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My Brompton has arrived!

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My Brompton has arrived!

Old 10-05-10, 10:08 AM
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Sammy,

You even got it in the "Business Man-Black" color. Very Professional!

When we get back up here to Vancouver, USA (Portland, OR Metro area) on a permanent basis we will de-car a bit and "re-adjust the bike fleet.

One possibility is transit friendly bikes. IMO only two choices - tikit or Brompton, with the Brompton having a smaller fold.

Two questions:
1)Curious if that extended seat post can yield a 38.5"-39" pedal to seat top distance (approx 97.8mm-99mm)?
2) What is distance from front tip of seat to center of handle bar, as you have the bike set-up?

Thanks,

Lou
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Old 10-05-10, 10:22 AM
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I'll take measurements tomorrow, but unless you're 6'9, the telescopic seatpost should work (Brompton has a 6'9 employee who rides and fits one). I'm unsure on the foam grips; I remember them from the 80s, when they were great at getting soaked in sweat and rainwater. If they're not good, then I'll replace with Velo Orange leather bar wraps; I'd planned a black Brooks with copper rivets, matched with black leather bar tape, but the standard seat seems good.....
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Old 10-05-10, 10:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Sammyboy
I'm encouraged to hear about 125mm skate wheels; seems promising. Selling my car (my wife still has one) and doing my 30k miles a year by bike and train was a good bet, I sleep more, read more, get more work done (all on the train), and get more exercise and have more fun (on the bike).
Of course, you should be aware of foot strikes. Otherwise, I suspect that it would work great.
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Old 10-05-10, 11:46 AM
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not Sammy, but,

For Q#2, It's a half meter, 50cm, [saddle clip bolt to bars is 650mm]

I fit the EZ wheels .. they're thinner than rollerblade wheels
and less heel strike than with the original wheel.
same sealed bearing in them, as skate wheels.

Extended post + a SAP for a bit more setback than the Pentaclip or standard type saddle clip allows.

Of course with telescopic combinition, substitute a different
integrated saddle clip /seat post for the upper section,

and maybe that will be sufficient for you,

I was able to fit a Fizik Vitesse CP3 on with the saddle clip spun around,
and its just the right cush for my tush, nicer than the one Brompton sold.

Still have the swiping of QR seatposts to contend with, if left locked on the street,
in places that shun you bringing it in ..

Last edited by fietsbob; 10-05-10 at 11:54 AM.
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Old 10-05-10, 12:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Sammyboy
In America, it would be heralded as a sign of impending communist rule, but I like it.
Yes, I can see the up side, "Honey, I would really love to renovate the kitchen but we can get a nice tax break on that New Series Double Pylon". ;-)

Anyway, very nice bike. I like the third picture where it is folded and stored between the two cabinets.
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Old 10-05-10, 12:20 PM
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havm66z in #22

retailers have substituted other IG hubs, at point of sale

but the factory has made other choices.

you can have your substitutions made when you buy yours.


underlines automatic when I copied and pasted the posters name, sorry , no override.

Last edited by fietsbob; 10-05-10 at 12:28 PM.
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Old 10-05-10, 03:17 PM
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I'm starting to think I won't need fancy wheels at all. I noted a Brommie with no rack today, and saw that in addition to the wheels near the crank, it has a single wheel on the mudguard, so evidently it's stable enough mounted on a triangulated base. My Ortlieb QR base unit will give a bigger 3rd point of contact, so I reckon I'll be ok. I should be clear that, at least at the moment, I have no desire to wheel my folded Brompton; I'm very happy that I can carry it straight-armed when folded. I might change my mind once I'm carrying the bike in one hand, the Ortlieb in the other, and the T Bag on my shoulder, we'll see. I'm going to see if I can find time to fit the Ortlieb QR tomorrow.
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Old 10-06-10, 06:44 AM
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Ok, so experimentation with the Ortlieb Office Bag 2 yielded proof of concept, but not complete success. As you can see below, the QR mount doesn't destabilize the bike significantly; it's almost as good as direct on the rack wheels. On this basis, I will not be looking at skate wheels. Also, as you can see in the second pic, when I offered the case up in the approximate position, there's plenty of heel clearance. The only problem I had was that there are two bars that run crosswise under the rack to hold the QR unit in place, and there isn't clearance on the rack for them. I'm pretty sure that in recent years I've seen a version of this unit which has, instead of 2 bars, 4 individual corner fixings, which should work well. Now for some google-fu to see if I can find one. I think the Office Bag will be GO GO GO!


