Micheal Blue

I am aware of the long wait. About three weeks ago I emailed Brompton and they replied "14 weeks". Curbside said, in July, that apparently only orders placed by the end of the month (July) will be done by Xmas (not in exactly these words). When I was at Curbside I tested an M3R (I believe). Rode great. Not really that different from my 20" folder. The metal bits, inluding the rear rack, felt very solid. Getting the B&W case? What would I do with it at the destination place if I'm going to be biking from place to place?
One thing I'm not sure about, if I get the Brompton, is relying on only one shop in Toronto to fix it; also, how easy and fast is it to get replacement parts? If something breaks, it would suck to have the bike grounded for a long time.

fietsbob

True, a hard case has to be stored, or shipped to your departure point.

tape and a 2nd hand bike box cut down will be fine..

I got a heavy canvas cover bag, not sure I'd even tow it in the bottom
of my trailer.. on a long trip.

but it is rugged.. My Mk2 Brommy's previous owner had it sewn.


SJScycles.[UK] stocks lots of Brompton parts and subassemblies,
and they ship world wide.

Ozonation

Wow... 14 weeks! Christmas? Geez... I wonder what's going on. I'd really consider contacting other Canadian dealers to see what's available. I think Dumoulin Bicyclettes in Montreal is the largest dealer of Bromptons in Canada. I'd even contact NYCE Wheels in New York - probably the largest Brompton dealer in North America - to see what kind of selection they have available. At one point they even claimed to have 100 models in stock. You might have to pay for duty and shipping but waiting around for 5 months seems almost ridiculous.

As for the B&W case... true. It would be hard to do much with it if you need to travel around. For me, I tend to be at one location for several days and I don't tour via bike. As you know however, airport handling is rough: I've had the case bent already because the handlers must have tossed the case hard enough that despite the extra padding strapping, the bike shifted violently enough to bend the case from the inside!

I also have the soft sided Brompton travel case. I've considered padding it up with extra foam and corrugated plastic core/sheets. However, I don't think you can then collapse it down to a standard 62 linear inches for checked luggage (the B&W comes in at exactly regulation checked in size). You could sort of put straps all around it, and then you could sort of roll it up at your destination (although it is still sort of bulky).

However, the soft case would identifiable as a bike case, and if Air Canada is strict, you will be charged $50 for transporting a bike, regardless of whether or not it is under 62" linear or 50 lbs and thus fits as checked luggage. So, fietsbob's suggestion of using a cut down bike box and just checking that in might work, although I recall reading another poster who advised against it because the box just wasn't enough protection in the end.

On the other hand... if you're willing to pay the $50 handling and if you don't want to worry as much about packing and handling risks, then maybe simply declaring it as a bike so that it is handled separately and presumably more carefully might be worth it, particularly if you need to ensure your bike is in tip-top shape at your destination. In this case, you wouldn't have to worry about the case as much; just get a decent padded bag and you're off.

In terms of parts, I agree: the Brompton is so specific, it would be hard to get custom parts. I took mine to my LBS and he was pretty confident he could do servicing, but parts are another matter. I'm in Windsor so I don't even have a Brompton servicer in town - the nearest is an hour's drive away in Michigan. However, what I did is order a couple of extra items from Dumoulin Bicyclettes in Montreal (for example, the locking clamps for the fold) that I think would be the most likely to go missing or break on a trip so at least I can still make the bike rideable in an emergency.

For your reference, here's my Brompton packed into the B&W case with helmet and some tools, and some extra foam for good measure: about 49 lbs if I recall!

invisiblehand

Price matters.

invisiblehand

Reading through the thread ...

If the OP is set on an IGH, then indeed the tikit will be pretty expensive. If he can accept a derailer drivetrain, then one can pretty cheaply get a much wider gearing than the Brompton. Going by what is listed at NYCE bikes -- I see a 6-speed M-bar with a rear rack + fenders for $1530 ... $100 less if one goes sans rear rack which is what I recommend -- off the top of my head, I think that a wide geared tikit (base model t is $1300 from memory) with racks will be pretty close in price depending on a few things. Just to name a few things ... on the Brompton you'd want to include the touring bag, front mount, and whatever you want to do about the rear (see below) ... on the tikit you'd have to decide whether to go for the front and rear racks (folding? ... or just packable?)

Carrying stuff is always an interesting problem. Personally, the rear rack on a Brompton was utterly useless for me. A backpack on top of the rack would result in lots of heel strike and would drive me wacky in short order. The Brompton's front bag really does hold a lot of stuff conveniently. Although the touring bag is very very very close to a pair of panniers, IME. According to specs, the volume difference between the front bag and my rear sport-packer Ortlieb panniers is one liter. Based on my experience, I'd use the touring bag plus a "big ass" saddle bag with a Brompton. With front and rear racks, you have at least 50 liters of storage on a tikit not including anything that you pile on top of it ... generally a sleeping bag in my experience. In both cases there are ways to pack on more ...

