Folding Bikes - My Brompton has arrived!

So, I picked up my Brompton on Saturday. I had said I would never buy one, and at full price, I wouldn't have, but the UK Govts Cycle to Work scheme meant I got it as a tax free benefit, with the costs spread over 12 months interest free. Basically, a £1000 bike for £50 a month for 1 year. My Downtubes, which I love, were giving me two problems; carrying them into buildings, specially hotels, was hard work, and on trains with small vestibules round the doors, the relatively large fold was meaning I felt I had to stay next to the bike, which on a 2 hour ride is not what I wanted.

So, I got a P6 with mudguards, rack, T Bag, and cover. So far, I'm liking it. With the telescopic seat post, I can get it to my height with plenty of post to spare, and the bars are at about the right height. I'd still like brakes on the lower position, and will think about how to achieve that, but as for the brake performance, well, i don't know why people are complaining; it's as good as the V brakes on my Downtube. We'll see how it holds up in the wet. The gears are a cludge, as I knew they would be. All the nonsense about multiple pinions doesn't really hold up when the derailleur itself introduces more innefficiency, but I guess the chain tensioner has to be there anyway. As for the two shifters, I am not a fan; the hub changes much quicker than the derailleurs, so I'm frequently popping up into 6th (3rd on the hub, high on the derailleur), and waiting for the der. to get me back to the 5th I really want. The ratios and spacing, however, are fine. I'm also pleasantly surprised by the seat, which I had expected to replace with a Brooks asap, now I suspect I won't.

The fold is wonderful; all of the attention to detail makes it work just right, and as soon as I put it on a train this morning, carried it into a lift on arrival, brought it into my hotel tonight,I knew I had made the right decision. I'm impressed with the Kojaks, it feels fast, but the real test of that will be when I ride from Euston to Waterloo stations in London tomorrow night. On my Downtube, I can beat pretty much everyone on the big sprints down Kingsway, and across Waterloo Bridge. If I can still skin the carbon and lycra brigade on the Brommie, I will be pleased, and they won't.

The T bag is also great; loving the front mount, like the size, and think that having it yellow inside is great from the point of view of finding things. Also, the bottle pocket allows me to bring my insulated coffee mug, buy a coffee at the station coffee bar, and carry it 3 miles to the venue ready to drink. That's a BIG plus for me! What I'm wondering now is what impact the Ortlieb QR thing for the rack will have. I want to fit my Ortlieb Office Bag 2, and I'm certain that it will clear my heels, but I had not realised the extent to which the bike stands on its rack. The quick release attachment for the case sticks up a fair distance; it may cause the bike to be unstable. If so, it's possible that fitting the biggest skate wheels I can find in place of both pairs on the rack will give me the clearance, but if not, I'll need another plan.

I have to travel a lot for work, often for a whole week, and I'm not sure the T bag will hold everything; also, it's not ideal for laptops. I'd like to use the Office Bag for the computer, work materials, phones, etc etc, and the T bag for clothing and so on. If not the Office Bag, I suppose the Racksack is an option, but how easy is it to remove? I'm fairly sure no pannier will work on that rack, so I'm wondering what other bags might fit the needs; must carry a 10" netbook and other worky stuff, must be quick to remove, must work with the T Bag. Any thoughts?

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congrats nice folder.

NICE BIKE. congrats. i can see that you're loving it to the max. post more pics please. i too will not hesitate to get the folding bike i like at full price if we have that kind of program.

Bravo! Well done! I'm interested to know how you like the P bars. I got the M bars because I'm a traditional sort, but I've found myself wanting another hand position from time to time. Please report your triumphs and pratfalls. And again: Well done!

Damn my wallet is having palpitations again. :mad:

Way to go, Sammy! The Brompton is a wonder of design. Hope you have many miles of smiles on it.

I imagine you got the P bars for your height? As much as I love the Bromptons, I just can't get used to the look of those 'bars. :eek:

Nice bike Sammyboy. I can't see the Ortlieb office bag 2 working for you, but if you can do a test fit your plan with larger skate wheels might work. If you do try it, one way or another would you be good enough to post your findings?

I would think that the Brompton/Ortlieb bag (which is essentially an Ortlieb Downtown) would take one of Ortlieb's very nice laptop sleeves well and keep your computer dry. The Rack Sack might then carry your clothes?

Maybe one bag on your bike and one on your back would be the best way of extending your carrying capacity and still make it through hotel foyers easily.

