I would not have guessed a tube on a Brompton could be changed in 5 or 10 minutes, that is good to know.
Which tyre should I get for a Brompton?
- Thread starter JE201
- Start date
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Origamist
Legendary Member
There are two batches. The earlier samples came up big and the rear mudguard in particular needed fettling to accommodate them or people gave up. The newer, final production version is narrower and fits fine. You can tell them apart as the newer version has a reflective sidewall strip, the sample version does not.
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roley poley
Über Member
- Location
- leeds
thanks for that as I do remember them on sjs and the reviews by them said they wouldn't fit brommies and I thought they were missing a large customer base by sizing them so,now the site is recommending them and are selling for a penny short of £25 .Brilliant bikes have a set on test on ewechewb
Kell
Veteran
- Location
- High Wycombe/London
There’s a lot of good advice on this thread.
Without wishing to underestimate your skills, it sounds like you don’t have a huge amount of experience in bike maintenance.
Which is fine. Everyone has to start somewhere.
One of the best things you can do is to look at the things people have mentioned.
These are very different skills to doing this on normal bikes, so they’re good to learn in the dry and warmth of your house/garage - rather than on a rainy, dark morning when you’re already running late.
Neither of these things is difficult, but they’re not exactly intuitive.
Here’s how to adjust the gears so they index properly.
View: https://youtu.be/-mGfuqxilO4
And here’s how you remove the rear wheel.
View: https://youtu.be/ZfsLis3_JLw
As for tyres, I switched to Marathon Plus once my originals had worn down as I was more interested in fit and forget ease of use rather than outright speed.
Having said that, I’m not exactly slow on my bike. Most of my commutes will average out at 15mph+ and my normal moving speed is about 17mph.
And I’m almost 50 and 16 stone.
Depends what you want from your bike. If you’re entering a Brompton race, then the lightest tyres might make sense. But for a commuter bike, getting where you want to be on time makes more sense to me.
Other people have different views, but I’ve not had an actual puncture in 4 1/2 years and 10,000 miles.
Good luck with your new bike.
Without wishing to underestimate your skills, it sounds like you don’t have a huge amount of experience in bike maintenance.
Which is fine. Everyone has to start somewhere.
One of the best things you can do is to look at the things people have mentioned.
- Ensuring you know how to adjust your gearing.
- And removal and refitting the rear wheel.
These are very different skills to doing this on normal bikes, so they’re good to learn in the dry and warmth of your house/garage - rather than on a rainy, dark morning when you’re already running late.
Neither of these things is difficult, but they’re not exactly intuitive.
Here’s how to adjust the gears so they index properly.
View: https://youtu.be/-mGfuqxilO4
And here’s how you remove the rear wheel.
View: https://youtu.be/ZfsLis3_JLw
As for tyres, I switched to Marathon Plus once my originals had worn down as I was more interested in fit and forget ease of use rather than outright speed.
Having said that, I’m not exactly slow on my bike. Most of my commutes will average out at 15mph+ and my normal moving speed is about 17mph.
And I’m almost 50 and 16 stone.
Depends what you want from your bike. If you’re entering a Brompton race, then the lightest tyres might make sense. But for a commuter bike, getting where you want to be on time makes more sense to me.
Other people have different views, but I’ve not had an actual puncture in 4 1/2 years and 10,000 miles.
Good luck with your new bike.
Thank you, very helpful advice. I will mostly be commuting, I hope I get as far as you have without a puncture!
You sound like you commute a lot on your Brompton. How many miles do you typically get before you have to change your M+ tyres due to wear?
Kell
Veteran
- Location
- High Wycombe/London
Unsure off hand.
I think I’m on my third set of tyres. And these ones look to have plenty of life on them.
What I would say about Marathon+ tyres though is what a lot of others have mentioned. They are very hard to get on and off as they do not have much give in them.
I carry metal tyre levers as I’ve snapped several plastic ones on these tyres.
Thanks. I got the slightly more puncture resistant ones than the Racers, but not as good as the Marathon Plus. I'm not intending to upgrade them, at least not while they still work anyway.
Tom...
Guru
@Tenkaykev How are you finding the Contact Urban's?
I like them. They roll so much better than the M+ that they replaced. I cycle along a trailway as part of my usual route, a couple of miles of grit / gravel and so far no visits from the P*** fairy 🤞
I see they are now available in Tan Wall 😎
Tom...
Guru
tinywheels
Über Member
- Location
- South of hades
continental contact urban
I just fitted them
they are much better than the brompton supplied tyres
rolling, cornering, comfort and looks to name a few plus points
you can see how sexy they look in the picture
done over a hundred miles so far and lovin em yeah baby
I just fitted them
they are much better than the brompton supplied tyres
rolling, cornering, comfort and looks to name a few plus points
you can see how sexy they look in the picture
done over a hundred miles so far and lovin em yeah baby
Attachments
Yer nut looks a bit slack… 😉
Kell
Veteran
- Location
- High Wycombe/London
I just fitted a new pair of Contact Urbans this week.
Too early to tell if they're faster or not, as I had covid last week so was struggling a little yesterday.
They feel faster, but one thing I hadn’t considered is that the Marathon+ are quite a narrow tyre.
Might be what makes them more uncomfortable, but I think the sidewalls are stiffer and straighter. Whereas the Contis are more balloon like.
Fitted them, forgot about them but when I went to brake yesterday, I found my brakes suddenly very grabby. But not consistently so.
Turns out that the brake block carriages were sitting a little high on the front and hitting the tyre when pulled but only on one portion of the tyre.
I moved one down and that’s now ok, but unfortunately, on the other one of them the hole for the Allen key has rounded off and I can’t even loosen it at all. So I think I’m going to have to drill it out or hacksaw it off to remove.
Ordered some new carriages.
Too early to tell if they're faster or not, as I had covid last week so was struggling a little yesterday.
They feel faster, but one thing I hadn’t considered is that the Marathon+ are quite a narrow tyre.
Might be what makes them more uncomfortable, but I think the sidewalls are stiffer and straighter. Whereas the Contis are more balloon like.
Fitted them, forgot about them but when I went to brake yesterday, I found my brakes suddenly very grabby. But not consistently so.
Turns out that the brake block carriages were sitting a little high on the front and hitting the tyre when pulled but only on one portion of the tyre.
I moved one down and that’s now ok, but unfortunately, on the other one of them the hole for the Allen key has rounded off and I can’t even loosen it at all. So I think I’m going to have to drill it out or hacksaw it off to remove.
Ordered some new carriages.
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Try a junior hacksaw across the rounded head to make a slot for a flat bladed screwdriver.
