# Brompton customizations



## Yellow Fang (28 May 2010)

I took part in the World Brompton Championship in 2008, and went along to the Brompton ride around London and the tour around the factory the day before. One thing I noticed was that most people had customized their Bromptons somehow. I, myself, have customized my Brompton L3 as follows:

reduced gearing by replacement of sprocket
Brooks "Brompton" saddle - looks pretty similar to a Brooks B17 saddle
Post Moderne stubby bar ends
Schmidt SON XS dynamo hub

This was quite tame by some of the others. Some had Schlumpf gearing; some had 8-speed hub gears; many had SPDs. Someone on another thread posted a picture of a Brompton front wheel with a hub brake. What interesting customizations have you made to your Brompton?


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## ChrisKH (28 May 2010)

I had an unwanted customizaton of my old L6 when some blind old man ran over it in his Escort. So my old L6 was sent back to the factory for a new rear frame (i.e. the folding part) and I took the opportunity to get them to tweak the gearing by putting a monster drive cog on the front. Whilst the bike was there, Brompton totally "re-wired" the bike putting new brake and gear cables on throughout and replaced all the worn parts. Which was nice.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (28 May 2010)

122mm shimano bottom bracket for my double 30t/50t chainring. new spd's (i know i know), mirror, brooks flyer, m+ tyres, shimano brake levers, 12t rear sprocket for higher gear, cateye wireless computer. i did once put on some dumbo trekking bars but they were way too heavy. carradice quick release bracket for my tool zip roll. if the dual ring works out as well as it has so far, then a front mech will be added. my gear range is 19 inches to 108 inches. oh and i replaced the black plastic disk on the bwr for a no drag hub (which is great). i also added a few more winds on to the derailleur spring for greater tension. replaced cables with shimano ptfe lined and s/s inners. that's about it i think.

edit: eazi wheels


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## palinurus (28 May 2010)

I had an L3: Simple mods- stubby bar-ends (cheap ones from Halfords), reduced gearing, LED lighting attached to reflector brackets (very handy- permanently attached lighting which didn't interrupt the fold). SPDs for a while, but then I put the original pedals back.

One thing I never got around to was upgrading the castors.


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## Clarkey (30 May 2010)

I have changed the bars for some slightly swept ones with reverse action brake levers (Dia Compe 188's). This works really well and tidies up the cable routing no end. The only problem is that you lose the cable adjusters at the levers but I am looking for a pair of in-line ones.

I too thought about upgrading the castors but to be honest I don't need to roll the bike about much and I worry that the folded package will be less stable when on the train.

For me the biggest problem with the bike is the brakes and the horrific rim wear when riding through the winter. I might seriously consider the Greenspeed front drum brake but it is pretty pricey and seems to weigh quite alot.


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## TheDoctor (15 Jun 2010)

Added bar ends, replaced the saddle for one with a built-in LED lamp, got a QR rackpack for the rear and turned the caster wheels on the rack the other way round. The bike's not as stable when parked, but I don't bash my ankles on a daily basis.


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