4 speed Superlight Brompton

[tinywheels]

if you had to spend the money a std brompton and a heap of mini mods bits would give you better bang for your buck I suspect.

 

[Pale Rider]

The bike offers a handful of incremental improvements which most manufacturers would make as a model year refresh.

Typical of dear old Brompton, it takes them 30 years.

There was a similar glacial development process with the eBrompton.

 

[12boy]

I never got why the tensioner has to fit over the hubnut and wasn't made to screw onto the dropout area. Sure make it a bit easier to pull the rear wheel.

 

[Cycleops]

I never got why the tensioner has to fit over the hubnut and wasn't made to screw onto the dropout area. Sure make it a bit easier to pull the rear wheel.

Because that allows them to use the existing subframe and not have to design a new one. Once again a decision made by accountants not engineers.

 

[rogerzilla]

I'll say one thing for Brompton - it may be slow progress and the price may increase wildly each year, but there is usually some product improvement in quality and/or design. The trend is always upwards*.

I've just pulled apart a late series 2 Moulton, built under Raleigh ownership. The de-speccing and cheapening that took place over 5 years is shameful. You can see the accountants' hands in the replacement of alloy parts with chromed steel, metal with plastic, hollow tubes with U-shaped stamped metal, no-name saddle and nasty pedals.

*paint comes and goes

 

[tinywheels]

I wrote to brompton a while back. suggested they offer a selection of bling bits as a way to boost income. bit like car dealers, upselling xtras.
a common ploy in the retail sector.
not their style apparently.
meanwhile mini mods etc continue to have a buisness filling the void.

 

[bikegang]

I would like to see better pics of the derailleur set up and the hub/sprockets.

There you go.
Its lock nut type free hub body. don't know if it has wider free hub body, but most likely not backward or BWR hub compatible (a new rear frame and chain pusher required anyway).
But the potential to get even wider gear range is there.

 

[berlinonaut]

You can tell the bean counters are well and truly in charge now

Same goes for the moaners and haters in forums like this. No. matter what Brompton does oder doesn't do - the small predictable group of people will always find a reason to moan about it and to complain. No matter if there's a reason or not.

Because that allows them to use the existing subframe and not have to design a new one. Once again a decision made by accountants not engineers.

Maybe you should at least look at the pictures of the bike you are commenting on - the P-line does have a different rear frame from the "usual" Bromptons.

 

[tinywheels]

Same goes for the moaners and haters in forums like this. No. matter what Brompton does oder doesn't do - the small predictable group of people will always find a reason to moan about it and to complain. No matter if there's a reason or not.


Maybe you should at least look at the pictures of the bike you are commenting on - the P-line does have a different rear frame from the "usual" Bromptons.

as a brompton owner, there is quite a bit of moaning that's justified in my opinion.
most of it could be sorted at little cost in my opinion.
I like to think Brompton is to cycling what Morgan is to motoring.

 

[berlinonaut]

as a brompton owner, there is quite a bit of moaning that's justified in my opinion.

Possible. Also, from the perspective of Brompton, a lot of moaning about forum comments and statements would be justified in my opinon.

most of it could be sorted at little cost in my opinion.

Most of it could be sorted with a little bit of thinking, less overestimation of the own relevance or cleverness, a bit of research before posting and adjusting own expectations to reality.

I like to think Brompton is to cycling what Morgan is to motoring.

Fun fact: There is no obligation to buy or own a Brompton. In fact many of the moaners don't own one. There are dozens if not hundreds of other folders available. If you are part of the constant-moaner-squad and still decided for a Brompton this probably says something. Not so many people that constantly moan about Morgan as it seems. Neither of the owner nor of the non-owners. Also I do have my doubts that anyone would rate a Morgan as the best sports car while a lot of people rate Brompton as the best folding bike.

 

[12boy]

Wow that is complicated looking. It seems the derailleur is attached to the rear triangle in the back, by the axle and again where the chain pusher assembly used to be. Wonder if dropout was widened to allow for the old 1/2 speed hub?
Thanks for the pic BikeGang.

 

[berlinonaut]

It seems the derailleur is attached to the rear triangle in the back, by the axle and again where the chain pusher assembly used to be.

Judging from the pic the tensioner and the derailleur may be two different, independent parts - this would also explain the two mounting points. Possibly the tensioner has one jockey wheel and the derailleur has the other one. Hard to tell.

 

[12boy]

I did a little gear inch calculating and even with a 58 tooth chainring the 11, 13,15, 18 doesn't get above 85 gear inches while the 177% SA3 speed hits 96. Just sayin.

 

[rogerzilla]

This is why small-wheeled bikes, even the non-folding ones, often use hub gears. Having said that, how often would you use an 85" gear?

 

[Blue Hills]

mm - seems to me they are going the way, urged on by brompton's marketing whizzes, of the old salesman's company car - though they'll be paying for them themselves corporate climbers will be competing over the specs/extra flashes/model suffixes of their particular conveyance. How long before we're into the territory of the GTi 3sl*# ?
I'll stick with my 5 speed thanks.