I'll let y'all know. So far, I like the P bars a lot, and once I'd looked at the options, I couldn't think why anyone wouldn't have them, except on the grounds of traditional appearance. I have it in mind to fit bar end mounted brake levers, and see if I think then put interrupter levers on the lower bars.......

Lewis - having paid for the T-Bag, I want to use it, and I REALLY wanted to move away from anything on my back, for reasons of sweatiness. I can get a decent sleeve for my netbook without spending a fortune, and the Racksack would probably hold it nicely, but I'll certainly let you know how I get on with the Office Bag as well. I'll do a test mount later this week, and measure to see if 110mm wheels would do the job. That's definitely my preference as it's a nice piece of kit, and I have already laid out the £100 for it! If not, then the racksack, or possibly a Carradice saddlebag might do, though I'm pretty close to the seatpost weight limit, so a saddlebag couldn't have TOO much in it. Once I drop another 20lbs or so, I think that might become luggage option #3

possibly a Carradice saddlebag might do

The Carradice SQR system is very nice.... but I completely understand you want to use what you've already bought...

just so you know, I have a very light weight backpack shaped so that it's off my back, it has a mesh panel that contacts me and allows air circulation between my back and the load. The space in the bag is a very funny shape so I don't find myself using it as much as I though I would. It's great for carrying a sack of water or folded waterproofs but that's about it.

I have a wonderful backpack called the Highson Suit Commute. It's big, it has a laptop pocket, a document sleeve, lots of space, and a part which is basically a suit carrier. The only thing that's not perfect is, it makes me sweaty. I think an Eagle Creek folder in the T-Bag will take care of my smart clothing needs, but beyond that, we'll see.

Always amazing to see the folded size of the Brommies.

As for the larger inline skate wheels, there are diameters available up to 110mm (be aware that the larger ones are pretty heavy). Some reputable skate shops in UK from which to procure said wheels:

Club Blue Room, London (http://www.clubblueroom.com/)
Slick Willies, London (http://www.slickwillies.co.uk/)
Proline Skates, Cardiff (http://www.prolineskates.com/acatalog/)
Loco Skates, Eastbourne (http://www.locoskates.com/)
Skate Asylum, Co. Durham (http://www.skateasylum.co.uk/)
Kates Skates, Cumbria (http://www.kateskates.co.uk/)

Edit: They apparently go up to 125mm now!

Interesting, if you buy a new bike they take less of your money.

It's to encourage people to cycle rather than drive. In America, it would be heralded as a sign of impending communist rule, but I like it.

It's to encourage people to cycle rather than drive. In America, it would be heralded as a sign of impending communist rule, but I like it.

Don't forget some americans think canadians up here are commies! my coworkers had that experience once when his manager in the states thought Canada is a communist country, this was in a small town though in the states. Big cities have a much different outlook cause they get to experience all kinds of crap when growing up.

I'm also jealous of england that at least they are building these cycling superhighways and it's encouraging to people and gives them a sense of security because they have their own lane. Where I am most parts you just hope they give you enough space when they pass. But at least we're slowly transitioning with car is not the only transportation.

A coworker here from tehran says it's a car nation and every house hold has two cars and they just trying to build more roads and all it does is more cars to fill them up. Gas is cheap there and the streets smell like smoke. Guess you have to reach a critical point before the government starts to think of alternatives.

Congrats on the new bike, Sammy. Looks great.

Also, good job on integrating a folder and bicycling into your work. I wish I could do that. Great example that others should emulate.

It's to encourage people to cycle rather than drive. In America, it would be heralded as a sign of impending communist rule, but I like it.

I would take offense at this, but unfortunately, it's true! :(

I don't live in the big city, but around here, some cowboys in their pickup trucks don't like sharing the road with bicycles. Even barely traveled country roads. Go figure...

Sammy,
Glad to see you are loving the Brommie, I am close to your size (bit shorter and lighter :D ) and had come to the conclusion the only two folders that are going to fit were the BF Tikit and the Brompton P . Keep us up to date on the luggage and how well you like the 6 speed aspect of it. I am certain there is a Brompton in my future, the question is when.:innocent:

Aaron :)

congrats on that Brommy

thor

That's a pretty nice shiny bike. When I looked at the P bars they DO make sense, they are almost like drop bars where you can get into an aero position and hunker down into a headwind or downhill. You cannot do that with a flat bar at all. If I do get a brompton I'd opt for P bars too, at least it would give you a good option to take it for touring with that many handholds. I'm still in a internal debate when I actually do save up enough it would be either the tikit or the brompton both really good for multi modal and a wider gear range than my current single speed (my knees can't do that anymore at my age!).

