[Closed] Brompton questions...

If anyone is discounting them then they're bonkers given the low margins / long leadtimes.

only way to get one "cheap" is to work in bike trade (and margins are poor so not a huge saving) or on cycle to work scheme

you don't generally see any discounted Bromptons in bike shops

Kojaks are a bit fragile they roll far better than marathons but are vunerble to sharp flints or glass....

I only get 6 months out of a set of kojaks against 2 years on marathons

The brompton kevlars might be a reasonable compromise between the two

Yep no discounted Bromptons (unless your mate owns a bike shop 🙂 ). Lead times are weeks and the demand is such that there is no reason to discount. I find the Schwable fine. Rather ride them than fix a puncture on a Brompton!

Why are the margins low? Proprietary parts? They can't be low volume.
I sometimes consider having one in the fleet but I can't get past the price, new and 2nd hand.

Margins are low because Brompton are able to keep the high price to the shop. Good business for Brompton.

I didjt imagine there would be any discounts on them, strange...

What's the difference between an M6L and an S6L?

also they're made in the UK, just up the road from me.
Reminds me, I have a slow puncture that needs mending.

What's the difference between an M6L and an S6L?

The handlebars. M has risers, S has flats

Unless you live somewhere v hilly, get a M3L. Perfect for most use.

Tyres, Marathon + is the tyre you should use. Anything else will puncture if you are using it for regular town/city use. On a 6 speed, fixing a puncture is a faff. Not difficult, just a bit faffy, and definitely a dirty job. Marathon + tyres are brilliant, I've been running them for 4 years and only had one puncture, and that was a drawing pin right through the tyre.

I got my Brompton discounted from Evans about 5 years ago. It was a custom order that someone then decided they didn't want - result for me 😀

Another vote for the Marathon tyres here. Keep them pumped up, obviously.

I loved mine - great urban bikes. Fitted it with XTR brake levers (so the brakes actually worked), flite ti and a King headset 🙂

And a vote from me on the Marathon Plus tyres too. Do anything you can to protect avoid punctures. I had a six speed, and changing the back wheel with a puncture is something best done infrequently. It seemed to attract dirt, and even of I cleaned it carefully before removing the wheel, I'd still have black filth up to my elbows by the time the wheel was back in place. Great little bikes though, and you hardly lose anything on them if you sell it on.

What is an H3L?

Loved mine too and passed it on to someone who needed it for its intended purpose. You don't need a rear rack. Its sole purpose seemed to be to preserve the rear mudguard (which cracks and suffers water ingress.

If I was after another, I'd go S2LX. I had a six speed with 18% gear reduction. The Brompton derailleur is very good, but I think that dinglespeed is the way to go for lightness.

You will need the front luggage block.

I liked the Kevlar Brompton tyres. Light, fast rolling and I did not suffer a lot of punctures (rears are a pain!).

What are the 3 gears like?

I think its time to test some...

I've always done alright with the Brompton kevlars, but also not tried anything else. I much prefer the 's' bar myself- tried the 'm', it was waay too high. I have 2 gears, it's fine and a lot less weight. Have you looked second hand?

I think its time to test some...

Very, very worth it!!!! 🙂

Use one everyday and can't speak highly enough of it. S2L here, ( Straight bars, 2 speed) and it's spot on, unless you live somewhere very hilly. No 3 heavy speed hub gear, so it's only a few grams more than the single speed and I find the gearing perfect. On the 3 speed, they were: Too spinny/ok but not quite high enough/way too high, whereas on the two speed it's just one gear for losing everyone off the lights or uphill and another for everything else.

loddrik - Member
What is an H3L?

First letter denotes handle bar style. M=Risers, S=straight/flat, H= Funny H-shaped Jones style riser/drop bars all in one.

I would recommend the standard Brompton tyres actually. They are not much heavier than the Kojaks, roll quite well if you keep them at 100psi and I've only had one puncture in two years of commuting. A colleague has the kojaks and punctures every fortnight. As others have said, changing a puncture is a right old faff. Avoid at all costs.

Also recommended - The luggage block and the basic folding basket thing, and a firm suspension rubber at the back if you want to make decent progress without pogo-ing down the road like you are on a Pro-flex.

H bars are just M bars on a higher stem. The funny double-height ones are P bars.

I spent all day today making forks and rear swing arms for disc braked Rohloff Bromptons 😉

bencooper - Member
H bars are just M bars on a higher stem. The funny double-height ones are P bars

oh... 😳

If you fancy a buying one second hand, mine's for sale...

Black M3L with Marathon tyres, plus a mounting block and C-Bag.

I absolutely loved riding it but no longer commute by train and so it hasn't been ridden for the last year.

You won't go wrong with buying a Brompton - but do go and try out the different handlebars if you can, I definitely preferred mine.

I bought an S3L in orange with black extremities in July, cracking bike, use it every day to commute to work and find the 3 gears to be spot on for what I want.

