Little wheel revelations…
Things are always changing. Now living up the coast from Sydney (good fun buying, selling, moving, etc?)
Aside from “a little tinkering/tweaking” of the Bromptons since the last dim, distant post, the family has recently grown with the addition of Dan, an all-steel framed 2speed (just by using up frame bits from the parts bin).
A minimalist build – but NSW-legal – it’s for local pottering, with low weight & gearing (but still a workout on climbs?).
A bit more prep for the next trip: on-road maintenance with lightweight & small stands is very handy on our Tardis escapades.
A seatpost stand is very useful (& tweaked since my previous post, to reduce the packing size) but some maintenance work is best done when the bike is inverted – so more tinkering was needed.
Assembling the bits provides handlebar support for an inverted bike.
Not just for our Bromptons, the new stand expands to suit wiide-bar bikes.
It does the job!
Another Brompton stand knocked together (literally).
It’s been a few years since the first one got done & it’s worked out fine – although impractical to take on a trip away?
Now the latest stand is light & easily transportable.
Ingredients:
Total cost: about $35
Finished weight: 430g
Some QR pedals seem more prone to self-releasing than others – possibly due to the pedal platform shape? While my lightweight Aceoffix pedals have never budged, a TiParts Mini-Q pedal surprised me recently by falling off while I was stepping off. Did I fail to snap it on properly or did I nudge the release mech while pedaling?
Time to start using the yellow nylon retainer clip, even if my old style retainers are fiddly to remove? With newer retainers having a small protusion/handle, maybe I could match them?
Voila! A small cable tie around the clip (& the head of another tie as a grip handle) seems very workable?
However, tinkering is essential so I ordered a new types clip pack of 10, in case my modded clips proved fragile or ineffective. A comparison showed the new type to be made of a stiffer nylon, harder to insert (unless you aligned them with the “spanner flat” on the adapter) & quite hard to remove. No doubt some practice may help to develop “the knack” but for now my “hack” of the old type clip is great. I even tried doubling up the cable tie “heads” but the grip handle feel is similar.
As for storage of the clip when the pedal is removed, there a few options: insert the clip back on the QR adapter, slip it on the rear frame lower tube or on the pedal storage adapter (if you use one) – eg on the adapter stub near the lock ring or on the axle of the pedal?
Time provides new ideas. The current status here is three 5speed Brommies but from different starts.
BromTi has a Silverock 7speed wheel, running 5 cogs (11/13/16/20/24T) with varying spacers to match a Shimano XT shifter. (Works well; couldn’t get consistency with the XT with 6 or 7 cogs – & the chainline with 5 cogs isn’t so extreme?) Now with a Kinlin XR 18C wheel rim fitted (wheel initially came via eBay with Kinlin NBR 13C) & good spokes & nipples.
BB has a BrommiePlus custom build lightweight Hubsmith 2/3speed hub & fitted with a 5speed MiniMods UniBody cassette (11/13/17/21/25T).
Clarence has a Brompton 2speed wheel & a BrommiePlus 5speed freehub & fitted with a 3speed MiniMods UniBody cassette (11/14/17T) & additional cogs (21/26T).
The shifters for Clarence & BB are Sram GX 11speed.
I think the accurate machining of the UniBody cassettes is better for shifting than using separate Shimano 11/13T shouldered cogs (with seeming spacing inconsistencies?).
BromTi has a Thx4Ride parallelogram derailleur while the other two use similar H&H units.
So, there they are; all setup at different times with what seemed ideal (& available) then. At present, BB gets the favourite vote for simplicity & lightness – although for effectiveness, it’s a 3-way tie.
Lightish wheels with good gearing range & minimal hub drag.
Clarence
Another 5speed conversion – but done differently to BromTi & BB.
BB
Brief flirtation back with Ralph, & Alfine hub – now over! BB returns as a 5speed lightweight, slightly more comfy than BromTi?
Rudolph
Not an every-day Brompton & looking better “as original” (almost). Gone are the rack, rainguards & Conti tyres!
BromTi
… and now with comfy 18C rims
With all the mods & tweaks to BB (my S6L-X super lightweight black Brompton), I realized that the only component original & unmodified was now the steel mainframe! Also, that meant my parts bin contained almost enough to build a complete Brompton – what I needed was an extra mainframe! Time to try a Ti mainframe? – & to resurrect Ralph for resale? (Ralph being my original S11E Alfine 11spd device that I’d decided really didn’t suit my current medical state & became the basis for the rebuild into the 8kg 6spd BB.)
So, an order was made for a Ti mainframe (from Ti39) & it was a simple & quick job to transfer everything onto the new frame. A glossy black 2mm tube affair, it seemed an impressive piece of art? Onto the scales & the complete Brompton weight is 7.4kg. As for a name, I thought it time to retire BB & go for BromTi (after all, some would say it’s not a “real Brompton” anymore?).
Once I’d stripped the steel mainframe for Ralph, the rebuild commenced; a slower affair, as every single component had to be installed (unlike the many whole assemblies transferred to the new frame). As I didn’t expect to be using Ralph, I decided to stick with an all-steel setup & with a Brooks saddle, Ergon grips, Marathon tyres & a new set of mudguards. All up, Ralph now weighs 13.1kg.
PS: An unexpected outcome has been the claiming of Ralph by Mrs Aussie – sheesh! another Brompton around the place!?
Aussie on a Brompton 