chagzuki

For being seen I use a bunch of £1 LEDs bought on ebay from China, Hong Kong etc. AFAICS they're the same as the Knog type and are surprisingly bright.
I never seem to need a proper beam headlight in London, the roads are lit well enough.

Purpleorchid

AlHedges - Can you please expand on that? Are you saying you had the Shimano hub halogen dynamo, but just replaced the light unit to be the SON LED light unit?

Are there any issues with it? I had assumed that there is a power difference with the hub output for the halogen vs led and that I was "stuck" with halogen. Are there online instructions on how to switch them out?

Sounds intriguing.

jur

I have found a problem with the aftermarket hinge clamps: They do not have the slight widening in the middle that the original Brompton ones do, and as a result may not clamp on the hinge corners as the originals do. The result is an inadequately clamped himge causing wobble. It took me quite a while to figure out what was going on.

alhedges

Yes, I just swapped out the halogen light for the LED light. Specifically, the Lumotec IQ cyo-n plus senso. (I think that any cyo-n will fit, but I wanted the "senso," which turns the lights on automatically when it gets dark.

Both the shimano hub and the SON hub put out the same amount of power (6v, 3w IIRC).

I didn't use online instructions, although you may be able to find them. I did look at this Brompton doc for orientation and reference, though: https://www.brompton.co.uk/extranet/d...ynoset-hub.pdf. And of course the instructions that come with the new light.

But it's basically really simple:

1. The bracket is the same for both lights, so you don't need to change anything there - just take off the old light and screw in the new light.
2. I didn't change the rear lights, so I just unscrewed the wires from the existing light and screwed them into the new light. I didn't do any rerouting of the wires at all.
3. The only inconsistency between the two systems is that the dynamo connectors have different fittings. However, section 3c of the document I linked to shows you how to use the shimano connector - it's basically just a matter of stripping wires and putting them into a plastic connector - you could figure it out yourself.
4. The wires are protected by heat shrink tubing on the bike. The hardest part of the whole procedure was inserting the wire into the heat shrink tubing. Which underlines how easy it was. I think I ended up using dental floss to pull it through.

Edit: The new light makes a *huge* difference; it is much brighter.

Purpleorchid

Awesome! Thanks for the info Alhedges! Since my bike is only two weeks old, maybe I'll wait until the halogen bulb burns out before switching it out to the SON LED.

badmother

There is several instructions on hacking bikelights on the net. This one show how to place led bulbs in a socket from a old fashioned bulb. This way you can use led in a oldfashion bikelight. This should indicate that led can be used in most cases if done right.

https://www.instructables.com/id/Retr...Bulb/?ALLSTEPS

Ozonation

I didn't buy a Brompton... I bought two! One for my wife, one for me. Thanks to all of you for your help! The store was kind enough to send photos of what we bought. I'm having a rack put on mine (sage, M6L + rack, reduced gearing), and my wife's (red, M3L) will be modified to a 6-speed, reduced gearing.

About a week before they arrive... good thing I'll be busy!

fietsbob

Hmm there are flashlight conversion LEDs..
seems like to use the high output LED, 1 w or so,
they say something about the heat-sink being a part of reliability.
being a diode they do have to be polarized so current flow is proper.

jur

Congrats! Next thing you'll be touring New Zealand.

alhedges

Awesome!

Ozonation

Thanks! Can't wait. Good thing the weather has been a bit iffy - I won't feel so impatient waiting to get the bikes and start riding!

Purpleorchid

Awesome! Congratulations! How exciting!!!

Ozonation

Impressive! Truthfully, we would probably not undertake such an adventurous trip. However, I have been perusing *gentle* cycling touring trips: cycle around from town to town while the touring company takes care of luggage and accommodations. Something like https://www.cyclebreaks.com/. I know, not exactly hardcore cycling, but hey, I'm really more into it for relaxation.

Would love any recommendations or advice.

Ozonation

If you figure this out, let me know! I don't have the Urban Disguise bags from Think Tank, only the Retrospective ones, and an older LowePro bag. Actually, don't a lot of the newer camera bags have the option zip flap on the back that is used to slip over luggage handles? Maybe these could be adapted to fit the frames of the Brompton T/C bags?

alhedges

That's good to know - I've been eyeing these for a while. I think I'll let my eyes wander elsewhere...

jur

I am going to fix mine with a Dremel tool. In the interim I have put the stock ones back on.

Purpleorchid

Yup! All you need is one of the (removable) frames from a Brompton bag and somehow attach whatever bag to the frame! It's the frame of a Brompton bag that clips to the front luggage block, not the bag itself.

If you go through the nycewheels Brompton video configuration tool, the bag video will show you how the frame part works.

Purpleorchid

Me too...I was trying to justify paying the high price for the black/brass ones for my raw lacquer, but you just helped me unjustify it!

Ozonation

Ah... the anticipation is killing me. Hopefully the bikes arrive later this week. One of the tracking numbers doesn't seem to be working. Then again, it's Canada Post, so I'm not exactly surprised...

Purpleorchid

Ah, the wildcard Canada Post. Fingers crossed for you!

ccmfolder

Canada Post isn't as good as USPS but I'd take them over the couriers any day. Box tossed over the fence (which required signature), stuff left in the rain, damaged or stolen etc...

Ozonation

Ach... that sounds awful. I've generally had good experiences, with UPS, Fedex, etc. Canada Post is sort of a mystery. Their tracking is next to useless. I get a notice that the item has been processed... and then a seemingly random period of time later a notice that they've tried to deliver it and nobody's home!

I'm just concerned that one of the tracking numbers the store gave me is not registering in the system. I just hope it's an editing error, and not the box has been "lost" somewhere.

airelise

I got a Tern Link P9 that I liked very much but it was stolen. Whatever you get, if you ever come to NYC, use multiple locks of the strongest you can afford.

BassNotBass

Gawd that really bites! The fact is that it doesn't matter how good or how many locks you use, if the bike has value, a motivated thief CAN and WILL take it. That's one of the benefits of owning a good folding bike... you can take it with you and the Brommie is the smallest package to schlep around when folded.