy Fen because, well because. Rode back to a pub somewhere, had drinks and before we had ordered they offered to fill our water bottles for us. That was nice. We rode back to Cambridge for coffee, put our hot feet in the Cam to cool down, have dinner at Stem & Glory (better than ok, but not amazing) we are now sat on the train heading back to Norwich. With the ride home that will be 110km since knocking off work yesterday. Liz puts up with a lot!
A big thank you to @Bearlegged for the Bag frame, it would have been a struggle with just one bag. You are a star.

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Finally installed these little things, the folding handlebar nipple catcher thing came with two bolts. I obvs used the black stealth countersunk job whose head sheared off the moment I put the slightest bit of torque on it. No problem, I used the silver one instead, I've got a black marker that can take care of that problem.

Springy hinge things are an upgrade from what I had on there before, they didn't have springs. Total overkill, but that's okay. Flash suspension block (like @JAHtim and @inchpincher) next, methinks. I've wanted one for such a long time but does it even come in black?!?

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most of these aliexpress type trinkets are not great in use, at one point I went deep and then uninstalled them all, the only thing I have kept is those springs for hinge slots

I just ordered a spring suspension thing and some new easy wheels, let's see how we go but I'm not expecting the best quality.

Matumura Kohki Scrowave Suspension Spring does come in black ^^^^^ it's really improved the ride quality.....

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Did you buy a legit one, Tim, or was it an Ali Express job?

much as it pains me to say.... i'm a strictly legit kinda person these days (just in case babylon is reading this .....) I got mine from sjs
.
er the fire place was also acquired legally....

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@ts I would’ve gone black were it not for the raw brazing on mine.

I inherited some random new bolts with this bike, one of which is this titanium 70mm M8(guess) with a 6mm hex head. Can’t see an obvious place this was destined for, the cone head seems too big as a brake or suspension swap?

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& @JAH-tim. Cool, I'm sure mine will be janky AF compared to your ones. Fingers crossed it isn't just a paperweight, just over a tenner posted (including titanium bolt!) so no great loss if it's total garbage.

I’ve had an £18 Ti spring for 2 years, and other than having to replace the Ti bolt with the original steel bolt, it’s been great.

Note: you may wish to do the replacement proactively. On my spring, the ‘head’ of the bolt (that has a machined recess to catch on the triangle lever) was a separate part that was glued on. This eventually fell off and the rear triangle would fold when lifting the bike. The original steel bolt is a single machined piece. Takes 3 minutes to swap.

Looks like an M6, no? Sloped head might mean it’s a suspension bolt?

Lovely stuff, what a lovely write up and I trust you both had a lovely 20th anniversary.

most of these aliexpress type trinkets are not great in use, at one point I went deep

Too much too young. I concur with the legend that is Amey.

Pedals, suspension blocks and seatpost are definitely improvements and there are many choices.
I remember seeing a video ages ago about the clamps, even the hinge slot replacements, being a part designed enabling you to check for wear and I have retained the originals.

Steerer wedge bolt. Hidden under the handlebar hinge.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/frames/brompfication-titanium-bolt-set/