I went for the standard Brompton tyres and they are great, keep them inflated to the recommended 100psi and they roll fine. Can't recommend Bromton enough.

No discounts to be had I'm afraid. I asked several bike shops and Brompton and they said the demand for the bikes is such that it isn't necessary, ou may get some accessories thrown in though.

Defo the best bike I have had for years, i enjoy riding it, it's nice and simple and fuss free, the S (straight) bars are good aswell and look loads better than the Others.

Don't think I'd go for just the two gears.

Thoughts on 6 or 3?

S3 gears is good for me when I'm in London. Not hilly so fine. Terrible gear change lever though!

You can fit a decent lever - the SRAM T3 lever works, as do most other 3-speed hub gear levers.

I have no idea why Brompton make their own plasticky thing.

I loathed the stupid things through blind prejudice, then I got to use one regularly and had my eyes opened. I am 6ft and need the riser bars, my knees would hit the flat bars. Around Cardiff the 3 speed was fine. Bromptons are bloody brilliant.

Want to ride one of bencoopers creations.

I run a Kojak upfront and a Brompton rear - fine for me but I don't get many punctures on my othehr commuter (Gatorskins).

6-speed is nice for having small jumps between gears & wide range (latter prob overkill for most) but as Flash says 3 speed prob fine for most and 2 only for flat landers. If you ever ended up doing a long ride or tour a 6-speed would be good. Thing about lack of low gears on 2/3 is that honking a Brompton is horrible and tiring - you need to sit and spin. I have an older sram 6, tighter jumps, and like it, but could get away with a 3.

I run an M type with mtb risers - I don't like the upright position of the std bars, S were too low (I'm 6'1").

In summary, if you will use it enough and can afford one, get one. They * all other folding bikes up the . I find mine pretty horrible for anything over 5-10 miles, but then I have 2 high end road bikes I am used to.

Brompton cannot cope with demand for their bikes.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/expat-money/9994315/The-freewheeling-success-of-a-British-bike-brand-in-Asia.html

I think that brompton have grown the business sustainably to a level that suits them, and allows them to maintain both quality and price, rather than 'fail to meet demand'.

Another vote for Schwalbe Marathons here (I don't think they are the plus version) - I had endless punctures on the standard tyres but only one in about 6 years with the Marathons. And I also recommend the 2 speed bike with straight bars - I used to have a 6 speed and the slight gain from the extra gears was more than offset by the extra weight to lug around. Straight bars feel a bit tighter, a more enjoyable ride, and are slightly lighter. If you have to carry it any distance at all while folded you will soon wish you had shaved as much weight off it as possible.

And don't, whatever you do, buy a lock for it. They are perfect thief fodder so should always be kept with you, never locked up outside.

They * all other folding bikes up the .

Depends what you want - nothing else folds as small or as quickly, but there are compromises. My mods do a lot to address those compromises, but at a price.

But there are lots of other good folders - Birdys and Frogs are not much bigger but have full sus aluminium frames. Airnimals have bigger wheels for speed, or there's even S&S bikes which are identical to full-size bikes.

S3L here.

It's a bike I love and loathe in equal measures. Hilarious downhill or in heavy traffic (very nippy handling), will drop almost everything away from teh lights. Awful uphill or into a headwind. Flexier than a flexy thing, and for the price, some of the bespoke parts (brakes, shifter etc) are awful.

However they're by far the best FOLDING bike, even if they're not the best folding BIKE.

I bought mine secondhand and it came with M-bars which at 5'10" were way too high, and truly, horribly flexy. At a weedy 10 stone, if I pumped down on them, I could spring the (awful) grips an inch further apart. An S-type stem a flat bar out of the bits box, and a pair of lockons solved that.

Gears - mines a 3. Low is pointless, mid is OK for blasting away from the lights, but spins out too quick. Top is way too high, other than DH. I'd go 2 speed - I believe the sprockets are a standard shimano spline, so you can mix and match your own gearing. The 6 speed is a 3 speed hub (narrower gear spread than the normal 3) with the 2spd derailleur bolted on the end.

Tyre wise I'm running Kojaks I think - silly light skinny things. They work pretty well - have had a couple of flats, but no more than i'd expect from any other tyre.

Mine also has Eezy wheels (great - highly recommended), the firm elastomer (stops it feeling like an early 90s full sus) and spds, cuz the stock brommy pedals are awful if you're used to proper flats.

The latest brakes are not bad - now they've finally stopped using plastic brake levers and gone for proper alloy ones. Other choices - like the gear shifter - are price driven I think.

The 2-Spd (and 6-Spd BWR) sprockets are standard Shimano splines, but there's not an awful lot the rear mech will cope with so you can't change more than about 1 tooth from the official tooth count.

Yes, I should have said, the new brake levers are great, well worth the money as an upgrade. I just fitted some on my old Brompton and it has transformed things. Apparently they're bringing out new calipers too at some point that should improve things further.

