How far can a brompton take you?

[shirokazan]

...And I've never had so many punctures in my life as I have with my Brommie and it's allegedly "puncture-proof" Marathon tyres...

My experience is mixed. The first set of Marathon Plus tyres lasted about 15 months before the front tyre wore out, but during that whole time I had zero punctures. Not long after, I replaced that Brompton with a newer one. Unfortunately, I've had about 3 punctures on the rear in the last 3 months I'm beginning to think that the rear tyre is cursed and just needs replacing.

For information, most of the cycling is my train-commute to work in central London and that's where all the punctures have occurred.

 

[Arch]

I got a letter a while back from a friend who'd just done half a LEJOG (LE to Carlisle) on a Brompton, over a week or two. And she's in her 70's. She took the Brom so that she could get the bus if necessary, but never needed to.

She plans to go back and do Carlisle to JOG next year...

 

[chap]

I just checked how long I do and it is about 16 miles (roundtrip) surprisingly enough. The thing is that the Brompton is surprisingly quick and the gearing must be right since I seldom feel 'put out' on it.

I regularly do pleasure rides around town, and these are generally about 10 or more miles, the only reason I don't do more is because I normally stop at a few spots either for a drink at a pub, or something small to eat. It is wonderfuly sociable going for cycles with others (esp. at night time when the city is your playground).

 

[Ian H]

An Italian lawyer whose name I fail to recall did the London-Edinburgh-London 1400k audax on a Brompton in 1997. Brompton did some minor mods to the rear triangle for him - probably more to do with his size than innate design problems - he was about 6' 7".

 

[Crankarm]

An Italian lawyer whose name I fail to recall did the London-Edinburgh-London 1400k audax on a Brompton in 1997. Brompton did some minor mods to the rear triangle for him - probably more to do with his size than innate design problems - he was about 6' 7".

A 6'7"ft tall Italian lawyer on a Brompton! Blimey aren't many Italian men a lot shorter than 6'7"? He must have been a giant in Italy. Italians tend to have shorter legs and longer arms hence the uncomfortable driving positions for their cars. Mind many men are a lot shorter than 6'7". I am for a start. Although the Dutch are very tall perhaps that's why Dutch bikes are so big?

 

[JohnCKirk]

I've done 19 miles on a Brompton recently, but it starts to get a bit uncomfortable after about 10 miles. I think that's mainly because of my height: I'm 6'2", so I've got the extended seat pillar, but the handlebars don't raise (because it would mess up the folding mechanism), so I wind up with a bit of back ache after a while.

I got the Brompton a year ago, and used it to replace the bus journeys at each end of my commute. Since then, I've been cycling further, and reducing the length of my train journey (e.g. cycling to a station that's halfway along my route). Now that I can cycle the whole way to/from work, I think it's time to get another bike, and just use the Brompton when I'm taking the train somewhere.

 

[StuartG]

I love my Brommie almost as much as my proper bike. The only issue I have is the plain pedals that make more work for you. I'm old fashioned enough to still have clips on the other but they still make a big difference to converting effort into miles.

It may be worthwhile figuring out the best type of shoe to wear (office leather soles are lethal) unless someone has grafted cleats onto a Brommie?

As for taking a brommie on a bus - I assume it ain't going to rain or the fairy will fly away. So far lucky with the latter (Brompton Kevlars) but it does save have to carry wet gear 'just in case' if you have the alternate option to get home.

 

[Greenbank]

An Italian lawyer whose name I fail to recall did the London-Edinburgh-London 1400k audax on a Brompton in 1997. Brompton did some minor mods to the rear triangle for him - probably more to do with his size than innate design problems - he was about 6' 7".

There was one Brompton on London-Edinburgh-London again this year, this time it was a rather shorter (sub-6') Israeli named Tal. That's 1400km in under 5 days for those what don't know.

 

[palinurus]

I love my Brommie almost as much as my proper bike. The only issue I have is the plain pedals that make more work for you. I'm old fashioned enough to still have clips on the other but they still make a big difference to converting effort into miles.

It may be worthwhile figuring out the best type of shoe to wear (office leather soles are lethal) unless someone has grafted cleats onto a Brommie?

As for taking a brommie on a bus - I assume it ain't going to rain or the fairy will fly away. So far lucky with the latter (Brompton Kevlars) but it does save have to carry wet gear 'just in case' if you have the alternate option to get home.

