Hermespan

What do you like / dis**** about your original Brompton, MIT or Flamingo?

I am curious to see if thete is something good value to replace my 'Dr. Air'.Maybe all saddles for overweight out of shape geezers are not the most comfy ride.

Right now looking at SELLE ROYAL Classic (unisex, 'specific for folding bike') and Brompton's new (?) CAMBIUM (rubber and canvass).

BassNotBass

What I didn't like about the original Brompton saddle was that it wasn't a suspended leather saddle like a Brooks, Gyes or Persons.

Azreal911

for my folder like BNB I went brooks and never looked back .

if you ride daily the first few months WILL suck! it felt like a piece of wood, but now I can do 100+km rides without much problem on my folder. I'm not too sure if it was my seat that got broken in or did my @ss got broken in.

fietsbob

I got the ones Brompton got made by Fizik for their superlight version a Vitesse HP but with a rail bend offering more clearance
for the Brompton Pentaclip on top of their seat posts,

so It offers more clearance under the shell and a better setback rearward motion. Fizik is designed to flex the shell ,
where lower cost ones just go for stiff, easy to do, durability ..

the new handle under the nose saddles sacrifice the rear setback .



the new Italian made Brooks C17 may be OK where you, in the tropics, get caught in monsoons , & thus soaking leather saddles.

2_i 

I am happy with Selle SMP TRK on the Brompton - more comfortable than the original, while rigid enough to allow for maneuvering the bike while grabbing the saddle. Leather saddles may be good for fair weather riding (please no shower cap suggestions), but one downpour can finish the saddle. Cambium has big rivets for show which should be a no-no if trying to ride in winter weather - a layer of cloth is not really enough to protect you from the exposed metal - again might be fine for warmer times.

fietsbob

they screw the rubber to the frame from underneath the top is the Nut .. they made to do the job and look like the traditional Rivet
Brooks used for 100 years.

Winter I throw a heavy plastic bag over my saddle .. it thakes al lot of wear and tear, torn Pleather and such is avoided.

and I throw it away and get to take it off in the summer . and enjoy the 5L of white wine that the bladder used to contain..


the Brompton comes inside .. currently a WTB SST.. a cheap take off from the shop.

bhkyte

Could you not start a new thread about the same bike please. Else it all becomes unmanageable to navigate.
Thanks

Hermespan

Bhkyte,

I welcome your opinion. I also invite differing opinions and that of moderators. I am not being facetious. I thought it better to *separate* diverse subjects within the subject of Flamingo. Not everyone is interested in purchase in Singapore. Some might only be interested in accessories in Malaysia, or tires or warranty or Flamingos on the road, or prices in Taiwan vs. Canada.

Also, when I comment to my own comments in a thread as I update my story, I suspect I am boring readers. People naturally get tired of a million details by an eccentric in a place they might never go.

I am preparing three more posts (one with photos) on developments with my Flamingo. Here I am requesting feedback instead of just posting into the void. Who wants to read the following?...

1. TRANSPORT: Packing Flamingo for an international air flight in SEA, and results

2. SUCCESSFUL ADJUSTMENTS: All mechanical problems solved by one very competency bicycle mechanic. Plus a review of his shop outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

3. HEADQUARTERS: Flamingo's offer from Taiwan

If I get three positive votes on any one subject I will post.

Some more opinions please. For myself I use search function or scan by topic. I am new to netiquette. Don't want to be unwelcome. Further clarification please.

Hermespan

"the new Italian made Brooks C17 may be OK where you, in the tropics, get caught in monsoons , & thus soaking leather saddles."

You make a really good point. I think discussion of choosing accessories and bike parts MUST take not only budget and use but also climate and season. I laugh at raingear for Tuscon, Arizona (hot and dry mostly?) Totally unsuitable for Saigon (hot and humid). Vancouver salesman at Mountain Equipment Co-Op I think very sensibly suggested that an airy poncho is much more sensible in tropics. But even his suggestion missed an important factor - in much of lower elevation southeast asia, outside the monsoon season (when it can rain from 3:30 pm to midnight DAILY) rain tends to come in 'mango showers', that is brief rain flowed by sun. So you dry off very quickly. Nobody except mad dogs and Englishmen do anything during downpours. You just seek cover. And in rainy season umbrellas are useless. Whatever you wear, especially your footwear, will get soaked. Maybe expensive raingear is different, but I am a city boy on a budget cruising around towns in between flights. I am not an adventurous racer doing the Karkoman Highway.

Also cultural and economic differences. Bike shorts are obscene in some places. Unsecured bags are a no-no in many too. One great thing about this Brompton clone/pirated design is I can take it most anywhere, except maybe the opera. So, I don't have to worry about risk of theft. Very tempting to professional criminals and crimes of opportunity to the marginalized and frustrated (more than me!) who couldn't who make in three months what the bag costs.

I would like to see more manufacturers specifying climate suitability.

fietsbob

off the bike you can bring a sarong to wraparound you still ? or has western dress overcome the traditional wrap.

Hermespan

Context.

Depends where. The only places I know where sarongs/lunghi are apropriate attire are in the home and in the countryside. And Burma. And on top of pants in Malaysian visits to mosques.

Multi-purpose but hard to run and as you note impossible to pedal in.