Brompton for beginners questions

[e-rider]

so after a few months use, my gears are not as slick as there were when new. The hub gear is still fine but the 2-speed gear is not running smooth when in the larger of the two sprockets - how do I adjust this?

It's a 6-speed Brommie

 

[srw]

the old five speed was three speeds and wide/narrow..

Sounds as if there are two five speed versions. The one I had (bought 1996) which I think is the same as what @User has just installed was straight up and down with a single shifter.

 

[TheDoctor]

Sounds as if there are two five speed versions. The one I had (bought 1996) which I think is the same as what @User has just installed was straight up and down with a single shifter.

There were. IIRC the older 5 speed was a hack of the 4 speed and had two shift levers, and later the hub was redesigned to have just one shifter.

 

[TheDoctor]

so after a few months use, my gears are not as slick as there were when new. The hub gear is still fine but the 2-speed gear is not running smooth when in the larger of the two sprockets - how do I adjust this?

It's a 6-speed Brommie

That's probably a built-up of crud somewhere, either on the sprockets or the jockey wheels.

 

[e-rider]

I fixed the dodgy gears by turning the stop screw a little - it now runs smooth
I noticed that one of th front spokes had come completely loose although the wheel was still fairly true.
Also, and this might be useful for potential Brompton owners, I noticed that I never use gear 6 on standard gear ratios, so I essentially have a 5-speed machine with a wasted gear. Having a quick look at Brompton gear ratios I would have been better off buying the lower gear option and I could then have made use of all 6 gears instead of just 5. I could potentially use gear 6 downa steep hill but why would I want to pedal at 30mph+???

 

[reppans]

Sorry to hear you've had bit of bad luck with your Brompton sample. It is pretty common for new bikes to 'loosen' up a bit after the first few hundred miles. Most bike shops offer free first tune-ups to adjust/tighten stuff after break-in. I ordered the -12% gearing (50>44T) and 4th, 5th, 6th spin out around 15, 20, 25 mph, respectively, for me. I was even considering going down to a 39T (since I tour with the B) but have since strengthened my cycling legs after getting back into cycle again (thanks to the Brompton), and now find the -12% just right for me.

A chainring swap is very easy and inexpensive to DIY - you just need the 44T chainring, Allen key, and chain tool (remove 2-3 links).

 

[oldwheels]

I changed to a 42t chainring. Did not bother shortening the chain until it was due to be replaced anyway. No problem encountered with the chain a touch too long. This on a 6 speed gives me the ratios I need for hill climbing but not too low in top for my use which is gentle touring and day runs in often hilly areas.

 

[e-rider]

I will buy a 44T chainring and swap it out to give me 6 usable gears

 

[TheDoctor]

That works - it's (almost) what I did with mine. The only issue is that with the 50T my two round-town gears were 3rd and 4th - so leave it in middle on the hub and swap between the sprockets. On the 44T, my go-to gears are 4th and 5th, so I'm forever doing double changes. It's hardly the end of the world, but it is a bit of a niggle.

* I say 'almost' because I've actually got a 34/44 chainset on there, to give me an M12R with a super-low set of gears for climbing. I have actually got 12 different ratios, but the shifting pattern would be counter-intuitive, to say the least.

 

[reppans]

That works - it's (almost) what I did with mine. The only issue is that with the 50T my two round-town gears were 3rd and 4th - so leave it in middle on the hub and swap between the sprockets. On the 44T, my go-to gears are 4th and 5th, so I'm forever doing double changes. It's hardly the end of the world, but it is a bit of a niggle.

* I say 'almost' because I've actually got a 34/44 chainset on there, to give me an M12R with a super-low set of gears for climbing. I have actually got 12 different ratios, but the shifting pattern would be counter-intuitive, to say the least.

Did you install a front derailleur, or are you 'shifting' manually (i.e., greasy finger). I once looked into installing a 2nd chainring (manual finger shift) just in case of needing to climb a real mountain, but understood it be a fairly complex affair with bottom bracket component and spacing changes. There doesn't seem to be enough clearance between my 44T and the rear triangle when folded for an easy bolt-on solution.

Agree with the 4th and 5th double shift being a bit of niggle - but the grades around me change significantly enough so that I often wait a bit to single shift the IGH, or two gears at a time.

 

[TheDoctor]

It's a greasy-finger / find-a-stick shift.
It would have been nice when I Brommied Provence and Mont Ventoux a few years ago to have had a lower gear or two.
The 34T option gives me 22", 27", 34", 42", 54" and 66". I can spin a 66" gear up to 25 mph, which is probably fast enough for touring.
To be honest, the standard gearing has a 33" bottom gear, and once I can't turn that any more I don't mind walking. I fitted the double because I had it, and I didn't have a set of single chainring bolts to hand! Anyway, was there ever a better reason for doing something than "Because I can"?
I did consider taking a 10 speed cassette to bits and going triple at the back, but that means filing a notch into the gear lever and I couldn't be arsed.
Not even to post about having an M18R with a very confusing set of ratios!

 

[Kell]

I think I must be a grinder rather than a spinner as my go to gears around town on a 50 tooth are 4th for setting off and 5th for going. So I find I'm always doing two-shifter shifts...

 

[doginabag]

It's always going to differ between rider and location.
I have the +12% chaining on my 6 speed (is that 54 teeth?) and riding pretty much only on flat roads 5th is my cruising along gear. 2nd is my pulling away gear, and then go straight to 4th and on to 5th if traffic allows.

3rd I find too close to 4th to be much use amd 1st is too low for any hill I encounter. Touched on 6th a few times but generally I don't have the legs for it, yet.

 

[e-rider]

It's always going to differ between rider and location.
I have the +12% chaining on my 6 speed (is that 54 teeth?) and riding pretty much only on flat roads 5th is my cruising along gear. 2nd is my pulling away gear, and then go straight to 4th and on to 5th if traffic allows.

3rd I find too close to 4th to be much use amd 1st is too low for any hill I encounter. Touched on 6th a few times but generally I don't have the legs for it, yet.

but that's the issue, you never use 6th gear, and on a bike with only 6 gears that seems a waste. I am the same with standard 50T chainring - I never use 6th gear so it might as well be a 5-speed bike. Hopefully when I change to 44T I will make use of all 6 gears

 

[Kell]

Well my old Dahon had either 24 or 27 gears (I don't remember offhand) and I only ever used three of those, so that was even more of a waste.