Brompton 3.5 year ownership report

[ukoldschool]

Ukoldschool, can you explain about the JTEC wheel bearings.... are they cartridges that replace the cone and loose ball set up? I would guess I have over 10k miles on mine and I have replaced the front wheel because I couldn't get cones for it (although I found some later), the seat post, the plastic insert, and the rear hinge spindle. I have new brake levers, a Chris King Gripnut cartridge headset, a Shimano UN 25 bottom bracket, 110 bcd crankarms with 58 and 38 chain rings an SA 177% rear wheel and a single speed I can go single, 2 speed or 3 speed and a leather saddle. As you might guess l enjoy trying different things with it and generally find it, with the exceptions of the rear hinge spindle insert very easy to work on. I don't know if it made a difference, but I drilled a hole through the frame over the hinge spindle and force oil in to lube the bushings occasionally. Also have Ergon cork grips and 2 way SPDs.
As far as tires go, I currently have Marathon racers, which I find much easier to take on and off, another set with Schwalbe studded snows, and I've used regular Marathons and Marathon plusses which I don't like removing or installing.
I would have to say of the 6 bikes I like to ride, the Brompton is my favorite.

no, jus a new axle with cones for loose balls
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/hub-spares/jtek-replacement-front-axle-for-brompton/

 

[Fields Electric]

Just replaced the seat post plastic sleeve for the second time. This one was un-reamed so I resorted to an adjustable reamer set to 31.75 mm. As i was reaming from the top and not the bottom. Also I did not have an undersize former to glue it in place, first. Its an interference fit. Not a sliding fit, (From my metalwork 'O' level). But it's workable.

 

[mitchibob]

Just replaced the seat post plastic sleeve for the second time. This one was un-reamed so I resorted to an adjustable reamer set to 31.75 mm. As i was reaming from the top and not the bottom. Also I did not have an undersize former to glue it in place, first. Its an interference fit. Not a sliding fit, (From my metalwork 'O' level). But it's workable.

Other than the fact that my cheap titanium seatpost can be easily lifted out completely, unlike a flanged affair, I'm struggling to understand the requirement for this fix. I ride my bike in all weather, through some rivers, definitely off-road that might not have been expected of designer. My bike is similar vintage. But seat post sleeve? fine! I do wonder about cleanliness of bikes that need this stuff done.

 

[Fields Electric]

The issue is that over a period of time the seat post clamp needs to be tightened up ever further to stop the seat post slipping. Conventional wisdom states that the sleeve wears. I have measured mine and can detect no increase in bore. My conclusion is that the sleeve itself is made of some sort of oily plastic. Which dries out over time. That combined with the dirt that gets imbedded in it reduces the 'Stiction'. Thereby increasing the force required to lock the seat post. The frame material itself is not springy and so is liable to crack on the clamp. More of an issue is that it takes longer to fold. Which is an issue for those us that commute by train. The notes state that a max Torque of 5-8 Nm is allowable. which is not very much force. So when I get to the point where I need I strong hand or two, to close it. I replace it. I also confirmed this with a Cycle shop that repairs Bromptons. Hope that helps.

 

[berlinonaut]

The sleeve wars. With every fold. So if you fold often you need to replace the shim earlier than someone who barely folds his bike. When the seat post starts slipping you can tighten the bolt a tad more. But not too often. If you ignore that, don't replace the shim and tighten the bold excessively instead you may/will damage the frame.

 

[ukoldschool]

Unless of course you just add an additional clamp onto the seat post, which is a lot easier and cheaper than changing the seat post sleeve

 

[T4tomo]

Unless of course you just add an additional clamp onto the seat post, which is a lot easier and cheaper than changing the seat post sleeve

I paid £15 to for a new sleeve (fitted and reamed) which I think is way easier than having to tighten and loosen a secondary clamp every time you fold.....cheaper too if you cost in your own time.....

