Brompton owners

This is not Object's BMX, it's a Brompton

One day I will make a folding BMX.

One day I will make a folding BMX.

Hi Loic
I took mine to Athens in a soft bag...

Thanks David!

I good for the 29th too. What is the name of the greasy spoon in Clapham, might give it a reccy before hand ;-)

It's "Jack at the Junction"
Ask Ulas on behalf of Loic

BTW, this place was just a thought, I don't want to impose anywhere in particular, if people have other suggestions... I quite like the idea of a ride ending around a table / meal... the best moment when I cycle to Brighton is the fish and chips on the beach!!

1 - Villa-Ru
2 - Clever Pun
3 - Fasih
4 - overtheroad
5 - Dropout
6 - hillbilly
7 - mrs_socks
8 - veLLo
9 - Clefty
10 - cake
11 - atbeard
12 - BMMFold
13 - Rod Munch
14 - Dom
15 - Xander
16 - Charco
17 - Mikey
18 - BlueBrompton
19 - tilover (assuming i get plenty of notice for location)
20 - Lolo
21 - overtheroad
22 - goodhead
23 - desouz (if I can borrow my father's i'll be in)
24 - lardboy
25 - Cazakstan

Just replaced Velocio's name (shame you can't make it!) by overtheroad to keep the list updated, and in order to bump it before the WE...

overtheroad is on at number 21 too.

oops, list amended...

1 - Villa-Ru
2 - Clever Pun
3 - Fasih
4 - overtheroad
5 - Dropout
6 - hillbilly
7 - mrs_socks
8 - veLLo
9 - Clefty
10 - cake
11 - atbeard
12 - BMMFold
13 - Rod Munch
14 - Dom
15 - Xander
16 - Charco
17 - Mikey
18 - BlueBrompton
19 - tilover (assuming i get plenty of notice for location)
20 - Lolo
21 - goodhead
22 - desouz (if I can borrow my father's i'll be in)
23 - lardboy
24 - Cazakstan

Having seen your other steeds I am very excited to see your brompton in current projects. I expect equal portions of class, practicality and spared-no-expense as per any MJ build :)

This.

Also looking forward to top quality shed made modifications.

This happened in March:

I've just joined the Brompton club, sort of. A customer at work had one with seatpost issues, and when we sent it off to Brompton they returned saying they had found a crack in the seat tube.

The customer has bought a new one, and asked us to scrap his, but the manager has written it off for me.

So...I have a c.10 year old black M6R, with a seat post that won't go into the frame, and a tiny tiny crack at the bottom of the seat clamp area.

I've stripped it right down, and most of the parts are going to be able to go right back on, or be serviceable. I'm looking at taking it to SuperTed or Ryan Oak and getting it bead blasted and checked over.

If it is only the small crack that I can see that led to Brompton writing it off, it should be easily repaired, and I may just have a bargain and a fun little project!

And today, I finally got round to putting together the Phoenix-Rat Brompton:

The eagle-eyed will spot that there is still no cabling for gears - I was putting it together at the shop I used to work in, and ran out of time/expertise, so for the time being it is running as a single speed, in what feels like a track sprint gearing.

The crack in the seat tube is very small, and easily monitorable, and as it's right at the bottom of the split for the seat clamp, I think it could be drilled out without alarm if it seems to be spreading.

A new sleeve means the seatpost fits comfortably, and I retrofitted a seat clamp QR with the clip for the rear triangle, and firm suspension, as well as the pentaclip to fit the saddle. My former employer very kindly giving me trade discount means the total spend on the whole project so far has been <£50.

I still want some of the new brake levers, and possibly new calipers, as one is single-pivot and the other is pretty dodgy. Also going to buy a front carrier block, the shop was out of stock and I already have a waterproof Carradice bag that was donated to me by another customer.

I would also really like to get shot of the rack from the back. I have an L-version mudguard, but I really need some of the stay anchor plates and the wheel pictured here, as the shop only seems to sell the mudguard blade and flap, or just the stays on their own, and not the other bits you need. Does anyone who shed a mudguard have any spares?

Nice one Tom! Having seen this the day you picked it up, it's great to see this coming together so well.

Cheers Dom! Black Brompton Bros!

By the way, if anyone has the L-type (mudguard, no rack) and would rather have the R-type (rear carrier & mudguards, RRP £96) I would be delighted to swap with you. The rack and mudguard are both obviously used, but still look and work fine, I'd rather not have the extra weight and would be happy to swap. If you have Eazy Wheels, more's the better!

What cranks are you using there? How is the chainline and Q factor?

It's a set of FSA road cranks that were on what was left of the bike when I got it. Chainline and Q-factor seem fine when riding, but every time I unfold the bike the hook on the front fork seems to derail the chain from the chainset. Not sure whether that's the hook being bent or the chain in the wrong place.

I have also guided the rear brake cable wrong, and cut it a little short, which is also causing minor nuisances.

Best Brompton for around £1000?

I've paid off my last Bike to Work voucher so it's new bike time.

That's a pretty wide choice... everything except a naked Brompton is pretty much in that price range.

Get whatever you want (S2L is popular).

As VB says, there is no 'best', it's all subjective. Handlebars, colour and gearing are a matter of personal preference and terrain, and Ti is out of your price range.

If you want it all in for under a grand, you'd be better off getting one of the £865 models (S2L, S3L, M3L) in a standard colour (Cobalt Blue, Orange, White, Black) and spending the rest on a carrier block, bag and Eazy Wheels.

Spot on. Drop into a local Evans and try out as many of them as you can. I tried the S2L and preferred it to the M3L speed because of the position and the weight difference, you might prefer one of the others. At least there's only one size, so you don't have to worry about the fit so much.

Black seems to have the best resale value if that's a concern, but if you're tempted by orange, get orange.

Isn't orange the test bike rather?

Orange is a standard colour as well, at least for this year.

Don't you sell Bromptons for a living!?

Seems to have replaced pink as the garish option for the time being.

cheers guys/gals.

I'll pop in to Evans and have a look.

You can get a S2L in raw with easy wheels and marathon tyres for a grand.

Use a rucksack until you can afford a bag/ block.

Get marathon tyres, if you are tall the extended or extendable seat post makes the world of difference.

Easy wheels - do they actually reduce the width profile of the wheels (e.g. will it be any less likely that I crack my ankles against them) ?

I turned the wheels around so that they don't grab at your ankles as much. Much better and free.

Also get the Firm suspension block - much less bouncy.