# Brompton 3.5 year ownership report



## ukoldschool (24 Feb 2022)

Havnt logged in here for ages so thought id give an update.

I bought my S6 new in Aug 2018, with the aim of commuting to an from the station at both ends of my train ride to and from work. during the first year4 that's exactly what I did, and nothing very much went wrong with it. I made a couple of light modifications to it over that time, adding Ergon GP2 grips and end bars, adding a brompton seat pin to push the seat back further (long legs), adding a cheap rack from ali express to make rolling while folded easier (and of course give a platform for carrying things, one day...). 
Then I started to ride the 13km from Blackfriars to my workplace in Tooting and back, accidently at first (as there were train problems) but soon on a regular basis mainly for the exercise. This increase in mileage meant an increase in wear and tear, and naturally I changed brake pads (I went for fibrax inserts), and seemed to eat through front wheel bearings meaning new spindles as the cones took the brunt of the wear. I went for the JTEC ones from SJS, but they still gradually come undone and the British weather washes the grease out accelerating the wear, I'm on my 3rd now. 
At some point I needed a new chain, and that also mean new rear sprockets (which were worn down to nubs), and I decided to change the standard 13/16 for 12/15 which gives the same gearing as having a 54t front chainring, I find this means I don't spin out on a couple of fast inclines descents, and gives me a higher top end on the rare occasion that I get the wind behind me on a nice flat bit... I'm now at the point where I've covered 10,000 km, and the bottom bracket needs to be replaced (which I will do with a Shimano UN300) as its suffered the same fate as the front wheel bearings... 
I switched to SPD pedals about a year ago which makes you feel much more connected to the bike on the longer rides, but I feel this has probably contributed in some way to the bottom brackets demise, trying to race Roadies on the commute..
I tried a set of Kojaks last year, they were great but I suffered 6 punctures in the 6 weeks I had them, so they went in the shed and the Marathon plus went back on.
So in my 10,000km its had:

4 sets of brake pads
3 chains
2 sets of rear sprockets
3 front axle assemblies/bearings
2 sets of Marathon plus tyres 
1 x bottom bracket (soon)
My bike gets ridden in the sun/gloom/rain/snow/ice. I pump the tyres once a week on a sunday to 100 psi, and that's about it. Its a great bike.


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## Tenkaykev (24 Feb 2022)

ukoldschool said:


> Havnt logged in here for ages so thought id give an update.
> 
> I bought my S6 new in Aug 2018, with the aim of commuting to an from the station at both ends of my train ride to and from work. during the first year4 that's exactly what I did, and nothing very much went wrong with it. I made a couple of light modifications to it over that time, adding Ergon GP2 grips and end bars, adding a brompton seat pin to push the seat back further (long legs), adding a cheap rack from ali express to make rolling while folded easier (and of course give a platform for carrying things, one day...).
> Then I started to ride the 13km from Blackfriars to my workplace in Tooting and back, accidently at first (as there were train problems) but soon on a regular basis mainly for the exercise. This increase in mileage meant an increase in wear and tear, and naturally I changed brake pads (I went for fibrax inserts), and seemed to eat through front wheel bearings meaning new spindles as the cones took the brunt of the wear. I went for the JTEC ones from SJS, but they still gradually come undone and the British weather washes the grease out accelerating the wear, I'm on my 3rd now.
> ...


Thanks very much for the post. Very useful and informative. I swapped out my M+ for the new Continental Urbans, fingers crossed no punctures in the several months that they've been fitted.


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## Kell (24 Feb 2022)

Tenkaykev said:


> Thanks very much for the post. Very useful and informative. I swapped out my M+ for the new Continental Urbans, fingers crossed no punctures in the several months that they've been fitted.


I think they'll be next on my list.

Can't seem to find them for a decent price though. 

Punctures aside, do you notice a difference? Better rolling for instance?


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## Kell (24 Feb 2022)

ukoldschool said:


> and seemed to eat through front wheel bearings meaning new spindles as the cones took the brunt of the wear. I went for the JTEC ones from SJS, but they still gradually come undone and the British weather washes the grease out accelerating the wear, I'm on my 3rd now.



I bought new cone spanners to ensure I did mine up properly when I had to change them recently and they've come loose again. 

I'd love to know if I'm doing something wrong.


