deejayen
Veteran
- Location
- Northern Scotland
Are the Brompton titanium forks and rear triangles available as aftermarket parts nowadays? If so, how much are they?
X-tremities available as spare parts?
- Thread starter deejayen
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393386358941?hash=item5b97a7789d:g:7N8AAOSwcdtdwFCN
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302637049082?hash=item467692e4fa:g:9CEAAOSw1T1cQ88J
I have no experience, and personally wouldn’t trust them without first hearing a few in-depth reviews. That can be Googled too.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302637049082?hash=item467692e4fa:g:9CEAAOSw1T1cQ88J
I have no experience, and personally wouldn’t trust them without first hearing a few in-depth reviews. That can be Googled too.
berlinonaut
Veteran
- Location
- Berlin Germany
There are also plenty of offerings on sites like aliexpress - but as @cheys03 says: Just because something looks similar it is not necessarily identical in quality and fit. That does not mean that all these offerings are necessarily of low quality. The problem is you cannot judge as you don't know who made these items, how competent he is and to what quality standards he follows if any. So it is a bet and in the worst case a bet with your life.
The original Brompton ti-parts have been and are available via the Brompton dealership network. Not cheap, but not much more expensive than the 3rd-party clone parts. Currently the problem is the general shortage of Brompton parts plus that for some years now Brompton in the UK sell frame parts only along with fitting them by a dealer. This policy differs depending from the country, in the UK it has been like that for a couple of years now.
The original Brompton ti-parts have been and are available via the Brompton dealership network. Not cheap, but not much more expensive than the 3rd-party clone parts. Currently the problem is the general shortage of Brompton parts plus that for some years now Brompton in the UK sell frame parts only along with fitting them by a dealer. This policy differs depending from the country, in the UK it has been like that for a couple of years now.
Last edited:
rogerzilla
Legendary Member
There is a case for only selling the rear triangles through a dealer, as you'd probably want new frame bushes, having gone to the effort of removing the steel triangle, and few people (not even all dealers!) have the special reamer.
The fork, less so: any bike shop, and many home mechanics, can bang a 1 1/8" crown race into place, and the Ti fork crown race seat comes nicely prepped so you don't need a crown race cutter.
The fork, less so: any bike shop, and many home mechanics, can bang a 1 1/8" crown race into place, and the Ti fork crown race seat comes nicely prepped so you don't need a crown race cutter.
deejayen
Veteran
- Location
- Northern Scotland
Thanks very much.
Yes, it's only the genuine Brompton ones I'd be interested in, and I would prefer to have them fitted by a competent Brompton dealer. I'm just thinking about buying a bike, and because it seems as though there aren't too many new 'superlights' around, I thought it might make sense to buy a standard bike, see how I get on with it, then add the titanium parts as a later upgrade if I like the bike but want to reduce its weight for lugging around.
Yes, it's only the genuine Brompton ones I'd be interested in, and I would prefer to have them fitted by a competent Brompton dealer. I'm just thinking about buying a bike, and because it seems as though there aren't too many new 'superlights' around, I thought it might make sense to buy a standard bike, see how I get on with it, then add the titanium parts as a later upgrade if I like the bike but want to reduce its weight for lugging around.
berlinonaut
Veteran
- Location
- Berlin Germany
That will be an expensive exercise. The differences between a steel and a ti Brompton are fork, rear frame, headset, front wheel and mudguard stays. All components together safe around 750g (including saving about 90g by not being able to fit the Brompton pump to the ti rear frame).
Checking prices at Brilliant Bikes shows:
Fork GBP 275
Rear frame (neither listed at Brilliant Bikes nor SJS, so price in € from Vlerickfietsen.be): €600
Aluminium headset GBP 17,50
Front wheel GBP 95
Front mudguard stays GBP 30
Rear mudguard stays GBP 32,50
Starting with a standard Brommi may be a good idea, upgrading a standard bike to full ti factory spec not so much - apart from the parts you'll have also to pay for the work. Typically it is cleverer and cheaper to sell the bike and buy a new ti one as a replacement.