The wide drivetrain (> 400%) on a tikit can be acquired with a front derailer and double crank ... say a 56/39 or 60/42 up front and 11-32 in the rear. You only need the mount from Bike Friday and everything else can be picked up used. If you want a super wide drivetrain (> 500%) at a reasonable price, it would be hard to beat the Dual Drive. With some effort, one can find front derailer mounts for Bromptons ... I've never seen one in person but they are out there. So a relatively cheap way of getting a wider (more than 100%) drivetrain on a Brompton would be to find one although it would probably be somewhat clunky having three shifters.

So with the caveats above, I don't think price and how much you can pack is what distinguishes the two. Roughly speaking, if you want a better ride and wider gearing, get the tikit. If you want the more compact fold and IGH, get the Brompton. Good luck.

mulleady

The Tikit is only a better ride by small margin.

fietsbob

well there is a lot of cardboard in a typical bike box, to double up the cardboard..
'forewarned is fore armed' as they say...
get some of the plastic bits like the mushroom caps so the axle ends
and don't poke thru the box.

and other packing that often gets tossed at shops..


(M3L, Ergon GR3, + Schlumpf mountain drive 2 speed IG crank)

Micheal Blue

Well, Pathlesspedaled used up to 50-liter backpack on the rear rack (Brompton) without issues. The trick is to secure the backpack so it sits to the back of the rack. I've done so on my Dahon. I bolted a piece of wood to the rack that keeps the backpack from sliding forward. Doesn't look nice, but works great.

I've just learned that the price of Season Tikit (with Nexus 8) is around 2700 dollars (that includes the BF trailer). Gearing-wise, the high end is quite low, but I don't mind cruising at 20 km/h. The low end is nicely low.

fietsbob

Add the chain tensioner and a FD and you can extend the range with a second chainring.

just get the frame equipped for future options..

My P Llama has a front derailleur mount, though I'm not using it, now.
came with disc tabs + V-brake bosses.

I think the Nexus 8 will take a 13t cog..

invisiblehand

To be honest, when I was riding more with a semi-aggressive riding position I thought that the Brompton ride was pretty bad. I'm not a particularly strange guy with regards to size but I do notice small differences in ergonomics. I tone down the opinion since it seems to me that most people think that the Brompton's ergonomics are OK. I think that if I got on the bike again now that I have a more upright position and much shorter distances, I might find it more acceptable; but at the time the difference in ride quality between the tikit and Brompton for me was large.

To put it in context, the ride was bad enough that I stopped riding the Brompton and began looking for an alternative. As soon as I found one we got rid of the Brompton. Soon afterward, I sold the Boss' Merc when we moved out of the District.

pacificcyclist

Michael,

All this talk; what are you planning to do? Fly into Whitehorse and then plan a tour there along the Klondike Hwy to Skagway Alaska? Or along Haines Hwy to Haines Alaska? Is this your mission? Is this your mission to use the Brompton or the Tikit to attempt tour the Alaskan highway and peaks?

invisiblehand

I've met people that make it work. There is a picture of an old forum member EvilV with a wildly loaded Merc using the rear rack.

FWIW, my experience touring is that jury rigged solutions are less robust. But everyone makes their tradeoffs.

... is it really up to $2700?!? Is that with a belt drive?

I'm partial to derailer drivetrains myself, so I'm probably a bad person to evaluate. But I do like the belt drive on the STRIDA.

Micheal Blue

Pacificcyclist, yes, I'd like to fly to various places in Canada and then either trek and/or tour around.
Some places I've already charted on the map would be Victoria to Pacific Rim; Edmonton to Saskatoon (North Saskatchewan River is gorgeous); Cape Breton Island; Dawson City and Top Of The World Highway; etc.
I'm not interested in huge tours. Of course, all this is an icing on the cake of commuting to work

Micheal Blue

That's a chain drive. Belt drive is a few hundred bucks more. Remember, the price also includes the BF trailer.
I have a Surly LHT and so far it's been great with the Nexus 8 - getting very close to 5000 km. Will need to re-lubricate
it soon...that will be fun...

Lao

I'm not sure if your suspicion about aluminum is justified, the Birdy has a really good frame. With the touring model you could easily fit both front and rear panniers. Here is a Swedish site just to show the model: https://www.bagbike.se/riese-und-mull...y-touring.html (The rear rack folds down with the rear wheel.) It seems to be suit your needs.

Or if you are only going to do some light touring maybe you could get the Frog instead: https://www.bagbike.se/riese-und-muller/birdy-frog.html. Just buy a "mountinbike" rear rack or a large saddle bag and a back pack. (I don't know how to fit fenders though.) It has a 30% smaller fold.