Brompton Black or Crius
 

A local is selling his 2016 Brompton Black Edition with 11sp Alfine for $2K.
I have the Downtube Mini; love it, but my kid likes it also. So, I was thinking this is a good excuse to try something different.

It will be a commuter bike (5-8 miles with a couple of nasty hills, the train and the bus) that doubles for fun on the weekends (mostly long flat riding and a lot of beach duty; I am a few blocks from beach).

My kid saw the Crius 14 on Thor's website and thinks it looks "*****in" (I can't remember talking like that, but I am sure my dad would say otherwise) and for a lot less. It seems that the Crius would be limited compared to the Brommie, just by tire size alone. Am I being unfair with the comparison?

Brompton is in a different league with Tikit and Birdy.

The Brompton will be worth a good deal 5 years down the line..The Crius will be worth much less than you will pay now..

I've been pondering this exact question of a Brompton vs Crius 5. As well, I currently ride a Dahon Curve "D8" which is similar to a Downtube Mini. While I have no experience with either bike here is what I've come up with.

Brompton
PRO
- can take on an international flight without disassembly
- can get studded tires for winter commuting
- beautiful bike
- more versatile bike (long distance riding and over rougher ground)
- can participate in fun events such as the Brompton World Championship
- parts and accessories widely available
- holds value
CON
- expensive
- odd gear configuration, that I would replace with a Sturmey Archer 8
- some custom parts

Crius 5
PRO
- can take on an international flight without disassembly
- beautiful bike
- standard parts
- inexpensive
CON
- 14" wheels mean no option for studded tires unless you make them yourself

I think the wise move for me is to get a Brompton. Black one of course. I really like my Dahon Curve, but if it was to be stolen, after I had a Brompton, I think I would replace it with the Crius 5. Then doing an upgrade to a Crius 8, of course.

Hope this helps with your decision. I don't think there is a wrong choice.

Resale
 

I had not thought of the resale value option. If I really found the Brommie not to my liking, I could just sell it.

The owner said that his mods have widened the fold, so I've contacted him to see just how much. The reason for a Brompton is the fold, so if it is too ungainly my decision would probably be the Crius.

Looking at the Kinetics widened rear triangle, you're only adding 2cm width to the rear
Brompton Forks & Rear Frames ? Kinetics

I'd be interesting to know how much effect that would have on the folded size.

That's a nice Brompton with an interesting upgrade. Don't even think about it..buy that bike right now.

You could buy a 2sp Brompton and do a self job on the rear, replacing it with a 5sp SA wheel, for a 10-sp Brompton, no rear mods. I did 2 of these, works very well, wide gear range.

I am not sure if the Crius Smart 14" will handle "nasty hills"
Its a 3sp, unless you have a modded version of something else (eg. 5sp; 8sp)

The Crius Smart he is referring to is the 5 speed version.

Looks Too Wide
 

No response from the seller to my query (been over 24-hrs). It is just a guess, but the pictures associated with the posting (LA Craigslist) shows a 4-6 inch gap between the handlebars and the frame when folded. The reason in the listing says it is the shifter; no brand listed for the shifter. I will pester him again later to see if my guess is correct and if I can swap out the shifter (doubtful or he would have done it already).

For the last 4ish months, I have been trolling the local ads, etc. for miscellaneous folders and I have not seen a Brompton offered for less than $1300 used. There are 4 listings now, and the cheapest is $1600. So, I will have to wait a while before I can find one that is "cheap" for me to convert it myself, which is no big deal. My kid and I can keep enjoying the Downtube Mini.

The 5spd Crius is still on the table, it is just the dessert and not the main course.

I looked at the ad, I don't know why he thinks the shifter interferes. What I see is the bar contacts the frame with one of the bar-ends, which prevents the bar from closing completely. The shifter is angled away from the bike in that position, so shouldn't be a problem. That bike should fold ok if the bar-ends are ditched, or you loosen the grips to twist them up vertically before folding. They're lock-on grips so all you need is an Allen wrench.

saying that the resale of the crius in 5 years is way low.... well, maybe
even I cant say that for sure as they are so few in the country since maybe 6 months now. we started out with a handful of 3 speeds, than upgraded to 5 speeds which are currently available.
The parts on this bike are the same parts other people with 1000 dlr and more bikes are upgrading with !


But as I said. the resale value for 5 years down the road are not forseeable. For example as I had some used Dahon Curve SL in the past ... they went for basically the new purchase price. Wish I had some more.


Not dissing the Brommy, but I think that peeps are asking very high prices but not sure what the bikes actually selling for either in the end.

The aftermarket shifter is the problem with that Brompton fold, you can see it in photos 13/19 and 6/19. Brompton bars are well centered around the front wheel when folded and should have plenty of clearance for bar-ends, esp the S.

The cable exiting the shifter runs foul of the steering tube - he already has it set as far as it can go with the cable touching steering tube. Then the shifter box is also rather thick so it forces the brake lever/housing to a bad angle that then runs foul of the fork when you fold it - you can see paint chip marks on the fork where the brake cable screw adjuster is contacting it. Not sure if you can run the shifter cable on the other side of the steering tube - Brompton's stock cables tolerances are quite tight... but *maybe* swapping in longer M or H bar shifter cable might do it.

I'm a Brompton convert, personally I consider the rack (and its ability to easily roll while folded in shopping-cart/carry-on-luggage modes) to be one of four critical attributes that sets this bike apart from any other folder - the other three being: fast fold, small fold, and luggage integration (riding AND folded).

These are very good points.

C'est la vie
 

Which is also the extent of my French and a darn good ELP song. I will just wait a while.

P.S. Thanks for the information all.

wait ? I got 3 left !

I've ridden a Brompton for 15 years now. You will not regret it. It is so much better than any pro/con list will determine.

Peter Wilborn
Charleston, SC

www.bikelaw.com

Hey Roegmann.

Despite my pro/con list pointing in the direction of a Brompton, I end up buying a Crius 5. So far so good.

Stock Brompton hubs are less than 120mm wide, the Alfine 11 is 135 wide,

so this is a custom modification, not a factory option.