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## Fields Electric (24 Feb 2022)

My Brompton 6 speed is coming up to 5 years. ODO states 6500 miles Approx 10 Km, New Dec 2017
5 chains
2 sets of sprockets
1 seat post sleeve
3 rd set of brake blocks Front 4 on the back.
1 New saddle, (stitching failed on the original) 
1 new bottom swivel pin and bushes. 
1 new front chain ring. 
3 new tyres. The latest are Schwalbe marathons plus.
I rotate front to rear, that way the front does not rot, before it wears out.

In future 

I will take more care of cleaning the seat stem and sleeve.
I will rotate the chain ring on every new chain. (annually).

Next Jobs.
The rear brake rim is very thin on the drive side. Its a race between which wears out first the, Tyre or the rim. I will replace both at the same
time. I will also replace the cones in the wheel gear hub whilst the wheel is in bits. 
The bottom bracket was replaced under the Brompton safety call.


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## Tenkaykev (24 Feb 2022)

Kell said:


> I think they'll be next on my list.
> 
> Can't seem to find them for a decent price though.
> 
> Punctures aside, do you notice a difference? Better rolling for instance?


Yes, they feel a much more forgiving ride than the M+. I keep front tyre around 70 and rear about 80psi.


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## ExBrit (25 Feb 2022)

ukoldschool said:


> adding a brompton seat pin to push the seat back further


Thanks for the update. I'm interested in the seat pin upgrade because it's something I've been trying to do myself with no luck. Every attempt to push the seat back has forced the saddle nose up. Can you tell us more about this. I'm using a Brooks B17 which only has a short usable rail length.

Thanks again


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## berlinonaut (25 Feb 2022)

ExBrit said:


> Thanks for the update. I'm interested in the seat pin upgrade because it's something I've been trying to do myself with no luck. Every attempt to push the seat back has forced the saddle nose up. Can you tell us more about this. I'm using a Brooks B17 which only has a short usable rail length.


The original Brompton seat pin adaptor is no longer available for a couple of years already.






There is a more or less identical product from Vincent van Eerd, but at 8-10 times the price of the original: https://debromptonwinkel.wixsite.co...e-Forward-Adapter-Pin-for-Brompton-p322072265

Regarding your problem: The manual of the original adaptor said it must not be used mounted backwards as the resulting lever may damage the frame. It has always been intended to mounted forwards to shorten the distance between saddle and bars. Two other effects were that you are able to rise the saddle a tiny bit (when mounted upwards) or do shrink the folded size a bit (when mounted downwards) as you can see from this snippet from the Brompton 2002 manual:






In the next version of the manual Brompton states:

_NON-STANDARD SEAT PILLAR OPTIONS Saddle adaptor pin:

There are two ways of using the optional saddle adaptor pin (SAPP). If you are looking for the most compact folded configuration or wish to have the saddle further forward, then mount the SAPP inclined "downwards", and attach the saddle at the appropriate position on the SAPP. If you wish for extra height (up to 30mm), mount the SAPP inclined upwards. The correct torque for the nut on the SAPP's clip bolt is 13-14NM._
*Under no circumstances fit the SAPP projecting backwards from the seat pillar: this could produce stresses for which the bicycle is not designed.  * 


So mounting it like that (what you probably intend) is possibly not a good idea: 
View: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cleverchimp/1429704016/in/photostream/


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## ExBrit (25 Feb 2022)

berlinonaut said:


> The original Brompton seat pin adaptor is no longer available for a couple of years already.
> View attachment 632711
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks - $45 and out of stock. Either very popular or not at all popular. I wonder if I could do an additive Ti print. What could go wrong


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## berlinonaut (25 Feb 2022)

ExBrit said:


> Thanks - $45 and out of stock. Either very popular or not at all popular.



Even if it was available: The Eerder version is called "saddle forward adaptor" - probably for a reason. 


ExBrit said:


> I wonder if I could do an additive Ti print. What could go wrong


Go for it! In case something goes wrong you will have an interesting (and hopefully funny) story to tell!


