# New 2017 Brompton - I've succumbed



## simon.r (22 Feb 2017)

Isn't it odd how circumstances sometimes combine to almost force your hand?!

I had a small windfall a couple of weeks ago and last week an hour to kill in Leicester gave me a chance to pop into Evans and test ride a Brompton.

The combined events led directly to me picking this up yesterday:








It's a H6R, absolutely standard bar the telescopic post and carrier block (which I believe Evans fit to all Bromptons they supply).

I've only had time to take it on a 20 minute shakedown ride so far, but I grinned a lot in that 20 minutes


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## kingrollo (22 Feb 2017)

looks great - saddle looks comfy.....
Do you have a purpose in mind for it ? - or did you buy purely because of the windfall ?


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## Bimble (22 Feb 2017)

Sometimes you just have to go for it. Congrats. If you get bored of it anytime soon PM me and I'll give it a good home.


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## Harv (22 Feb 2017)

Looks awesome


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## Fab Foodie (22 Feb 2017)

Welcome to 'the fold' as they say :-)

Grinny little beasts are they not?


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## simon.r (22 Feb 2017)

kingrollo said:


> looks great - saddle looks comfy.....
> Do you have a purpose in mind for it ? - or did you buy purely because of the windfall ?



A bit of both. I'm hoping to retire in the not too distant future and plan to use this for bike / train / bike journeys. And I really wanted one!


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## 12boy (22 Feb 2017)

Looks very nice. I wonder how long it will be before, just like most of us, you start modifying it and spending time tinkering. 2 different great things to do in retirement. It would appear you are a tall individual and may find some bar ends allow you to stretch out a bit.


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## Melvil (26 Feb 2017)

Bar ends a very good idea indeed. Fab Foodie on this very forum suggested an excellent pair and they are the best thing I have done to my S6l


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## Melvil (26 Feb 2017)

PS bar ends are Ergon GP2


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## mitchibob (27 Feb 2017)

Melvil said:


> PS bar ends are Ergon GP2



I got these too. Made a huge difference, although, even with my small hands, I wonder if I should've just got slight longer Ergon GP3 grips, as I'm not sure they would affect the fold anymore on my M-bars than the GP2s. I just tend to lean the bike I little when I drop the handlebars so that one of the ends doesn't scuff the ground. But hugely extends the choice of positions to have your hands, and provides a much better grip generally. Even grippy without gloves, for the very few times I ride without them. Even pushing the bike one-handed is easier with decent grips. 

I bought the small size GP2 grips, and on my 2016 M2L, only had to move the brake levers a little without having to shorten the grips. Didn't affect my braking or gear changes, and took about 15-20 minutes to do.


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## mitchibob (27 Feb 2017)

simon.r said:


> Isn't it odd how circumstances sometimes combine to almost force your hand?!
> The combined events led directly to me picking this up yesterday:



Nice. 

I can't tell from the picture, but are the 'brompton stickers' overly glossly compared to the matt finish of the paintwork? They were on mine, and as it's clearly a Brompton, they were the first things I removed. Somehow, I thought they cheapened it. Although, that was also after riding Brompton Dock bikes for a few months that are absolutely covered in stickers.

I'm intrigued about the new M-Bars too. I'm guessing I'm going to have to replace more than just the bars when the shelf life runs out on mine?


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## simon.r (28 Feb 2017)

The stickers are matt and look OK I think, but one is already beginning to peel off, so I'll probably be removing them in the not too distant future. 

I believe that the new M bars have less rise than the old ones - although as a new owner I'm only repeating what I've read, so am happy to be corrected on this. If this is true then I imagine a straight swap would be straightforward. 

I think the current M and H types share the same bar, with the "stem" being longer on the H type.


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## windmiller (28 Feb 2017)

When I asked Cycle Heaven in York about changing to the new M bars and gear levers, they said it wasn't straightforward, as you also had to change the stem - because it will interfere with the fold. I came away bewildered and didn't understand how this could be so. I thought it would be ideal with the new bars and old stem knocking a few inches off, thus making it more sporty without the neck breaking position of the S bars.


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## chriscross1966 (28 Feb 2017)

The new M and S share a stem, the H uses the same upper stem and a spacer piece to allow use of the old M bars, its a production engineering cost control measure, the upper stems are expensive to make, having only one type for three bars is a good idea. Handlebars are cheap to make, even the nutjob P-types... It's just bent lightweight tube...


