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Old 11-24-17, 04:35 AM
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Bonzo Banana
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Originally Posted by Xavierz
I would like to take a test ride of Curl...... It looks very cool. I am thinking maybe the frame is sturdier as it looks stronger than Brompton.
Different materials though, chromoly steel vs aluminium. You can get chromoly steel frames with thin tubing that are stronger than aluminium frames that have thick tubing and reinforcing in comparison and the steel frame could actually be heavier. You also have the issue that these are bikes for commuting possible in heavy traffic in cities and the steel frame may give lots of indicators, creaks, cracks, flexy/wobbly ride before failure but the aluminium frame may collapse or break in an instant at high speed with buses and heavy goods vehicles all around you that have little time to stop.

Also maximum rider weight for the Curl is 105kg and Brompton is 110kg, not a huge difference but the advantage is with the Brompton. I suspect though that the Dahon will start off stronger than the Brompton. Aluminium always reduces in strength as you ride it so probably for the first year or so I'd expect the Curl to be stronger but then in later years become significantly weaker. In ten years I would expect the Brompton to still be safe to ride but I doubt that will be true of the Dahon. It really depends on rider weight and how the bike has been treated and where it has cycled though.

If you are a frequent bike buyer who likes to change bikes every 2 years or so then I doubt it makes any difference with regard frame strength. If you like to keep a bike a long time, adapt it to exactly the way you want it and then just keep riding it then the case for the Brompton is stronger.
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