Having a bit of a rationalisation where my bikes are concerned. Never have time to get to the hills so the mtb went. That left me with the Brompton and the Roadrat. The Brompton gets ridden 95% of the time so I reckon I’ll sell the roadrat and upgrade the Brompton. Only thing is that a 3 speed Brompton won’t fit the bill.

I’m thinking of either selling my Brompton and upgrading to an S6L-X. Or…

Upgrade my current Brompton to fit an 11 speed Alfine.

I’d be interested to hear from people who have experience of either/both..

Thanks in advance.

How much do you the need the small fold? Dahon do a belt drive, rohloff, hydraulic disc folder. Ultimate low maintainance bombproof folder? Considering as well as something similar to your suggestion.

Definitely gotta stick with a Brompton. Absolutely love it.

I think I’d go for an Alfine (or Rohloff) conversion. When I tested some Bromptons I found the double shifters on the 6-speed to be a bit of a pain. If you only shift one lever at a time there can be massive jumps between the gears, and I think trying to shift both levers at the same time could be fiddly.

I did have a short ride on a Brompton with a Rohloff (converted by Ben at Kinetics) and it worked really well. It had a wide range of gears, and I’ve never ridden a bike with such a low gear before.

Actually, I found the 3-speed Brompton to ride really well (out of the standard models), and if buying an off-the-shelf Brompton I’d probably go for the single speed or the 3-speed. If you want to do some more ambitious rides with a load of luggage, then I think the Rohloff would be the way to go.

I once rode a mountain bike with an 11-speed Alfine, and that had the problem with 1st gear slipping. I think Shimano may have come up with a fix for it, but apparently the hub I tried had already been back to Shimano for repair. So, I’m not sure about the reliability of the Alfine.

If I REALLY needed gears, i’d go with an alfine. Otherwise my favourite Brompton is the S2LX. With gear reduction. I like the brompton rear derailleur, and felt that having the three speed hub really wasn’t needed. Shifting was accurate despite the double shifts, but I like my fixed and singlespeed bikes, having an overdrive for a one speed seemed a great option. I’ll buy another on this year’s bike to work, as I do miss mine.

I did have a short ride on a Brompton with a Rohloff (converted by Ben at Kinetics)

<cough> Velo Vision Review </cough>

I’ve got that bike in the shop to play with…

Why would anyone have a brompton for anything but short distances or storage in either house or vehicle ….totally unworkable for anything else

totally unworkable for anything else

Here’s someone who rode PBP (Paris-Brest-Paris 1200k) on one!

PBP-on-a-Brompton

…and he wasn’t the only one – apparently four riders completed it on Bromptons

A-Fold-of-Bromptons

Or is the Sturmey Archer 8 speed worth considering?

Deejay surely can’t be as comfortable and safe as a more appropriate bike …. Hats off to you on your achievement but really dont get the concept and I believe in the right tool for the right job

Bit like cress and UB40 …I Don’t get it!!

Gotta try one Mark. It’s the only bike I’ve ridden for a while now. Plus it helps that I can take it into shops etc.

It wasn’t me who rode PBP on a Brompton! I’ve ridden some fairly weird bikes in my time, including fixies, Moultons and recumbents, but I only managed 25 miles on a borrowed Brompton.

I must say, there’s a lot to like about them. However, I’m riding recumbents these days, and although I’m tempted to buy a Brompton, I prefer other bikes for most of my riding. I found the 6-speed I borrowed required a bit too much effort on local roads, but that one had the H-bars so it wasn’t aerodynamic, and the handlebars flexed a bit too much. Some of the other ones I tested seemed to go a lot better, and they all handle really well. They’re easy to just hop on and go.

I’ve got an afline on my Dahon foldie, no idea what gear range is on it but it’s a good spread, I tend to only use 5,6,7 but can understand if carrying luggage you’d use the higher range.
It’s a good system, works well with the twist grip, barely notice it TBH.

I’d say it’s worth looking into.

My Brompton rear much has always been sticky – I rely on the 3 speed hub and rarely use the mech. An Alfine 8 would be interesting – a Rohloff feels like it would be too much though there’s nothing in it weight wise so why not do the job properly.

I get through more smiles on my Brompton than any of my other bikes.

#notatypo

Does the Ti models reduced weight make much difference to the ride?

Lodders, my experience on the Ti was more about feel than weight. Felt nicer, but not nicer enough to justify the cost.

Rightho. Maybe better upgrading my current one then.

Anyone tried the SA 8spd?

I haven’t tried it, but I did look into it, and there seemed to be a few negatives – I can’t remember what, but I think one was that it was noticeably ‘draggy’.

I’ve heard that said about the 3 speed but I’ve never found mine to be that. It’s always been great, just not enough ratios to be my only bike.

Loddrik , I can see the portability suits you for me that’s one of the valid reasons …they are built for convenience and portability

I see my Brompton as a handy machine for nipping around town, giving me the flexibility to hop on and off public transport if needed, or put it in the boot of a minicab etc. As it gets carried around a bit, weight is a prime consideration, which is why I went for an S2L. The 6-speed versions are a fair bit heavier, and the gearing system isn’t intuitive at all. One gear plus a ‘hillclimbing’/heavy traffic lower gear are perfect for me.

I find it interesting that other people want to use their Bromptons for longer distances over more undulating terrain. The only time I rode it outside of town, I did find the gearing a bit limited, but then I felt I’d made a mistake by not using another (proper) bike. Surely Bromptons are for relatively short distance urban journeys. The idea of putting a Rohloff hub on a Brompton is, to me, like putting a sportscar engine in a Citroen 2CV; it’s always going to be limited and compromised by it’s design, compared to something more suited to the job.