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## simon.r (2 Mar 2017)

Let the tinkering begin!

I'm playing around with the riding position and have installed a cheap handlebar: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152136992669

These put the height of the handlebar somewhere between the M and H and also allow the brake levers to be rotated forward slightly, giving a more natural position for me.
















I need to get a few miles in before I decide if this will be a permanent change, but initial impressions are that it gives a compromise position that suits me.


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## windmiller (5 Mar 2017)

Your pic well illustrates the difference. A further trip to Cycle Heaven York and they said *it is possible* to upgrade to the new bars and gear shifters as long as the cables were shortened. Brompton might not want to encourage this tinkering in case it works better than the M &S types - by hitting the goldilocks riding position.


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## 12boy (5 Mar 2017)

Perennial Cycles in Minneapolis have been selling this for some time, riser bars and necessary cabling.
http://www.perennialcycle.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=6645&idcategory=39. So, if this is the sort of thing you like it is fairly easily done.


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## simon.r (5 Mar 2017)

windmiller said:


> Your pic well illustrates the difference. A further trip to Cycle Heaven York and they said *it is possible* to upgrade to the new bars and gear shifters as long as the cables were shortened. Brompton might not want to encourage this tinkering in case it works better than the M &S types - by hitting the goldilocks riding position.



I suppose it would look a little neater if you did shorten the cables, but I reckon you could probably get away without doing so. If I was in your shoes I'd trawl eBay for a cheap bar and install it without shortening the cables to see what it looks like.

If you're right about Brompton not encouraging tinkering a quick Google for 'Modified Brompton' suggests that the've well and truly lost that battle!


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## Kell (6 Mar 2017)

It is/*was *possible to fit longer bar ends to an H-type. I did it on my 2015 version. I specifically went for an H-type - even though I'm just 6ft - because I knew I wanted to put bar ends and low risers on to make the position somewhere between an S and an M.

Doesn't foul at all when folding.


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## mitchibob (7 Mar 2017)

Kell said:


> It is/*was *possible to fit longer bar ends to an H-type. I did it on my 2015 version. I specifically went for an H-type - even though I'm just 6ft - because I knew I wanted to put bar ends and low risers on to make the position somewhere between an S and an M.
> 
> Doesn't foul at all when folding.]



Can I ask what those grips/bar-ends are? They look interesting.

Also, what you using for a bottle holder? Most of the time, I have the T-bag on, so just use the bottle holder on that, but for some days, I'm thinking I can just get away with something that'll just hold my emergency tools, tube and waterproof, especially as it gets warmer.


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## Kell (8 Mar 2017)

The grips came from my ill-fated Dahon, They're some type of ergonomic thing that uses an ellen bolt to clamp on. But I don't know details. Very comfy though and about the only think I bothered to rescue when the frame snapped.

The bar ends are a cheap pair that I've fitted to various MTBs since buying them in the early 90s. Literally no idea what brand they are. The only thing I did to them over the years is put some cheap foam grips on them because they used to get really cold in the winter. 

And then when the foam grips started looking tatty, I wrapped them in duct tape.

The bottle cage, I can help you with. It's a Monkii clip with the associated bottle holder. Works really well as you can remove the clamp and turn the bottle over when it's folded so it doesn't leak everywhere.

By sitting it offset like that it tucks in neatly when folded too. I use it to house the battery for my light in the winter and for water in the summer.

I got mine from here:

http://www.cyclemiles.co.uk/shop/brompton-gifts/monkii-clip/#.WL_u9Hprgic
http://www.cyclemiles.co.uk/shop/brompton-gifts/monkii-cage-bicycle-bottle-cage/#.WL_wAXprgic


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## Kell (8 Mar 2017)

simon.r said:


> I suppose it would look a little neater if you did shorten the cables, but I reckon you could probably get away without doing so. If I was in your shoes I'd trawl eBay for a cheap bar and install it without shortening the cables to see what it looks like.
> 
> If you're right about Brompton not encouraging tinkering a quick Google for 'Modified Brompton' suggests that the've well and truly lost that battle!



I forgot to add before, I went from a H to somewhere in between an S and an M in bar height. I did it that way around, because I figured I could always shorten the cables if needed, but had I gone from an S and heightened it, it's quite hard to lenghten cables if they ended up being too short. 

