maunakea

Anyone interested in a group buy of Flamingo Brommie Nexus? I will include a visit to Flamingo in my November tour down the west coast (of Taiwan)

jur

I am interested, but in Oz... so shipping would be different. I suppose that would probably be OK.

maunakea

Flamingo ships worldwide... one approach is that a given region's order goes to a central point, sort of share the shipping to one buyer's address in NSW, in the States to Tacoma, etc. The shipping is secondary to getting a volume discount.

EvilV

I'm very interested in the FL-BP02-7 in bright yellow. I DON'T like the FL-BP01 type with the pressed frame.

https://www.flamingobike.com/products...p?pid=56&cid=3

This is the colour I want, but the pictured bike is the Sturmey Archer three speed model which I already have.





Later edit:

This is only an expression of interest obviously. I need to know an exact price and delivery date and I need to know if it will be subject to import duty before a firm commitment can be made.

14R 

I'm in.

jur

Yellow +1

juggleandhope

What do the prices look like, before and after discount? Would the $150 shipping fee likely still apply?

migjet

How about freight at $150 for 5 bikes and $475 each for an order of 10?

jasong

Anyone inquired on the Brompton looking bikes of theirs and gotten a full delivered price quote to the US?

JugglerDave

Perhaps I missed previous threads, but are these Flamingos available via any normal channels in the US? e.g. has someone on ebay imported a container of them?

I'm happy right now with my DT, but a coworker wants the Brommie but not the price.

EvilV

I cycled over to my nearest Brompton dealer today - a round trip of 25 miles on my Merc. I needed a few odds and ends and I spoke to him about the Shimano Nexus. He was highly critical of the hub saying that the changing mechanism was fragile rubbish and that the supply of spares was terrible. He had a new birdy in there with a shimano 7 which a customer had broken in a few weeks. It was the fragile bit mentioned above. He said the guy had been waiting six weeks for the changing mechanism to be supplied. I think that was what was wrong with Cyclist John's new bike when it wouldn't change gear. Anybody else got experience of the Shimano hub some of us were proposing to go for on the Flamingo? Total reliability is non-negotiable for me, and the SA SRF-3 hub though limited in range is completely solid in taht department.

maunakea

If we're doing this, it's worth doing right.
GG does custom tooling, so they can certainly source parts. I propose that I, on behalf of the group buy, ask GG to quote on 10 or more (I think we will be able to get 10 orders) bikes integrated to our spec. To me, this means:

[List is work in progress]

BASE MODEL
130 mm OLD rear triangle with S-stays to gain needed OLD (and reduced copyright issues)
Shimano Red Band 8-speed hub (assumes the SRAM iM9 is not available)
best Taiwan ISO 349 rims
V-brakes
Teflon impregnated cable
best Taiwan cable housing
best Taiwan gruppo other than what the gear hub requires
adjustable, full alloy, quill/handlepost (Sunzone)
best, aluminum, Taiwanese folding pedals
upgraded BB and front hub
upgraded crankset if possible
longest alloy seatpost... at least 500 mm (suspension seatpost would compromise folded size)
upgraded spokes/wheelbuild


OPTIONS
lighting system (rear wheel friction generator, cables, and F/R lights)


I have emailed GG about the possible order. I will be in Taichung (nearest big city to GG) the first week of Nov. They have plenty of time. So... me hearties, continue the spec (Let's assume cheapo saddle or even no saddle, each buyer would mount his own)

Note that https://www.mercbike.co.uk/ proclaims the advent of an 8-speed hub "upgrade".

spambait11

I've read people were not as pleased with the Nexus-7's shifting, but I don't recall reading that this hub was unreliable to the extent that you've described above. Interesting.

As far as MK's "Ultimate Folding Bike," I'd double check that they can get a Nexus 8 hub to fit the Brompton's narrow rear triangle. Also I think Dahon was having reliability issues with the Nexus 8 when they tried it in the Curve, but I'm not sure what their problems were.

jur

+1 on Nexus 8.

maunakea

Added to the list: 130mm OLD, and if the iM9 is even remotely possible, I suggest waiting for it.

BruceMetras

+1 on extensive use if Ti and C/F ... Maybe embossed 'MK LE' in a discreet nook..

Bruce

14R 

Same specs as your Maunakea, if no seats make it cheaper, no seats for me.

