Hi All. Am down in London for a couple weeks. Thought I would start buying bits and pieces for my Brompton BUT do I need to get the Best of everything?? Lubs, spare chain, inner tubes, (tyres are OK), most important, to me, anyway, helmet!!! Appreciate yr help/advice. Tc
Getting Paranoid!!
- Thread starter tel123
- Start date
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steveindenmark
Legendary Member
First thing is to start using wax on the chain instead of oil. It works just as well but keeps everything a lot cleaner. Especially the chain adjuster rollers. As for buying the best of everything. Why? If it were the best of bikes I would agree. But its not. The plastic gears are sub standard and the paint application is questionable.
roley poley
Über Member
- Location
- leeds
hello from the other pictures you have posted of your bike we don't see one of the handlebars head on ,please could you send us one,this may be important in deciding if you have an older type of bar which needs bracing or replacing as it MAY have a weakness .please don't get paranoid about this but I feel it would be a good place to start if upgrading
roley poley
Über Member
- Location
- leeds
this is a poor picture of what I mean and with any luck it won't apply as you may well have a later model
berlinonaut
Veteran
- Location
- Berlin Germany
He has a 2004 Brompton. The handlebar is thus fine, the problematic ones were way eaerlier. I find no advantage in setting people in fear and panic for no reason.
Kell
Veteran
- Location
- High Wycombe/London
I certainly don't use the 'best' of everything, but there are definitely some places where I would justify spending the money.
Most involve the contact points.
Comfortable gloves with padding. Because of the long stem/headtube of the Brompton and the small wheels, it transmits a lot of vibration through the bars. It's hard to see, and I don't recommend trying this, but if you can ride for a short distance with your hands off the bars, you'd see just how much they vibrate. Good gloves will help reduce some of this getting to your arms. I developed bi-lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow in both arms) after about a year of my Brompton. It was excruciatingly painful and and it got to the point where I needed treatment. Which was also very painful. I still get it, but funnily enough, with no commuting due to lockdown, it's almost completely vanished.
Shorts - if you're riding any sort of distance, I'd recommend cycling shorts. Even if they're under your clothes. I find that anything up to about an hour is bearable, but after that I start to get 'tingles' - and that's with shorts. I'd only ride a mile or two without.
Jacket - hi vis all the way. Riding defensively in London is paramount. Aggressive drivers and those just not paying attention are your biggest threats. Anything you can do to make yourself more visible is something I'd recommend. I'm also not a fan of those Pro-viz jackets. Brilliant in the dark, but when it's grey, then they become invisible. Bright yellow would be my recommendation. I had a Night Vision jacket for years which, even though I tried other brands, was easily the best combination of visibility, warmth and breathability. Unfortunately, the latest version don't seem as good, but I had to replace mine as the proofing had completely gone. The latest one I bought is very lightweight, so is more packable, but because of that, it wasn't as warm during the winter and I needed an extra layer. It has been pretty waterproof so far. It also benefits from being printed all over with reflective patterns, so lights up even more in the dark.
https://www.altura.co.uk/products/detail/AL22TOR/nightvision-tornado-waterproof-jacket/?ng=131
(You might be able to find it cheaper)
Lights are a good addition to the above. 400+ Lumens on the front. Run it it bright flashing mode during the day and dimmer constant at night.
I run two Lezyne 400XLs.
https://www.cyclestore.co.uk/lezyne_mini_drive_400xl_front_light-ID_79001&msclkid=1c58a47c98de1e7e817bfb7f8b777692?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=*Bing - Shopping - All&utm_term=4582833197553110&utm_content=UK All
Rear - less important. I've certainly never had someone run into the back of me, but I still run two lights though:
One of these - which gets brighter when you brake:
View: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07GYBBXC7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And another one from Planet X. The name escapes me, and they don't do it anymore, but it's very bright.
All are USB chargeable and part of the reason I run two front and rear is in case one fails - or I lose one (that's happened before).
Hopefully, this last one doesn't become a 'contact' point. Weirdly, helmets don't necessarily get 'safer' the more you spend, but they do get lighter and more vented. Assuming a helmet meets the required standard, then a cheap one is as safe as an expensive one. You pay for added lightness and cooling.
