Brompton rear frame failure

[Todd Sweeney]

Hello - I’m after some advice if possible please. I have a 6-speed Brompton, bought new 3.5 years ago. I ride it most days to commute, about 20-30 miles a week.

I had a rear wheel puncture so took it at the weekend to my local Brompton authorised bike shop to replace the tube, as I always find it a faff on the rear wheel. They ended up replacing the tyre too. I’m now wondering if they have somehow damaged my bike.

As soon as rode it home it didn’t feel quite right - I checked if it had another rear puncture but no. Rode it again on Tuesday this week, about 8 miles, still not quite right but worked. Rode it for the third time since the puncture repair this morning and about a mile down the road discovered a huge issue with the bike. It felt wobbly, like it would collapse sideways. Got off and discovered the rear frame had bent sideways from the main frame, at the hinge. The hinge itself looks ok but hard to tell if that is at fault. It looks like the rear frame itself has somehow bent where it connects to the main frame. It could have been really dangerous and collapsed under me - I was lucky. It is now almost impossible to fold the frame and it is inrideable. The rear frame is at a 45 degree angle to the main frame.

My question is does anyone know what could have caused this? Could the bike shop have somehow damaged the frame and also is it repairable? I worry that not only may the rear frame have been damaged, but also the main frame too where it connects with it.

Surely this isn’t normal wear and tear?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Drago]

Photo?

 

[Todd Sweeney]

Cheers Drago. I’ll take some pics and upload them when I get home from work tonight (had to dash back home, dump the bike, and then run back out for a train. I miss my Brompton already!)

 

[LCpl Boiled Egg]

If I remember correctly, the frame is under warranty for ten years, but the parts such as the folding hinges are not. So when my rear hinge failed, I could not claim on warranty as the frame itself was OK, but the hinge was the point of failure.

If as you say the frame has failed you may be OK. I would take it to a reputable Brompton dealer ASAP or contact Brompton directly through their website.

Oh, and as @Drago says, photos please.

Edit: Just noticed a line in your post. I wouldn't take it back to where it was fixed even if they are Brompton authorised. I would definitely contact Brompton directly.

 

[Todd Sweeney]

Ah that’s good to know. Thanks ABikeCam. I was looking at the price of replacement frames and they are eye wateringly expensive!

My lbs is Brompton authorised although I am a bit wary after this incident. It could be completely unrelated I guess though so will take it to them to look at.

Will post pics later.

 

[Kell]

Has one of the bolts sheared off?

 

[Todd Sweeney]

Good point about avoiding that shop ABikeCam - it does seem a strange coincidence that this should occur straight after they have been working on it. I’ll contact Brompton directly with photos.

 

[Todd Sweeney]

Has one of the bolts sheared off?

I don’t think it has Kell. I’ll check again when home tonight though. From what I could tell the rear frame still seemed to be attached to the front frame, but the whole thing was bent at an angle from the main frame. It’s really odd.

 

[Illaveago]

Is or was the hinge working fine before you took it in for repair? The way the frame is is bent is it in line with having been forced to fold?

 

[Todd Sweeney]

Is or was the hinge working fine before you took it in for repair? The way the frame is is bent is it in line with having been forced to fold?

Yes, it was absolutely fine before I took it in for the rear wheel puncture repair. Immediately afterwards it felt a bit odd - like the back wheel was cycling over those raised white lines on the road, a slight “bumpety bump”.

Looking at the bike from above, with the front wheel facing forward, the rear frame bends at the fold sideways at perhaps a 30 degree angle to the right, and feels very loose and wobbly. The leg bit of the rear frame where it attaches to the front frame at the hinge also looks like it has bent slightly inwards.

I managed to fold the bike back up when I got home by pushing the rear frame back in line with the front frame, but I couldn’t get the saddle to go down locking the fold together (I was in a bit of a rush though).

I’m wondering if some kind of sideways force could have been applied to the bike when they took off the rear wheel at the shop, perhaps while being held on a bike stand or clamp, which has caused this later failure to occur?

 

[bonzobanana]

Could the bike shop have over-tightened one of the hinge bolts causing the rear frame to buckle under weight to one side or maybe incorrectly assembled it somehow. Not sure why they would have needed to do anything with the hinge bolts maybe there was some play there and they decided to tighten the bolts. Sometimes you do get a coincidence of events that aren't related but I'd definitely suspect that local bike shop unless another valid explanation comes along.

 

[Todd Sweeney]

Could the bike shop have over-tightened one of the hinge bolts causing the rear frame to buckle under weight to one side or maybe incorrectly assembled it somehow. Not sure why they would have needed to do anything with the hinge bolts maybe there was some play there and they decided to tighten the bolts. Sometimes you do get a coincidence of events that aren't related but I'd definitely suspect that local bike shop unless another valid explanation comes along.

Good thinking. Whatever happens I will certainly avoid that bike shop going forward. I was already a little annoyed because I just asked for the tube to be changed but when I went back to pick up the bike they’d also changed the tyre, because they said it was worn, but it didn’t seem bad to me. They had my number and could have checked if I wanted it done first but didn’t. So a £10 job ended up costing me £45!

 

[Kell]

I don't think I would have paid for that.

You can certainly get Marathons for less and it's not up to them to decide when you change your tyres.

 

[Todd Sweeney]

I don't think I would have paid for that.

You can certainly get Marathons for less and it's not up to them to decide when you change your tyres.

Yes absolutely! The tyre was a marathon and had only done 1,000 miles or so, and looked fine to me. I don’t like kicking up a fuss so just paid, but I wish I hadn’t...particularly now this has occurred.

 

[Pale Rider]

Putting a new tyre on without first checking with the customer is very poor, not least because you may have had it in mind to try a different tyre.

Thus the bike shop starts with a big minus point, but leaving that aside it's unlikely they would have damaged the frame in the course of removing the wheel.

Unless they are proper stroke pullers and they dropped the bike out of the workstand which bent the frame, they pushed it back and hoped you wouldn't notice.

Normally I would say give the dealer who did the work the chance to sort it out.

But in this case, I tend to agreee with the others that it may be better to draw a line under them and approach Brompton/a different dealer.

If Brompton suggest you take it back to the same dealer, you can quite reasonably say you've lost confidence in them.