A new Brompton perspective
 

So I finally collected enough balls to throw down the US$2,300 for a white/orange M6R + Schwalbe Marathons + EZ Wheels + C-bag. Like a proud new dad, I can't wait to gush about how cool the bike is, and how impressively small and portable it is even in a cramped city like Singapore.

I haven't ridden it over great distances, but I've done a fair bit of 'multi-terrain' transport with it - into fast-food restaurants, through malls, train stations, banks, onto trains and such. Especially in Singapore where space is at a MASSIVE premium and parking fees are mostly unavoidable except for residential side-roads, the bike is an absolute godsend.

The efficient island-wide network of trains and buses allows me to exercise and go everywhere, all the while enjoying sights I would never have noticed while driving.

I would not want to be dragging it downtown during rush hour, but at any other time the bike goes anywhere. I don't think there's many other folding bikes that can lay claim to that. My SS Dahon - one of the lightest Dahons besides the Curve - certainly can't.

Obviously, the downside is the constant paranoia of leaving it alone for even a minute. Thankfully I haven't had to use the bathroom while riding, as I'm not sure the minuscule stalls could accommodate even a tiny bike.

I haven't done it yet, but if I have to go to the bathroom, I'm going to fold my Brompton S3E up and take it in with me :P:roflmao::roflmao2:

I am pleased to hear that you are enjoying your bike - it sounds like the perfect match for your needs.

Like you I had a hard time accepting the price prior to purchase but once on board I have absolutely no regrets. It is not the bike for everyone and there are other bikes that do certain things better but for me there was no better choice.

I would probably do that, screw the weird looks I'll get. I guess it gets easier from then on.

Thanks. I agree. I'm at work and can't stop thinking about the bike. I was going to ride it into work today, but I slept late and decided I'd rather be well-rested than sleep less than 5 hours and ride drowsily into morning traffic.

Congrats; now how did I know you were going to get the orange and white? :)

We don't get to see many pictures of people with their Brommies in Singapore, so would you oblige please. One of the beautiful features of the Brommie is that you don't have to leave it alone like you would with non-folding bikes., but I do wonder how it will fare inside one of those cramped bathroom stalls. Haven't had to worry about that myself -- yet. I hope you don't have to get to that point, but if you do, you will have no choice. I'm sure it will fit inside OK, but like you said, you will get people staring at you. But who cares -- right!

I'd be happy to, though I haven't quite done the bike justice in the few pics I've taken. Tonight I had a minor accident which left a small scrape on the rear triangle.

It was like getting a small scrape on my own heart -.-;

Man I'm sorry to hear that. That reminds me, the owner of the store where I bought mine suggested I get red and white paint touch up kits just for situations like what happened to you. Did you get a touch up kit for yours? It might be a good idea to get one now if you don't already have. You'll want to get at it soon before any rust sets in.

Cheers
Wayne

Oh... thanks. I was actually wondering if they had stuff like that. I'm going down to the bike shop for the saddle bag cover, so I guess I'll pick up the touch up kit as well :)

Actually, some plasticky stuff (like clear laminated wrap) is also coming off my paint. And it's on the area where the front wheel 'hooks' onto when the bike is folded. Is that supposed to happen?

They put a spot of clear tape at the point where the hook meets the frame, I presume to prevent wear; mine wore through pretty quickly.

At some stage paintwork is going to get scratched, unless there's a layer of helicopter tape or vinyl on the top. Mt brompton is covered in helicopter tape which actually increases the depth of the gloss, but I don't think there's a transparent tape which works particularly well for satin finishes.
When my Dahon Vitesse paint got a bit tired I just wrapped it in black satin vinyl (covering all the logos in the process), and it looks a lot nicer now than when it was new.

I picked up some clear chainstay & cable rub patches by Lizard Skins the other day. You cut them to size and place them were cables rub against the frame caused when you fold the bike. The area that you mention is a problematic area. It is happening on mine and the clear polyurethane patch that's there is hard to get at and also hard to remove. I will just leave mine alone as its not causing a problem and its not all that visible.

Yeah I ordered my helicopter tape a few days ago... it's due to come in any time now.

Damn I wish I knew about it earlier... I would have been more careful.

This tends to be less of a problem with Ti extremities :p

Jerry

Anyone has a Carbon Seat Post on their bromptons? Seems like a relatively straightforward way of lightening the brompton.

I've got an Easton C70 Carbon seatpost from my MTB and I was thinking of switching it over. Thinking of selling off the MTB anyways.

Jerry did you tweak your SRAM A2 ratios for your Uno? Or are you using factory settings?

I'm no mechanical engineer, but would that be a good idea? On the Brommie, the seat post as you know is extended quite a distance from the frame. I know they say carbon fiber is strong, but is it strong enough? Just wondering.

That may be true, but if the seatpost is strong enough to support my weight (albeit less extended) while I'm traversing rocky slopes and making drops from several feet, I guess my urbanite Brompton should be fine?

That said, there's been reports that this seatpost in particular isn't all that resilient. Guess I'll never know till I try :)

If you do try it out, just be careful. You might end up losing a lot more than a broken seat post :injured:. Just make sure you wear armor plated shorts, if you know what I mean ;). Just thinking about getting a carbon fiber goose gives we the jitters.

Perhaps the post extended a bit on your MB, but I'm sure it extends a lot more on the Brommie. Like I said, be careful. It's not something I would try

Not just the length,but the amount of clamping surface. If you could modify the seatpost clamp so that it had,say,twice the area of the stock clamp,it might work ok. But I'd be concerned of all that leverage being applied to that small an area. FYI,I've got 3 bikes with carbon posts,none sticking out more than about 7-8". Way less than my Brommie's.

Several places out there doing Ti seatposts,I'd go that route.

No. Seriously... I wouldn't. There's a lot of unsupported seat post extending out from a Brompton.

I'm not entirely sure why you want to lighten the Brompton that much. Even if you could switch out the seat post, you wouldn't save more than a pound: maybe two pounds at best. For a bike that weighs between 26 lb to 30 lb typically, the weight savings from swapping the seat post is negligible. Have you picked it up separately? I normally take out the seat post when I pack my Brompton for travel. Seriously... it's not that heavy.

By the time you get on the bike, load it up with whatever is in your C-bag (or whatever), the weight savings from the swapped seat post will be unnoticeable. For some reason, people seem obsessed with light weighting a bike. Unless you're racing, it's going to make barely any difference. To paraphrase Grant Petersen of Rivendell fame... most cyclists are better off losing some weight off the engine (you, me, whoever), not the bike. A couple of pounds lost for most people is more than tolerable and probably preferable. A couple of pounds off a bike means you might be compromising structural integrity.

Carefull!
 

A carbon seat post is a BAD idea for a folder considering the extreme length. Think of "leverage" and you'll get the idea. It's a different story on a diamond frame such as a MTB or a road bike where the seat post will not be subjected to so much dynamic forces due to their short length as they would be on a folding bike.

Carbon parts are also known to fail catastrophically without any warning if they have been compromised by a gouge that you may not notice for instance. That's why experts most emphatically urge anyone who rides a bike with a carbon frame and or fork to inspect it closely before any ride.

Ed

Sound advice of which a few us us have pointed out to him. I didn't know that carbon fiber was so prone to failure like you mention. I, for one, will steer clear of the stuff. Like what Ozonation pointed out-- it's not going to make a difference with weight issues unless he's racing, and that isn't exactly the right bike for that. I hope you are taking note of all this keyven. We don't want to hear back from you saying that you got injured. I hate saying "I told you so".

I would think that the MTB post isn't long or wide enough to fit the Brompton anyway.