Folding Bikes - Brompton gears

Right this is my first post so hi, i have decided on a brompton with s type handle bars. The o ly thing I can't make my mind up on is which gears to have. I'm buying one because I want one and not for anything in specific. I might do a bit of commutin on it and I may do a little touring aswell but I'm not sure what gears to have.

Right this is my first post so hi, i have decided on a brompton with s type handle bars. The o ly thing I can't make my mind up on is which gears to have. I'm buying one because I want one and not for anything in specific. I might do a bit of commutin on it and I may do a little touring aswell but I'm not sure what gears to have.

I would stick with the simple wide-range three speed. Very efficient. Should be wide enough for many situations. If you ever need more or wider gears, there are some modifications that will do the trick.

I would stick with the simple wide-range three speed. Very efficient. Should be wide enough for many situations. If you ever need more or wider gears, there are some modifications that will do the trick.

Why not go with the 6-speed hub? It'd give him 33 to 100 gear inches. What's the range of the 3-speed? Surely not that good.

Definitely 6-speed Brompton ! I have lots of fun with it. You won't regret it.

My first folder was a 3-speed one and I find it too slow for my liking.

im not overly keen on the shifters either, can they be changed to twist grip shifters? i like the idea of the 6 speed with two twist grip shifters and nicer looking brake levers.

im not overly keen on the shifters either, can they be changed to twist grip shifters?
Yes, SA makes twist shifters for its 3 speed hubs.

Why not go with the 6-speed hub? It'd give him 33 to 100 gear inches. What's the range of the 3-speed? Surely not that good.

It doesn't add much to the range over the three speed. I don't have the calculation handy, but given the way it works, it can't add that much (the difference between a 13 and 15-tooth cog from memory). The "half-step" shifting is OK but still a little clunky, IMO.

I also recall that you can do the six-speed as a retro-fit if the regular three speed fails to provide enough range. So my inclination would be to keep it simple -- especially if one doesn't have a particular purpose for it -- and modify it as needed later.

thanks for the replies folks, i think its going to be the 3 speed hub.

BTW, remember that there are *two* three speed hubs available. I think that they still offer the standard SRAM three speed hub. Now there is a special wide range Sturmey Archer hub too ... labeled BWR if I remember correctly.

Why not test ride both and decide for yourself ? You may not know what you're missing. I regularly need to use both end of the range on my Brompton 6-speed.

If you do "a little touring" ...then the new BWR 6 speed may be a better choice. I have a 3 speed SA (M3L) and now preferred the new BWR 6 speed.


Right this is my first post so hi, i have decided on a brompton with s type handle bars. The o ly thing I can't make my mind up on is which gears to have. I'm buying one because I want one and not for anything in specific. I might do a bit of commutin on it and I may do a little touring aswell but I'm not sure what gears to have.

Why not go with the 6-speed hub? It'd give him 33 to 100 gear inches. What's the range of the 3-speed? Surely not that good.

Get the cheapest possible gearing option and the splurge on the Sturmey Archer 8-speed conversion from Kinetics (http://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/8-speed.shtml)?

Disclaiminer. I don't have a Brompton (want one though, just because!) but I have bought from Kinetics in the past.

Get the cheapest possible gearing option and the splurge on the Sturmey Archer 8-speed conversion from Kinetics (http://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/8-speed.shtml)?

Disclaiminer. I don't have a Brompton (want one though, just because!) but I have bought from Kinetics in the past.


well thats gone and done it, thats exactly what i want realy, more gears with one twist grip shifter. and it looks the nuts!