My bike/cables looked like this afterwards - a little untidy, but caused no problems with the fold.

I eventually got around to shortening them. and there's no difference in performance either way. Although I did find that it's a right PITA to do.


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## simon.r (4 Aug 2017)

A few hundred miles in and a few more changes - I do enjoy tinkering











Back to the original style bars (in black) black seatpost, B17, 44t chainwheel and converted to a L type. 

Still a bit of a work in progress...next change is to Tannus tyres, which I've just ordered.


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## oldwheels (5 Aug 2017)

I much prefer the S bars but def. go for bar ends as they are great. The hand grips as standard on mine were a bit rubbish so they got changed as well.


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## simon.r (5 Aug 2017)

oldwheels said:


> I much prefer the S bars but def. go for bar ends as they are great. The hand grips as standard on mine were a bit rubbish so they got changed as well.



The S bars are just too low for me. I'm swapping between the standard grips and Ergon, but not convinced I like either. Something else to look into in more detail - point about bar ends noted, thanks.


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## Tail End Charlie (5 Aug 2017)

Ah man, every time I convince myself I shouldn't buy a Brompton (because I don't really need one) I see a thread like this and it starts all over again. Lovely looking bike.


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## Fab Foodie (5 Aug 2017)

@simon.r 
If you decide you no longer want the rack and the silver guards, let me know :-)


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## simon.r (6 Aug 2017)

Fab Foodie said:


> @simon.r
> If you decide you no longer want the rack and the silver guards, let me know :-)



Will do.


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## simon.r (6 Aug 2017)

Tail End Charlie said:


> Ah man, every time I convince myself I shouldn't buy a Brompton (because I don't really need one) I see a thread like this and it starts all over again. Lovely looking bike.



I was the same. I haven't regretted buying one at all. It's an amazing, fun, bike.


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## Fab Foodie (9 Aug 2017)

simon.r said:


> I was the same. I haven't regretted buying one at all. It's an amazing, fun, bike.


Me too. It's my all-round 'go-to' bike. Eminantly useable and fun to boot!


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## windmiller (8 Sep 2017)

The updated shape of the M/H type handlebar requires alterations to the handlebar support assembly - so in order to fit the new bars to a MY2016 or earlier example, this frame part would also need changing. From Brompton website.

wotacon!


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## reppans (8 Sep 2017)

Really sorry to see the old M bar go - rigged a hand grip position in the bottom of my '16 M bar and am using it ~half the time or more. Adds a drop/aero position that's now my favorite mod for closing the gap to my 700x32 cross/gravel bike in terms of speed, comfort, and efficiency.


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## simon.r (8 Sep 2017)

windmiller said:


> The updated shape of the M/H type handlebar requires alterations to the handlebar support assembly - so in order to fit the new bars to a MY2016 or earlier example, this frame part would also need changing. From Brompton website.
> 
> wotacon!



Is the "handlebar support assembly" different in some way? 

Is the clamp wider / narrower? I can't think of any other reason why bars couldn't be swapped - it must be one of the oldest modifications that anyone's ever made, to a Brompton or any other sort of bike (...thinks back to cowhorn bars on a Raleigh 3 speed racer in 1974...!!)


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## Alan O (9 Sep 2017)

Tail End Charlie said:


> Ah man, every time I convince myself I shouldn't buy a Brompton (because I don't really need one) I see a thread like this and it starts all over again. Lovely looking bike.


Not _needing_ something is one of the best reasons for getting it - then it's pure pleasure.


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## Kell (11 Sep 2017)

windmiller said:


> The updated shape of the M/H type handlebar requires alterations to the handlebar support assembly - so in order to fit the new bars to a MY2016 or earlier example, this frame part would also need changing. From Brompton website.
> 
> wotacon!



As others have said, I'd be surprised. Unless they've changed the diameter of the bars from the industry ISO standard 25.4, then there's no reason why a new set of bars wouldn't fit an older Brommie.


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## windmiller (12 Sep 2017)

It could be Brompton just using techno -speak in order to dissuade owners of the older model from making a cheap upgrade to the latest M bars and hitting the sweet spot in height, as a result of the older shorter stem on the older model.

The term "handlebar support assembly" for example, what does this mean exactly, double talk for stem, and assuming you require lthe same height as an upgrade. Visually it does look the same. If so only the cables would need to be reduced in length.


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