Originally Posted by jur
14R: Very impressive! I like what I see. A bunch of questions, since I'm ignorant about the Bromptons:
What are all those levers on the handlebars - I presume for gears? But 3 levers for 6 - 6 is right? - gears?? How are 6 gears achieved - is there a 2-gear derailer system with a hub gearbox?
And why do you like the Brommie but not the Merc? (I don't know where to look for all your reasons - sorry.)
One thing I'm not crazy about, is the lazy arrangement of cables to the back. Cables are cluttery.
Very good questions:
The levers on the handlebars are the gear shifters from Brompton. They are ugly, not really very ergonomic but after extensive review from Bromptontalk I decided just to get used to them instead of replacing them with grip shifters. 6 speeds are achieved by 3 internal from the hub (right hand shifter, it's a SINGLE shifter with 2 "wings", I guess you stick your finger in between, I don't really know why it's designed like that) and a Brompton derailer system that uses 2 cogs in the bag (13 and 15 teeth) (left hand shifter that also comes with a little bell inbedded). 3x2=6 (I may consider a smaller front chainring since my crankset left room for it. With or without front derailleur, I may add one if I end up needing one).
The reason why I ended up with a Brompton has to do with my ex-girlfriend (that we ended the relationship in very good terms) offering me the Brompton I gave her as a birthday gift after we splitted. Could be a Merc GT6 (not the Gt3 though) but it wasn't. I am kinda happy that I ended up with this bike for several reasons (including the fact that I paid for it)
Now the cables look cluttery, but they don't bother me while riding and this is the arrangement that allows a fold without any cable problems. I didn't even bother on changing them, but I'm sure they can be arranged in a better looking way. For me, they are fine since I spend more time riding than looking at the bike