The cycle superhighways are a mixed blessing; they are not separated from the road, so cars are able (and in some circumstances allowed) to enter them, but they feel like cyclists HAVE to stay "where they belong", and there is no real enforcement against cars encroaching. Apparently some of the blue paint is slippery too (though it seems mostly it's an excellent riding surface). On the other hand, lots of people are using them, and the biggest factor that makes cycling safer is more cyclists. It's not perfect, but from what I hear on this forum of American driving, it seems safer heree.

I was in Iran 10 years ago, and most of the cars were locally made Paykan copies of the 70s Hillman Hunter. Really weird to be trapped in a sea of them! At the time, diesel was less than two cents a litre, and petrol around 3c, so it was VERY cheap to drive. India had lots of bikes though.....

I'm encouraged to hear about 125mm skate wheels; seems promising. Selling my car (my wife still has one) and doing my 30k miles a year by bike and train was a good bet, I sleep more, read more, get more work done (all on the train), and get more exercise and have more fun (on the bike).

Those gears really turned me off when I test rode one.

Otherwise, no doubt a fantastic piece of engineering.

At risk of hijacking the thread or retelling a well-known tale, why Brompton don't make their frame compatible with the other internal hubs out there?

welcome to the club

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4140/4870420191_5721b9a214_z.jpg

Those foam grips look super-massive on such a svelte machine, but I'd imagine they function well. I've just tried some Ritchey foam grips which turned out to be way too thin but nevertheless I'm coming round to foam as a grip material despite conventional wisdom.

In fact, maintaining my OCD reputation, could you tell me the approximate O.D. on those grips, sammyboy?

Sammy,

You even got it in the "Business Man-Black" color. Very Professional!

When we get back up here to Vancouver, USA (Portland, OR Metro area) on a permanent basis we will de-car a bit and "re-adjust the bike fleet.

One possibility is transit friendly bikes. IMO only two choices - tikit or Brompton, with the Brompton having a smaller fold.

Two questions:
1)Curious if that extended seat post can yield a 38.5"-39" pedal to seat top distance (approx 97.8mm-99mm)?
2) What is distance from front tip of seat to center of handle bar, as you have the bike set-up?

Thanks,

Lou

I'll take measurements tomorrow, but unless you're 6'9, the telescopic seatpost should work (Brompton has a 6'9 employee who rides and fits one). I'm unsure on the foam grips; I remember them from the 80s, when they were great at getting soaked in sweat and rainwater. If they're not good, then I'll replace with Velo Orange leather bar wraps; I'd planned a black Brooks with copper rivets, matched with black leather bar tape, but the standard seat seems good.....

I'm encouraged to hear about 125mm skate wheels; seems promising. Selling my car (my wife still has one) and doing my 30k miles a year by bike and train was a good bet, I sleep more, read more, get more work done (all on the train), and get more exercise and have more fun (on the bike).

Of course, you should be aware of foot strikes. Otherwise, I suspect that it would work great.

not Sammy, but,

For Q#2, It's a half meter, 50cm, [saddle clip bolt to bars is 650mm]

I fit the EZ wheels .. they're thinner than rollerblade wheels
and less heel strike than with the original wheel.
same sealed bearing in them, as skate wheels.

Extended post + a SAP for a bit more setback than the Pentaclip or standard type saddle clip allows.

Of course with telescopic combinition, substitute a different
integrated saddle clip /seat post for the upper section,

and maybe that will be sufficient for you,

I was able to fit a Fizik Vitesse CP3 on with the saddle clip spun around,
and its just the right cush for my tush, nicer than the one Brompton sold.

Still have the swiping of QR seatposts to contend with, if left locked on the street,
in places that shun you bringing it in ..

In America, it would be heralded as a sign of impending communist rule, but I like it.

Yes, I can see the up side, "Honey, I would really love to renovate the kitchen but we can get a nice tax break on that New Series Double Pylon". ;-)

Anyway, very nice bike. I like the third picture where it is folded and stored between the two cabinets.

havm66z in #22 (http://www.bikeforums.net/../member.php?144054-havm66z)

retailers have substituted other IG hubs, at point of sale

but the factory has made other choices.

you can have your substitutions made when you buy yours.


underlines automatic when I copied and pasted the posters name, sorry , no override.

