Brompton suitable for long rides?

[Jonty]

Have a look at the excellent Folding Society website. Lots of info on rides and folders.
jonty

[workhard]

When my brommie was my only bike I credit card toured on it, did lots of day rides and weekends away and loads of mutli-mode (bike + public transport) leisure travel on it. Loved it. Sold it when I stopped workingin , and rail commuting to, the City.

[malverncyclist]

Just stumbled over this as I 'm considering a Brompton (I have been cycling with friends on long distance jaunts on folders for the last few years and think I'm moving away from the Dahon I have).

One thing I am wondering is ... the luggage rack on a Brompton, can it take panniers such as the city panniers from Ortlieb? I don't want to put the big Brompton bag on front or rear and I already have the panniers?

thanks

Martin

[rualexander]

No the Brompton rack won't normally take regular panniers, in any case the Brompton is too low for sufficient clearance for panniers.
If you search Google Images with the term "brompton panniers" you will however come across various solutions folk have used to allow the use of panniers on Bromptons.
Kinetics in Glasgow make a rack to carry panniers on the front of a Brompton http://www.kinetics-online.co.uk/foldin ... nier-rack/

[Merry_Wanderer]

My partner and I have the M6 type Bromptons, both with 44tooth chainrings for lower gearing. Longest ride we have done is 51 miles. The bikes have flat standard pedals. No toe clips or spd's. I average 1 mph slower on the B compared to my road bike. I have done 4,000 miles on mine so far in a combination of commuting and day rides which have been in UK, France, Belgium. Germany, Holland, Luxembourg and Denmark. In short, we love them! PS we both have Brooks saddles, the standard saddles are too narrow for us.

[b1ke]

I got strange looks in northern France touring with my Brompton. I'm 6ft 2in which might have contributed. And to be honest, I didn't really rate the ride. It was bumpy, despite the suspension. And I didn't like the ride position over a three day ride. Not enough distance between the saddle and bars.

[syklist]

No the Brompton rack won't normally take regular panniers, in any case the Brompton is too low for sufficient clearance for panniers.
If you search Google Images with the term "brompton panniers" you will however come across various solutions...

<snip>

I have made up a piggy back frame to take two front panniers that sits behind a standard Brompton touring bag (old style) which works very well. The luggage (18kg) is much more stable on the block than a laden touring bag on its own (with a 10kg load). (I am planning a Mk 2 version to which currently in limbo due to a dead MIG welder and and the demands of syklist Junior).

I also modified the handlbar stem to allow fitting of normal handlebars, we built wheels round modified Nexus 8 hubs and spread the rear forks to get them to fit. Then I fitted a double chainring to both and hacked round some cheap MTB front derailleur changers. This set up worked very well during our 2013 summer tour Germany and Denmark (Jutland) plus a weekend trip over the Rallarvegen. 1100km in total.

We tried using our Bromptons for touring when we were living in Holland. It was possible but there were all sorts of limitations that the bikes put on us. In contrast our Bromptons with all the modifications make good usable and comfortable tourers for long trips. We have the gears we need to get up hills, can take enough luggage to make trips comfortable and the bikes are stable and reliable when fully laden.

However, it has been a bit of a faff to get to this stage albeit an interesting and ultimately satisfying faff Its not the cheapest way to get a folding touring bike either...

[V4281051]

You can ride a Brompton up to 50 miles a day quite easily and up to 75 plus if you are young and fit..I rode mine up to 50 miles this year with lots of luggage on..and I am 67..I recommend the S type with bar ends but each to his own..
You can carry a Nelson Longflap saddlebag on the rear rack help on with 2 bungee cords..You can get loads in that and more on top..You can carry a 40 mlitre plus rucksack if you attach the straps to a wooden dowel attached to the saddle..see a pathlesspeddled..

[V4281051]

Excuse the typing errors..

[Brucey]

I have made up a piggy back frame to take two front panniers that sits behind a standard Brompton touring bag (old style) which works very well. The luggage (18kg) is much more stable on the block than a laden touring bag on its own (with a 10kg load). (I am planning a Mk 2 version to which currently in limbo due to a dead MIG welder and and the demands of syklist Junior)....

good work fella! I like the 8s conversion idea.

A bit OT I know but if you need any advice re your welder, perhaps I can help with a diagnosis? What kind of welder is it? What are the symptoms?

cheers

[syklist]

[snipped]

good work fella! I like the 8s conversion idea.

A bit OT I know but if you need any advice re your welder, perhaps I can help with a diagnosis? What kind of welder is it? What are the symptoms?

cheers

Thanks. The idea behind the changes I have made has been to use standard (and preferably cheap) bike parts to enhance the function of a Brompton.The Nexus 8 is the only hub that can be narrowed easily and the only one that gives you a good range of gears without using enormous chainwheels and/or tiny sprockets. (50/34t chainwheels and 16t sprocket for 18.5 to 83 gear inches)

I am considering using a double rear sprocket with a standard derailleur changer at the back. The Brompton chain tensioner is light but flexes a lot when in a low gear heading uphill. It also is not designed to work with a double chainring so cannot tension the chain enough when on the 34t chainwheel. As I need to weld a pair of sprockets together and fabricate a derailleur mount this project is also on hold

OT: The welder is a Clarkeweld 100E Mk2 bought in the late 80's IIRC that has somehow survived this far. I used it to weld Slon back together a couple of years ago. I think the wirefeed motor has actually died but I need to get a voltmeter out and test to see if the motor is still getting current when the trigger is pressed.

