Folding Bikes - 11 Speed Brompton - A thing of beauty

I went to see the Fudges Cycles Brompton conversion today, an S-Type single speed bike that had been fitted with the new 11 speed Alfine hub. I have to say it is a beautiful piece of work, the rear forks ends come out in a swan neck to accommodate the extra width, very elegant solution, and all for £1599. The had a raw lacqer single speed in stock for £750, so with a three week wait and an extra £850 I could have a dream bike. One thing that concerned me a little was that the hook that keeps the front wheel attached to the rear fork when the bike is folded had been repositioned onto the mudguard stay, which its self was a new item, made of stainless round section, with a kink positioned to take the hook; I sure it works fine, but it just did not seem that robust to me. The Alfine 8 speed option is available for £200 less, but with a gear range of 26" to 108" the 11 speed is the one to covet. I think we have a HPFBS member to thank for the inspiration for this conversion, alas I cant spell his name, or i would ask him to stand up and take a bow. This evening and tomorrow I'm putting everything I own on ebay..........!

Very nice. It is also available as a kit for £1000 (S version only).

http://www.fudgescyclestore.com/index.php?p=175920

The gear range is 26"-108", my 6sp B has the reduced gearing option, will I have lower gearing than 26"-108" ?

11 speed with rapid fire shifter?

Does the kit install without mod to the rear triangle?

I don't want to calculate the cost in $....

Edit

I calculated the cost. $2600

Yeouch!

11 speed with rapid fire shifter?

Does the kit install without mod to the rear triangle?



There is a modified rear triangle included in the cost of the kit. Apparently the 11 speed hub costs £600 or there abouts on its own, so it isn't that bad a deal.

This guy does an even cheaper kit albeit using a S/A 8 speed hub.

http://www.tillercycles.co.uk/page6.html

Regards

Jerry

This guy does an even cheaper kit albeit using a S/A 8 speed hub.


The Tiller Cycles SA 8 speed kit is £265; and the Kinetic Glasgow kit is £300, neither require modifications to the rear triangle.

So the question is: Do the Alfine 8 & 11 speed hubs offer benefits worth £350 and £550 more respectively, than the SA 8 speed ?

Why isn't there a drop in service in London, the spiritual home of the Brompton, where you can leave your bike, go and have a large latte, come back, pay the bill and ride away on an 8 speed Brompton ?

Why isn't there a drop in service in London, the spiritual home of the Brompton, where you can leave your bike, go and have a large latte, come back, pay the bill and ride away on an 8 speed Brompton ?

Because London has no hills so why would you need 8 gears in London?

The actual reason is simple. Brompton try not to use standard off the shelf hubs so you are forced to pay more by buying from them. As the majority of Bromptons are used for shorter distances its not economical to have an 8 speed hub designed specifically for them. There are people who modify the bike or hub to create an 8 (or more) speed version but Brompton don't like it and will blacklist these people from buying parts from them if they find out.

Double Chainring, on a 6 speed Brompton, Is 12 speeds..

Sorting out another way, now, myself,
have a Schlumpf Mountain drive crankset, 54t chainring.
changes: 54/15 . & 47/13 are close to the same ratio..
47/54 on the 2 speed crankset, 13t cog, also gives 12 speeds,
no duplicates.

Because London has no hills so why would you need 8 gears in London?

No hills ? What about Tower Hill, Primrose hill, Notting Hill, Northwood hills, Shooters Hill, Haverstock Hill, Parliament Hill, Dollis Hill ?

TThere are people who modify the bike or hub to create an 8 (or more) speed version but Brompton don't like it and will blacklist these people from buying parts from them if they find out.

Can you support this statement ?

At least two of the providers of 8 speed Bromptons mentioned above are official Brompton dealers who openly advertise on the web, are they banned from buying parts ?

No hills ? What about Tower Hill, Primrose hill, Notting Hill, Northwood hills, Shooters Hill, Haverstock Hill, Parliament Hill, Dollis Hill ?

There's Data to back up the sort of 'You Call that a Hill?' kind of comment..
(.. could do that, around here , we have, recently active volcanos)

I'd Love to see a topographic map of London, especially a historic series ,
since we as humans do move earth around, and build in the same location.
over the Centuries, on the rubble, and out of materials of the prior structures.