I'm starting to think I won't need fancy wheels at all. I noted a Brommie with no rack today, and saw that in addition to the wheels near the crank, it has a single wheel on the mudguard, so evidently it's stable enough mounted on a triangulated base. My Ortlieb QR base unit will give a bigger 3rd point of contact, so I reckon I'll be ok. I should be clear that, at least at the moment, I have no desire to wheel my folded Brompton; I'm very happy that I can carry it straight-armed when folded. I might change my mind once I'm carrying the bike in one hand, the Ortlieb in the other, and the T Bag on my shoulder, we'll see. I'm going to see if I can find time to fit the Ortlieb QR tomorrow.

Ok, so experimentation with the Ortlieb Office Bag 2 yielded proof of concept, but not complete success. As you can see below, the QR mount doesn't destabilize the bike significantly; it's almost as good as direct on the rack wheels. On this basis, I will not be looking at skate wheels. Also, as you can see in the second pic, when I offered the case up in the approximate position, there's plenty of heel clearance. The only problem I had was that there are two bars that run crosswise under the rack to hold the QR unit in place, and there isn't clearance on the rack for them. I'm pretty sure that in recent years I've seen a version of this unit which has, instead of 2 bars, 4 individual corner fixings, which should work well. Now for some google-fu to see if I can find one. I think the Office Bag will be GO GO GO!

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs151.ash2/40908_474176451825_555806825_6516643_7716169_n.jpg
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Ordered the mount below, which as you can see comes with the bars I have, and also with the "ear" type things that don't have to go across under the rack. Should work!

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/images/products/medium/16294.jpg

Sammyboy, I have an Ortlieb Shuttle which is a great travel suitcase and uses the same mount as your Office Bag 2. Do you leave your mount permanently affixed or only attach it for special trips? I don't have reason to use the Shuttle that often so I tend just to attach the mount for those trips since my bare rack is useful for so many other things that I do on a daily basis. I'm not sure how easy it would be to attach my rear basket, panniers, random bags, etc. on the back with the mount in the way.

I've struggled with that on other bikes, but the Brommie rack is next to useless, so I'll be inclined to leave it on. Doing my research left me drooling over the Travel-biker as well, but there's no way I'm putting £120 into ANOTHER bag at this point :) I think that probably the Office Bag will become my daily use thing for carrying work stuff, and I'll use the T-Bag for overnighting, since it obstructs the light a little.

On that subject, I hadn't realized the Shimano hub dynamo was so cheap. Could have had that fitted instead of the T-Bag, and bought the T seperately (had to come in under £1000 for cycle to work scheme). My battery lights are good, but the rear in particular fouls the fold so has to be removed, and the front is blocked by the T-Bag. I'll live with it this winter, but it looks like it'll cost me £120 for wheel and lights if I want to retrofit, so that might be in my future, though I'll be kicking myself for not getting it at half the cost minus tax to start with.

I'm going to experiment and see if the Brommie wheels fit my Mini Moulton; if they do, then I'll steal the Brommie front for that project, buy a new hub dyno wheel for it, and only have a rear built for the Moulton.

there is the seat post mount rack mount option as well , there are QR clamps on some of those.
so putting it around the 32mm portion of the seat post is Quick ,
and the wheel fold-under still functions as before.

and bag is high enough to avoid heel strike..

Well, I have such a rack on my Downtube, but.....

Firstly, I'm close to the Brompton weight limit; 10 pounds under. They say you can carry an additional 40 pounds of luggage, but NOT any more weight on the seatpost, which makes this tricky. Same reason I've not gone for a saddlebag. Also, it might not prevent the bike from folding, but it'll make a HUGE difference to the folded size. I'm very hopeful that I can mount it on the standard rack, but if I can't, I'll be looking for a different bag.

Extended steel seat post is 30% thicker wall tube, than the standard post.. I would suspect the lower section of the
Telescopic post would be using similar tube.
the tube can be further stiffened by putting a tube of aluminum,
or carbon composite for hi tech fans,
inside the steel seat post , and extending up, as far as the top post needs to come down,.. before they meet.

Carradice Bagman mounts on the back of the seat rails, and has an under bag support , for their big saddle bags
and other stuff.. you may tie on..

I got a trailer the Carry freedom city and the brommy team well .
the trailer can carry the folded up bike on top,

and you could run fast to catch trains in that configuration, towing the trailer by its handle.
then when aboard , the trailer folds flat and will stow in a narrow space.

Trailer is probably overkill for my needs; generally when I do business travel, I ride in my work clothes, and just carry spare underwear, socks and shirts. There are some residential programmes I do where it's nice to bring casual clothes and a change of shoes for the evening, plus swimming and gym things, and of course, I'm always carrying paperwork, laptop, iPod, book, marker pens and other ephemera. I can't see myself needing more than I could get in the T Bag, Office Bag2 and Carradice Camper, tbh. Would the SQR limit the seatpost lowering, do you think? It looks like it sticks up above the seat too. Either of those would be a challenge, because with the telescopic seatpost it just barely tucks into train luggage racks. I had imagine just using the bag loops, but QR would be nice.