[Brucey]

[snipped]

good work fella! I like the 8s conversion idea.

A bit OT I know but if you need any advice re your welder, perhaps I can help with a diagnosis? What kind of welder is it? What are the symptoms?

cheers

Thanks. The idea behind the changes I have made has been to use standard (and preferably cheap) bike parts to enhance the function of a Brompton.The Nexus 8 is the only hub that can be narrowed easily and the only one that gives you a good range of gears without using enormous chainwheels and/or tiny sprockets. (50/34t chainwheels and 16t sprocket for 18.5 to 83 gear inches)

IIRC the SA8 can be slimmed to 120OLN too.

I am considering using a double rear sprocket with a standard derailleur changer at the back. The Brompton chain tensioner is light but flexes a lot when in a low gear heading uphill. It also is not designed to work with a double chainring so cannot tension the chain enough when on the 34t chainwheel. As I need to weld a pair of sprockets together and fabricate a derailleur mount this project is also on hold

I've been mulling this over too, and I have wondered if using the large (60mm bore) SA8 sprockets might provide a route to making a double-set. I think that the arrangement could be made good using welded shoulders on an old sprocket (to use as a carrier) and then slots in the sprockets would accept bolts to hold it all together, if you see what I mean.

OT: The welder is a Clarkeweld 100E Mk2 bought in the late 80's IIRC that has somehow survived this far. I used it to weld Slon back together a couple of years ago. I think the wirefeed motor has actually died but I need to get a voltmeter out and test to see if the motor is still getting current when the trigger is pressed.

IIRC the circuit in this machine is that the mains is switched by a 12V relay and this starts/stops the main transformer. The primaries have stepped windings and these are configured via the panel switches to give different OCVs. The main transformer usually has a thermal cutout on top of the windings. The secondaries are wound in aluminium (which can corrode on the bolted connections and go open circuit) and the main rectifier diodes are mounted on an aluminium heat sink. Again any corrosion between the power diodes and the heat sink can stop the machine.

The motor is driven via a control board that regulates the speed. The dial setting effectively proportions the supply voltage (which is variable) by a fixed percentage. The supply voltage to this board varies because the main output of the transformer is also used as the supply for the feed motor. This means that (cunningly) the feed speed is automatically proportioned with the OCV, so once you have found a good wire feed speed for one voltage setting, it often stays about the same with another voltage, too. It also varies during the welding process, in a useful way. I have always thought this is quite a clever feature, which is not always shared with supposedly 'better' machines.

Common faults include failure of the (tiny) 12V transformer. This pretty much only feeds the 12V relay, so it doesn't have much to do. If the machine has a good mains feed but doesn't go 'clunk' when you pull the trigger, chances are that the 12V transformer is shot. They are not difficult to replace. If the machine does go 'clunk' then the torch should go live, even if the motor doesn't run. If the transformer hums, and the torch isn't live then the secondaries/main rectifier have failed somehow. If the torch is live and the motor doesn't run, the motor or its drive board are shot.

BTW it isn't difficult to modify these machines to fit fans (where they are lacking) and/or automatic switching for high speed fans. You can buy temperature switches which can be mounted to the rectifier diode heat sink. Switched thus, using (say) a 70C switch (on a previously no-fan machine, or a lower temperature switch on a previously single-fan machine), when you hear the fan kick in, it usually means it is time to give it a rest for a while; these machines are not meant for a heavy duty cycle. You can also tweak the torch so that the gas comes on well before the wire feed; this gives you the option for a manual pre weld gas purge, or post-weld gas delay. If you fit a momentary action panel switch in parallel with the trigger switch, you can run the wire feed without the gas, which is handy when changing reels or setting up.

hth

cheers

[syklist]

[snipped]
Common faults include failure of the (tiny) 12V transformer. This pretty much only feeds the 12V relay, so it doesn't have much to do. If the machine has a good mains feed but doesn't go 'clunk' when you pull the trigger, chances are that the 12V transformer is shot. They are not difficult to replace. If the machine does go 'clunk' then the torch should go live, even if the motor doesn't run. If the transformer hums, and the torch isn't live then the secondaries/main rectifier have failed somehow. If the torch is live and the motor doesn't run, the motor or its drive board are shot.
[snipped]

The relay goes clunk but more often than not the torch does not go live and the motor turning does not turn. When the relay clunks without a big spark then the torch goes live AND the motor starts turning. I suspect the relay on the wire speed control board is the problem. Does that sound like the likely cause to you?

[Brucey]

sounds logical; however there could be a fault in the wiring to transformer primary, or in the transformer secondaries, or the rectifier; any of these could cause an absence of DC output.

I guess a sensible next test would be to test for mains voltage at the transformer. Something as simple as a mains neon installed at the relay output will soon tell you if the relay is powering up the transformer or not, and this may help to diagnose an intermittent fault.

If it is the relay, it'll be a fairly easy and cheap fix!

cheers

[blackbike]

I got strange looks in northern France touring with my Brompton. I'm 6ft 2in which might have contributed. And to be honest, I didn't really rate the ride. It was bumpy, despite the suspension. And I didn't like the ride position over a three day ride. Not enough distance between the saddle and bars.

I've ridden a borrowed Brompton for a few long rides.

It was OK, but not nearly as good as a tourer or a road bike.

I can understand why Brompton owners who have no other bike might use it for the odd long ride, but for any frequent long distance cyclist they are simply the wrong tool for the job.

Bromptons are lovely, high quality bikes, and if I needed a folding bike to use on a commute I'd buy one tomorrow. But I don't so I won't.