Most involve the contact points.
Comfortable gloves with padding. Because of the long stem/headtube of the Brompton and the small wheels, it transmits a lot of vibration through the bars. It's hard to see, and I don't recommend trying this, but if you can ride for a short distance with your hands off the bars, you'd see just how much they vibrate. Good gloves will help reduce some of this getting to your arms. I developed bi-lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow in both arms) after about a year of my Brompton. It was excruciatingly painful and and it got to the point where I needed treatment. Which was also very painful. I still get it, but funnily enough, with no commuting due to lockdown, it's almost completely vanished.
Shorts - if you're riding any sort of distance, I'd recommend cycling shorts. Even if they're under your clothes. I find that anything up to about an hour is bearable, but after that I start to get 'tingles' - and that's with shorts. I'd only ride a mile or two without.
Jacket - hi vis all the way. Riding defensively in London is paramount. Aggressive drivers and those just not paying attention are your biggest threats. Anything you can do to make yourself more visible is something I'd recommend. I'm also not a fan of those Pro-viz jackets. Brilliant in the dark, but when it's grey, then they become invisible. Bright yellow would be my recommendation. I had a Night Vision jacket for years which, even though I tried other brands, was easily the best combination of visibility, warmth and breathability. Unfortunately, the latest version don't seem as good, but I had to replace mine as the proofing had completely gone. The latest one I bought is very lightweight, so is more packable, but because of that, it wasn't as warm during the winter and I needed an extra layer. It has been pretty waterproof so far. It also benefits from being printed all over with reflective patterns, so lights up even more in the dark.
https://www.altura.co.uk/products/detail/AL22TOR/nightvision-tornado-waterproof-jacket/?ng=131
(You might be able to find it cheaper)
Lights are a good addition to the above. 400+ Lumens on the front. Run it it bright flashing mode during the day and dimmer constant at night.
I run two Lezyne 400XLs.
https://www.cyclestore.co.uk/lezyne_mini_drive_400xl_front_light-ID_79001&msclkid=1c58a47c98de1e7e817bfb7f8b777692?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=*Bing - Shopping - All&utm_term=4582833197553110&utm_content=UK All
Rear - less important. I've certainly never had someone run into the back of me, but I still run two lights though:
One of these - which gets brighter when you brake:
View: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07GYBBXC7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And another one from Planet X. The name escapes me, and they don't do it anymore, but it's very bright.
All are USB chargeable and part of the reason I run two front and rear is in case one fails - or I lose one (that's happened before).
Hopefully, this last one doesn't become a 'contact' point. Weirdly, helmets don't necessarily get 'safer' the more you spend, but they do get lighter and more vented. Assuming a helmet meets the required standard, then a cheap one is as safe as an expensive one. You pay for added lightness and cooling.
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Regarding hi-vis colour, I noticed (in the UK) the police wear yellow, whereas the railways and post office favour orange. Following the deaths of some youths hit by a train while grafitti-ing, I saw pictures of the scene on the news with police and railway workers close together which convined me to switch from yellow to orange. Particularly in sunlight and against greenery (I cycle mostly in rural lanes) I think orange is higher-vis than yellow. At night it is the reflective bits that are hi-vis.
And keep it clean! high-vis is lo-vis when dirty. I favour a light vi-vis over-top to put over whatever I am wearing partly because it is easy to pop in the washing machine and partly because I don't want to walk around in hi-vis once I get to my destination.
And keep it clean! high-vis is lo-vis when dirty. I favour a light vi-vis over-top to put over whatever I am wearing partly because it is easy to pop in the washing machine and partly because I don't want to walk around in hi-vis once I get to my destination.
berlinonaut
Veteran
- Location
- Berlin Germany
That's an interesting one because in most aspects I do behave exactly the opposite of you.
Possibly as there is a remarkable difference in behaviour in between different countries - you are in the UK and especially in London while I am in Germany and there in Berlin - so we both are cycling the capitals of our country. 
Gloves: I don't use gloves for everyday biking. I may use cycling gloves on longer tours (maybe >70km), but only sometimes. I do use gloves in winter but just because of the cold and the wet. Instead I use Ergon grips (cork version).
