I've just got myself a new job, which I'm going to get the train too most of the time. I've only got a couple of miles to get to the station, and even less the other end. I thought this would be a good excuse to get the brompton I've always tried to justify.

There aren't any hills to speak of on the route, so I could get away with a singlespeed, but I'd like it to be a bit more versatile, I may sometimes choose to ride all the way home, 12 miles. Is it worth going for a 6 speed over the 3 speed? I'm inclined to go for 3 just because it's less to go wrong, but if I was doing any distance would I regret it?

And is the shimano hub dynamo worth getting?

Cheers,

John

The 3 speed wide range hub has a similar range to the old 6 speed. If I was buying one again I'd go for a smaller front chainring because even at cruising speed on the flat they're pretty lazily geared once you're in a vaguely spinning mindset. The two speed derailleur/cassette on the 6 speed is incredible reliable and self-adjusts, so I'd only avoid the 6 speed on cost grounds (what's the price difference now?)

I don't have a road bike so any road mileage I do on my Brompton, therefore on those grounds I'd say the more gears the better. I don't know about the hub dynamo – we've just removed the conventional dynamo from my wife's Brompton (it was on the second one and was really unreliable) – with cheap long-lasting LED lights I'm not sure dynamos make sense. And you really can feel the drag when you switch it on, it's like a gear more effort on a mountain bike.

We did a small charity bike ride on ours last weekend, with a friend tagging along on my fat tyred tubeless MTB (lucky him!) A good few hours cycling, including some big hills and one section of bridleway (old railway line) where I'm pleased to report I got a small amount of air! 🙂 Great little bikes. New saddles are a lot nicer too.

2-speed does me fine. IIRC it's about 56 and 75 gear-inches so like a singlespeed but with a bail-out gear. Only really gets annoying on slight downhills that aren't enough to accelerate you, but you want to go faster than your legs can spin. The lower gear is OK for most hills unless you live near some really steep ones.

Hub gears (3 or 6 – the latter is a 3 with a 2-speed derailleur) add a load of weight – how much that bothers you is down to how much you have to carry it folded. I go up and down several flights of stairs on my commute so lighter the better really. Going from 2-speed to 3-speed adds 550g, going to 6-speed adds another 188g.

Dynamo sounds good but again, it adds nearly half a kilo. I just have some Knog lights that I leave on it in case I'm caught out, and put regular lights in my bag.

Thinking of which, the luggage block and bags are pricey but work great, especially if you're carrying any real weight.

I picked up a standard S2L as I was in a hurry and needed off-the-shelf. If I was custom-ordering I'd get the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres fitted and the firm suspension block (but that's not expensive to retrofit). And get orange rather than black 😀 If you'll be rolling it folded any distance then the rack is nice to have (expensive to retrofit as it needs a different mudguard too). If you need an extended seatpost, spec it (but try the standard one – I'm nearly 6ft and it fine at max). Anything else can be bolted on later.

I've got 6 speed on mine – deralieur and hub – 'cos that's what it came with (got it at a discount after someone cancelled an order). Also got the rack and Shimano hub (an easy retro fit). I like the hub 'cos it means I always have lights and don't have to think about batteries, etc. Don't notice anything much with resistance on it, wheras I did with the bottle dynamo I originally had (which disintegrated after a year).

Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres are a good investment as fixing a puncture is a right faff if your not at home.

Standard grips are awful – I replaced mine with Brooks ones, but you can use anything that can be cut down to size. I also replaced the brake levers as the originals feel somewhat spongy – this is what the grips & levers now look like

DSC_2474 by gary_foulger, on Flickr

Depending where you are keeping the bike, you may want to get the bag for it – I didn't bother

Another good option is to get one of the bags that clip onto the headtube. Very good, beacuse you can ride with a generous sized bag full up without having it on your back.

Standard pedals are OK, but fragile if you clatter kerbs with them – easy to do in London traffic. When mine finally expired I got some MKS FD-6 as replacements

Oh, and you get to enter the Brompton World Championships if you want too (it's already full this year though)

2-speed – flat bar
+
LED Battery Lights
+
Luggage Block and Bag
+ easy wheels (two off)
+
def fit Schwalbe Marathons tyres – best commutting tyre – cheap to get as an upgrade with a new bike as well

the front bag is a good option generally and as a bail out if you have loads to stuff, you can leave the frame on the block (the frames come out of the bags), bungy stuff to it and then sling the bag over your shoulder

don't bother with the rear rack adds weight and if you use it you have to take stuff off before folding..

had my 2 speed for 5 years and used 6 days out of seven (though replaced most of the original over that time inc the frame when it came apart) and have decent grips & bars + spds etc etc

did the c2c on it with my best mate on his 2speed – only managed not to ride a 200m stretch as too steep, but in general the 2 speed is the best all round option

Ps which train are you going to use?

Forgot about pedals – I bashed mine a few times in the first couple of weeks before learning to not pedal when leaned right over. The non-folding one lasted a couple of months before clicking and creaking. Given a replacement would be a whopping 6 quid, you can imagine what the quality is like. Replaced it with one from my spares box which has been fine since.

