Brompton owners

Brompton World Championship registration opens today... anyone interested?

http://www.brompton.co.uk/bwc/2012/

Registered and donated a couple of days ago .

came across this the other day and had to share ... love it
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44932385@N06/6785305460/

Not in that picture there isn't.

... you're right .. it's a sodding chain ...
... blame it on the beers and tiny screen i was using ... shoulda checked b4 posting .. sorry peeps .. just got a bit overexcited at the prospect

selling my carradice city folder if anyone is interested
http://www.lfgss.com/thread85010.html

Edit: SOLD pending pickup

Had a quick chat with brompton tech department, and am currently waiting for them to reply to the email I sent following a conversation with a nice guy there.

As I could expect / already knew, despite their good reputation, and despite my good ol' "Le Brompton" celebrating its 20st birthday (exactly now, it was manufactured in may 1992), there is nothing they can suggest appart from getting a new one, or getting a old shitty brompton as a part donor (we know that doesn't exist unfortunately)... He even advised against swaping the faulty frame part, argueing that other parts may start to fail shortly (handle bar support, rear triangle, etc...)

I can't let it die like this! Who knows a really good welder? I know, the answer is UTFS, but...

I am sad sad sad...

L

Try contacting Ryan at Oak cycles, I reckon he'd sort it out for you if it was possible.
http://www.oakcycles.com/ I just noticed that he's built a rather lovely bike for JAH Tim.

So...about to dip my toes into the folding world.

Planning on M2L

M - bit more sit up and beg for the missus and can have the front basket
2 - -7% option, 69gi for normal use and an uphill gear

On the test ride it felt very bouncy - does the firm suspension option make a big difference?

possibly Turkish main with white extremities. Or black and white.

Is compton cycles the quickest place to order through? Need it asap!

Ta

Condor reckons they're pretty quick (what they told me) Others here will know better

firm sus does help a fair bit

How tall is your missus? even the flat bar one isn't that low as it look as the stem on the S type is slightly longer than the standard M type.

This is moot since you want a front basket and the Brompton claim to not be able to fit it on such frame (S type).

Of which remind me to ask if it's possible to fit such bag on S type Brompton without much issue? I mean have anyone tried?

1+ on firm suspension, they don't cost extra too.

On the test ride it felt very bouncy - does the firm suspension option make a big difference?

If you put a jubilee clip around the suspension block, you can adjust it from soft to firm by tightening the clip.

^ yeah, Ed, I tried both out. Prefer the S myself, but I think she'll prefer the positioning of the M and also needs the basket for handbag carrying purposes.

It's going to be a bit of a compromise bike anyway so I'm not going to worry too much about it.

So...about to dip my toes into the folding world.

Planning on M2L

M - bit more sit up and beg for the missus and can have the front basket
2 - -7% option, 69gi for normal use and an uphill gear

69gi is a lot more tiring on a brompton than it is on a normal bike if you're doing more than a couple of miles.

I have s3 with +8% gearing which gives 69GI in middle gear and i definitely feel it in my legs more than riding my old fixed.

How tall is your missus? even the flat bar one isn't that low as it look as the stem on the S type is slightly longer than the standard M type.

This is moot since you want a front basket and the Brompton claim to not be able to fit it on such frame (S type).

Of which remind me to ask if it's possible to fit such bag on S type Brompton without much issue? I mean have anyone tried?

1+ on firm suspension, they don't cost extra too.

The carradice city folder is only meant for M type, but it fitted ok on my S type - just have to be careful when the bags very full as it will hinder steering a little. I rarely had this problem though.
I also have the Brompton basket on my S-type and its absolutely fine.
Or are you getting one of those nice wicker ones from David Hembrow

69gi is a lot more tiring on a brompton than it is on a normal bike if you're doing more than a couple of miles.

I have s3 with +8% gearing which gives 69GI in middle gear and i definitely feel it in my legs more than riding my old fixed.

Well there's the rolling resistance of small wheels, but for your average 'intermediate' rider, 69" on a Brompton seems okay for commuting. I had a 2-speed, but converted it to SS, plus switched out the stock 12t for a 13t to drop the gear from 75ish to 69 (with Marathons). It's great about town, and I managed a flattish TNRC on it too, plus a ride out, so it was 65 miles. I had fairly good legs at the time, and got the usual slight lower back ache from 4ish hours in a shorter/more upright position, but I think you'd be good for more than 'a couple of miles'.

