# Just ordered a new lightweight Brompton



## Jon George (24 Jan 2020)

In a complete contrast to my normal impulse buying (especially any time concerned with cycling), I have taken well over two years to decide how to spend a legacy I received from my late father-in-law. I considered putting together a Fixe, flirted with the idea of a mountain-bike, but in the end have up-graded components on two of my favourite bikes and, after getting my senior railcard and therefore increasing my use of trains, I have decided on a folder. I couldn't seem to get a CPT 3, but the one I have put together (with assistance of my LBS), is more personal and I believe I'll be more than happy. As I suspect my father-in-law would have been. Photo to follow when I get my hands on it.


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## Rocky (24 Jan 2020)

Great choice!! I hope you have many happy miles of travel. Please do post some pictures when it arrives.


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## Gunk (24 Jan 2020)

Nice to buy a bike with a legacy, my Mother died last year and my stepfather sent us all a small amount of money each, I bought my BMC road bike with it.


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## Mrs M (24 Jan 2020)

Jon George said:


> In a complete contrast to my normal impulse buying (especially any time concerned with cycling), I have taken well over two years to decide how to spend a legacy I received from my late father-in-law. I considered putting together a Fixe, flirted with the idea of a mountain-bike, but in the end have up-graded components on two of my favourite bikes and, after getting my senior railcard and therefore increasing my use of trains, I have decided on a folder. I couldn't seem to get a CPT 3, but the one I have put together (with assistance of my LBS), is more personal and I believe I'll be more than happy. As I suspect my father-in-law would have been. Photo to follow when I get my hands on it.


Good use of legacy, hope you enjoy it


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## sheddy (24 Jan 2020)

Lightweight ? What exactly does this mean ?


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## Gunk (24 Jan 2020)

sheddy said:


> Lightweight ? What exactly does this mean ?



It weighs a bit less


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## Ming the Merciless (24 Jan 2020)

sheddy said:


> Lightweight ? What exactly does this mean ?



3.9kg


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## Rocky (25 Jan 2020)

sheddy said:


> Lightweight ? What exactly does this mean ?


Titanium forks and rear triangle. Looks nice and saves a few grams in weight.


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## steveindenmark (25 Jan 2020)

I have the Brompton 9 Streets. I took the rack off to save weight. It was a waste of time and made no difference in performance. I have put the rack back on.

I have ridden a lot this month and am hoping to get to 1000km by the end of it. I have lost 2.9kg and the bike goes a lot faster.

I wonder what it would cost to lose 2.9kg off a Brompton. 😁


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## Pale Rider (25 Jan 2020)

Brompton Bruce said:


> Titanium forks and rear triangle. Looks nice and saves a few grams in weight.



Titanium mudguard stays, don't forget those, and an alloy headset.

Overall weight saving of about a kilo over a standard gas pipe version.

Is this worth having?

Doubt it makes much difference on the road, but I imagine you could feel it when lifting/carrying the folded bike.


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## Rocky (25 Jan 2020)

steveindenmark said:


> I have the Brompton 9 Streets. I took the rack off to save weight. It was a waste of time and made no difference in performance. I have put the rack back on.
> 
> I have ridden a lot this month and am hoping to get to 1000km by the end of it. I have lost 2.9kg and the bike goes a lot faster.
> 
> I wonder what it would cost to lose 2.9kg off a Brompton. 😁


Well done on the weight loss. I agree about the performance aspects - don’t expect the titanium bike to go faster. The main advantage is that it’ll be lighter to carry around. Brommies can be a tad heavy, particularly for us old decrepit pensioners 😂

Edit: Paley got there before me


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## steveindenmark (25 Jan 2020)

Brompton Bruce said:


> Well done on the weight loss. I agree about the performance aspects - don’t expect the titanium bike to go faster. The main advantage is that it’ll be lighter to carry around. Brommies can be a tad heavy, particularly for us old decrepit pensioners 😂
> 
> Edit: Paley got there before me


You will need to get some Easywheels on it.


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## rogerzilla (25 Jan 2020)

If you ride in all weathers, the steel rear triangles tend to rust out after 10 years or so. A titanium one avoids this. Of course, you could just squirt Waxoyl down the open tubes!