2 speed flat bar here and it's fine. One cog to get you going and for hills, the other once your moving. Never felt I needed anything else. I'll second the Schwalbes. Standard Brommy tyres are bleedin awful in the wet once you find manhole covers etc – Very skittish and a few scary moments on them. The Schwalbe's seem much much better.
Don't bother with a rack, unless you have a tall skinny bag you'll just clock your heels on it.
Waves at Rootes1. Afternoon Si, get back to work !

Waves at Rootes1. Afternoon Si, get back to work !

yes boss 😆

I looked at Brompton and test-rode a 6-speed…..then bought a Dahon Mu SL instead. It doesn't fold up as small, but I find it a lot nicer to ride, and significantly lighter. A normal 9-speed Sram derailleur works well for city centre (i.e. sprinting) commuting.

I've changed the saddle and pedals and it's now just under 18lb.

I have a 3 speed S2L, but found 3rd gear too high on the flat, and 1st not quite low enough on the hills (route home includes a 1 in 6), so I have changed the rear sprocket from standard 13T to 15T, which is a little easy. 14T may well be the right compromise. Easy and cheap (£3) to do later.

I'm very happy with the standard grips, but have also added Cane Creek ergo bar ends for a little more hand position flexibility.

Brompton front-loading luggage really is great; much prefer it to a rucksack or rackpack.

If you're tall, definitely get the extended seat post (I need it at 6'1" otherwise I get sore knees). Stops your rear light being pushed up the seat tube and flopping about too.

I'm leaning towards a 2 speed, I had been worried that it might be as tedious as my 32/16 singlespeed mountain bike is on the road, but the gearing looks high enough for that not to be a problem. I had been wavering over the front bag but as everyone seems to rate them I'll probably go for that. Still unsure about the dynamo, but maybe leaving some knogs on is best, still 65 quid and 446g doesn't seem to bad a penalty.

Now what colour…

John

The lights I've seen on dynamo-equipped ones don't seem any brighter than a normal budget set of LEDs that last a week of commuting on a pair of AAs. Just get some high capacity rechargeables and get in the habit of putting them on each weekend.

Yer the dynamic lights are not that bright and also are mounted too low down.

Had a go on a 6 speed (it’s what the man in the shop gave me) – think I am sold on a Brompton but he didn’t have an S type for me to try. The highest gear on the 6 speed seemed like a down hill only gear – about 100 inches and it was hard to push on the flat! The hib gear did seam quite smooth though, I think I may go for a 3 speed now for the extra flexibility.

rootes1 is spot on! I used to have the 6 speed with dynamo and rack and it weighed an absolute ton. I now have the 2 speed with flat bars and all the lightweight titanium bits and it is appreciably lighter (although still not what I’d call light).

the front bag is great – it’s not only a good way to carry stuff without getting a sweaty back, it also stabilises the bike. I have two sets of LED lights – some basic ones screwed to the bike and some better, removable ones on bars and seat post (my joystick is great for getting through Hyde park on dark winter evenings)

I’ve been using mine as my main road bike for a couple of months now. I can’t say it’s as much fun to ride as my Roberts, but it’s fine. I do spin out a bit on the flat, but nothing dreadful, and I’d rather do that than lug the extra weight on the train.

I think the new ones all come with the clip to stop the rear wheel flopping down – mine was a retrofit but well worth it. and I also bought an uprated elastomer from a bloke on eBay which tightened up the ‘suspension’ a bit.

rootes1 is looking forward to the BWC 2010 for ‘best the of three’ showdown with his best mate… 😉

I used to ride across Hyde Park every day on my commute, not sure how I ever saw where I was going with the poxy lights back then. Had a couple of memorable occasions, one where I was pursued across the park by a police van and one when it was covered in snow – turns out that Bromptons are even scarier the next day when the snow has melted and re-frozen and is thus a collection of lumpy ice…

6 speed here, was fine loaded up like this in the Peak (Shef to Hathersage)

Deffo get the block for the front, this is mine with work laptop and clothes for a stag do and then conference. Drybag on the rear rack with sleeping bag, food and beer 😛 Plenty of space for stuff and handling was OK.

Schwalbe marathons have been fine, only punctured by thorns when I rode 8 miles down the canal, but stayed inflated until the next day.

I went for the 2 speed S type in the end, local shop had one in and in Apple green, pleased with it so far, on the road and the towpath. Front bag seems good though the S bag isn’t huge but probably fine for commuting. Marathon + tyres and brompton battery lights.

I’ve got a S2LX (Titanium) in Turkish, see here:

http://mike-dean.fotopic.net/p65690800.html

I added a few mods after I got it…. Schwalbe Marathons, wider flat bars (Easton EA50’s), bar ends, better grips and, the main change: I put some Alfine cranks on there with an external BB and 45T ring. In my opinion the cranks look fabd, but more importantly mean I can get about with a steady top gear and a bail out, uphill, gear without breaking into too mucch of a sweat. I used to have a 6 speed with rack, dynamo, etc and like others on here just found it too heavy…but this one is the dogs!

It was on offer too.£895 from Mud Dock..so managed to get it on the Cyclescheme!