Brompton owners

The ever-excellent and watchable Dave Holladay, all 6'6" of him, on and about his Brompton:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00srh3w/Politics_Scotland_09_06_2010/?t=18m12s

(From the CTC's CycleClips newsletter.)

Nhatt, we are waiting for the photos!

Don't worry! As soon as I get it I will post photos.

It's coming next week.

EEI wants the photos before you get it. Is that too much to ask?

I've swapped the pedals to metal folding ones as the plastic one couldn't take the power

Riding my new S2 for the second time today. Bloody hell it's a total hoot! The thing flies. I am very happy. I want a second one now!

It's loads better than the old M6 I borrowed off Cake. And I liked that.

Only one minor gripe. It came with an extended seatpost which I don't need. I would like to swap it for the normal length if anyone wants to do the reverse.

I really want an S2.

I love the internal hubs, but the S2 sound perfect.

I love even more that it come with a little clip to 'clip' the rear triangle to the frame, super useful.

Riding my new S2 for the second time today. Bloody hell it's a total hoot! The thing flies. I am very happy. I want a second one now!

It's loads better than the old M6 I borrowed off Cake. And I liked that.

Only one minor gripe. It came with an extended seatpost which I don't need. I would like to swap it for the normal length if anyone wants to do the reverse.

Try going to any Brompton dealer, most have piles of Std ones knocking around having swapped to Extended for taller riders.

I love even more that it come with a little clip to 'clip' the rear triangle to the frame, super useful.

Don't they all these days? Elfinsavetea n'all that. We were told at work to get one fitted if not already... esp if we wanted to go kerb hoppin'.

In the past, that wasn't the case, same go to the suspension which really suck (feel like an old MTB fork that have some kind of sponge).

the current model is definitely better than the one the missus used to have (M3L from 2007).

Did a search and came upon this, pure genius, if that doesn't tell you how much space motorised vehicles take up, then nothing will;

Niall I have a regular seatpost you can have for the price of a burger at Souths.

Don't they all these days?

In the past, that wasn't the case,

I know ;)

Did a search and came upon this, pure genius, if that doesn't tell you how much space motorised vehicles take up, then nothing will;

Nice!

Niall I have a regular seatpost you can have for the price of a burger at Souths.

done.

Mrs Slain and I are talking about a tour of Europe on Bromptons next summer... A little bit of train, a little bit of riding... Pretty fucking excited about it tbh... :D

Don't they all these days? Elfinsavetea n'all that. We were told at work to get one fitted if not already... esp if we wanted to go kerb hoppin'.

I went to a talk by Andrew Ritchie last night. He said it took a while to introduce them because he personally couldn't see why you'd need to clip it together when the whole point of the bike is to fold. I kind of agree, mine doesn't have one and it's more fun that way. Though it can be a bit impractical if you're carrying it up the stairs unfolded.

He also confirmed that there will be an electric Brompton next year and some other things which are yet to be announced.

Mrs Slain and I are talking about a tour of Europe on Bromptons next summer... A little bit of train, a little bit of riding... A lot of walking... Pretty fucking excited about it tbh... :D

ftfy

I went to a talk by Andrew Ritchie last night. He said it took a while to introduce them because he personally couldn't see why you'd need to clip it together when the whole point of the bike is to fold. I kind of agree, mine doesn't have one and it's more fun that way. Though it can be a bit impractical if you're carrying it up the stairs unfolded.

He also confirmed that there will be an electric Brompton next year and some other things which are yet to be announced.

The whole point of the bike is for it to fold at appropriate times. Not potentially whilst you're riding it.

The problem is if you hit a bump at speed (or go kerb hopping) and the thing collapses under you depositing you infront of the traffic if you're really unlucky.

We had a colleague off work for a while 'cos of this (he wasn't kerb hopping, just riding quickly and hit a bump) and the H&S crew quickly dictated we all fit clips. Mine came with a clip anyway, and I always used it as standard - it's a nano second longer to fold at most and grams weight cost. You can also adjust the clip so it won't clip if that's your preference, bit pointless having it tho in that case.

Interesting developments in the pipeline it seems :)

But the point at which a Brompton rear frame folds under the bike is "beyond the point of no return", meaning you would go over the bars if your bike was folding.

While working in a bike shop we used to use the demo bike to try to fold the rear frame under while pulling an endo. This was achieved by only one out of about 10 of us, the rest of us failed miserably or went over the bars.

I'd say a 10% failure (or success rate depending how you're looking at it) is enough to warrant using the clip.

What about while the bike is level in the air... e.g. Kerb hopping - did you test that?

With the clip it's a lot more stable when it lands. And with 16 inch wheels + London's piss-poor tarmac you'll be bunny-hopping over potholes a lot. The clip is a necessity.

Just put in an order for a Brompton today.
PRETTY FUCKING EXCITED, YEAH.
rocks chair

...but didn't request a clip! Pants, I'm on it.

They all have them now.

Kizoom (ex-employer) had a Brompton as a pool bike. It didn't have the clip and riding at speed down Chancery Lane, with its surface seeming created my millions of years of meteorite impacts, was definitely iffy. The problem arose when you unweighted the bike to hit a pothole, particularly if you were braking or turning at the time. I'd want the clip, meself, but I've already got a folder I almost never use.