 

[ukoldschool]

Of course there is always somebody that will argue that taking your bike apart, breaking out the old sleeve, then cleaning up the tube and then glueing the new sleeve in place, then reaming to size, putting your bike back together again, only to inevitably have to do all that again in maybe 6 months (depending on how much you use your bike and in what conditions), is easier than fitting a £6 clamp....
and extra time to undo a quick release clamp?

 

[T4tomo]

Of course there is always somebody that will argue that taking your bike apart, breaking out the old sleeve, then cleaning up the tube and then glueing the new sleeve in place, then reaming to size, putting your bike back together again, only to inevitably have to do all that again in maybe 6 months (depending on how much you use your bike and in what conditions), is easier than fitting a £6 clamp....
and extra time to undo a quick release clamp?

I was saying paying someone £15 once every 12 years or so to keep it working as intended was less hassle.
Where are you getting 6 months from

 

[berlinonaut]

Unless of course you just add an additional clamp onto the seat post, which is a lot easier and cheaper than changing the seat post sleeve

What do you do when your brake pads or your tires are worn?

 

[berlinonaut]

Of course there is always somebody that will argue that taking your bike apart, breaking out the old sleeve, then cleaning up the tube and then glueing the new sleeve in place, then reaming to size, putting your bike back together again, only to inevitably have to do all that again in maybe 6 months (depending on how much you use your bike and in what conditions), is easier than fitting a £6 clamp....
and extra time to undo a quick release clamp?

Realistically with most users a change of the sleeve is necessary somewhere between 3 and 12-15 years with an average at maybe 5-8 years. The wear is built in on purpose - some other folding bikes do use sleeves made of steel or aluminum or no sleeves at all. You could also replace your brakepads with pads made of steel to not suffer from wear. I would however not consider this a good idea...

 

[ExBrit]

What do you do when your brake pads or your tires are worn?

I glue new brake pads on the stumps of the old ones.
Doesn't everyone?

 

[rogerzilla]

Wear is mileage-related. I have a 2008 bike on its original sleeve. The previous owners don't seem to have used it a great deal, judging from the lack of wear on the sprockets, etc. At the other extreme, there is a Brompton employee with a long commute who needs a new rear hinge every few MONTHS.

I have a stash of spare sleeves and the reamer, in case Brompton stop supplying them at some point.

 

[berlinonaut]

Wear is mileage-related.

That's an improper statement. Rather a combination of mileage and usage.

I have a 2008 bike on its original sleeve. The previous owners don't seem to have used it a great deal, judging from the lack of wear on the sprockets, etc.

You can ride many miles w/o folding but also fold often while doing only a small number of miles. While you will earn some minimal wear of the sleeve due to the friction while riding the vast majority of the wear is a result of folding. So even with low mileage your sleeve can be worn if you just fold often enough.

At the other extreme, there is a Brompton employee with a long commute who needs a new rear hinge every few MONTHS.

That's surely an extreme case and Brompton were probably better off not having published that fact. As - as we can see - this gets tooted around as an example for the "terrible wear" of the rear hinge, not mentioning that with many people the rear hinge lasts 20 years and longer and with almost anyone at least several years and several thousands of km at minimum. The wear here clearly depends from mileage, weight of the rider, riding style and riding conditions. Brompton themselves called the guy their destructive quality tester. The highest mileage of a Brompton I am personally aware of w/o need to change the rear hinge is way over 40.000km. Unfortunately I am not aware of many Bromptons that have covered more miles at all, so not many datapoints to choose from.

 

[Kell]

At the other extreme, there is a Brompton employee with a long commute who needs a new rear hinge every few MONTHS.

I have to say I find that incredibly hard to believe.

I'm +/- 16 stone and have been for the entire time i've owned my Brompton. My commute is not overly long at around 16 miles a day. but I regularly jump up and down kerbs, have had a long patch of cobbles to deal with as well as ridiculous speed bumps and don't ever treat my bike with kid gloves.

I think i've had it since 2016, and while the rear hinge developed some lateral play early on, it's not got any worse.

This guy's commute must be like this:

View: https://youtu.be/BE12q6myTTM