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## Jon George (25 Jan 2020)

For the sake of clarity, I am aware that a reduction in my beer belly will be cheaper to obtain, and that there's probably going to be negligible riding difference to a standard bike, but as my father-in-law once flew back to Ipswich to do loop-the-loops in his Harvard above his parent's house on his birthday, rather the triangulation training course he was supposed to be doing, I kind of think he'd approve of the frivolousness of it all.


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## Pale Rider (25 Jan 2020)

Jon George said:


> For the sake of clarity, I am aware that a reduction in my beer belly will be cheaper to obtain, and that there's probably going to be negligible riding difference to a standard bike, but as my father-in-law once flew back to Ipswich to do loop-the-loops in his Harvard above his parent's house on his birthday, rather the triangulation training course he was supposed to be doing, I kind of think he'd approve of the frivolousness of it all.



I wondered about the cost of your frivolity.

Seems to me titanium Bromptons are not so much more expensive than they once were.

A decent spec standard steel is about £1,200, and a similar bike with titanium bits is about £1,800.

I was expecting the difference to be greater.

https://www.brompton.com/bikes/bikes-in-stock


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## 12boy (25 Jan 2020)

I have had my Brompton for about 7 years and bought it on a whim. They aren't common in the Western US and the odd little shop I found it in didn't have any Ti Bromptons. I wish I had bought the light model but so far I am content with my fairly heavy one. I think an IGH, my leather saddle and fenders would make a lightweight one weigh about the same as a stripped S one speed with the original grips and saddle. In any case, I don't consider it any more frivolous than my other bikes since I've found it a great commuter, surprisingly good for cargo, due to the front luggage block, and generally a lot of fun to ride. The only thing it isn't good for is riding in mud or on ice or snow.


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## Jon George (10 Mar 2020)

Phoned up my LBS yesterday to ascertain progress on my purchase and apparently their information from Brompton is it's 'In Production'. 

(Expected delivery date to the shop is 17th Marc - they've got some tan-wall tyres in for me - and I'm rather excited!)


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## Tenkaykev (10 Mar 2020)

I see that the CHPT3 has a "lightweight" front wheel which saves 115 grammes on the standard wheel.

I've read that a rough rule of thumb is to allow £1 per gramme of weight saved if you're swapping out components for titanium.

EDIT:

That got me thinking and I've just looked on the Brilliant Bikes website. The Schwalbe AV4 inner tube is 20 grammes lighter than the standard ones that Brompton uses.


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## Gunk (10 Mar 2020)

I visited Brilliant Bikes on Saturday to collect a ton of stuff for my Brompton project.

Proper bike shop, nice knowledgeable staff and really competitive prices without the silly eBay or Amazon “brompton” tax.


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## Tenkaykev (10 Mar 2020)

I got the Brompton dynamo wheel kit from them and they swapped out the kit front light (which I didn't need), for a 44 tooth chainring.

The Brompton maintenance videos on their YouTube channel are excellent. 
I've suggested to them that a Brompton specific workshop might well prove popular.


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## berlinonaut (10 Mar 2020)

Tenkaykev said:


> I've read that a rough rule of thumb is to allow £1 per gramme of weight saved if you're swapping out components for titanium.
> (...)
> The Schwalbe AV4 inner tube is 20 grammes lighter than the standard ones that Brompton uses.


If you want a lighter tube you should look here: https://www.tubolito.com/ Claimed weight for the Brompton version (at the bottom of the product listing range) is just 34g - way lighter than the competition. The price is steep, but still way under £1 per gramme of weight saved.  It seems however not yet to be available - at least it is not listed in the manufacturer's own shop.


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## 12boy (10 Mar 2020)

Tenkaykev said:


> I see that the CHPT3 has a "lightweight" front wheel which saves 115 grammes on the standard wheel.
> 
> I've read that a rough rule of thumb is to allow £1 per gramme of weight saved if you're swapping out components for titanium.
> That got me thinking and I've just looked on the Brilliant Bikes website. The Schwalbe AV4 inner tube is 20 grammes lighter than the standard ones that Brompton uses.



I've read somewhere that in terms of acceleration and hill climbing an ounce on the rim is equal to a pound on the frame.