“Does the Ti models reduced weight make much difference to the ride?”

Yes. Makes an already flexy bike even flexier. A Brompton frame is not the ideal application for Titanium. Just makes it a little bit lighter (700g or so), and appeals to those wanting a ‘sexier’ model. I tried a Ti model out for a bit, and the flaws in the Brompton design are magnified. Best avoided unless you really want the lighter weight and ‘bling’ factor. One very sensible ‘upgrade’ is to replace the standard rear rubber bumper with a harder one, or a stiff metal spring (available on Ebay etc). Makes a big difference to the ride.

I didn’t really like the 6 speed set up. It’s like having a triple chainset and a 2 speed cassette, so you’re constantly changing both shifters at once, and they aren’t very ergonomic.

I think the wider range hub gear is also more draggy, especially in the lowest gear.

I did quite a few longer rides on mine, it was fine, just takes a bit of adjustment after riding a “proper” bike. Had a crack at the London Nocturne folding bike race too, and i think i was averaging 22-23mph per lap, and i was only mid-pack somewhere, so they can certainly shift if you put the power down.

The ridiculous Tern thing that won it looked even faster though, but it was basically a road bike with dropped bars and 20″ wheels that folded in half. Cheat!

I’m surprised the TI parts made a difference to th e ride (and I thought they were no longer made). The mainframe was still steel – the TI parts were the fork, rear triangle and seat post.

I found the Ti version, whilst a little bit ‘softer’, just flexed too much under hard braking, cornering etc. Took the compromises of the design too far for my liking. The Ti tubes are a similar diameter to the steel ones, which, imagining they’re a similar wall thickness, makes for a more flexy frame. Brompton are still doing the Ti forks and rear ends, but not the seatpost. Which is strange, because the large diameter of the seatpost works ok in Ti.

Surely Bromptons are for relatively short distance urban journeys

That’s what they’re designed for, but they’re capable of a lot more – what holds them back are the compromises that are made to make them as compact as possible, limited gearing and brakes. Solve those (at the expense of an inch or two in size and a kg or two in weight) and they can be very capable for much longer journeys. I’ve built lots for people who do serious touring – one recently came back from Patagonia for example.

But of course better brakes and a wider gear range are good even if you’re not going to Patagonia – lots of people like the idea of not having a derailleur to clog up or rims wearing out.

“they’re capable of a lot more”

A 2CV is ‘capable’ of driving vast distances, but you’d prefer an Aston Martin! 😆

Depends – the advantage with touring on a Brompton is that it’s much easier to transport – getting to where you’re travelling is much easier, and also getting trains to taking lifts when you’re there is much easier.

But there’s also the thing that it’s fun to do stuff on a wee bike 😉

Moultons proved that small wheels can be great at long distances – RAAM for instance.

I ride a ti SL2X its fine, it is round London though, but it works very well. I take it on the train, the tube, into the pub, other people’s offices, shops…
I have a ti seatpost from herself’s S6 which I got run over by a Land Rover on. I don’t believe that there’s any weight advantage from the Ti seatpost over the original – maybe a bit of flex – and I don;t notice the frame flex particularly, maybe I don’t weigh enough 😉

I have a 6 speed with the straight (normal) bars.
Its easier to think of it as 3 speed with 1/2 increments, so yes a bit fiddly but still useful, I ride it in the peak district as well as cambridge, and have found it suprisingly competent on gravel and rough stuff.

done 35 miles on it quite happily.

Rolhoff or alfine would be interesting, but to be honest standing on the pedals with 3 or 6 should be fine for almost all situations.

I just find Riding my Brompton more fun. I’ve never been a ‘commuter’. It’s no problem for 40-50 mile rides as long as there aren’t too many hills, which there aren’t around here. I reckon I’m going to upgrade to disc brakes with maybe the SA 8spd next year. Got a small matter of a new puppy to deal with first. Maybe another mtb when the dog is old enough to come with me.

M3L here, really enjoyed it, the family call it my clown bike

With the addition of a kids seat (IT chair or Milian Pere) it also carts the kids around lot, they love the up front riding position and the fact I can lob it in the car or public transport to makes rides more interesting or take it just in case

I find 3 gears enough for the fairly flat rides around here, there aren’t many hills in London. I’ve done a couple of 40 odd mile days and it’s been great. The only time I wish for a lower gear is when I have a kid in the front and have a sharp incline, have to really grind then, no room to stand.

A rohloff or alfine 8 would be great. I’ve heard mixed feedback for alfine 11s though, not as reliable as the former too

I love the way it just comes into places with you, very convenient. I left it in the cloakroom at The Ivy the other week! They were completely fine with that

I forgot to add that it’s not needed one single bit of maintenance in the 2.5 years and more or less daily use since I got it. 😀

Lodders, that you who bought the Kinetics 8 speed which came up on the CTC Forum?
Link.

Looked decent value.

“I left it in the cloakroom at The Ivy the other week! They were completely fine with that”

😀 took mine into a West End theatre the other day; apparently it’s the first bike they’ve ever stored in their cloakroom. I’ve found just about everywhere will find somewhere to store it if you ask nicely. Was bewildered to see that my neighbour has a lock attached to hers, apparently she’s had some issues in some places about taking it inside. Anyone else had problems? I suggested she use a big IKEA/laundry bag to put it in, then it’s just a large bag.

We’ve taken ours to theatres, restaurants but the BBC wouldn’t let us take ours into Broadcasting House the other week. We have Abus Bordo locks attached to the bikes in case that happens.

They can be a hassle inside shops as well. Fine inside a supermarket trolley but you don’t want to be pushing a folded bike round a department store.

I’ve pushed mine round John Lewis. 😀