What I am really interested is V-brakes rear frame and fork, 8spd or iM9 if possible. The rest is change...

maunakea

Oh yes... more than a discreet nook, a Ti head badge .... what other Ti parts could we work in ... the frame and RT come to mind ... but don't want to overwhelm GG... GG will probably choke on an 130 OLD RT, but a cogent explanation coupled with lots of NTD (New Taiwanese Dollars) might change their mind. Goal: get around the B design weaknesses and copyright issues with a new look RT, brakes, handlepost, etc.

invisiblehand

I thought that the Nexus 8 Redband needed a 135mm OLD ... where is WAVSHRDER when you need him?

How good are the Taiwanese gruppo compared to 105 components?

invisiblehand

Hmmm, this says 132 ...

https://sheldonbrown.com/nexus8/pages/28.htm

but another page writes that it fits 130 ...

https://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1949

So it looks like 130 will be fine.

BruceMetras

Dare to go where others fear tread...

maunakea

why clone when one can improve ... set the Wayback Machine, Sherman, back to the birth of the Brommie.

jur

Let's just send them that stunning bike's pics (14R started that thread, I forget the designer's name) and let them get on with it.

maranen

Hi

Very interesting. My impressions:
1. Looks like the frame and handle-post are secured by Brompton style levers – now it really looks like Brompton.
2. V-brakes may be a bit heavier than cantilever brakes – Merc’s aluminium brakes are very light. But the difference is probably negligible and V-brakes are definitively improvement – self-centering as advertised.
3. In the pictures e.g. seat-post of FL-BP02-3 looks like there is machined rough surface about 5cm down-words from the top. I think this can eliminate seat-post dropping – more friction. Hydraulically pressed version seems to have the old smooth seat-post!?
4. Why do they make the hydraulically pressed frame version? Just in case they’ll lose in court against Brompton? That version looks less attractive than the original.
5. The folding pedal in the picture looks like it might take just a little less space when folded than Merc’s pedal.
6. The seat looks good to me.
7. Is it available in black? Black would draw less attention when locked by the street side.
8. Is there available a straight handle-bar version?
9. Are the spokes of Merc or Brompton thickness?
10. 7- or 8-speed hub-gear must be neat to use but is it as reliable and efficient as 3-speed? Not according to the article “The mechanical efficiency of bicycle derailleur and hub-gear transmissions / Chester Kyle and Frank Berto” to which Jur/EvilV provided a link. But would you notice a difference of about 10% in efficiency – would it feel like riding a bike with rusty chain if you could compare? With 13cm wide rear triangle you can fit a rear derailleur gears, but is it a good choice: With 16 inch wheels you’ll have to be very careful off-road and after folding/unfolding you’ll probably have to do readjusting. I would choose an oiled 3-speed hub gear combined with 2- or 3-speed front derailleur.
I want to quote some lines from the article – I made the underlining. Hope you don’t mind me bringing up this topic. The effect of chain-tensioner remains unknown:

“The grease in the Sachs 3 and the Sturmey Archer 3-speeds was replaced with light oil, and unlike the other hub gear transmissions, the efficiencies of the Sachs 3 and Sturmey 3, compare well with the best of the derailleur transmissions (figs. 7, 9, and 12). Also, these transmissions were worn in, whereas many of the others were new. Manufacturers would do well to replace heavy grease in their hub gears with light oil.”

“In hub gears, such as the Rohloff 14, the efficiency no doubt depends on how many elements of the gear train are in motion as each gear is selected … Rohloff… uses light oil as a lubricant.”

“… factors affecting the efficiency of derailleur gears …. For example, a 12-tooth sprocket seems to cause inefficiency. In the Shimano 27-speed, …. The gears with 12-tooth sprockets (18, 24 and 27) have an average efficiency of 91.2%, while those involving 16-tooth sprockets (11, 20 and 25) have an average efficiency of 93.5%.… Apparently the sharp angle of chain link bend in the 12 causes increased friction compared to larger sprockets. So it appears that larger gears than 12 are necessary for efficient operation.”

To me the V-brakes and roughened seat-post are the most important improvements. Still remains at least the handle-post replacement with a straight one. What about weight? If you want to make it lighter you’ll have to turn to Brompton ti-parts.

EvilV

The FL02-3 IS the Merc. It's the same bike, only with the roughened seat post and the Vbrakes. I think it is the same crappy pedal too. The photograph just seems to show it folded down.

If you are in a position to set your own specifications MAKE SURE YOU SPECIFY 13 GAUGE SPOKES in the rear wheel. The 14 gauge ones break. GG are using an ealy set of Brompton specs passed on to the company when the Far east license for building Bromptons in Taiwan collapsed and neobike went under. The early bromptons also had 14 gauge spokes which broke all the time. I have now broken seven. I'm thinking of having the rear wheel re-built with the heavier spokes. When I replace them I always use heavier ones. They are a hell of a lot thicker.