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## EltonFrog (10 Mar 2020)

Gunk said:


> I visited Brilliant Bikes on Saturday to collect a ton of stuff for my Brompton project.
> 
> Proper bike shop, nice knowledgeable staff and really competitive prices without the silly eBay or Amazon “brompton” tax.


In Chobham? I bit off piste ain’t ya?


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## Gunk (10 Mar 2020)

EltonFrog said:


> In Chobham? I bit off piste ain’t ya?



My mate lives nearby


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## EltonFrog (10 Mar 2020)

Gunk said:


> My mate lives nearby


I used to drive through there every day, I lived about 2 miles away.


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## tribanjules (10 Mar 2020)

@Gunk you are getting me in trouble. Just been on brilliant bikes site, tempting stuff ....🤪👍🏼


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## Jon George (17 Mar 2020)

I can do irony! My bike has arrived! Just in time for a nation-wide clamp-down on unnecessary journeys ... (But it will be tested )


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## Tenkaykev (17 Mar 2020)

Lovely looking bike, the tan walls really set it off 👌
Edit:
What's the white gubbins on the rear triangle?


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## Jon George (17 Mar 2020)

Tenkaykev said:


> Lovely looking bike, the tan walls really set it off 👌
> Edit:
> What's the white gubbins on the rear triangle?


I believe it's something to protect the metal when I hook the front mainframe over it.


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## shingwell (17 Mar 2020)

Jon George said:


> My bike has arrived! Just in time for a nation-wide clamp-down on unnecessary journeys ...


Should have got a front luggage block and T-bag so you can stock up on toilet rolls


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## 12boy (17 Mar 2020)

Riding that beauty is not a non-essential trip. It's mandatory!


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## Jon George (18 Mar 2020)

I went for a shake-down ride/trip on the train today. (Could have gotten on for free - the conductor was self-isolating in his cab, as instructed.) I missed the opportunity to take a photo of a large herd of deer (about fifty of the devils) so thought you all might be interested in a) how much fun I had riding the new bike and b) how childishly pleased I was at taking _this_ pic.


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## Gunk (18 Mar 2020)

That photo just shows how brilliant they are


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## tribanjules (18 Mar 2020)

Taking my brommie to see my mother at weekend. Nearby country park hires out mobility scooters so she can scoot round the lake and I’ll have my brommie out the boot. Just added the extended seat post and bung from Brilliant Bikes. Trying not to go on a spendathon..........


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## Jon George (19 Mar 2020)

tribanjules said:


> Just added the extended seat post and bung from Brilliant Bikes. Trying not to go on a spendathon..........


I've been extremely lucky on that front - the seat post is exactly the right height for me when it's fully extended. Made for me!


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## Gunk (19 Mar 2020)

Jon George said:


> I've been extremely lucky on that front - the seat post is exactly the right height for me when it's fully extended. Made for me!



Me too, they seem to be built for a 5’8” male with a 30” inside leg.

Just waiting for the seat stem sleeve to arrive so mine will always raise to the correct height


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## Rocky (19 Mar 2020)

Gunk said:


> Me too, they seem to be built for a 5’8” male with a 30” inside leg.
> 
> Just waiting for the seat stem sleeve to arrive so mine will always raise to the correct height


I’m 6’ and have 33” inside leg and the extended seat post fits perfectly and always raises to the correct height too.


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## Pale Rider (19 Mar 2020)

Tenkaykev said:


> Lovely looking bike, the tan walls really set it off 👌
> Edit:
> What's the white gubbins on the rear triangle?



The white gubbins on the rear triangle is transit packaging so should be taken off, with the usual rider that's it's your bike to set up and ride as you like.

Agree about the tan walls.

My local Brompton dealer was trying to get some for an existing Brompton owner, but it seems they are not available separately from Schwalbe at the moment.

That may change.


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## Rocky (19 Mar 2020)

Pale Rider said:


> The white gubbins on the rear triangle is transit packaging so should be taken off, with the usual rider that's it's your bike to set up and ride as you like.
> 
> Agree about the tan walls.
> 
> ...


Brompton had them for sale on their website a while ago. I’ll have a look and see if they’ve still got stock.

