Is my made-over better?

[Sharky]

Is B done with photoshop?

 

[roley poley]

Is B done with photoshop?

I am fairly sure it is as you can see how it looks before you buy it which was the OPs aim he just didn't include the brake calipers for the visual effect

 

[Gunk]

A for me. Tan walls are so 1970s.

that’s why I love them!

 

[FrankCrank]

I had read somewhere information about Bropton's growth strategy in Asia but cannot remember the exact source and it was a couple of years ago anyway. Thailand has for a long time not appeared on that map for various reasons and - as far as I can judge - is not really relevant until today. Japan was strong since the 90ies already, South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia came in some time around 2010ish. China has been a market they wanted to conquer in the recent years but, as far as I can judge, until now with little success (but those things take time). Brompton has a subsidiary in Hongkong that does the distribution part for Asia. With the financial numbers of that plus the percentage of sales going to Asia, both from the finacial statements, and addinonally some other info one gets a not too vague picture of what is going on.



That's for sure and I do not expect everybody to go through 40+ years of financial statementes before posting - but personally I consider it a difference if someone says "I wonder if or why this and that" "I think or believe this and that" or "this and that ist fact" (w/o any foundation apart from personal belief that may even be founded on ignorance) "and this means everybody at Brompton is a bloody incompetent idiot." They claim that Asia is growing and this is untrue because I was/live there and cannot believe that there are many Bromptons sold and Brompton should know that. This kind of statements is as wrong as unnecessary and unhelpful and fosters the image of forums as a totally unreliable source of information. Some guy invented the phrase "alternative facts" for that. In other words: Speculate as much as you wish, but if you want to do me a favor make clear when you speculate and don't sell your speculations as facts.

Wow - get over yourself fella. You'll be saying I'm the expat equivalent of Trump next...........I speculate.
You sound as though you're under the impression Brompton have made great inroads into the Thai bike market, but my eyes are telling me a different story - I know which one I believe. If you've ever cycled anywhere in Thailand, or other SE Asia countries, you'll see there's a fundamental flaw in marketing a multi-modal (very expensive) bike as a viable means of everyday transport. I speculate that locally made clones would fare much better, but only as status symbols, and only at a reasonable price. You may disagree with this, I care not, you're entitled to your opinion as much as I am to mine.

 

[u_i]

For the recent years Asia has been one of the strongest growing markets for Brompton, with South Korea being in the lead. There is definitively demand and the market works somewhat differently. The gazillion of special editions is a direct result of the Asian market. Whenever a new limited edition pops up it is sold out quickly in Asia and most of the times European dealers are approached by Asians if they could deliver special edition bikes to Asia.
So no matter what you think about Brompton judging wrongly about a market potential in Asia - they have been exporting there for almost 30 years and the market is huge, strong and growing and eats up a considerable and growing amount of Bromptons production. In comparison i.e. the US are a pretty neglectable market until now, even that it has been growing in the last years.

In S Korean city environment, I would see Bromptons on a daily basis. In Japan they are there, though difficult to fish out of the myriad of mamachari. While I spent just one day in Taiwan I managed to see several Bromptons during that time. In China, I think the customer base is that of kids of rich parents. Everyday commuting is dominated by practical but klutzy electric bikes. In Vietnam there are hardly any bikes visible in the streets - all motorbikes. In the US the growth is steady, far away from market saturation, just from people discussing the bikes, buying them and the number of venues selling Bromptons growing. From my observations, the Eastern European market started finally picking up. There is quite a bit of room for growth even on British Isles. During several days in Dublin, we saw no Bromptons other than our own. Even in England, away from London, I would be stopped in the street with people asking about the bike.

 

[berlinonaut]

In the US the growth is steady, far away from market saturation, just from people discussing the bikes, buying them and the number of venues selling Bromptons growing.

With the former distributor retiring Brompton invested heavily in growth of the US market. Channel Wasson, the former and initial distributor since the mid nineties, handled Bromptons very professionally but more as a side business for him as far as I know, not following a massive growth strategy. Now Brompton have a daughter company in the US that is responsible for the distribution, they do marketing, they onboard more and more dealers and they also did a deal with REI to sell certain Brompton models in their shops. Possibly also the attitude of people in the US towards cycling has changed (as it has in wider parts of the western world over the last years) and Brompton profits from that. So there is still huge potential for growth I'd assume even that they do already sell way more there than they used to.

 

[novetan]

I read something of the rust issue. Maybe they should do them with designer rust already added, and charge even more

Reminded me of Tuff Kote used in car 10 yrs ago where cars were prone to rust. Are they still ard?

