Cycling UK Forum

I'm thinking of replacing the levers on my Brompton (1999) to improve braking. But Brompton levers are almost £50 - is there another option? And would it help/is it possible to replace the brakes too? Ta!

Lil' old cycnical me is thinking that the newer, more effective Brompton-branded brake levers are £50 because there is no easy alternative. However, a more helpul suggestion is to try better brake blocks first - I swapped from stock to Swisstop from Brilliant Bikes and did notice a modest improvement, 'specially in the wet.

IIRC Brompton have improved the brake calipers in recent years. If better brake blocks don't work for you, cables would be next on the list, and then brake calipers. The levers would be the last thing on the list, not the first.

cheers

I can't remember when Brompton changed to dual pivot calipers, but they make a massive difference and work fine with older levers. I seem to recall that the mounting bolt size may have changed from 6 to 8mm, so some drilling may be required.

grufty wrote:I can't remember when Brompton changed to dual pivot calipers, but they make a massive difference and work fine with older levers. I seem to recall that the mounting bolt size may have changed from 6 to 8mm, so some drilling may be required.

The front brake is currently of the sort that uses an allen key fitting, and a short centre bolt. To fit this caliper to an older bike you can drill the back of the fork crown to 8mm to accept the allen key nut. However if you don't want to do this, you are a bit stuck; they used to sell a version of the front brake with a longer bolt (for the older nutted fitting) but this doesn't seem to be available any more. It may be possible to fit a current brake with an aftermarket bolt (centre bolts in DP calipers interchange more than you might expect) and overcome it this way; otherwise it is crown drilling time.

cheers

Or just use an unofficial or nos front dual pivot brake that can take underneath cable entry.

I used shimano 550 levers on new m bars on old shorter m stem but when my brompton was bew eith old style levers and single pivot brakes, I quickly changed the levers for standard noname mountain bike (moderate profile cantilever) levers and no problems.

To maintain the smallest fold, Brompton aligns the brake levels vertically beneath the handgrips. A more ergonomic placement in line with the forearms and wrists, as is typical on non-folding bikes, will allow most riders to pull the Brompton's levers with more hand strength but will result in a larger folded envelope.

To maintain the smallest fold, Brompton aligns the brake levels vertically beneath the handgrips. A more ergonomic placement in line with the forearms and wrists, as is typical on non-folding bikes, will allow most riders to pull the Brompton's levers with more hand strength but will result in a larger folded envelope.

Yes - I took my bike to have some work done a while back and the guy there kindly moved the levers for me so they were at a 'better' angle - unfortunately he'd not realised the bike would now not fold! Fortunately the work I'd paid for was done well...
Thanks for your comments, I'll look into better blocks and better cables, they are very 'bog standard' atm.