Least practical Brompton ever

[chriscross1966]

I reckon Francesca can give the Steve Parry tandem a run for its money

Francesca ready to go

• chriscross1966
• 1 Aug 2018

Francesca at Paddington

• chriscross1966
• 1 Aug 2018

Rear Delta

• chriscross1966
• 1 Aug 2018

 

[Cycleops]

What's the story on the bike Chris?

 

[mitchibob]

I can say that it wasn't very fast when I lapped it, but that could've been the engine

 

[cougie uk]

Wow ! Delta brakes ! And dear god what a chainring there ! Powerrrrr !

 

[TheDoctor]

You're bloody certifiable. That is the maddest bike I've ever seen, let alone the maddest Brompton.
That's gone so far away from everything a Brompton ought to be.
*wants*

 

[chriscross1966]

What's the story on the bike Chris?

Chain fell off half a dozen times, rode most of it with an unnoticed rear flat... the combination of the riding position and the Strozapretti tyre made the last one possible... list of things to be done to fix... move rear brake bridge so that the Delta doesnt need the ez wheels up on that bracket, build a freewheel system that goes down to a 9T top gear so i can ditch the monster chainring for a 61/46 front pair and move the chainline in too, redo the aux tensioner setup for folding, which will allow me to fit standard Athena cups in the bottom bracket rather than the Olympus ones, telescopic seatpost to allow clearance on the Delta when it is repositioned, build more robust handlebar quick release mechanism, possibly find some wider handlebars too.... she is an absolute hoot to ride when she is working right, but the riding position is time-trial radical, so i might swap out the M stem for a S...

 

[chriscross1966]

I can say that it wasn't very fast when I lapped it, but that could've been the engine

Yes... each time i got going the chain came off, then the rear tyre flatted and i didnt notice any difference in the ride, i just got slower... :-)

 

[fossala]

Can it still fold or do the handlebars get in the way?

 

[chriscross1966]

It folds, the swivels allow it to sort of concertina up the stem , you end up with a brake lever on the floor.

 

[chriscross1966]

 

[chriscross1966]

That's not completely folded but does keep the Corsa Record Powergrade lever off the floor...

 

[BromptonChrispy]

I'm dreaming this aren't I. (My clock reads 03:38 so I must be)

 

[chriscross1966]

Oh and Deltas are not bad brakes. They are unlike anything else ever made though and a complete pain to get a cable into, plus if you mess up you've just wrecked an inner and have to start again. The Powergrade levers have so much extra stuff in them that there isnt much space left to get a decent nipple locator in there so they fall out if you don't keep them under tension... it's a combination of the caliper release being on the lever rather than the caliper, the aero/non-aero routing options and the Powergrade adjustable pivots that compensate for the long cable-pull requirement the Delta has... took hours to locate the cables properly, scrapped a few inners doing the back brake, did the front with the first inner but it took two hours to get it to thread through the caliper whilst staying in the lever. I can see why the engineers hated them so much no matter what the riders thought, it's a dog of a job and there are no shortcuts... and when they're set up they are weird, a fair pull on the lever for not much if any braking, loud squealing noise, then a very powerful brake over not much lever travel... they work and work well, with those slicks on dry tarmac it's nearly put me over the bars, but you can feel it all... but it it isn't like any other brake I've evwr used

 

[Kell]

I think an H type would have been a better starting point to make the fold more compatible.

 

[Kell]

Although you could get hold of a front end from an H type - that wouldn't be a huge amount of work considering the amount you've already done.