I've got an 11-speed Alfine built into a pair of 349 deep-section 32H carbon rims on Henrietta and can get a pump onto the 35mm valve extensions on there so I doubt I'll have a problem... lacing the thing might be fun (and the first time I'll have built a wheel in about 30 years too).... we're going to have to cold-set a Brompton rear triangle to accommodate the wheel and I've got to solidify some half-formed ideas for how to deal with adding an extra chain tensioner to the thing to deal with whatever the Campy Avanti long-cage can't take up when folded... other than that, do I use band-on adapters for the front derailleur mount and gear levers or have fittings brazed on... the second is cleaner, the first is a lot easier to deal with myself... The new bike will be a full Campy (barring the freewheel) Brompton drop-bar... 14-speed, Cinelli bars, Look PP96 Campy-clone pedals, high-flange hubs and I've managed to find a Campy headset that fits the Brompton as well as a set of time-trialling chainrings that at 61-46 actually give me a sensible gear range.... Once I get the frame mods done and the wheels built it will be a case of give it a shakedown test (probably on a cheap bottom bracket and headset rather than the unused Athena and Olympus waiting to go in), make sure the derailleurs and brakes work (gear mechs are Avanti, shifters are Super Record, brake levers are Triomphe with Travel Agents, calipers are Croce d'Aune Deltas).... Francesca Brompton will be a handmade British steel frame with classic Italian components....the purists should love her, especially the Celeste paintwork and use of the Bianchi font for the Brompton decals....
