buying a Brompton

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Dirtyhanz

Veteran
Location
Cheshire
Hi all I am going to the bike shop tomorrow to have a look at a Brompton spoke to the guy on the phone and he has a demonstrater for me to look at he says that we just configure to what I want so what sort of equipment do you think is good I live in quit a hilly area so Iam going for the six speed not sure on which type of bars to go for and seems a lot of different colours you can have it painted what do we think it looks good in. Thanks for any advice
 

annedonnelly

Girl from the North Country
Choosing the colour is the hardest part! Good luck!!

Mine is British Racing Green.
 

mustang1

Guru
Location
London, UK
I test rode a brompton and quickly got used to its ride. Im not speaking from experience but having talked to several bro!pton owners they recommended the brompton front bag so get the attachment installed. Also the mudguards are useful and if you're tall then you might like to check the longer seat post but that also makes for a slightly less compact fold. If you want a firmer ride then get that block thingamajig installed, I'm a heavier rider so I would install that anyway.

I read the brompton book and if you like bike history then you might enjoy it too. One day I'll buy a brompton. Good luck with your choice! Oh, colours, I like that lacquer colour which was a £50 option when I first heard about it. I would probably go with dark blue or orange.
 

DTD

Veteran
Location
Manchester
Had a go of a hire one from the Manchester Brompton Dock – it was a lot of fun to ride. It got me thinking of small wheel bikes and I got interested in Moultons – which don't fold and are really nothing like Bromptons to ride, but I ended up buying a Moulton anyway.

Colourwise – have a look and one will "speak to you" – I always seem to end up with blue or blue grey bikes, but that's just me.
 
OP
OP
Dirtyhanz

Dirtyhanz

Veteran
Location
Cheshire
Thank you for quick replys I have got a couple of small wheeled bikes I have got a dahon curve d3 which looks like a lovely Bike but is way to twitchy and I have got a 1966 moulton standard which is just about the nicest Bike I have ever ridden and a lovely Raleigh twenty that rides very nice I am quite excited to see where the Brompton sits with these bikes
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
Brommies can be twitchy, but as has been mentioned, a bit of luggage up front damps the steering nicely.

Lower gearing - which just means a smaller front ring - is a good idea, particularly as you mention hills.

Lower gears might let you get away with a three-speed, which is a good choice for a Brommie.

The six adds rear deraileur complications for not a huge increase in gear range.
 

CopperBrompton

Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
Location
London
Black is of course the Proper Colour.

Bear in mind you are not limited to Brompton's own gearing options. The 8-speed SA hub fits with slight persuasion, and there are also 11-speed and (if you really want to push to boat out) Rohloff options (I have the 8-speed).

Bars, you need to test-ride to see which suits you, but the M bar is the default choice.
 
OP
OP
Dirtyhanz

Dirtyhanz

Veteran
Location
Cheshire
Order it white body black extremities 6 speed s type bars mudgards hub dynamo Brooks seat now just have to wait for it to come so excited it was like being a kid in a sweet shop
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
And the mini o bag
The excitement of a new Bike never dulls it is the best thing you can buy

Sensible spec, should work a treat straight out of the box.

Speaking of which, keep the box if you have the space - very handy if you ever need to send the bike somewhere.
 

Sara_H

Guru
Hi all I am going to the bike shop tomorrow to have a look at a Brompton spoke to the guy on the phone and he has a demonstrater for me to look at he says that we just configure to what I want so what sort of equipment do you think is good I live in quit a hilly area so Iam going for the six speed not sure on which type of bars to go for and seems a lot of different colours you can have it painted what do we think it looks good in. Thanks for any advice
I've got an M6L with standard gearing. Like you I live in a hilly area. I've found that I manage most hills, but the really big steep hill I live at the top of is a challenge, so I am going to change to the lower gearing.
I have a luggage carrier on the front. I have a T bag bought second hand as its big and versatile. Hardly use it though, I mostly use to my Basil shoulder bag hanging from the saddle loops (which I've adapted to carry bags with pannier fixings by using heavy duty cable ties and a bungee).
I wish I'd had a rack, though a lot of bromptoneers say they aren't that useful. It may be a change I make in the future.
 
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CopperBrompton

Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
Location
London
One of my Bromptons had a rack. I almost never used it, and now I have the T-Bag even those few exceptions wouldn't be needed, so I wouldn't bother, personally.
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
My Brommie has a rack.

It does make the bike sit a bit more stable in the half folded 'park' position.

I prefer a bag on the front, which the OP is getting, so I can't see the need for the rack.

Matter of opinion, of course.
 

TheDoctor

Europe Endless
Moderator
Location
The TerrorVortex
For what it's worth, I've hardly used the rack since getting a T-Bag.
And the 6 speed gearing is well worth having - a gear range of 33" - 100", as opposed to the 48" - 85" of a 3 speed. Well capable of touring, as long as you're not too fussed about speed and don't mind getting off to walk now and then. Here's mine in touring mode in Provence :-
Nov2014 pictures from phone 059.jpg
 
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