That is pricey.

XACD has a known track record... not so great...
XACD - obnoxious?- Mtbr.com

I bought some singlespeed Ti chainrings from them. 58T for my Brommie. For a while I corresponded about a 34mm seatpost but just before the order was about to be placed and I nailed down specs, it came out they would weld the tube (maybe from a bigger one with a slot cut out and welded up again?). The roundness was not good for seatpost application so I pulled the plug.

May be not the trust worthy supplier, ha?

The more I read, the more I am interested in using merc frame as a base. Do you know if I can still get one from somewhere? I don't really see them anywhere online anymore. Not ever eBay?

@virtualchuta Like all things everything ends up on ebay eventually - setting up saved searches or RSS feeds of searches might help you find one without constantly looking (I found my bargain TSR 27 this way). Search for Merc but also flamingo, nishiki Oxford or as wikipedia documents the clones"

"During 2003, Neobike exhibited a—now unlicensed—copy of the Brompton bicycle design at the European Eurobike show.[SUP][1][/SUP] Unlicensed copies of the Brompton product were then imported into The Netherlands (under the name "Scoop One" and "Astra Flex V3"), into the United Kingdom (under the name "Merc") and into Spain (as the Nishiki "Oxford Bicycle")."

The latest incarnation of the Merc / Flamingo is the MIT V8, but it seems to only be available in East Asia. However it would be a great base for customisation due to its use of standard parts.

https://www.mitcycle.com/en/products/...=detail&aid=18

Remember that chap who thought he bought cheap when buying a Flamingo instead of a Brompton? Don't remember his name but he insisted on regaling us with his tales of woe. Fascinating, that was, like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

Went to a night market close to where I live tonight. I saw a Brompton for sale at a secondhand bike stand. From the distance away, I could tell that it was the Taiwan-made Brompton. I was hoping that it was the alloy model. But with the tiny magnet I had with me, it is proven to be the steel version - a licensed version of Brompton.

I am thinking that I may still buy it though, if it is still there next week. And it can be my practice mod frame.

Just saying, there are no licensed versions. It could be one of those early one from the one license exercise. Did it have the Brompton name? Photo?

Now I am curious about where you live, can bump into a Neobike brompton for sale on a secondhand bike stand? Somewhere in Asia?

It is also quite fun to restore and MOD a neobike brompton, not cheap though.

To be fair,most of his issues seemed to stem from poor setup and LBS support. If he'd had a better shop,or was an experienced wrench,I don't think he would've had as many issues.

virtualchuta: why don't you just get a custom frame built? There's plenty of pics on the web(you could even use the pics of that ti frame);any decent framebuilder should be able to make you a frame spec'd the way you want it out of whatever material you want.

It was the old licensed version produced by Neobike.

I live in Bangkok. May be I will consider buying for a fun mod.

There are a few Taiwan-made Bromptons available in Thailand at the moment - 2 British racing green, a red/black and a silvery bronze. But there isn't a merc. I wonder if they were ever sold here.

This thread got me wondering if a custom Ti builder like Strong, DeSalvo, or Eriksen would even consider fabricating a Brompton clone. Bet that would cost a pretty penny if they did decide to make one.

Ultimate Folding Bike was an attempt, but only a Prototype was ever Made .. note how the tubes were Oversized even larger than Brompton's steel.

https://ufbusa.ishopserver.com/Sites.../PICT0027.jpeg

Yes, they sell it on eBay (Brompton titanium seatpost)

A full titanium Brompton would be very dreamy. Has any tried to built with the XACD titanium main tube? Does it take standard parts?

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Any Chinese reader in this forum?

Let me check with XACD and see if they have some assembled sample photos first. I don't believe it can be tightly folded.

Is this the guy with the knee problems and wanted fit-advice?

I thought he was trolling the forum.

The Flamingo/MIT V8 does look interesting.

https://unitedfoldingbikers.org/2014/01/21/the-mit-v8/

He went on to get a Trek Transport Long tail ... & Haunting the Utility Bike Forum.

Bueller? Beueller? Anyone?

C'mon someone's got to have bought one of these! I am wanting one of these but at $2000, it's a bit more than I would spend on a folder. But I also recognize that a lot of work has gone into these frames. Much more so than a standard road or mountain frame, so it's probably priced accordingly. What do you all think?

Yours is my dream build, but I have diverged as I have a white starter bike (S2L) -and now want all white. Brakes are hard to get in white, so it seems must used a donor Brompton set. It will be a slow task best spent disassembling and visiting the powder coated.