Folding cycles

On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 08:24:46 GMT someone who may be "mrmalins"
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

I know they are expensive compared to other types but fold down very
well`and have good gearing .What do the group think,...thanks....john.m

http://www.atob.org.uk compares the various sorts.

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
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In message <[email hidden]>, mrmalins
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Hi , I have a mountain bike for off road use ,but find it unsuitable for use
around town and for taking it in the car.I was looking at the brompton bike.
I know they are expensive compared to other types but fold down very
well`and have good gearing .What do the group think,...thanks....john.m

Yo

I bought a Brompton about 6 months ago for exactly the reasons you
describe. Firstly, is a lovely bit of design, beautifully made.
Secondly, it does every thing you want it to do. Thirdly, its nice to
ride though the twitchy small-wheel steering gets a little getting used
to.

Downsides? Not particularly light. Not great on rough surfaces, the
default saddle is not as good as on my "real" bike (acceptable however).
No granny gear for the big hills.

5* recommendation.

Cheers
--
Bob Downie
Downie GeoScience Ltd.
please remove #n0spam# to reply directly

I have a mountain bike for longer journeys and where I may be riding rough ground. I also have a Brompton L3 for shorter journeys around town etc. It is an excellent machine - folds easily and small - nice and comforatble to ride and surprisingly I find I get around on it deceptively quickly. I have easily done 20 mile trips and I reckon I could do more if necessary. Also buy the excellent front pannier which hold loads of stuff without greatly impairing the ride and is also really easy to take on and off. When I bought it I tried a Dahon. It was nice but made of aluminium (not so durable) and didn't fold down nearly small enough or easily enough. The Cyclesurgery salesman said that the Brompton was the best folder and I am glad I took his advice.

mrmalins said:

Hi , I have a mountain bike for off road use ,but find it unsuitable for use
around town and for taking it in the car.I was looking at the brompton bike.
I know they are expensive compared to other types but fold down very
well`and have good gearing .What do the group think

I use a Brompton L3 as a hack, and IMHO it's /very/ good for such use.

"Good gearing" sort of depends on how one defines "good"... For me, I
like the hub gear and with the 18% reduction (a standard option for a
small extra cost) it does all the hills I need it to in not very flat
Dundee and is simple and reliable. But it isn't especially flexible or
one size fits all. The 6 speeds are better in that respect but it's
relatively fiddly in use and is another thing to go wrong.

On the 3 speed I'd only get the standard gearing if I lived on a
pancake, and would at least get the -12% for most places or the -18% if
there are Real Hills.

Expensive depends what you're measuring. My neighbour (not "a cyclist"
in u.r.c. poster sense) bought one having seen mine for occasional
commutes and freeing up the family car, and reckoned it paid for itself
in purely financial terms inside a year, which might not have been
possible with a less flexible machine.

Like Tom I'd highly recommend the Brompton pannier system. Again not
the cheapest out there, but you're paying for ease of use and it's
stunningly good there. The standard pannier IMHO the most useful of the
three luggage options for general purpose use.

For some other possibilities, Dahons are very good value in terms of
cycling bang per buck and the range is big enough to give lots of
options, including serious sports machinery and tourers. The fold is
not as good so don't expect to squeeze one between two train seats or
behind the sofa at home, but if you don't want to do that it's a bit of
a moot point!
Birdies ride better and give more options for gearing setup, but don't
fold as neatly and cost quite a bit more. But an exceptionally good
"one thing does most" bike, especially the Blue and Grey models.

For neatness of fold and still a ridable bike the Brom is still a Gold
Standard AFAICT, though the new Mezzo looks promising: see
http://www.chwhite.btinternet.co.uk/html/mezzo_d_9.html and if you only
need an okay fold then others are more capable road machines (not that
the Brompton is poor, just not the greatest show on earth for the ride).

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"mrmalins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi , I have a mountain bike for off road use ,but find it unsuitable for
use around town and for taking it in the car.I was looking at the brompton
bike. john.m Thank you all for your advice ......One point,could I use a
suspension seatpost,I have a back injury /sore [censored]!...john.m

mrmalins said:

One point,could I use a
suspension seatpost,I have a back injury /sore [censored]!

Not likely to work on a Brom: it uses an extra long seatpost as part of
the fold mechanism and I doubt you'd get a replacement with a suspension
unit, especially that didn't compromise the fold.

Some of the Dahons use the Cane Creek suspension seatpost unit IIRC.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

mrmalins said:

Hi , I have a mountain bike for off road use ,but find it unsuitable for use
around town and for taking it in the car.I was looking at the brompton bike.
I know they are expensive compared to other types but fold down very
well`and have good gearing .What do the group think,...thanks....john.m

I'm very pleased with mine. The six gear option (3-speed hub plus a two
speed derailleur) is probably unnecessary, the 3-speed will do for most
things. Around town and for carrying on other transport it is ideal.

