Aussie on a Brompton

A goal in my resumption of Blog postings 3months ago, was to provide the current build status of the 5 Bromptons on my side of the family. This posting should achieve that goal, in describing how Iggy has come about (a rather long-winded gestation?).

My recent Genealogy post displays the re-use of Ralph’s mainframe in July 2023, after it lay idle from late 2022 following the setup of BromTi, a full-Ti framed 7speed. Over the next year, the steel mainframe got mated to assorted lightweight bits but then I acquired a used Ti mainframe in September 2024 & moved all the lightweight items to become another full-Ti unit. (This put the steel mainframe back into storage, duly resurrected as Dan in August 2025.)

The used Ti mainframe was established as a 5speed full-Ti unit, which joined Clarence & BromTi as being external geared lightweights. Finally, in July 2025 I decided on some differentiation & to re-use a BWR rear wheel from the parts bin (ex-Clarence in 2020) & setup a 15speed by combining an X5uniBody cassette with the 3speed IGH.

This latest creation name became Iggy – an “IG-thing BrompNot”, full-Ti 9kg 15speed unit. Another Brompton Meccano exercise.

I decided to resurrect a Brompton 2speed lightweight wheelset, acquired used about 5years ago, for Dan, my all-steel minimalist 2speed. The plus point for the wheels is the weight, just 836g for the set. This compares with 960g for the BrommiePlus wheelset removed & 1268g for a stock lightweight wheelset (& 1373g for a standard 2speed wheelset).

The negative point for the wheelset is that it uses Kinlin NBR rims, very narrow & inappropriate for any tyre wider than the Schwalbe Kojak 32-349 size. I recently noted the availability of Goodyear Eagle F1R 30-349 tyres, weighing a claimed 120g. Seems ideal for my wheelset?

The tyre parcel arrived & I was immediately alarmed of what was included. It seemed from the dimensions of the boxes, I’d been sent tubes rather than tyres? No, all well; just small boxes containing tightly wrapped folding tyres.

The tyre weights didn’t stack up to the 120g claimed weight, being 133g for one & 135g for the other. Still, the replaced Kojaks were 185g & 203g so I’d made a saving, now just gotta hope the Goodyears do the job.

The final tweaks for Dan are probably now done. Weighed at 8.2kg & again ready for pottering service about local streets.

Acquired in 2014 as a Claret S6L, Clarence became my main Brompton with little more tweaking for many years than “better comfort items, etc”.

Once my Chpt3 v2 came along, with the realization that lightness & fast tyres were a godsend for me, tweaking turned to Rudolph (but minimal variation away from the Chpt3 look).

In wondering what a 2speed Clarence would feel like (& a solid chunk of Covid lockdown), I started with a 2speed wheel from the parts bin (squirreled away from the Cheeky Transport closing sales) & before long some Ti bits started arriving. The Meccano experience came alive & tinkering spread into other Bromptons.

Clarence finessed (eventually) into a 5speed lightweight, with lots of experience gained into what mods were possible (& problematical?). Clarence now weighs 8.7kg for a S5E-X format. (Other Bromptons have since been created that benefited from the early learning, with lighter & better gearing configurations.)

In my previous Blog posting, I attempted to explain how specifically my 3 Bromptons have become 5. Actually, much of the action revolves around how 2011 Ralph transitioned to 2025 Dan.

Back in 2021 the Alfine 11speed gear was shed & here’s the BB named creation, still wearing the 2011 mainframe (& stem) but with a lightweight 3speed setup of 8.3kg.

Tinkering happens & by 2025 the 2011 mainframe & stem combined with other steel rear frame & fork parts to become Dan, a minimalist 2speed local pottering B – funnily enough weighing 8.3kg.

How did 3 Bromptons purchased become 5?

Read on…

12/2012 Ralph S11E

• #1 – a used 2011 Alfine 11spd

11/2014 Clarence S6L

• #2 – a new Claret 6spd

5/2019 Rudolph S6E-X

• #3 – a new Chpt3 v2 6spd

1/2020 Clarence S6R converted to S2E

5/2020 Clarence modded to S2E-X

• with progressive tweaks to become S5E-X

8/2021 Ralph S11E converted & renamed to BB as S3E-X

2/2022 Rudolph modded to S9E-X

11/2022 BB morphed to BromTi (full Ti & 7spd)

• #4 – Full Ti, 7spd

7/2023 BB mainframe (ex-Ralph) resurrected as S5E-X

• #1 re-lifed

9/2024 BB morphed to BMBN (full Ti & 5spd)

• #5 – Full Ti, 5spd

7/2025 BMBN modded & renamed to Iggy (15spd BWR)

8/2025 BB mainframe (ex-Ralph) resurrected to S2E as Dan

• #1 re-lifed (again)

11/2025 Rudolph modded to S15E-X

My Chpt3 (v2) has now got the lowest gearing I can wrangle. Aside from various bits to lower the weight, I’ve tried to retain the Chpt3 look but keeping the gearing as low as possible. My 9speed setup of 38T chainring & 13/15/18T cogs a few years ago was very effective but with the lowest gear being only a smidgin below my 7speed lightweight, the porky Chpt3 needed some tweaking.

In theory, an X4UniBody cassette in the BWR wheel should be a simple 12speed upgrade, with BrommiePlus providing a 4speed pusher & shifter conversion. However the big 21T cog didn’t mate well with the pusher capability & the result wasn’t ideal; workable but not so livable?

Upgrading to 15speed now provides the ultimate gearing combo to help my weakened climbing capability, via an X5UniBody cassette (11/13/17/21/25T) & with H&H derailleur & sequential shifter. The component weight comparisons balance out on aggregate & the Chpt3 weight remains at 9.8kg with the GI range now 90-16.

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.