folder fanatic

If you are curious as I was, here it is:

Pink Brompton M6L folding bike bicycle - $1300 (Sherman Oaks)
(Sherman Oaks Is A Nice & Financially Blessed Suburb Of Los Angeles )

".......6 speed, current model. Comes with set of Eazy wheels and front light. Purchased from Electric Bikes L.A. (a really large folding/electric bicycle retailer in Los Angeles) a year ago.

This foldable bike is in mint condition. If this listing has caught your eye, I imagine you already know all about the Brompton, the ultimate in folding bikes from Britain. I love my Brompton so I bought one for the wife. Unfortunately, she seems to prefer her beach cruiser bike so... here it is......."-https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv...709089029.html

What do you think of this bike? IMO, the only hold back to this particular mint condition beautiful Brompton is not the price, it's the color! It seems to me you might lose 50 percent of the possible purchaser population due to pink prejudice as a "girly" bike. Even my boring red Brompton has a better chance at finding a purchaser (assuming that I would ever part with it-my strong answer is never!).

Some photos below if ad is still up.

Foldable Two

Could it be the men's saddle she didn't like, or is it a bike pilfered from someone in West Hollywood?

I rode my big Electra cruiser to the store and/or the local donut shop (for muffins) most days while living in Ventura, CA, but it was a pain in the knees to do more than that. That's why I sold it last year.

Then there's riding a cruiser in Sherman Oaks - doesn't fit IMO. That's not a Ventura Blvd type of bike; besides you'd be killed in traffic.

Lou

dynaryder

Despite the steel construction,Brommies don't ride that well. Maybe she likes the big bouncy tires on the cruiser. Or maybe the riding position. Or the handling. Or the brakes(maybe she rocks the coasters). Or the gearing. Whatever. If the missus doesn't like the Brommie,that's her prerogative.

Not a fan of Dutch bikes,but I'm fine with people liking them. Whatever turns their cranks.

fietsbob

Remember the GC leader's jersey in the Giro D Italia is Pink, for the same reason the TDF one is Yellow

the Sports News paper that started the thing was printed on that color paper. [+ you can tell who's ahead]


BTW Brompton ships a Unisex saddle , that's it.
the new ones added a handle under the nose .

I ordered their prior Lightweight option; Unisex Fizik Vitesse, Brompton's batch order got a high clearance rail bend ,
to shove the saddle back further, even on seat posts with a large portion of the clamp mech above the rails..

I got it to get more setback on my Koga WTR, which has an Airwings Touring seatpost, (w suspension)

handle under the nose saddle loses that setback.. But their bike has the seat tube passing behind the BB anyhow..

chagzuki

I don't see the attraction of cruiser bikes but I often wonder if I'd stick with small wheeled bikes were it not for the limitations of my housing situation. I had an experience recently on the Brompton where I was having to pedal continuously to keep up with a guy on a road bike who was just coasting. He wasn't even lycra-clad either so I couldn't rationalise it as merely a result of aerodynamics. I didn't feel too pleased with my bike over that stretch of road.

fietsbob

Maybe a 451 wheel Bike Friday silk.. would be a faster but still fold up option,,
get it Caprio (9-26t)and Ultegra-brifter drop bar too..

jur

I see that sort of difference just between my Moulton and Connie's. I am always busy checking the drivetrain for a sticky chain, if the brakes aren't dragging, wondering about the bearings, tyres and so on. I can't explain it. It was the same story years ago when I did roll-down tests with my stable - Connie's supposedly crappy Yeah beat every other bike I tested, including my Swift.

chagzuki

My Brompton has generally felt slow which seems odd to me since the rear suspension and Pantour hub I've been running ought to compensate for the increased rolling resistance of small wheels. I make sure everything is adjusted well.
Perhaps the tyre liner in the back is affecting rolling resistance more than I'd previously thought. Perhaps the slight lateral play in the Pantour hub means the rim is sometimes skimming the brake pads, which need to be adjusted to within a couple of millimetres of the rim due to the short cable pull of calliper brakes.
But the biggest factor seems to be gear hubs. I've spent years trying to figure out my SA 5 speeds and it's only in the last few days since switching to oil lubrication that they're feeling really smooth and performing as I'd thought they ought to.
Given that the Brompton chain tensioner applies a massive force to the chain when the bike is unfolded (in order that there's enough tension to hold the chain when folded) there's already a fair amount of energy lost in the drivetrain, so it's crucial that everything else is adjusted optimally.

cplager

I'm not sure I'm following this. Yes, smaller wheels have slightly increased rolling resistance (although you can mitigate this with different tire choices), but rear suspension isn't going to help this (and may actually add sources or energy loss). The same goes for the suspension hub.

wilfried

And this. Massive force, really? I'm no bike techie, but the tensioner is a simple spring arm, and not particularly tight, it seems to me. Sure, there's a bit of added friction from going through two extra rollers, but is that any worse than a derailleur?

