# Convert Brompton to Recumbent?



## PaulM (22 Dec 2015)

My brompton doesn't get much use. Been thinking about selling it, but I have this crazy idea of turning it into a recumbent. It has the SA 8 speed upgrade and with it's rear suspension I think it would make a fun 'bent.

I'm not worried about keeping the fold, so really just after brazing on a boom and having a seat mount and seat with a couple of inches fore/aft adjustment. I might ask Kinetics for a quote. I think the bike pictured belongs to Mary Arneson, see BROL thread http://www.bentrideronline.com/messageboard/showthread.php?t=76250


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## mickle (22 Dec 2015)

That's brilliant. There used to be a chap in the BHPVC that converted a Bickerton thus. It still creaked..

This sort of thing begs for a folding bodyshell. Perhaps inflatable.


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## Lonestar (22 Dec 2015)

That's not a chain though leading to the cog on the front?


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## summerdays (22 Dec 2015)

Looks like a belt drive to me?


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## PaulM (22 Dec 2015)

Well spotted. The photo shows a kit conversion from a few years ago, now discontinued. I can't see why a normal chain cannot be used.


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## PaulM (22 Dec 2015)

It's said the kit was discontinued because Brompton changed the design in a way which made a stock of recently inventoried kit parts incompatible..


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## summerdays (22 Dec 2015)

Belt drive would keep it cleaner next to your legs maybe?


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## voyager (22 Dec 2015)

Why not sell it and get a bent !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

or is that too easy


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## CopperBrompton (29 Dec 2015)

There is one around that retains the fold. Obviously with the seat, it's bulkier, but I can't see why you would use a Brompton if you're going to lose the ability to fold it.


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## PaulM (29 Dec 2015)

It was a semi-serious idle thought about what to do with a little used Brompton. It would probably be more sensible to sell it and buy an Azub Origami. A car bootable bent would be of use, so a Grasshopper or Toxy Flite are other options. I think I can get my 20/20 Metabikes in the back of the car, so that's my current plan. At the moment it's work in progress as I've been fitting a suspension fork and need to sort out the chain routing. Christmas has got in the way


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## starhawk (31 Dec 2015)

I tend to agree with voyager and Trikeman, why keep the Brompton and convert it when you can sell it and get a decent bent? there are lots of bents with suspension nowadays, and it would be much more stable and lighter without all that coupling material


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## Smokin Joe (31 Dec 2015)

Converting something to something else rarely works out well. Bromptons are worth a few quid second hand, I'd sell it and put the money towards a recumbent.


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## bobcolover (2 Jan 2016)

http://stein.dommel.be/brompton/chapters/Future.html#recumbent_kit

has a post about this; i must admit i havent read the whole thing
good luck
bob


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## ufkacbln (3 Jan 2016)

It is a Julian Neuss conversion



















This one was in Fareham

I also met the designer at the Brompton event last year at Goodwood

It is no longer in production


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## starhawk (3 Jan 2016)

I can see why it's not in production any more, looks more like a jury-rigg than a real conversion


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## currystomper (16 Feb 2016)

You could do this with a brompton:-

http://www.bikeforums.net/folding-b...ding-recumbent-commuter-luggage-solution.html


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## FrankCrank (6 Mar 2016)

Has anyone converted a recumbent to a Brompton? Some people sure do like a challenge...


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## BICIGT (7 Dec 2019)

if I wanted to buy a kit is it possible ?


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## flake99please (7 Dec 2019)

Another option would be an Azub Origami.


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## PaulM (7 Dec 2019)

Rather an old thread. I sold the Brompton, I now have an Origami though not used it yet.


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## BICIGT (8 Dec 2019)

PaulM said:


> My brompton doesn't get much use. Been thinking about selling it, but I have this crazy idea of turning it into a recumbent. It has the SA 8 speed upgrade and with it's rear suspension I think it would make a fun 'bent.
> 
> I'm not worried about keeping the fold, so really just after brazing on a boom and having a seat mount and seat with a couple of inches fore/aft adjustment. I might ask Kinetics for a quote. I think the bike pictured belongs to Mary Arneson, see BROL thread http://www.bentrideronline.com/messageboard/showthread.php?t=76250
> 
> View attachment 306346


if I wanted to buy a kit is it possible ?


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## flake99please (8 Dec 2019)

BICIGT said:


> if I wanted to buy a kit is it possible ?



Unlikely, given the discussion on the BROL forum.


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## berlinonaut (23 Dec 2019)

BICIGT said:


> if I wanted to buy a kit is it possible ?


Only if you manage to find a used one (which is a rare coincidence). The kits were made in the late nineties and in total 100 were made. A couple of those were devoted as spares, a bit more than 90 were sold and those are long gone. The kit only fits the older Brompton frame with the shorter wheelbase; due to the length of the industrial belt it does not fit to the slightly longer MK4 frame.

I do own such a Brecki (Brompton recumbent kit) and it is fun and very easy to ride. It folds well (takes about a minute) and the resulting package is a bit bigger than a standard Brompton but still very convenient. It is however considerably heavier, so lumping it around is not too pleasant. The intention of the Brecki was to be able to take a recumbent on trains, especially high speed trains, and that works really well. Mine looks like that:






















It is cleverly constructed and I converted mine to S/A 8-speed as well (which is far more convenient than the original 3-speed it came with). It is however not a fast bike but very comfy to ride.

Juliane, the maker, is a friend of mine, and so before you ask: No, there are not enough spares left to build a kit. 
There have been ideas of creating a new version that would fit the MK4 for quite some time now and after a lot of research it turned out it would be technically possible. However, it would be a lot of work as a bunch of parts of the original kit were industrial parts that are no longer available to buy and others would massively profit from a reconstruction, partly with newer materials to make the bike considerably lighter. It is thus neither an easy nor a high priority project, the more as it would be a huge investment in terms of both, time and money to create such a new kit and it would not be a cheap kit (and way more expensive than the original version was). The original was sold too cheap to make it work financially for the makers, still it did not sell too well in the beginning and only since it has been no longer available strangely demand has been rising recognizably. So a new kit might or might not happen one day.


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