Edit: yes it appears they are still in stock £40 for one Racer.


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## Tenkaykev (19 Mar 2020)

Brilliant Bikes are showing them in stock
( I got mine direct from Brompton using the 20% discount code that you get when you ( or someone you know) has purchased something direct )


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## Pale Rider (19 Mar 2020)

Brompton Bruce said:


> Brompton had them for sale on their website a while ago. I’ll have a look and see if they’ve still got stock.
> 
> Edit: yes it appears they are still in stock £40 for one Racer.



Cheers, it was the shop's owner who was looking for the tyres.

His computing skills are not the best.

The info also gives me something else to add to my dream Brommie.

I'm sticking with all steel, but that will push the price past £1,300.


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## Jon George (20 Mar 2020)

Not a moan, just a quibble. The engineering looks fantastic, but I must question the signing off from Brompton. (And, unless you know otherwise about how a bike turns up for sale, I absolve my LBS from any responsibility for this.) So far I have had to adjust to handlebars so that they're actually steering in the correct direction; tightened the seat post clamp because the seat tilted forward during the first major ride; and trued up the front wheel because even as I left the shop it had a 'twist' reminiscent of a cheap job from a discount shop for muppets who think £150 is a great price for a bike. Nevertheless, I've riding it like a ten year old, grinning at everyone!


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## Gunk (20 Mar 2020)

Mine reminds me of a Raleigh Chopper!


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## Rocky (21 Mar 2020)

Jon George said:


> Not a moan, just a quibble. The engineering looks fantastic, but I must question the signing off from Brompton. (And, unless you know otherwise about how a bike turns up for sale, I absolve my LBS from any responsibility for this.) So far I have had to adjust to handlebars so that they're actually steering in the correct direction; tightened the seat post clamp because the seat tilted forward during the first major ride; and trued up the front wheel because even as I left the shop it had a 'twist' reminiscent of a cheap job from a discount shop for muppets who think £150 is a great price for a bike. Nevertheless, I've riding it like a ten year old, grinning at everyone!


I got mine from Warlands in Oxford. I had several little niggles after the first ride - handlebars not straight etc. They were really good - fixed everything (as they should do) on the spot. I know I could have sorted everything myself but having paid top dollar you don’t expect to have to sort things. I have nothing but praise for the Warlands guys.


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## Pale Rider (21 Mar 2020)

My local Brompton dealer told me most Bromptons turn up pretty much ready to ride.

Of course some don't, but the fact most do leads the bike shop into not paying as much attention to pre delivery checks on a Brompton as they would on another bike.

Which is no excuse, so it's disappointing to hear the last two Brompton buyers on this thread had several niggles with their bike.


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## Archie_tect (21 Mar 2020)

I'm looking forward to getting a Brompton... borrowed a friend's on a canal holiday once to get to Shrewsbury by train for emergency dental treatment ... it was so easy on the train and getting out to the dentist and back, while they chugged another 4 miles or so down the canal!


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## rogerzilla (28 Jun 2021)

What does it weigh, out of interest? About 22lb?

I just weighed my oldish S6L with Brooks saddle (ok, it's a light one for a Brooks), pedals and pump. 25 1/4 lb is less than I was expecting. The heaviest stock one is supposed to be about 28lb.

The titanium bits used to save just about 1kg (of which some was the pump you can no longer carry!), or just over 2lb, but that was when you still got a Ti seatpost. It's less of a difference now. If you ever get a chance to pick up a bare fork and bare rear triangle, the steel ones are lighter than you might expect.

My S3E-X is about 21.5lb with pedals. I'm converting it to a 2-speed at the moment. Even that is too heavy to carry for long.


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## alicat (28 Jun 2021)

Holy thread resurrection!


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## Jon George (1 Jul 2021)

rogerzilla said:


> What does it weigh, out of interest? About 22lb?


No idea. It does, however, weigh a few grams lighter than when I purchased it - I've taken off the chain guard and the front reflector. (Can't decide on the plastic transit covering on the rear that others noted - the marks seem to indicate it's protecting the frame.)