Shorts: I don't use cycling shorts/bib tights/padded shorts in my everyday riding. Again I may use them on longer tours but again only sometimes.
Jacket: I don't use high-viz at all apart from my rain poncho from Carradice that is high viz. There is no other color available anyway and in the rain it may add a little bit of awareness in bad conditions. I would recommend this poncho as a very good piece of kit on the Brompton btw.. I consider purposeful high viz clothing while cycling a bit bringing you into a self chosen victim role - not at all at eye level with other participants in traffic. There is no need for it - if car drivers watch out for others I don't need high viz, if they don't high wiz doesn't help.
In general I cycle for transport and I do this in my everyday clothes that I would wear anyway. Everything else would be silly and too much of a hassle - it would stop me from cycling in many if not most occasions. And looking at myself as a possible victim each and every day certainly would.
Lights: I do run very good dynamo lights (Son/Edelux) on most of my bikes. I do definitively not run flash lights, have never done and never will. As they blind and annoy myself and even more any other participants in traffic. Plus it is proven science, that it is close to impossible to calculate the true distance to a flashlight for other participants in traffic while it is an easy job with a constant light. So while flashlights seem to protect you in reality they do the opposite. I do not run my lights during the day. I do use lights that are German StVZo-approved (which mainly means they don't blind). I do not use battery lights as dynamo lights are maintenance free and just work - I never have to think about them, they are always properly alligned, they always work. Better ones do cost considerable money but reward you with very decent light, way beyond formally brighter battery lights and w/o annoying others.
Helmet: I don't use a helmet. I know that helmets are massive conflict point in most cycling forums and wearing or not wearing one is in the end a very personal decision. Science says that people wearing helmets suffer a lot more from close passes (and those passes are closer, too) and - at the same time - cause more accidents themselves percentagewise and as part of an accident at higher rates percentagewise than people not wearing a helmet. That may be counterintuitive, still it is true. It seems that helmets send out a wrong signal of protection to both, the rider wearing the helmet as well as other participants in traffic. I don't reference the level of protection of helmets in the real case of a crash because this aspect is very opinionated from both sides and no one has managed to come to a clear rational point or unique conclusion - it obviously depends. I hate the discomfort of helmets, the sweating and having to carry the thing around with me. However - I am no fanatic here, everyone to his one taste and belief. Possibly the Hövding airbag may be a good compromise for some if they are willing to pay the steep price. It has gotten surprisingly popular here in Germany.
I do btw. own a helmet and use it when mountain biking. And it is the same with other pieces of special equipment like padded shorts or cycling gloves: I may use it when doing cycling as a sport, but this only happens rarely. Most of the time I do use cycling as a mode of transport or recreational and there is no need for special dress up, let alone putting on a knights armor. I use my bike like I would hop on the bus or enter a car: In normal clothing, w/o special equipment, w/o any mental preparation and w/o any conscious sportiness in mind. That's definitively on thing I really value regarding cycling. It is just natural. And I behave like an ordinary person as well on my bike. I guess that's what is the case in most countries on the continent, most of all in the Netherlands (where basically no one is wearing a helmet, too, despite the high rate of cyclists).
Whenever I've been to the UK in the last years I was really amazed about the differences in cycling: High viz, flash lights, helmets and cameras all over the place. Especially in London a frightening style of riding full of closest passes and gap jumping from both, cyclists and motorists - often pretty aggressive as it seemed to me. And many of the riders seemed to be on a mission - fast, conflict-driving and sporty (vs. the relaxed and natural, but still fast, style I am used to). Get my right: It is clearly not paradise here and there is a lot of conflict with motorists in traffic. Just that cyclists seem to use their bikes with a different attitude than in the uk and see themselves more on eye level with the motorists, as ordinary and equal participants in traffic, less as an endangered species.
Possibly this is part what causes the differences in attitude and equipment and vice versa. As I said in the beginning: interesting.
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Kell
Veteran
- Location
- High Wycombe/London
For sure there are differing views about cyclists, their behaviour and drivers’ behaviour all over the world.
You’d think that Londoners would be so used to the idea of bikes on town that they’re acutely aware of, and respectful to cyclists.
