6 speed Brompton

[ianrauk]

I've always thought the Brompton is crying out for a cheap but reliable Shimano seven or eight speed hub.

Agree.
Or even a 5 speed.
I had so much trouble with the 6 speed on my Brompton.
My fault, I should have gone for 3 speed. 6 Speed certainly wasn't needed for the commute I was doing at the time.

 

[tinywheels]

mine gets a good thrashing over a variety of terrain, off road and countryside. Then the weekly commute. Here in East Sussex the hills can be challenging, Pooks hill near Brightling for instance, on a road bike not so bad. On the brompton not so good.

 

[T4tomo]

mine gets a good thrashing over a variety of terrain, off road and countryside. Then the weekly commute. Here in East Sussex the hills can be challenging, Pooks hill near Brightling for instance, on a road bike not so bad. On the brompton not so good.

out of interest what chainring are you running? I do think brommies are over-highly geared in "standard spec" for anything other than a flattish city commute

 

[tinywheels]

std chainring as it came out of the factory. I don't have the time or the inclination to faff about changing it to suit the terrain. I only stick with it as I'm a sadist and relish the difficulty of riding the damn thing. It's built for a purpose, but I enjoy the social side of Brompton ownership.

Great tool for popping out to the shops.

 

[T4tomo]

if its a 50T, if you changed it for 44T (permanently) I think you'd fine it much better and more loveable on the hills with no determent to flat riding round town etc. when i did mine, i had one of those "why didn't I do this years ago" moments. I'd only changed it as I busted the ring off crank on the 50T.

 

[Kendide]

Agree.
Or even a 5 speed.
I had so much trouble with the 6 speed on my Brompton.
My fault, I should have gone for 3 speed. 6 Speed certainly wasn't needed for the commute I was doing at the time.

Sorry to hear of your troubles with a six speed. Whatever the problem it should be fixable.
Even if the derailleur refuses to shift and you find yourself stuck on one or the other rear sprockets you will still have the benefit of the 3 speed with wider ratios than found on the standard 3 speed.

 

[Tenkaykev]

if its a 50T, if you changed it for 44T (permanently) I think you'd fine it much better and more loveable on the hills with no determent to flat riding round town etc. when i did mine, i had one of those "why didn't I do this years ago" moments. I'd only changed it as I busted the ring off crank on the 50T.

This ^^^^^^^^
I converted all of our Brommies to 44T. It’s inexpensive and a 20 minute job. No more “ walk of shame” as I dismount and push my bike up the final hundred yards to the door of the pub 🍺👍😁

 

[rogerzilla]

Older 6 speed Bromptons didn't have the BWR hub, so the sequence of going up the gears may be different.

 

[12boy]

I like my 58 chainring and 12 tooth sprocket for level and 38 chainring and 12 for hills. The hills have to be gentle and not too long...
I should have my 2 speed chain pusher running in a few days and that will a 17 tooth sprocket which will be nice.

 

[Kell]

I have to say, as part of my regular commute, my 6-speed manages Marlow Hill which goes up to about 14% gradient. It never feels 'easy' but it also never feels like I'm not going to make it. To be honest. it's not much slower than me on a road bike. But then I do weigh 100kg, so that's the biggest obstacle to hills.

Mine's currently on the standard 50T chainring. I did try the 44T version which made the hill easier, but compromised the top end too much for me. So I went back to the 50T.

 

[Justinitus]

I swapped the 50T for a 44T chainring on my M6R which suits my riding style much better and find the gears much more useable - I use them all now. This is my casual, utility, shopping bike.

I also have an S2E that I initially picked up for my wife. I swapped the 54T on that for the 50T I took of the M6R and again, we both find that much more useable.

In fact, there is a surprising difference on how these 2 bikes ride - the S2E is a chuckable, fun, lightweight(ish) little thing and reminds me so much of riding a bike when I was a kid. The only restriction with it is the size of front bag you can put on it, but I’ve got the other Brommie for that.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I swapped the 50T for a 44T chainring on my M6R which suits my riding style much better and find the gears much more useable - I use them all now. This is my casual, utility, shopping bike.

I also have an S2E that I initially picked up for my wife. I swapped the 54T on that for the 50T I took of the M6R and again, we both find that much more useable.

In fact, there is a surprising difference on how these 2 bikes ride - the S2E is a chuckable, fun, lightweight(ish) little thing and reminds me so much of riding a bike when I was a kid. The only restriction with it is the size of front bag you can put on it, but I’ve got the other Brommie for that.

Good to hear!
I have a S6R with dynohub and double chainset which will convert to an M with Joseph Kuosac medium risers. Have just ordered an S2E for the fun of it (will also fit a double chainset). One for touring and everyday donkey work, the other for zooming!

 

[Fab Foodie]

On another note....

Reading posts hear and on various fb Brompton groups it appears there is more crap written about Bromptons than any other bike.
In essence a B is no different to any other bike. It comes with a variety of gear options giving a certain range. If that range and gap between gears doesn't suit then change it. The B 6 speed is simply a 3 speed with less spaces between gears and possibly a slightly wider range. very little penalty to have a 6 over a 3 apart from price.
Also, 2 gears on a bicycle is also enough as is one very good gear, it depends what you want to use your bike for and where. There are no rights or wrongs. Use mudguards, don't use mudguards, no different to any others. The rack is a slightly different matter as it serves a dual purpose as stand and rack.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I have a six speed, its a feckin nightmare. on anything but small, or drawn out inclines it is struggling. I commute on mostly cycle paths around trip of eight miles per day.was out on a twenty two mile blast today and the hilly bits gave me grief as usual. Six speed but very limited in practice. Its designed for urban use,but being a weirdo I go all over the universe on it. Guess I just like a challenge View attachment 584980

Absolutely not true as anybody has toured on a fully loaded 6 speed in hilly terrain will testify or ridden daily centuries. You just have the wrong gear range or wrong legs. Brompton riders on FNRttC and other mixed-bike rides don't seemed particularly* disadvantaged over regular bikes. LBC members rack-up amazing journeys by Brompton.

*Top speeds lessened by poorer aerodynamics of upright riding position (but no worst than other sit-up-and-beg designs) and slightly more vibey over rough surfaces due to little wheels ay high pressures.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Woah ... Steady on.

There's laissez faire and there's downright recklessness.

I know there are fundamentalists on both sides of the divides...am trying hard to sit on a very rickety fence....