If you can, get a test ride. That will tell you more than any amount of
information here.

--
Joe * If I cannot be free I'll be cheap

Peter Clinch said:

mrmalins said:

One point,could I use a suspension seatpost,I have a back injury /sore
[censored]!

Not likely to work on a Brom:

Not needed on a Brom, it has suspension on the rear as is. If you are
at the heavier end you can tune it with a pipe clip around the outside
but it does pretty well as is for most people

Tony

In article <[email hidden]>, mrmalins
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Hi , I have a mountain bike for off road use ,but find it unsuitable for use
around town and for taking it in the car.I was looking at the brompton bike.
I know they are expensive compared to other types but fold down very
well`and have good gearing .What do the group think,...thanks....john.m

Joyce and I have 5-speed Bromptons. They have been trouble free for
about seven years (we bought then second hand). On holiday they live in
the back of the car for tent to pub/castle/shop expeditions. The rest of
the year they have regular Sunday rides of about six miles. No faults -
they do exactly what we want them to. Joyce has a bad back and is
waiting for a hip replacement. She has difficulty walking half a mile
but cycling is keeping her sane!
Best wishes.
--
tom

I've just bought a secondhand Cresswell Micro sprint, and am very
pleased with it, its easy to ride and folds in a jiffy. Now made by
Pashley, as the Pashley Micro, its perhaps not such a high quality as
the Brompton, but then for the price I would say its streets ahead of
the Dahon IMHO.

HTH

Philip THornton-Evison

In article said:

mrmalins said:

One point,could I use a
suspension seatpost,I have a back injury /sore [censored]!

Not likely to work on a Brom: it uses an extra long seatpost as part of
the fold mechanism and I doubt you'd get a replacement with a suspension
unit, especially that didn't compromise the fold.

If you got the telescopic post that Brompton do as an option, might
you be able to replace the top part of that? (I've only tried a Brompton
with the standard post, which was uncomfortably short for me.)

What about just swapping the saddle for one of the springier Brookes?

(Dahon's page on the Thudbuster: http://www.dahon.co.uk/l-thudbuster.htm)

Alan Braggins said:

If you got the telescopic post that Brompton do as an option,
might you be able to replace the top part of that?

You could. The upper part of the Brompton post is an unusual size (26.6mm)
but something like a USE Shockpost would work with a shim:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Kits.aspx?ModelID=1781

As Pete says though, it would increase the folded size (unless removed when
folding the bike) and the Brompton has rear suspension anyway.

Quoted message said:

What about just swapping the saddle for one of the springier
Brookes?

That'll work.

James Thomson

"mrmalins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi , I have a mountain bike for off road use ,but find it unsuitable for
use around town and for taking it in the car.I was looking at the brompton
bike. I know they are expensive compared to other types but fold down
very well`and have good gearing .What do the group
think,...thanks....john.m
Regarding the suspension seat post, I think its best left off, it might
cause problems.I will try my broad gell,sprung type saddle ,its the size of
a hot water bottle,and with the frame suspension it should be ok...
thanks...john.m

On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 16:24:23 +0000, Alan Braggins wrote
(in article <[email hidden]>😉:

Quoted message said:

[...]

What about just swapping the saddle for one of the springier Brookes?

I had a Brooks All Terrain on a Giant non-sus clunker, and got another for my
Brompton. It has two springs at the rear which reduce all but the worst of
the Thames Path bumps from agonising to quite bearable without wobbling
around all over the place.

M.

Peter Clinch said:

Quoted message said:

One point,could I use a suspension seatpost,I have a back injury /sore
[censored]!

Not likely to work on a Brom: it uses an extra long seatpost as part of the
fold mechanism and I doubt you'd get a replacement with a suspension unit,
especially that didn't compromise the fold.

Would the following be of use?

http://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/kinetics_add-ons.shtml

--
Jose Marques

Jose Marques said:

Would the following be of use?

http://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/kinetics_add-ons.shtml

It will still compromise the fold, as the standard version the seat post
goes down until the saddle mount. With this you'll have the suspension
setup as extra height. OTOH, if you use the extended seatpost it may
not be much worse.

Though again the case it's worth seeing if the built in suspension the
bike has is enough before adding to it.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

In article said:

Jose Marques said:

Would the following be of use?

http://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/kinetics_add-ons.shtml

It will still compromise the fold, as the standard version the seat post
goes down until the saddle mount. With this you'll have the suspension
setup as extra height. OTOH, if you use the extended seatpost it may
not be much worse.

The "Kalloy adaptor which does a very similar thing - but better! I'll
update the picture soon..." could be an SP-275 or SP-276
http://www.kalloyuno.com/bike-seat-post-suspension-01.htm
http://www.kalloy.com.tw/b-post2.htm