Originally Posted by benttrike18
I will keep everyone updated. I think I may have overloaded Susan with questions and I may have (who me?) been confusing her.
I'm glad that 14R put that link up and I contacted them. Someone mentioned just buying a C model Brompton, if there was one. I was thinking the same thing. But remember to compare apples to apples. either Flamingo is very nicely optioned, you would be over $1K for an equal Brompton, Right? There may be some parts that aren't the best, but see how they go first. A lot of the parts coming from there are not that bad.
We've also managed to solve who is making Merc. EvilV was right:-)
Yes.
If you could walk into a shop and leave on the same day with a steel Brompton sporting V brakes, a seven speed nexus hub, lights, stand, rack, mudguards, kevlar tyres, alloy chain tensioner etc, etc, and only have to hand over £325 ($650) I don't think that any of us would be discussing the strangely named Flamingo Bike at all. The fact that in Britain you have to wait up to 16 - 20 weeks to get a half speced out bike (beautifully hand brazed though it may be) means that an impudent copyist like Grace Gallant enterprises can make a killing. The other thing is that GG are quick on their feet. They have problems with plastic chain tensioners and make them out of alluminium instead; the original brakes they copied are crap so they whisk them off and put on vbrakes 'tout suite'. That's the way a good company does things. Bromptpon just carry on and on in the same old way. Maybe that makes them classic, but maybe not.
PS. Two more bombs in London will mean a huge hike in demand for Bromptons as people will be less happy about going into subterranean railway systems - a demand they can't meet. If I was Anita, and if I had the money to hand, I'd be ordering another container load of pretty little re badged Flamingos right now. I might even just sell them as Flamingos. Why not. The graphics look fine to me.