That is the case for the most part, but weirdly cyclists definitely seem to be resented more here than elsewhere (that I’ve ridden).
I’ve read about lot of what you say, about how the perception of being a more serious, competent cyclist means you’re more likely to suffer close passes. But it seems very odd to me for you to make such a bold statement about helmets and then do the exact opposite of what you just stated. The biggest perceived rise of levels of confidence when riding is when you go off-road. That is, you’re more likely to do something stupid/beyond your talent when using a helmet, off-road.
So to not wear one on road, yet wear one off road seems odd to me. Especially as most of the evidence I’ve read say helmets are more likely to protect you when going slowly, than going quickly.
All that aside, you’ve kind of missed the point about helmets. At no point did I suggest they were necessary, only that they don’t (always) get safer when you spend more. But they do get better ventilated and lighter, so they’re ‘better’ for casual cyclists/commuters as you don’t got too hot.
It is horses for courses, but as you say, your cycling is done in Berlin, mine is done in London where the OP was specifically asking about and where I have 25+ years of experience of commuting.
The attitude here never fails to surprise me. The idea that cyclists are somehow taking space away from drivers or that we’re slowing drivers down (in central London) is demonstrably not true, but cyclists are easy targets - in many ways.
I find it weird that you talk about hi-viz jackets not being at eye level, yet you run lights that are inches from the ground. I find it odd that you object to runnng lights during the day, when all (new) cars now have to have DRL by law and they’ve been proven to reduce accident rates. As mentioned I only run flashing lights in the day, not at night when they’re a nuisance.
Most of us can only speak from personal experience and bolster that by reading as much as we can to arm ourselves with the facts to make informed choices. Your decisions baffle me in equal measures to mine you.
Like you say, no animosity, and everyone is free to make their own choices depending on their own attitudes to risk, their own capabilities and their own riding style.
You’d think that Londoners would be so used to the idea of bikes on town that they’re acutely aware of, and respectful to cyclists.
That is the case for the most part, but weirdly cyclists definitely seem to be resented more here than elsewhere (that I’ve ridden).
I’ve read about lot of what you say, about how the perception of being a more serious, competent cyclist means you’re more likely to suffer close passes. But it seems very odd to me for you to make such a bold statement about helmets and then do the exact opposite of what you just stated. The biggest perceived rise of levels of confidence when riding is when you go off-road. That is, you’re more likely to do something stupid/beyond your talent when using a helmet, off-road.
So to not wear one on road, yet wear one off road seems odd to me. Especially as most of the evidence I’ve read say helmets are more likely to protect you when going slowly, than going quickly.
All that aside, you’ve kind of missed the point about helmets. At no point did I suggest they were necessary, only that they don’t (always) get safer when you spend more. But they do get better ventilated and lighter, so they’re ‘better’ for casual cyclists/commuters as you don’t got too hot.
It is horses for courses, but as you say, your cycling is done in Berlin, mine is done in London where the OP was specifically asking about and where I have 25+ years of experience of commuting.
The attitude here never fails to surprise me. The idea that cyclists are somehow taking space away from drivers or that we’re slowing drivers down (in central London) is demonstrably not true, but cyclists are easy targets - in many ways.
I find it weird that you talk about hi-viz jackets not being at eye level, yet you run lights that are inches from the ground. I find it odd that you object to runnng lights during the day, when all (new) cars now have to have DRL by law and they’ve been proven to reduce accident rates. As mentioned I only run flashing lights in the day, not at night when they’re a nuisance.
Most of us can only speak from personal experience and bolster that by reading as much as we can to arm ourselves with the facts to make informed choices. Your decisions baffle me in equal measures to mine you.
Like you say, no animosity, and everyone is free to make their own choices depending on their own attitudes to risk, their own capabilities and their own riding style.
Kell
Veteran
- Location
- High Wycombe/London
I've just reposted this video in another thread. Taken from a camera mounted on the top of my bars during the BWC two years ago.
You can see just how much vibration there is - and I was holding on.
It's gets even worse after the turn at the end to go up past Horse Guards.
(You can also see the difference between someone who's a decent cyclist and someone who's really good. I was doing 22mph when the lead group came past.)
View: https://www.facebook.com/Kell.LC/videos/10155447673221021/
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