New Brompton specs

[Sayrah82]

Hi all,

I live in zone 4 south London and at some point might get to go back to work in Central London (though looking likely not til next year). I've always shied away from having a bike in London, but it's looking like it may become a necessity, and right now I have all the time in the world to practice riding without deadlines.

I live in a flat and work long hours so I definitely need a folding bike for home storage and for ease of going home on public transport after a late finish.

I've found a few M3L options from Brompton themselves and other stores for home delivery. There's things if I were building from scratch I would add like rear luggage rack, front block, etc which I'm assuming I could add later? Buying this means I have it next week. Getting a custom one made will be weeks to wait.

My question is, should I go for it with an off the peg or should I get a custom bike built and wait the time for it? My particular niggle is around the gearing ratios which are all standard on the bikes I've seen available, but as I live in a hilly bit of London I would be better with -12% or -18%?

As you can probably tell I know nothing about bikes!
Thanks for your help!
Sarah

 

[FrankCrank]

For 3 speed Sturmey Archer hubs, the easiest way to change the ratios is to change the sprocket on the hub with another one with different tooth count. More teeth= easier to pedal, less teeth= harder to pedal. With wheel removed, a snap ring is all that holds the sprocket in place. SA sprockets are readily available on eebay. I think the chain length may need altering as well? maybe someone else can comment. Utube videos show how to remove a Brommie rear wheel. In utube, do a search for 'brilliantbikes' and all sorts of Brommie info is available.
Knowing how to remove wheels is an essential requirement for puncture repair, and you can easily build on that with routine maintenance tasks.
Good luck with it all

 

[roley poley]

If you NEED one now and can afford it you should buy now, all parts can be changed to suit but you will pay a bit more over time to tune it to your found preferences which I think may be the case for all bikes..asking on the folding bikes section of the forum will bring you more answers to any of your questions as Brompton owners tend to orbit that area and are more than willing to give advice if you need it don't before afraid to ask we all start somewhere

 

[gizmo1994]

Try Fudges Cycle store. We bought a M6L there which they converted to M6R (with rack) in a couple of hours, Just added the cost price of the rack.

 

[rogerzilla]

Are you sure you want the M? It's a stodgy riding position. Fun around car parks but hard work if you're going any distance. Try the S if you can.

 

[jay clock]

Agreed the S better. I have a luggage block and a C bag and never see the need for a rack. The extra weight on the front helps handling massively.

My S3L had standard gears and I changed the front chainring from I think 50 to 44. Easy to do and gears better for hills. Still not a doddle but the top speed is about 32kmh and anything easier and the top speed would be too slow

 

[Sayrah82]

Thanks for your replies everyone.

rogerzilla & jay clock no, I can't say I'm sure I wouldn't prefer the S without trying it, but to be honest whatever I buy I'm basically going to be relearning how to ride a bike as its been many years since I've done so, and I only ever messed about on the cul-de-sac as a kid/teenager, so I'm not certain I'd even know what was best straight away anyway. Of the people I know with Bromptons only the two people who are cyclists with other bikes have the S-type, everyone else has the M and loves it. So I'd just assumed the S was more likely a proper cyclist option!!

 

[BalkanExpress]

It sounds like you need at least a test ride of a couple of versions or even a longer trial. As @gizmo1994 said give fidg cycles à call. I have not used them for Brompton but they are a good company.

The alternative, if it is still working in these Covid times may be to hire one for a few days, see how easy it is to get in the flat etc. Brompton have a hire scheme through their Brompton docks, I have never used but others may have experiences they can share.

https://www.bromptonbikehire.com/