 

[novetan]

3sixty frame is supposed to be a bit bigger (longer) than the original. There is a carbon fibre folder "inspired" by the brommie style trifold. This is actually a really good use of composites to make funny shaped elements that are much lighter than they would be made of steel tubes. A bigger Brompton and an affordable lighter weight Brompton should be Brompton products.

No, its almost exactly the same size after comparing with my friend's brommie. Using just measuring tape without any hi-tech laser instrument, its abt +/- 1mm

 

[novetan]

My perception of Brompton is that is an exceptionally well designed bike that works as a whole entity. When I make some modifications of my own, it usually takes several times to succeed because I miss the several steps that the Brompton designers are ahead of me. When I buy aftermarket parts for Brompton they notoriously work worse than original and sometimes plainly incapacitate the bike, again because the aftermarket designers do not really understand how Brompton is supposed to work.

Looking initially at the two photos above, I thought that the add-ons might look nice, but do they otherwise make the bike unrideable? Only a moment later I realized that the whole bike is aftermarket. How does 3sixty compare to Brompton in practice? We can only know if we have someone owning both and riding them regularly beyond the photo-op. You can copy the coarse appearance but you cannot copy the active thinking (until at least AI advances well more). Yes I have seen 3Sixty reports elsewhere, but hardly anything ever concrete.

The real diff is the suspension block changing to a spring. Tyres are tyres. Diff is only the branding and type of threading. In what way you reckoned is unrideable. You are thinking too much. No offence.

My 3sixty is 3 sp using Sturmey Archer grp set which to me is the most impt elements. The ride is smooth with no cranky sound. Yesterday I just did a climb of 9 to 10%. Exhausted though. I'm totally happy with my purchase. So the bike is performing as it shld be.

 

[novetan]

BTW, thks so much everyone for the feedback. Very much appreciated. The general consensus is option A. I'm taking a minimalist approach and has already ordered the parts. Here's my version. I do believed less is more. I'm still working on the rack wheels where I hv 2 options. But I'm in no hurry to decide at this moment.

Btw,I hv little knowledge in metallurgy. Does chroming onto a chromoly steel make it less rust prone? What if it rust. How can I rectified? If it is painted at least it can touch up.

 

[rogerzilla]

Chroming protects against rust from the outside (for a while) but embrittles the steel. Also, the chroming process involves a lot of polishing, which removes material. It's expensive and best avoided really.

 

[u_i]

The real diff is the suspension block changing to a spring. Tyres are tyres. Diff is only the branding and type of threading. In what way you reckoned is unrideable. You are thinking too much. No offence.

By Brompton becoming unrideable with replacement parts, I mean gear getting stuck in one position, chain jumping out of the tensioner and quitting to engage cogs, hinge clamp bolts snapping during the ride, etc. Not sure how my thinking needs to go to any overload here.

My 3sixty is 3 sp using Sturmey Archer grp set which to me is the most impt elements. The ride is smooth with no cranky sound. Yesterday I just did a climb of 9 to 10%. Exhausted though. I'm totally happy with my purchase. So the bike is performing as it shld be.

Thanks, sounds good. Obviously a $40 folder from a Chinese supermarket will also perform at some level. There are many subtelties involved and price-performance relation is in no way linear but overall it is good to hear that it does what you need it for and are happy.

 

[novetan]

Chroming protects against rust from the outside (for a while) but embrittles the steel. Also, the chroming process involves a lot of polishing, which removes material. It's expensive and best avoided really.

Is it too naive to ask, so is painting or chroming more durable. Ok I understand many stages are involved. Degree of preparation, coating thickness etc etc. So lets assumed each type meets the basic preparation and min allowable thickness under BS or ASTM, which is more durable?

 

[rogerzilla]

I wouldn't know that. Chrome is much harder to scratch but eventually it does get rust under it.

 

[roley poley]

By Brompton becoming unrideable with replacement parts, I mean gear getting stuck in one position, chain jumping out of the tensioner and quitting to engage cogs, hinge clamp bolts snapping during the ride, etc. Not sure how my thinking needs to go to any overload here.

That's quite worrying U-I especially hinge clamp bolt snapping as I feel mine are due for replacement after 18 years service and don't want this critical part to fail ON ANYONE.... you mention aftermarket parts ..are they from Brompton ? Did you complain ? Rogerzilla also mentions poorly assembled and non lube in this thread so what is happening to quality control overall ....(sorry if I have gone off topic a bit but it is a safety issue pull me back in line any time you like )