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## Justinitus (2 Jul 2021)

Jon George said:


> (Can't decide on the plastic transit covering on the rear that others noted - the marks seem to indicate it's protecting the frame.)



If you mean the grey plastic thing on the chainstay, that’s just transport packing - there’s a clear chainstay protector underneath it.


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## berlinonaut (2 Jul 2021)

Jon George said:


> Can't decide on the plastic transit covering on the rear that others noted - the marks seem to indicate it's protecting the frame.


As you have a ti Brompton it doesn't matter. With normal Bromptons folding will sooner or later affect the paint in that area due to the front wheel hook touching the and rubbing on the underside of the chain stay with rust in that area being a possible consequence. With ti the frame is unpainted and ti does not rust. So no issues whatsoever and thus no reason to protect the frame in that area.


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## Jon George (2 Jul 2021)

berlinonaut said:


> As you have a ti Brompton it doesn't matter. With normal Bromptons folding will sooner or later affect the paint in that area due to the front wheel hook touching the and rubbing on the underside of the chain stay with rust in that area being a possible consequence. With ti the frame is unpainted and ti does not rust. So no issues whatsoever and thus no reason to protect the frame in that area.


When I took it off, on a whim (and with the intention of trying some humorous comment here) I decided to weigh it. Surprisingly, to me at least, my electronic kitchen scales said 6g! 
Of course, if it had been less than 5g, I'd have probably left it there ...


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## rogerzilla (2 Jul 2021)

berlinonaut said:


> As you have a ti Brompton it doesn't matter. With normal Bromptons folding will sooner or later affect the paint in that area due to the front wheel hook touching the and rubbing on the underside of the chain stay with rust in that area being a possible consequence. With ti the frame is unpainted and ti does not rust. So no issues whatsoever and thus no reason to protect the frame in that area.


I find the biggest advantage of the Ti parts is that there is no paint to scratch or chip, and no risk of them rusting out from the inside, which can be a problem with the steel rear triangles in daily use. The (modest) weight saving is just a bonus. Shame they couldn't have included the pump peg and cradle, though.


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## berlinonaut (2 Jul 2021)

rogerzilla said:


> rusting out from the inside, which can be a problem with the steel rear triangles in daily use.


I wouldn't overly exaggerate that topic - possibly you are once more caught in the past. While the issue of rear frames rusting through was a relatively common topic with older and intensively used Mk2 Bromptons and happened with up to early Mk4 bikes as well I've not stumbled about this issue on bikes newer than 10 -12 years. Until early 2009 there was a tiny little hole in the small tube where the rear blade sits on between the chainstays. Caused by production needs and perfectly positioned to collect dirt and water. From 2009 on it was gone and with it a lot of the rusting through rear frame issues. Twelve years ago. Not sure if it is a conincidence or a correlation - however, the problem seems to have become a way smaller issue than it used to be and I am not sure if it is still an issue at all today.
However: _Sometimes_ rust is still a problem with Bromptons and the most "impressive" examples I've seen do all come from the UK. To an amount and in different extends to other countries that makes me wonder - I can barely believe it relates to the weather and the exclusiveness makes me doubt that the higher number of Bromptons in use in the UK are the reason. It seems that a lot of Bromptons in the UK are very well used in all conditions and get little love in exchange. Which may be different in other countries to a degree.


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## rogerzilla (2 Jul 2021)

Enough of the personal insults, bromptonaut? Do I insult you?

It's road salt accelerating the rust, mainly, and they use a lot of it in the UK. The tubes look fine up to the point where they break, because the powdercoat hides what's happening. It's easily prevented with car rustproofing wax (Dynax S50 is easiest as it comes with a nice long spray probe) down the open tubes, but your average commuter probably won't bother.


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## berlinonaut (2 Jul 2021)

rogerzilla said:


> The tubes look fine up to the point where they break, because the powdercoat hides what's happening. It's easily prevented with car rustproofing wax (Dynax S50 is easiest as it comes with a nice long spray probe) down the open tubes, but your average commuter probably won't bother.


Out of curiosity: Of how many cases of rusted through rear frames are you aware of? How many of them happened on bikes dating from 2010 onwards? Really interested to get data wether the problem has gone or shrunk with the vanishing of the hole in the cross stay.


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