Petulant Brompton questions..
- Thread starter wafter
- Start date
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Yup - according to their website they seem to offer a liftime frame warranty across their folding range; including the ally ones!
Short notice perhaps but if your mate's open to the idea, there's a nice looking Btwin 120 for sale in Aylesbury currently on FB marketplace.. I asked about it earlier today and the seller was really sound; sadly I ended up pulling out as the No.1 choice came through in the end.
Posting partially because I feel a bit bad for not completing the deal considering the seller was so amenible; however the bikedefinitely looks worth having - apparently 8 months old, £135 and open to offers as he needs it gone this weekend
EltonFrog
Legendary Member
Eh?
I think that’s code for “I’ve just gone and bought this”
Looks like the Black Laquer finish 😎
Looks like a new C line explore, that’s exactly the colour I would choose if I was buying a brand new one, they look stunning.
EltonFrog
Legendary Member
Crivens!
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
I love my Brompton but I'm also surprised at how much car space it takes. It won't fit in the boot of my Hyundai and has to go on the back seat and I worry about whether that's safe, even with the seatbelt on it. Or it can just go in the rear passenger side foot well if the front passenger seat is shoved as far forward as it will go, but that's a very tight squeeze.
However I rarely transport it by car, so it's not important
T4tomo
Legendary Member
That's what I do if it needs to go in the kids Kia Picanto. No such issues with the Volvo estate.
Mrs Tenkaykev just sent me this photo. She's traveling down to London and waiting for a connecting train at Newark Nottingham.
I've wondered if these are mainly used by people who are familiar with Brompton or if there might be a job opportunity as a folder/unfolder waiting 😉
I've wondered if these are mainly used by people who are familiar with Brompton or if there might be a job opportunity as a folder/unfolder waiting 😉
Yes, I've finally managed to sort one out
I spotted the new ad on Wed night and contacted the seller; info was initially fourthcoming but then radio silence. I sent a slightly snotty response and yesterday, just as I was arranging to view a nice looking Btwin Tilt 120 in Aylesbury (as up-thread, the seller's sound - if you need one, buy this!) the Brompton seller got back to me wih more pics and info...
The seller's comms continued to be sketchy and I spent yesterday in a state of anxious suspense; waiting for very slow responses to my messages to come through and constantly second-guessing whether I should even make the trek to see it in case it was a scam; the seller was too flaky to complete the deal or any one of a thousand other reasons to be cautious.
Predictably the bike was in London so I elected to go in the evening to miss the traffic. The 90-odd miles still took me knocking on the door of three hours and by the time I arrived it was late and I was pretty wrung out; partly from enduring the sort of steering-wheel-biting situations the bike is intended to avoid.
The seller turned out to be perfectly sound and we were both relieved that the other wasn't an abject scumbag
After going through the basics I had a little test ride, to find that none of the three gears shifted. Upon closer inspection it appeared that the selector chain for the hub was missing.. after some rummaging the seller emerging somewhat sheepishly holding the never-fitted item in question - seems the few miles she'd covered on the bike had been in the lowest hub gear with the only selection being on the derailleur
After some head-scratching we got the chain installed and the hub gears working. The bike was a little less tidy than I'd expected from the pictures (worst being bizarelly wobbly wheels on the rear triangle, grazing on the rear mudguard and suspension bush), and I was concerned by a clicking coming from the hub when pedalling in gears 1 and 3 (which the internet suggested is normal..?) However, the absent-in-the-pictures-pump that I was planning on using as a haggle-point turned up, as well as a decent Brompton-branded front bag that hadn't been mentioned - so I paid the asking price.... not sale of the century but probably the lower to mid end of what these typically go for
After a Paypal-sponsored fiasco I bid farewell to the very trusting seller and her partner and made my way back. The journey was much quieter since it was now well into the night and I got home about 01:00.. asleep by half two and typically up at half 7 this morning; still half-asleep but keen to get to work on the bike.
As some have already correctly surmised the bike is a C-Line Explore (6spd) black edition in black lacquer. It was made in Dec 2021 and the person I bought it from was the original owner. It's not mint, but not bad and as far as I can see the frame itself is free from damage. I was told that the bike was only used "six times" which doesn't seem unreasonable considering how clean it is; with only the odd mud splash and a a fine layer of dust present on most bits.
