Convert Brompton to Recumbent?

[currystomper]

You could do this with a brompton:-

http://www.bikeforums.net/folding-b...ding-recumbent-commuter-luggage-solution.html

 

[FrankCrank]

Has anyone converted a recumbent to a Brompton? Some people sure do like a challenge...

 

[BICIGT]

if I wanted to buy a kit is it possible ?

 

[flake99please]

Another option would be an Azub Origami.

 

[PaulM]

Rather an old thread. I sold the Brompton, I now have an Origami though not used it yet.

 

[BICIGT]

My brompton doesn't get much use. Been thinking about selling it, but I have this crazy idea of turning it into a recumbent. It has the SA 8 speed upgrade and with it's rear suspension I think it would make a fun 'bent.

I'm not worried about keeping the fold, so really just after brazing on a boom and having a seat mount and seat with a couple of inches fore/aft adjustment. I might ask Kinetics for a quote. I think the bike pictured belongs to Mary Arneson, see BROL thread http://www.bentrideronline.com/messageboard/showthread.php?t=76250

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if I wanted to buy a kit is it possible ?

 

[flake99please]

if I wanted to buy a kit is it possible ?

Unlikely, given the discussion on the BROL forum.

 

[berlinonaut]

if I wanted to buy a kit is it possible ?

Only if you manage to find a used one (which is a rare coincidence). The kits were made in the late nineties and in total 100 were made. A couple of those were devoted as spares, a bit more than 90 were sold and those are long gone. The kit only fits the older Brompton frame with the shorter wheelbase; due to the length of the industrial belt it does not fit to the slightly longer MK4 frame.

I do own such a Brecki (Brompton recumbent kit) and it is fun and very easy to ride. It folds well (takes about a minute) and the resulting package is a bit bigger than a standard Brompton but still very convenient. It is however considerably heavier, so lumping it around is not too pleasant. The intention of the Brecki was to be able to take a recumbent on trains, especially high speed trains, and that works really well. Mine looks like that:

It is cleverly constructed and I converted mine to S/A 8-speed as well (which is far more convenient than the original 3-speed it came with). It is however not a fast bike but very comfy to ride.

Juliane, the maker, is a friend of mine, and so before you ask: No, there are not enough spares left to build a kit.
There have been ideas of creating a new version that would fit the MK4 for quite some time now and after a lot of research it turned out it would be technically possible. However, it would be a lot of work as a bunch of parts of the original kit were industrial parts that are no longer available to buy and others would massively profit from a reconstruction, partly with newer materials to make the bike considerably lighter. It is thus neither an easy nor a high priority project, the more as it would be a huge investment in terms of both, time and money to create such a new kit and it would not be a cheap kit (and way more expensive than the original version was). The original was sold too cheap to make it work financially for the makers, still it did not sell too well in the beginning and only since it has been no longer available strangely demand has been rising recognizably. So a new kit might or might not happen one day.