When I used it for a hilly Kent TNRC before the absolute-piece-of-shit 2 speed 'mech' died after a pathetic number of miles, I did have to use the 50something" gear for Exedown, but mainly because I didn't want to snap the stem off.

^ @hb

Not going to do massive mileage - commute will be about 11 miles.

I had a quick test of the standard 2 gearing and the lower gear didn't feel that low and the 74" felt like I was proper nodder grinding it out. But want to ideally stick with the weight saving of the 2 speed.

Maybe it was just the very different ride.

Other 2 speed riders - are you on standard gearing?

69 isn't that bad, but it's not as spinny as I was expecting and as he mentions it'll be used by the missus it's best to manage expectations a little.

i also found that seatpost height was very important as the standard was a touch too short at it's full extension for me and my thighs were screaming after 10 miles down cs7 when I wouldn't break a sweat along there typically.

Had a quick chat with brompton tech department, and am currently waiting for them to reply to the email I sent following a conversation with a nice guy there.

As I could expect / already knew, despite their good reputation, and despite my good ol' "Le Brompton" celebrating its 20st birthday (exactly now, it was manufactured in may 1992), there is nothing they can suggest appart from getting a new one, or getting a old shitty brompton as a part donor (we know that doesn't exist unfortunately)... He even advised against swaping the faulty frame part, argueing that other parts may start to fail shortly (handle bar support, rear triangle, etc...)

I can't let it die like this! Who knows a really good welder? I know, the answer is UTFS, but...

I am sad sad sad...

L

Twenty years is a good innings for a folder, but I feel your pain, veLLo. My Brompton died young: 1994-2003 (seat tube failure). I then got a Birdy Red and the same thing happened after circa 2 years (got the frame replaced under warranty and sold it on). I also had a fixed Trek folder and that lasted 3 years until the seat tube failed (again). I think there might be a pattern here...

69 isn't that bad, but it's not as spinny as I was expecting and as he mentions it'll be used by the missus it's best to manage expectations a little.

i also found that seatpost height was very important as the standard was a touch too short at it's full extension for me and my thighs were screaming after 10 miles down cs7 when I wouldn't break a sweat along there typically.

I don't know Mrs villa-ru's cycling credentials, but it could work in that if she's more of a recreational rider, a slower cadence might feel more comfortable, but more importantly it will stablize the twitchy handling to a certain extent.

she's very much at the recreational end of the spectrum!

we're moving to the top of streatham so she'll have Brixton Hill and Leigham court road to climb. Both pretty long drags. I figure better to spin out downhill / freewheel and have a bit of an easier time going up.

re seatpost - I had it at the max. I think I probably should get the extension one.

Very most probably definitely a repost, since youtubed in september 2011, but whatever!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G62gRmdIBY0&feature=player_embedded

Twenty years is a good innings for a folder, but I feel your pain, veLLo. My Brompton died young: 1994-2003 (seat tube failure). I then got a Birdy Red and the same thing happened after circa 2 years (got the frame replaced under warranty and sold it on). I also had a fixed Trek folder and that lasted 3 years until the seat tube failed (again). I think there might be a pattern here...

Thanks for your kind comments, and sorry to hear you had similar experiences. Do you still have a folding bike now?

What happened will not take me to try other folding bike (dahon birdy etc), I can't see myself with something else but a Brompton: I will repair my bike (new frame assembly very probably, as I don't know who could repair it for cheap enough. I know Oak cycles were suggested here but I have seen their price list for standard repairs, so I believe money will be better spent in a new frame that hopefully will last longer, and will have a 5 year garantee)

L

A Manchestaaaa repost for 'avin it at football yesterday.^^

Can't recommend Brompton's enough, had mine for 5 years, the lack of hassle travelling on trains is worth the price alone

Ordered replacement main frame assembly yesterday, should get it in two weeks, and put the brommie back on the road shortly after hopefully...

May try to ebay the old cracked frame...

Despite changing the whole main frame, I still consider it will be the same bike. We had this conversation with Gerald several times, if you even change all parts of a bike over its life it's still the same bike. I will still be riding my 1992 brommie.

L