Brompton junction test rides

[srw]

Since I happened to be in the area, and my route from my breakfast meeting to the tube took me straight past the front door, I thought it would be rude not to drop in on Brompton Junction. Especially since I wanted to try out a couple of things.

First things first, of general interest. The new integrated brifters. The brake levers are where they ever were, but the shifters are now hanging below the handlebars, to be operated by a thumb. I can see that they might be knockable if you're careless. Being a fan of old reliable tech I was slightly disappointed to see that they're also ratchet levers rather than the traditional haul-the-cable-directly SA levers. The 3-speed shifter is marked with a 1-2-3, and the 2-speed with a +/-.

For the first time ever I rode a Brompton with the flat bars. They're not as aggressive as they look even for a relatively tall rider, and I'm very tempted. I also rode a 2-speed for the first time. It's a very simple setup - the front jockey wheel on the tensioner is fixed while the rear one acts as a derailleur. Very tempting for the lightness - but I've read a bit about unreliability.

On the other hand I'm absolutely not tempted by the 6-speed. Even thinking very hard I couldn't get to grips with the continual double-shift, and I found myself treating the bike as a 3-speed. The mental gymnastics required to remember whether this is a derailleur shift (keep pedalling) or a hub gear shift (pause momentarily) were uncomfortable, and it didn't feel as if they'd get easier. I'd rather get my 8-speed sorted properly, thank you very much.

 

[Kell]

I understand your frustrations with the dual shifting operation - it seems like a lot of work for just six gears - but knowing which is which and what you need to do really does become second nature.

Also, I've never heard of having to stop pedalling for hub shifts - certainly not under normal pedalling. Occasionally I have to put in a slight pause if I'm going uphill and need to go into a lower gear, but other than that, I've never found an occasion where not pedalling to get the hub to shift has been necessary.

 

[Melvil]

Since I happened to be in the area, and my route from my breakfast meeting to the tube took me straight past the front door, I thought it would be rude not to drop in on Brompton Junction. Especially since I wanted to try out a couple of things.

First things first, of general interest. The new integrated brifters. The brake levers are where they ever were, but the shifters are now hanging below the handlebars, to be operated by a thumb. I can see that they might be knockable if you're careless. Being a fan of old reliable tech I was slightly disappointed to see that they're also ratchet levers rather than the traditional haul-the-cable-directly SA levers. The 3-speed shifter is marked with a 1-2-3, and the 2-speed with a +/-.

For the first time ever I rode a Brompton with the flat bars. They're not as aggressive as they look even for a relatively tall rider, and I'm very tempted. I also rode a 2-speed for the first time. It's a very simple setup - the front jockey wheel on the tensioner is fixed while the rear one acts as a derailleur. Very tempting for the lightness - but I've read a bit about unreliability.

On the other hand I'm absolutely not tempted by the 6-speed. Even thinking very hard I couldn't get to grips with the continual double-shift, and I found myself treating the bike as a 3-speed. The mental gymnastics required to remember whether this is a derailleur shift (keep pedalling) or a hub gear shift (pause momentarily) were uncomfortable, and it didn't feel as if they'd get easier. I'd rather get my 8-speed sorted properly, thank you very much.

Since I happened to be in the area, and my route from my breakfast meeting to the tube took me straight past the front door, I thought it would be rude not to drop in on Brompton Junction. Especially since I wanted to try out a couple of things.

First things first, of general interest. The new integrated brifters. The brake levers are where they ever were, but the shifters are now hanging below the handlebars, to be operated by a thumb. I can see that they might be knockable if you're careless. Being a fan of old reliable tech I was slightly disappointed to see that they're also ratchet levers rather than the traditional haul-the-cable-directly SA levers. The 3-speed shifter is marked with a 1-2-3, and the 2-speed with a +/-.

For the first time ever I rode a Brompton with the flat bars. They're not as aggressive as they look even for a relatively tall rider, and I'm very tempted. I also rode a 2-speed for the first time. It's a very simple setup - the front jockey wheel on the tensioner is fixed while the rear one acts as a derailleur. Very tempting for the lightness - but I've read a bit about unreliability.

On the other hand I'm absolutely not tempted by the 6-speed. Even thinking very hard I couldn't get to grips with the continual double-shift, and I found myself treating the bike as a 3-speed. The mental gymnastics required to remember whether this is a derailleur shift (keep pedalling) or a hub gear shift (pause momentarily) were uncomfortable, and it didn't feel as if they'd get easier. I'd rather get my 8-speed sorted properly, thank you very much.

Totally agree with you about the flat bars. I've been cycling with them for months (with Ergon GP2 bar ends as recommended by lovely people on this forum) and they are comfy for long periods. However, I don't agree with you about 6 speeds. You just get used to it very quickly. And a 6 speed with a smaller front chainring gets me up the steepest hills in Edinburgh while spinning out at an acceptable 20mph