2 speed has been OK for me so far, and I live at the top of an 8% hill. It's like a slightly long geared singlespeed, but with a bail-out gear for hills. Biggest problem with it is not lack of low gears, but I could do with a longer one (sadly can't go smaller at the back) - on a slight downhill you can spin out, but it won't be steep enough to keep gaining speed by freewheeling.

It's over a half a kilo of extra weight to go from 2 speed to 3 (almost as much as the Ti versions save); although only an extra 180g to go from 3 to 6, so if you really want more gears it makes more sense to go for 6 rather than 3.

I like S bars but that's personal preference - try M/S/H bars and see what you prefer, many Brompton dealers will have all 3 in stock.

Punctures are a complete pain (no QRs, removing the rear wheel means removing a load of other bits) so the Marathon Plus tyres make a lot of sense, even if they don't roll quite as nicely. Only a small price uplift if you order with them, much cheaper than buying later once you realise the standard ones are a bit crap. No punctures since switching for me.

I resisted the front luggage for ages but it's actually really good. Still not completely convinced it's good value but works very well.

We've got 6 speeds. Hub works fine but my 2spd derailleur has always been 'sticky' so rarely gets used.

The front luggage is expensive but for me it's a really important part of the package. Given that I use the Brompton for work it means I can get to places without a sweaty back from a courier bag, except on the hottest days. It also helps to stabilise the bike - it feels much twitchier without it.

Why limit yourself to a Brommy?

#Dahonbikes 😆

If you've already got panniers, I make a front rack to carry them:

[url= http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7450/10086847813_d0a01ab786_z.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7450/10086847813_d0a01ab786_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/cycleologist/10086847813/ ]Brompton Pannier Rack[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/cycleologist/ ]Ben Cooper[/url], on Flickr

Matching rear rack in development 😉

We have one at work. The folding mechanism is ingenious, but it's absolutely hateful to ride.

Make absolutely sure you don't get any lube spray anywhere near the rear hub. It's waterproofed by packing it with grease...

Fixing a puncture is easier with a 2-speed than it is with a 3- or 6-speed

Top tip - when you have to sort your first puncture or change a tyre, change the rubbish plastic rim strip that's put on in the factory for a nice proper cloth one - makes tyre removal, repalcement / seating waaaayyyy easier. The technical description for a Marathon Plus with the Brommie plastic strip is 'bastardtight'!

Anyone any experience with the SA 8 speed conversion?
Worth the cash and extra weight or not?

(Currently have M6 but would like bigger gear spread and better changer...)

Do test ride the 2 and 3 speed versions for comparison - I think you'll get what I and others are saying: The 2spd gears seem more useful than those on the 3spd. It's MUCH lighter and the gears can easily be swapped. If you want a 6 spd however, then go for it.

I can't agree with ransos - Feels like a BMX. Super nippy and great acceleration.

I can't agree with ransos - Feels like a BMX. Super nippy and great acceleration.

I agree with this, I love how it rides. I'm 6'4", somehow it just works..

Two years on an S3 here - 85 miles a week year round.
Marathons are good - got my first puncture the other day because the sidewall wore out just before the tread did.
Front luggage block and S bag is worth every penny.
One thing- I did manage to shatter the pawls in the SA hub withinna week or two. Advised to start in easiest gear rather than pushing the big meat..

AndyMain - I would be interested in your Brompton as mine was stolen, email in profile if still available.

Just finished an Alfine 11-speed disc kit:

[img] [/img]

Now to start building Rohloff disc Bromptons - got three to build this week...

Alfine 11-speed disc kit:

Katie's Alfine 11 has now started pissing oil from the disc side as well as the drive side 🙁 Every Alfine 11 I've seen seems to leak oil like crazy.

Which is why I'm not sure I want to make any more of these - someone asked, and provided the hub, so I said I'd give it a go 😉

Ben, how does the range of the 8 speed compare to the 6 speed BWR?

I find that I'm only using the higher 4 and ideally would like a closer set of ratios......

It's a bit wider - 325% - from 29" to 94" with the 33t chainset I usually use.

thanks for that....I'll go and have a Think....may well give you a call...

I can't agree with ransos - Feels like a BMX. Super nippy and great acceleration.

It's flexy and heavy.

I'm constantly puzzled about these remarks about flexy. I'm pretty sure the stock Stronglight cranks are as flexy as heel, and I'm going to swap them for some old HT 105s soon, but the rest of the frame seems pretty beefy to me. Where are the flexy people seeing the flex, may I ask?

On the Alfine conversion: I've got a Nexus 8 hub on my Specialized Tricross at the moment that is cut down to 120mm OLD. I'm quite tempted to build it up for the Brompton at some point - although it seems overkill for my 6.5 miles each way commute. That might resolve the Alfine oil problem - although it'd be no help on the disc side of things.

The bars and stem can be pretty flexy, especially the M and P bars. The Alfine 8-speed seems a lot more reliable than the 11-speed.