Edited to add: I bought my Brompton from a friend who hated it; lucky me! She had gone back to school, and she said she hated carrying it. I can see that would be a pain if you don't have a safe place to park it, but she's also a bit of a hothouse flower that way. He husband bought her a Bianchi, some kind of city bike, almost a cruiser, I guess. She's much happier.

chagzuki

The chain tensioner is a simple and effective design solution but by no means ideal. The coil spring used means that when the tension arm is in the unfolded position the amount of force on the chain is much greater than necessary, just in order that there's enough force applied once it's swung 130 degrees or so in the folded position and the spring is less wound. Pulling the chain taut like this means that there's much more friction as it engages / disengages with teeth on the multiple cogs: sprocket, chainring and jockey wheels. I'm more and more seeing the logic of Brompton sticking with 3 speed hubs given the extra friction introduced by the tensioner. Combine that with a Nexus 7 and it'd be drag city.

As for suspension, well, Mr Moulton has already addressed those issues. On imperfect roads the trajectory of the majority of the mass is diverted less by obstacles if it's suspended. Road imperfections are greater proportionally to small wheels than to large.

Foldable Two

Amazing the new 'terminology' one learns here on the Bike Forum! I guess that means she's a bit fussy.

Ozonation

My Brompton is obviously not as fast as my Rivendell, but then again, I didn't buy the Brompton thinking that I could keep up with the big boys and girls. Where the Brompton shines are precisely those situations where you couldn't ride that fast anyways - crowded pedestrian/no car zones, quirky side streets - or where I need to travel and a full size bike is too much hassle to pack up and bring along. So as you point out, I think the appeal - or lack of appeal - of a Brompton or other specialized bike depends very much on the situation you're in.

Elvis Shumaker

Am I alone in particularly liking pink for a folding bike?

If I were ever to pass a 'fast/serious' cyclist on one of these things, the pink frame would just rub salt into the wound. Even once would be worth it.

Baby blue could be an alternative for the insecure


My better half prefers a cruiser too and would never get on a folding bike.

alhedges

I hate the standard B. saddle; I find it extremely uncomfortable. I took it out of my parts bins a couple of days ago and remounted it to see if I would like it better. Nope, not at all.

I wouldn't be surprised if the saddle were half of her issue with the B.

fietsbob

The old standard saddle was worse.
.. but, being so not-precious, it was something that took banging around well..

seadragonpisces

Well back to the original post. I have had cruisers (still have one) and folders (have a Brompton) and can say that it depends where you use it. My cruiser is single speed so just used for messing out, but is super comfy to ride with the Brooks B73 and Schwalbe 28'' Big Apples on it. I cant say the same about the folder but that is more for commuting, ability to fold, lightness etc.

Horses for courses as they say here in the U.K.

marqueemoon

Would totally have ordered that color if it was available.

Have you guys ridden a cruiser lately? They're pretty fun.

Being pretty new to the folding bike thing (been riding bikes for 35+ years) I found the Brompton handling took some getting used to. I'd take the cruiser too under other circumstances.

zebede

I wouldn't wear a pink shirt.

I generally would not ever ride a pink bike.

BUT I WOULD RIDE THAT PINK BIKE. It works for me.

I'd bet you would get a lot of nice compliments from pretty young ladys wanting to ride your bike.

AND yes to beach cruisers.

My favorite was a light weight TREK Clyde with Nexus 4 speed. I had some slicks on it for a while you could pump up hard and it was pretty fast.

I still have a multi speed beach cruiser with narrowish (1.5 front) slicks. A dumpster restoration.

Its my no worry "grocery getter" You ride in a very commanding position.

Sixty Fiver

My wife thinks that Bromptons are awesome bicycles as long as she does not have to ride one and much prefers her city bike, her lighter townie, and her vintage Raleigh Twenty.

I have never found riding a Brompton to be all that wonderful either... will be sticking to my Raleigh 20's and Moultens for small wheeled adventures. If my adventures warranted a need for a bicycle that folded up as wonderfully and quickly as a Brompton I might consider getting one but cannot see it being a primary ride.

BassNotBass

In order of riding preference: Bike Friday, Citizen Miami, then my Schwinn Clairemont cruiser. Yea, I get it.

jur

Between my Swift, Moulton and Brompton, all are arranged with close to identical contact point geometry. I pick according to job ahead as all are equally comfortable.

edwong3

Look to be honest with you, small folding bikes are not known to be the most comfortable. They are convenient, and yes, sometimes it's the only kind that a person with very limited living space or a need to use multi modal transportation can own.

About a month ago, I test rode a Fuji 7 speed "forward crank" type of cruiser, and it was super fun, and very comfortable. And at $399 pretty affordable, but I don't have the space in the house, unless I store it outside which is just not going to happen!

That said, I love my two 20 inch folders but they do have their limitations.

smallwheeler

dude~ your experience with small folding bikes is the citizen tokyo, right?

edwong3

No, I have never owned or even ridden a Tokyo.