Sammy,

What type of head light are you using on the front? Could it be mounted on the front reflector bracket? FWIW I use a B&M Cyo on my Twenty and it has a built in reflector. When I go Brommie that is the head light I plan on using.

Aaron :)

It's a Magicshine, and it requires a horizontal bar.

Would the SQR limit the seatpost lowering, do you think?

Almost certainly.

Usual Dynamo light mount is on the fork crown, under the front bag.. where the reflector is.

SQR can fit on the upper portion, then you would take it out when minimum fold was required.

Extended post + SQR, probably work too, since it won't go all the way down anyhow..

d'you think those of us who have taken a circular route to Brompton eg via downtubes including minis, and/or Dahons, appreciate them more, but for what they are faults and all - a kind of grown up love ?

I'm happy to report total success with the Office Bag 2. The new mount arrived, with the little ear things (which are specifically for beam racks, it turns out), and I fitted it. At the front end, it was fine, at the back the rack sides were too deep, but I was able to fit it in a place where instead they can grab a horizontal piece. There's no heel strike and plenty of clearance, and it seems, frankly, just as stable when folded. I cannot now put 4 skate wheels on, as the ones at the rear of the rack would foul the case, but I could fit them at the other end and possibly roll on those, if I decide it's important.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Samuelw72/utf-8BSU1HMDA0MjctMjAxMDEwMDYtMTMyMy5qcGc.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Samuelw72/utf-8BSU1HMDA0MzMtMjAxMDEwMDktMTQwOS5qcGc.jpg
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http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Samuelw72/utf-8BSU1HMDA0MzUtMjAxMDEwMDktMTQxMC5qcGc.jpg

Theoretically, I could now use the Bike Box, or indeed the Travel Biker, if I was inclined to spend Ortlieb money on such a thing again! I also have two mounts now, and I'd more or less given up using the Office Bag on my full size commuter, as having the weight high up caused me to snap P clips rather often. I'm thinking I'll fit it to the Twenty when I finally finish that, as the Pletscher rack is not much use for anything else.

Gringo_Gus - you might be right. I love, and have kept my Downtubes, and particularly the one I fitted with drop bars is significantly better on the road than the Brompton. I can get one in the boot of my car, or both of them and the Brommie in my bus, so they'll still get used. The Brompton though, the fold is precisely what I need for my particular situation. I still think it's too expensive, but I'm appreciating the quality of the engineering, and all the made-to-fit accessories (really with I'd got the dynamo hub!), and I do like that it's built in England.

Next thing will be a Carradice Camper. I've wanted one for a long time, and it would be useable on multiple bikes for multiple reasons. Whether I'd use SQR or not, I don't know. My current modus operandi is to ride with the lower part of the seatpost all the way out, and the upper out just the amount I need, and then I never fold the upper part. So far, it just about squeezes into all train racks that way. It's possible that SQR would fit on that portion, but it looks like it sticks up above the seat too. This means I'm tempted just to go with the loops.

to regain the rear stand function, without sitting on the bag clip mount. perhaps.

That Hard case should fit on the rack that fits onto the head-tube clip. removed from a bag.

the possibility of adding straps to the case to load a few more things to the outside of the case exists ..

I have an older Mk2 bike with a steel tube bag rack, rather than the current Nylon/aluminum tube one ..

Seem to haul quite a load all the time, the bike rides fine with quite a load up front , iMHO.

I could mount it at the front, but really, I want it to supplement my front luggage, not replace it. I don't mind it sitting on the clip, really.

Suppose it comes off easier than Brompton's own rear bag's multiple velcro straps.

Seems my Touring bag can carry a lot of stuff, volume wise,
Its too bad the O bag is no larger than a single front roller pannier..

big and dry would be a good combination ... I toss a big plastic bag over the Tour bag now,
seems better than wrestling the elastic hem on their rain cover..

I haven't tried the rain cover yet, but I'm liking the T bag a LOT. I'm thinking I may make that my main bag even with this, because I can carry everything I need for a day, and still have my jacket lightly enough rolled on top to be able to wear without fear of creasing. I've always worn my suit jacket while commuting, but wearing a softshell has been nice in a variety of ways. I may just keep the Ortlieb for when I'm away several nights.