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## mitchibob (26 Feb 2022)

ukoldschool said:


> Havnt logged in here for ages so thought id give an update.
> 
> I bought my S6 new in Aug 2018, with the aim of commuting to an from the station at both ends of my train ride to and from work. during the first year4 that's exactly what I did, and nothing very much went wrong with it. I made a couple of light modifications to it over that time, adding Ergon GP2 grips and end bars, adding a brompton seat pin to push the seat back further (long legs), adding a cheap rack from ali express to make rolling while folded easier (and of course give a platform for carrying things, one day...).
> Then I started to ride the 13km from Blackfriars to my workplace in Tooting and back, accidently at first (as there were train problems) but soon on a regular basis mainly for the exercise. This increase in mileage meant an increase in wear and tear, and naturally I changed brake pads (I went for fibrax inserts), and seemed to eat through front wheel bearings meaning new spindles as the cones took the brunt of the wear. I went for the JTEC ones from SJS, but they still gradually come undone and the British weather washes the grease out accelerating the wear, I'm on my 3rd now.
> ...


You're right, it is a great bike.

My main bike was bought as 2018 M6E, which has become, over minor steps, an S6L. After about 25,000km, with various tyres, and maybe a couple of different front wheels, probably similar number of pads, maybe a few more chains and sprockets, it's going well, although, just about to properly service with some new brake cables, wheels. Ridden through some horrible crap, and it's fantastic bike.

Bearings though, in BB and elsewhere, have been great on this bike. Shimano XT T8000 SPD pedals have been fantastic. Like the fact they favour easy clip in, but also easy flip-back to ride comfortably in Birkenstocks. Birkenstock really need to do a decent SPD sandal, but also light, and smooth, and have been on the bike since I rode from the shop, and still work perfectly.

The only time I needed BB changing was on my 2016 M2L that came with dodgy one that was recalled after I'd already had to have it replaced, because it was truly terrible. On my 2018 model, BB is absolutely sound after about 25,000km.

3 chains vs 2 sprockets seems out of kilter. Just keep drivetrain cleaner and replace them simultaneously after about 5,000km

3 front axles? again, do you clean your bike?

2 sets of Marathon plus tyres.... just get standard Marathons, they're fantastic all rounder! Marathon Plus are just pointless and slow. If something will puncture a standard Marathon, it's going to puncture Marathon Plus too. Or enjoy ride more and get the Conti urban tyres... although, for 2022 Urban Hill Climb (24th Sept 2022, and hopefully they keep folding bike category... fantastic day out, recommended!!!), I might have to treat myself to some tan-wall numbers ;-)


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## 12boy (26 Feb 2022)

Ukoldschool, can you explain about the JTEC wheel bearings.... are they cartridges that replace the cone and loose ball set up? I would guess I have over 10k miles on mine and I have replaced the front wheel because I couldn't get cones for it (although I found some later), the seat post, the plastic insert, and the rear hinge spindle. I have new brake levers, a Chris King Gripnut cartridge headset, a Shimano UN 25 bottom bracket, 110 bcd crankarms with 58 and 38 chain rings an SA 177% rear wheel and a single speed I can go single, 2 speed or 3 speed and a leather saddle. As you might guess l enjoy trying different things with it and generally find it, with the exceptions of the rear hinge spindle insert very easy to work on. I don't know if it made a difference, but I drilled a hole through the frame over the hinge spindle and force oil in to lube the bushings occasionally. Also have Ergon cork grips and 2 way SPDs.
As far as tires go, I currently have Marathon racers, which I find much easier to take on and off, another set with Schwalbe studded snows, and I've used regular Marathons and Marathon plusses which I don't like removing or installing.
I would have to say of the 6 bikes I like to ride, the Brompton is my favorite.


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## ExBrit (26 Feb 2022)

berlinonaut said:


> Even if it was available: The Eerder version is called "saddle forward adaptor" - probably for a reason.
> 
> Go for it! In case something goes wrong you will have an interesting (and hopefully funny) story to tell!


Turns out a spool of Ti thread is about $400. Plus you need a sintering oven.
It might be cheaper to get surgery to shorten my legs.
I may just end up getting a telescoping post.


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## ukoldschool (28 Feb 2022)

ExBrit said:


> Thanks - $45 and out of stock. Either very popular or not at all popular. I wonder if I could do an additive Ti print. What could go wrong



Mines been fitted now backwards for 2 years with no issues. Previously I had the seat as far back as was possible in the reversed pentalip, this just puts it about half an inch further back so its certainly not like a bmx layback


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## ukoldschool (28 Feb 2022)

mitchibob said:


> You're right, it is a great bike.
> 
> My main bike was bought as 2018 M6E, which has become, over minor steps, an S6L. After about 25,000km, with various tyres, and maybe a couple of different front wheels, probably similar number of pads, maybe a few more chains and sprockets, it's going well, although, just about to properly service with some new brake cables, wheels. Ridden through some horrible crap, and it's fantastic bike.
> 
> ...