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Old 10-06-10, 07:44 AM
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Ordered the mount below, which as you can see comes with the bars I have, and also with the "ear" type things that don't have to go across under the rack. Should work!

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Old 10-06-10, 10:06 AM
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Sammyboy, I have an Ortlieb Shuttle which is a great travel suitcase and uses the same mount as your Office Bag 2. Do you leave your mount permanently affixed or only attach it for special trips? I don't have reason to use the Shuttle that often so I tend just to attach the mount for those trips since my bare rack is useful for so many other things that I do on a daily basis. I'm not sure how easy it would be to attach my rear basket, panniers, random bags, etc. on the back with the mount in the way.
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Old 10-06-10, 10:24 AM
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I've struggled with that on other bikes, but the Brommie rack is next to useless, so I'll be inclined to leave it on. Doing my research left me drooling over the Travel-biker as well, but there's no way I'm putting £120 into ANOTHER bag at this point I think that probably the Office Bag will become my daily use thing for carrying work stuff, and I'll use the T-Bag for overnighting, since it obstructs the light a little.

On that subject, I hadn't realized the Shimano hub dynamo was so cheap. Could have had that fitted instead of the T-Bag, and bought the T seperately (had to come in under £1000 for cycle to work scheme). My battery lights are good, but the rear in particular fouls the fold so has to be removed, and the front is blocked by the T-Bag. I'll live with it this winter, but it looks like it'll cost me £120 for wheel and lights if I want to retrofit, so that might be in my future, though I'll be kicking myself for not getting it at half the cost minus tax to start with.

I'm going to experiment and see if the Brommie wheels fit my Mini Moulton; if they do, then I'll steal the Brommie front for that project, buy a new hub dyno wheel for it, and only have a rear built for the Moulton.
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Old 10-06-10, 11:07 AM
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there is the seat post mount rack mount option as well , there are QR clamps on some of those.
so putting it around the 32mm portion of the seat post is Quick ,
and the wheel fold-under still functions as before.

and bag is high enough to avoid heel strike..
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Old 10-06-10, 11:17 AM
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Well, I have such a rack on my Downtube, but.....

Firstly, I'm close to the Brompton weight limit; 10 pounds under. They say you can carry an additional 40 pounds of luggage, but NOT any more weight on the seatpost, which makes this tricky. Same reason I've not gone for a saddlebag. Also, it might not prevent the bike from folding, but it'll make a HUGE difference to the folded size. I'm very hopeful that I can mount it on the standard rack, but if I can't, I'll be looking for a different bag.
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Old 10-06-10, 11:32 AM
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Extended steel seat post is 30% thicker wall tube, than the standard post.. I would suspect the lower section of the
Telescopic post would be using similar tube.
the tube can be further stiffened by putting a tube of aluminum,
or carbon composite for hi tech fans,
inside the steel seat post , and extending up, as far as the top post needs to come down,.. before they meet.

Carradice Bagman mounts on the back of the seat rails, and has an under bag support , for their big saddle bags
and other stuff.. you may tie on..

I got a trailer the Carry freedom city and the brommy team well .
the trailer can carry the folded up bike on top,

and you could run fast to catch trains in that configuration, towing the trailer by its handle.
then when aboard , the trailer folds flat and will stow in a narrow space.

Last edited by fietsbob; 10-06-10 at 11:36 AM.
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Old 10-06-10, 12:28 PM
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Trailer is probably overkill for my needs; generally when I do business travel, I ride in my work clothes, and just carry spare underwear, socks and shirts. There are some residential programmes I do where it's nice to bring casual clothes and a change of shoes for the evening, plus swimming and gym things, and of course, I'm always carrying paperwork, laptop, iPod, book, marker pens and other ephemera. I can't see myself needing more than I could get in the T Bag, Office Bag2 and Carradice Camper, tbh. Would the SQR limit the seatpost lowering, do you think? It looks like it sticks up above the seat too. Either of those would be a challenge, because with the telescopic seatpost it just barely tucks into train luggage racks. I had imagine just using the bag loops, but QR would be nice.
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Old 10-06-10, 01:49 PM
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Sammy,

What type of head light are you using on the front? Could it be mounted on the front reflector bracket? FWIW I use a B&M Cyo on my Twenty and it has a built in reflector. When I go Brommie that is the head light I plan on using.