Checking prices at Brilliant Bikes shows:
Fork GBP 275
Rear frame (neither listed at Brilliant Bikes nor SJS, so price in € from Vlerickfietsen.be): €600
Aluminium headset GBP 17,50
Front wheel GBP 95
Front mudguard stays GBP 30
Rear mudguard stays GBP 32,50
Starting with a standard Brommi may be a good idea, upgrading a standard bike to full ti factory spec not so much - apart from the parts you'll have also to pay for the work. Typically it is cleverer and cheaper to sell the bike and buy a new ti one as a replacement.
deejayen
Veteran
- Location
- Northern Scotland
Thanks very much for the prices. The Ti parts are a bit dearer than I expected (I had a figure of around £650 - £700 in mind for them) so it would be an expensive upgrade even if I didn't go for the other items.
berlinonaut
Veteran
- Location
- Berlin Germany
Possibly there was a rise in price relatively recently. I remember a new complete 2lx bike being around GBP1550-1590 in the uk not too long ago - don't know what it currently costs. According to the configurator at Compton cycles a new 2lx currently is GBP1850 with the price for the "x" part in it being GBP720. Aftermarket has always been more expensive than a bike completely setup from factory.
Compton do btw. have listed the ti rear frame as a spare part at a price of GBP 520.
Compton do btw. have listed the ti rear frame as a spare part at a price of GBP 520.
rogerzilla
Legendary Member
They've really gone up in price. I paid £440 for the fork and rear triangle in 2010. The best g/£ weight saving, worth having on an otherwise steel bike, used to be the Ti seatpost but it wasn't available for long. It was an £80 option when my bike was new. There was an aluminium post after that but it was even more short-lived. I believe there were durability issues with it - most bike seatposts don't go up or down four times a day.
You can lop off weight reasonably economically with a lighter saddle and folding tyres. The Ti mudguard stays save very little, so little that the last set of mudguards I bought s/h had Ti stays and the seller hadn't even noticed.
You can lop off weight reasonably economically with a lighter saddle and folding tyres. The Ti mudguard stays save very little, so little that the last set of mudguards I bought s/h had Ti stays and the seller hadn't even noticed.
deejayen
Veteran
- Location
- Northern Scotland
I'm pretty slim, and when I'm 'fighting fit' there's probably not the mass of a titanium fork to lose... I remember picking up some of the heavier Bromptons a few years ago and thinking they were heavy, so it would be more to make the bike a bit lighter to heave about. I suppose all the models, especially those with hub gears, feel a bit heavy and awkward if you're lugging them around, though. That's where the Hummingbird appeals!
Kell
Veteran
- Location
- High Wycombe/London
Horses for courses. I've seen someone carry a Hummingbird with ease, but, and it might be a small but, you're picking it up from under the frame to carry it. I just thought it looked like it would make your clothes dirty if you were not wearing cycling-specific kit. Having said that, it looked really easy to do.
I think it's not the weight of the Brompton, but how you have to carry it when folded that's the problem.
Certainly, when I carry mine at my home station, I have to go up and over a railway bridge and walk along a very long platform to reach that. It's easier to leave the bike in 'ride' mode and wheel it, then pick it up by the main frame and carry it that way - still in ride mode - it's a lot better balanced.
When folded, however, you have to hold your arm out to the side slightly (I've actually compounded this problem by running mine with SPDs so no folding pedal) and it puts a lot of stress on your deltoid - which fatigues quite quickly.
You can alleviate this somewhat by rotating the saddle slightly when folded, so you're able to carry the bike closer to your legs.
And by not fitting SPDs.
The reality is that they were designed to be folded to save space when stored, rather than be easy to carry any sort of distance.
I think it's not the weight of the Brompton, but how you have to carry it when folded that's the problem.
Certainly, when I carry mine at my home station, I have to go up and over a railway bridge and walk along a very long platform to reach that. It's easier to leave the bike in 'ride' mode and wheel it, then pick it up by the main frame and carry it that way - still in ride mode - it's a lot better balanced.
When folded, however, you have to hold your arm out to the side slightly (I've actually compounded this problem by running mine with SPDs so no folding pedal) and it puts a lot of stress on your deltoid - which fatigues quite quickly.
You can alleviate this somewhat by rotating the saddle slightly when folded, so you're able to carry the bike closer to your legs.
And by not fitting SPDs.
The reality is that they were designed to be folded to save space when stored, rather than be easy to carry any sort of distance.
Last edited:
rogerzilla
Legendary Member
An steel 6-speed S-type is only about 25lb. The lightest you can go, without getting silly with exotic aftermarket parts, is about 20lb for a titanium 2-speed, which isn't much more than a modern road racing bike (and lighter than a 1980s racing bike). You still wouldn't want to carry either Brompton very far - it's all in one hand, and a little awkward. Unfold and roll it wherever possible.
mitchibob
Über Member
- Location
- Treorchy, Wales
They don't rust though
rogerzilla
Legendary Member
True! The steel ones vary a lot in their susceptibility to rust, though. I think some may be stainless, and some galvanised. The ones in my spares box certainly look and feel like stainless. In contrast, the ones on a 2005 bike I recently bought were ruined.
