Larger roller wheels for the Brompton?
 

I'm on the lookout for larger roller wheels for my Brommie. I like to use my bike for grocery shopping, as an example, and being over 6 feet tall, I don't like to have to bend over while wheeling the Brommie around the store. So I was wondering if anyone knows where I can get larger wheels that will elevate the bike while wheeling it around? For that matter, will larger wheels (in diameter) work and not interfere when folding.

Thanks
Wayne

I use inline skate wheels on the frame section and brompton easy wheels on the rack. The skate wheels, with dual bearings in each, don't shimmy under load and therefore work way better for using the bike in cart mode. However, they weight a lot more and for this reason I cut about a third off the width. I think they're 80mm in diameter... certainly anything larger than that would be a bit unwieldy.

That's worth looking into then. I was thinking of those kinds of wheels but wondering if they would give the elevation I'm looking for. I will check it out. I'm was very concerned that whatever I use will impede the ability to fold the bike properly. Since they work well on your bike I shouldn't be concerned then.

I don't think so... I found that using larger wheels on the frame area than the rack makes the fold slightly more compact / square rather than reclined. It also changes the height of the handlebar when in cart mode which may or may not be desirable.

Some 8mm OD 1mm thick nylon tubing works as a cheap spacer to fit skate bearings on to 6mm bolts. Easier than brass tubing etc..

these look cool http://www.brompfication.com/24-easy-wheels.html

bearing ID for front is a 6mm bolt , rear of the rack its a 5.. thats the only difference..

Be conscious that rough handling causes the J bend on the main rear assembly tube that the wheel screws into
to keep bending further.. then in breaks off. *

In reality what you may be wanting is the feature bike friday's tikit does better .

once folded they have a handle to grasp , and the front wheel is what you roll the bike on.

* there is a NL company that sells a special reinforcing piece and a repair part , for these situations .

I looked at those wheels in the link you provided. I wonder if there is much difference in the diameter of those wheels compared to the original ones? Its a larger diameter wheel that I'm after to allow for extra elevation of the bike for easier wheeling around the store. As it stands, my back starts to ache a bit bending over to reach the bars while wheeling the bike around.

might as well just unfold the bike then , and roll it on the road wheels ..

given it doesn't take long to refold it.

I just put 55mm inline skate wheels on my Brompton. The skate wheels have a square profile, which provides some stability the back wheel is folded in. They're also not too tall as to prevent the front wheel from touching the floor when completely folded.

I could do that, but I don't think the store personnel would allow it.

those Costco sized shopping carts ought to have room under them .

OR, I hang a strong lock over my handlebars , the OnGuard segmented armored Cable lock works fine.
Abus has one rated even stronger ..

run it thru the triangle over the BB and lock it to the bike rack outside the store..

What about adding something (temporarily) on the handlebars so you don't need to bend over to wheel it around?

I admit that I thought about that as well -- but what could I add to an already cramped bar? Something that could be hooked on and off and tucked away in my front bag. Any ideas?

I'm thinking of something that grabs the stem and just shoots straight up. Even just a bar with a (rubber-coated) clamp on the end would do the trick.

O.k. Since you asked, can you post a picture of your bike in grocery mode (hopefully with you standing next to it)? Let's get this puppy solved. :D

Shopping Mode : leave the handle bars in the upright position and the front basket on the front clip.

Still Pedeling - Is your bike configured as fietsbob describes? I can't imagine that that adding larger diameter rolling wheels would make much of a difference. Also adding an extension of some kind to the handle bars seems impractical and a hassle.

When I use mine in shopping cart mode I usually have the handle bar folded and pull the bike by the handle on the t-bag. The height is very similar to the height of the configuration described above, pulling on the handle bar. It would seem easy to rig a little stiff loop extension that could go through the bag handle and extend up to your reach.

That sounds like a logical solution. I'll try this out. Thanks.

Hi. I fitted 100mm scooter wheels on the rear rack of my brompton and 76mm on the front section. It rolled like a bowling ball. Get clear wheels on the rear as it acts as a diffuser for the rear light bringing light around the side profile of the bike. I will post a photo if I find one. Else see the effect on the upgrading a mezzo thread.

That would be great. I would like to see that, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

My understanding is that the Easy Wheels and their attaching bolts are designed to minimize damage to the frame if the bike is dropped or hit. Different wheels might result in damage to the frame that would not have occurred with Easy Wheels. ;)

-HANK RYAN-
Norman, Oklahoma USA

As others have mentioned, I too used inline skate wheels. 60 mm I think - perhaps 65 mm. My goal was to get some wheels that gave me a bit more clearance when it was being wheeled around in shopping cart mode, but not so large that they struck my heels when cycling - something you might want to think about. (I'm 5'11"; size 11 shoes for reference.)

The bike folds fine, and still packs down into my hardcase no problem. However, it is a bit more difficult to "turn" when in shopping cart mode.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=365364

(Arghh... sorry, it's upside down for some reason... don't know why...)

pictures to illustrate earlier remarks about using clear wheels as a rear light diffuser.
sorry cant find a good photo of my older brommie with ,actually, 130mm scooter wheels.

I have a picture of my current brommie with 130mm , brfore i removed them and the rear rack. picture 1 and 2
The larger 1300mm clear wheels look speculator in the dark , but i dont have a picture. The ones I used are red cored ,clear wheeled scooter wheels look the coolist due to the red rear lcd lights.
I did also fit them on my mezzo but again not photos photos of current 76mm clear to show diffuser effect improving side lighting.

130mm is a tad too big as the wheels catch the front wheel when pushing half folded making it difficult to wheel. This happened on mezzo and brommie afaicr.

Honestly if you run a rear light they must be clear or transluant red, whatever size you get

the way to fit a rollerblade wheel re heel catch is to remove the inner bearing and epoxy resin the bearing to the wheel to keep it secure on the bearing. every thing else is standard afaicr.

I like what you did regarding the rear roller wheels. A definite plus for night riding.