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Old 10-06-10, 02:00 PM
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It's a Magicshine, and it requires a horizontal bar.
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Old 10-06-10, 02:47 PM
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Originally Posted by Sammyboy
Would the SQR limit the seatpost lowering, do you think?
Almost certainly.
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Old 10-08-10, 10:25 AM
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Usual Dynamo light mount is on the fork crown, under the front bag.. where the reflector is.

SQR can fit on the upper portion, then you would take it out when minimum fold was required.

Extended post + SQR, probably work too, since it won't go all the way down anyhow..

Last edited by fietsbob; 10-08-10 at 10:29 AM.
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Old 10-08-10, 01:15 PM
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d'you think those of us who have taken a circular route to Brompton eg via downtubes including minis, and/or Dahons, appreciate them more, but for what they are faults and all - a kind of grown up love ?
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Old 10-09-10, 08:42 AM
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I'm happy to report total success with the Office Bag 2. The new mount arrived, with the little ear things (which are specifically for beam racks, it turns out), and I fitted it. At the front end, it was fine, at the back the rack sides were too deep, but I was able to fit it in a place where instead they can grab a horizontal piece. There's no heel strike and plenty of clearance, and it seems, frankly, just as stable when folded. I cannot now put 4 skate wheels on, as the ones at the rear of the rack would foul the case, but I could fit them at the other end and possibly roll on those, if I decide it's important.







Theoretically, I could now use the Bike Box, or indeed the Travel Biker, if I was inclined to spend Ortlieb money on such a thing again! I also have two mounts now, and I'd more or less given up using the Office Bag on my full size commuter, as having the weight high up caused me to snap P clips rather often. I'm thinking I'll fit it to the Twenty when I finally finish that, as the Pletscher rack is not much use for anything else.

Gringo_Gus - you might be right. I love, and have kept my Downtubes, and particularly the one I fitted with drop bars is significantly better on the road than the Brompton. I can get one in the boot of my car, or both of them and the Brommie in my bus, so they'll still get used. The Brompton though, the fold is precisely what I need for my particular situation. I still think it's too expensive, but I'm appreciating the quality of the engineering, and all the made-to-fit accessories (really with I'd got the dynamo hub!), and I do like that it's built in England.

Next thing will be a Carradice Camper. I've wanted one for a long time, and it would be useable on multiple bikes for multiple reasons. Whether I'd use SQR or not, I don't know. My current modus operandi is to ride with the lower part of the seatpost all the way out, and the upper out just the amount I need, and then I never fold the upper part. So far, it just about squeezes into all train racks that way. It's possible that SQR would fit on that portion, but it looks like it sticks up above the seat too. This means I'm tempted just to go with the loops.
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Old 10-09-10, 11:10 AM
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to regain the rear stand function, without sitting on the bag clip mount. perhaps.

That Hard case should fit on the rack that fits onto the head-tube clip. removed from a bag.

the possibility of adding straps to the case to load a few more things to the outside of the case exists ..

I have an older Mk2 bike with a steel tube bag rack, rather than the current Nylon/aluminum tube one ..

Seem to haul quite a load all the time, the bike rides fine with quite a load up front , iMHO.

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Old 10-09-10, 11:30 AM
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I could mount it at the front, but really, I want it to supplement my front luggage, not replace it. I don't mind it sitting on the clip, really.
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Old 10-09-10, 12:52 PM
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Suppose it comes off easier than Brompton's own rear bag's multiple velcro straps.

Seems my Touring bag can carry a lot of stuff, volume wise,
Its too bad the O bag is no larger than a single front roller pannier..

big and dry would be a good combination ... I toss a big plastic bag over the Tour bag now,
seems better than wrestling the elastic hem on their rain cover..
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Old 10-09-10, 03:05 PM
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I haven't tried the rain cover yet, but I'm liking the T bag a LOT. I'm thinking I may make that my main bag even with this, because I can carry everything I need for a day, and still have my jacket lightly enough rolled on top to be able to wear without fear of creasing. I've always worn my suit jacket while commuting, but wearing a softshell has been nice in a variety of ways. I may just keep the Ortlieb for when I'm away several nights.
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