SPDs on a Brompton work, once you've managed to get the folding pedal off. They stick out a bit more than the folding pedal which may be a disadvantage. It makes it more difficult for someone else to use it unless they have the shoes etc- a problem if guests sometimes use it for example. It would be possible to use one-sided SPD pedals with a platform on the other side but these stick out further than regular SPDs.

 

[Crankarm]

SPDs on a Brompton work, once you've managed to get the folding pedal off. They stick out a bit more than the folding pedal which may be a disadvantage. It makes it more difficult for someone else to use it unless they have the shoes etc- a problem if guests sometimes use it for example. It would be possible to use one-sided SPD pedals with a platform on the other side but these stick out further than regular SPDs.

Regular SPD M520s are fine. However they are absolutely no deterrent whatsoever to anyone thinking of 'borrowing' your Brompton as my first L6 had SPDs on plus micro bar ends which was nicked .

The SPD pedal on the left side doesn't stick out that much. It is a small price to pay for a much improved cycling experience.

 

[HobbesChoice]

When I saw the subject of this thread my instant thought was "to hell and back" but reading some posts the Brompton definitely has some loyal customers!

I know that there's a London to Paris ride each year for fold ups but aimed at Brompton owners. I would imagine that to be quite a lot of fun having done that trip myself (not on a Brompton, obviously )

I have a Brompton which I only use when really really necessary as I love my hybrid so much and don't want to do my full commute on a small fold up bike. But my Brompton does me for the 10 mile round trip to the train station (when it's absolutely necessary that I use the train). But I use it so rarely these days I'm seriously considering selling it.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

did 100km last friday in the horrendous rain. no problems at all

 

[Twanger]

I love my Brommie almost as much as my proper bike. The only issue I have is the plain pedals that make more work for you. I'm old fashioned enough to still have clips on the other but they still make a big difference to converting effort into miles.

It may be worthwhile figuring out the best type of shoe to wear (office leather soles are lethal) unless someone has grafted cleats onto a Brommie?

As for taking a brommie on a bus - I assume it ain't going to rain or the fairy will fly away. So far lucky with the latter (Brompton Kevlars) but it does save have to carry wet gear 'just in case' if you have the alternate option to get home.

I have kept the folding pedal, but I changed the right hand pedal with a bog standard cage+toe clip one. I can't get the hang of not having a toe clip on the pedal I start off on. I feel weird having to flick up the pedal with my toe at the lights. A toe clip restores confidence. It doesn't affect the folding, and I have got used to no toeclip on the left.

When it comes to shoes, normal office shoes are fine for the short (3 mile) run I normally do. For longer runs, I wear my cycling shoes.

 

[chap]

I've done 19 miles on a Brompton recently, but it starts to get a bit uncomfortable after about 10 miles. I think that's mainly because of my height: I'm 6'2", so I've got the extended seat pillar, but the handlebars don't raise (because it would mess up the folding mechanism), so I wind up with a bit of back ache after a while.

I got the Brompton a year ago, and used it to replace the bus journeys at each end of my commute. Since then, I've been cycling further, and reducing the length of my train journey (e.g. cycling to a station that's halfway along my route). Now that I can cycle the whole way to/from work, I think it's time to get another bike, and just use the Brompton when I'm taking the train somewhere.

Funny, I had a bit of a painful back today, which is odd since I commuted the exact same route as usual (albeit in a hurry). I think it has something to do with the seat since it has been rather uncomfortable (at speed across bumpy ground) recently so I've been shifting, and consequently moving back, which arches my back.

I will ride normally tomorrow and look into buying a sprung saddle (preferably Brooks Flyer Special.) I imagine that this would alleviate the strain. I think that it is possible to go far on a Brompton as a tallish person, I managed to put in a few miles, plus I've done this commute several times, and I am about 6,1". Also Will Self uses a Brompton too, and he is 6,2" Obviously everybody is different so please don't think I am taking that commonly used assumptive and populist stance with you that others are fine so you must follow suit

Anyway, I'll check it tomorrow.

 

[dellzeqq]

Waitrose. Anything further, get a real bike.

As theclaud says, Stuart and Mary have done the FNRttC on Brommies, which is pretty impressive. I wouldn't fancy it.