Of all the standard-ish-spec steel models this is exactly the one I like the most so I'm well pleased to have been able to get my hands on this one. I think it looks fantastic - both with the dark, transparent finish on the frame allowing the fillet brazing to show through and all the black finishing kit.. the down side being that it does show the marks a lot more than the silver variants.
Today's plans are really just to give it a clean, identify and protect areas of potential wear on the frame / components (such as the point on the BB that's contacted by the wheel when folded), set it up properly and make sure it fits me as best as possible. I was pleased to see that the chain has a quicklink so that's now stewing in paraffin to rid it of its tacky oil and the stuff that had already stuck to it.. pending subsequent waxing.
Once it's properly clean I'll put up some pics (one below from the seller), and all being well I hope to give it its first outing on Monday
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Yes, I've finally managed to sort one out
I spotted the new ad on Wed night and contacted the seller; info was initially fourthcoming but then radio silence. I sent a slightly snotty response and yesterday, just as I was arranging to view a nice looking Btwin Tilt 120 in Aylesbury (as up-thread, the seller's sound - if you need one, buy this!) the Brompton seller got back to me wih more pics and info...
The seller's comms continued to be sketchy and I spent yesterday in a state of anxious suspense; waiting for very slow responses to my messages to come through and constantly second-guessing whether I should even make the trek to see it in case it was a scam; the seller was too flaky to complete the deal or any one of a thousand other reasons to be cautious.
Predictably the bike was in London so I elected to go in the evening to miss the traffic. The 90-odd miles still took me knocking on the door of three hours and by the time I arrived it was late and I was pretty wrung out; partly from enduring the sort of steering-wheel-biting situations the bike is intended to avoid.
The seller turned out to be perfectly sound and we were both relieved that the other wasn't an abject scumbag
After going through the basics I had a little test ride, to find that none of the three gears shifted. Upon closer inspection it appeared that the selector chain for the hub was missing.. after some rummaging the seller emerging somewhat sheepishly holding the never-fitted item in question - seems the few miles she'd covered on the bike had been in the lowest hub gear with the only selection being on the derailleur
After some head-scratching we got the chain installed and the hub gears working. The bike was a little less tidy than I'd expected from the pictures (worst being bizarelly wobbly wheels on the rear traingle, grazing on the rear mudguard and suspension bush), and I was concerned by a clicking coming from the hub when pedalling in gears 1 and 3 (which the internet suggested is normal..?) However, the absent-in-the-pictures-pump that I was planning on using as a haggle-point turned up, as well as a decent Brompton-branded front bag that hadn't been mentioned - so I paid the asking price.... not sale of the century but probably the lower to mid end of what these typically go for
After a Paypal-sponsored fiasco I bid farewell to the very trusting seller and her partner and made my way back. The journey was much quieter since it was now well into the night and I got home about 01:00.. asleep by half two and typically up at half 7 this morning; still half-asleep but keen to get to work on the bike.
As some have already correctly surmised the bike is a C-Line Explore (6spd) black edition in black lacquer. It was made in Dec 2021 and the person I bought it from was the original owner. It's not mint, but not bad and as far as I can see the frame itself is free from damage. I was told that the bike was only used "six times" which doesn't seem unreasonable considering how clean it is; with only the odd mud splash and a fine later of dust present on most bits.
Of all the standard-ish-spec steel models this is exactly the one I like the most, so I'm well pleased to have been able to get my hands on this one, and think it looks fantastic - both with the dark, transparent finish on the frame allowing the fillet brazing to show through, as well as all the black finishing kit.. the down side being that it does show the marks a lot more than the silver variants..
Today's plans are really just to give it a clean, identify and protect areas of potential wear on the frame / components (such as the point on the BB that's contacted by the wheel when folded), set it up properly and make sure it fits me as best as possible. I was pleased to see that the chain has a quicklink so that's now stewing in paraffin to rid it of its tacky oil and the stuff that had already stuck to it.. pending subsequent waxing.
Once it's properly clean I'll put up some pics (one below from the seller), and all being well I hope to give it its first outing on Monday
View attachment 695099
A bit of an odyssey but all's well that ends well. Lovely looking bike 😎
