Every bike I've bought has needed the gearing lowered, surprises me that 54 teeth is too low, Id top out in the 50 mph range with that gearing ! I'd be interested to hear what the entire spec is. Do they have their own rear hub or is it a Sturmey Archer ? Is it light weight ? Does it use the same rear pivot as Brompton, or have they improved it ?
Well, in terms of drivetrain, we have:
- H&H Studios 7 speed 11-32 cassette
- A newly installed 58T chainring
- A gold-anodized 11s chain, to fit the narrow cassette (KMC I believe)
In terms of gear inches, this gives us a range of 29-84. For comparison, my gravel bike, a Sonder Camino, 1x12 setup, has a range of 25-112. So yes, definitely shifted towards the lower side of the range. But the gravel bike was chosen for good performance on steep climbs while fully loaded. I don't need any of that for a Brompton - I could have gone much higher... except I'm all maxed out. I can't go smaller than 11 on the sprockets - and I can't go bigger than 58 on the chainring. As it is, it's borderline in terms of interfering with the folding, so I'm quite lucky I didn't go for 60 - that would have been too much. I still spin out on the descends, but I'm fine with it.
The wheels are by LitePro, and I don't know which hubs are they using, but it's definitely not SA. By the rear pivot - do you mean the rear triangle folding mechanism? If so, I think it's pretty much the same, I haven't noticed any difference.
About the seatpost sleeve - yes, it's there, and I'm a bit fearful of the moment it starts falling apart - I think it's a safe bet that it will.
