I decided to get a Birdy so my Brompton wouldn’t feel lonely at night. I had a good deal for R&M Birdy Touring and said what the heck.
It comes with Sunrace rear hub and cassette which apparently compatible with nothing else. In another forum user reported hub braking on him twice as the metal was too thin. Birdy is 18 inch wheels, will put Big Apple 50-335 later on. Chainwheel is 52T. Rear cassette currently installed is 9-32 which gives it more or less compatible range with my Brompton.
My Brompton is 6 speed with 44t chainring. This is common drivetrain setup for Bromptons sold in Istanbul as we have hills everywhere. If my understanding is correct, the gearing meters of development on my Brompton would be 2.32m on 1st gear and 7.03m on 6th.
Now I’m looking for alternatives to upgrade rear hub/cassette for Birdy. Rear hub is 135mm with disk brake and while I was recommended on other forum to look at XDR hubs as it can accept smaller cogs I can’t find them in local market and imports are problem’s these days. I discussed with my mechanic and he recommended Shimano hub with 11-36 cassette. Now 36 cassette is a welcome addition to hilly roads here in Istanbul but I’m wandering if 11t smallest cog will be small enough for soeed? It’s all subjective of course, I’m not going to race this thing but am comparing to Brompton. According to my calculations it will give 6.5 meters of development.
What would community recommend as the rear hub/cassette upgrade? Shimano is most popular brand here in Turkey but I’ll be happy with alternatives if available.
It comes with Sunrace rear hub and cassette which apparently compatible with nothing else. In another forum user reported hub braking on him twice as the metal was too thin. Birdy is 18 inch wheels, will put Big Apple 50-335 later on. Chainwheel is 52T. Rear cassette currently installed is 9-32 which gives it more or less compatible range with my Brompton.
My Brompton is 6 speed with 44t chainring. This is common drivetrain setup for Bromptons sold in Istanbul as we have hills everywhere. If my understanding is correct, the gearing meters of development on my Brompton would be 2.32m on 1st gear and 7.03m on 6th.
Now I’m looking for alternatives to upgrade rear hub/cassette for Birdy. Rear hub is 135mm with disk brake and while I was recommended on other forum to look at XDR hubs as it can accept smaller cogs I can’t find them in local market and imports are problem’s these days. I discussed with my mechanic and he recommended Shimano hub with 11-36 cassette. Now 36 cassette is a welcome addition to hilly roads here in Istanbul but I’m wandering if 11t smallest cog will be small enough for soeed? It’s all subjective of course, I’m not going to race this thing but am comparing to Brompton. According to my calculations it will give 6.5 meters of development.
What would community recommend as the rear hub/cassette upgrade? Shimano is most popular brand here in Turkey but I’ll be happy with alternatives if available.
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