Nah, the rain keeps it clean


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## ukoldschool (28 Feb 2022)

12boy said:


> Ukoldschool, can you explain about the JTEC wheel bearings.... are they cartridges that replace the cone and loose ball set up? I would guess I have over 10k miles on mine and I have replaced the front wheel because I couldn't get cones for it (although I found some later), the seat post, the plastic insert, and the rear hinge spindle. I have new brake levers, a Chris King Gripnut cartridge headset, a Shimano UN 25 bottom bracket, 110 bcd crankarms with 58 and 38 chain rings an SA 177% rear wheel and a single speed I can go single, 2 speed or 3 speed and a leather saddle. As you might guess l enjoy trying different things with it and generally find it, with the exceptions of the rear hinge spindle insert very easy to work on. I don't know if it made a difference, but I drilled a hole through the frame over the hinge spindle and force oil in to lube the bushings occasionally. Also have Ergon cork grips and 2 way SPDs.
> As far as tires go, I currently have Marathon racers, which I find much easier to take on and off, another set with Schwalbe studded snows, and I've used regular Marathons and Marathon plusses which I don't like removing or installing.
> I would have to say of the 6 bikes I like to ride, the Brompton is my favorite.


no, jus a new axle with cones for loose balls 
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/hub-spares/jtek-replacement-front-axle-for-brompton/


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## Fields Electric (20 Apr 2022)

Just replaced the seat post plastic sleeve for the second time. This one was un-reamed so I resorted to an adjustable reamer set to 31.75 mm. As i was reaming from the top and not the bottom. Also I did not have an undersize former to glue it in place, first. Its an interference fit. Not a sliding fit, (From my metalwork 'O' level). But it's workable.


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## mitchibob (20 Apr 2022)

Fields Electric said:


> Just replaced the seat post plastic sleeve for the second time. This one was un-reamed so I resorted to an adjustable reamer set to 31.75 mm. As i was reaming from the top and not the bottom. Also I did not have an undersize former to glue it in place, first. Its an interference fit. Not a sliding fit, (From my metalwork 'O' level). But it's workable.



Other than the fact that my cheap titanium seatpost can be easily lifted out completely, unlike a flanged affair, I'm struggling to understand the requirement for this fix. I ride my bike in all weather, through some rivers, definitely off-road that might not have been expected of designer. My bike is similar vintage. But seat post sleeve? fine! I do wonder about cleanliness of bikes that need this stuff done.


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## Fields Electric (22 Apr 2022)

The issue is that over a period of time the seat post clamp needs to be tightened up ever further to stop the seat post slipping. Conventional wisdom states that the sleeve wears. I have measured mine and can detect no increase in bore. My conclusion is that the sleeve itself is made of some sort of oily plastic. Which dries out over time. That combined with the dirt that gets imbedded in it reduces the 'Stiction'. Thereby increasing the force required to lock the seat post. The frame material itself is not springy and so is liable to crack on the clamp. More of an issue is that it takes longer to fold. Which is an issue for those us that commute by train. The notes state that a max Torque of 5-8 Nm is allowable. which is not very much force. So when I get to the point where I need I strong hand or two, to close it. I replace it. I also confirmed this with a Cycle shop that repairs Bromptons. Hope that helps.


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## berlinonaut (23 Apr 2022)

The sleeve wars. With every fold. So if you fold often you need to replace the shim earlier than someone who barely folds his bike. When the seat post starts slipping you can tighten the bolt a tad more. But not too often. If you ignore that, don't replace the shim and tighten the bold excessively instead you may/will damage the frame.


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## ukoldschool (25 Apr 2022)

Unless of course you just add an additional clamp onto the seat post, which is a lot easier and cheaper than changing the seat post sleeve


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## T4tomo (25 Apr 2022)

ukoldschool said:


> Unless of course you just add an additional clamp onto the seat post, which is a lot easier and cheaper than changing the seat post sleeve



I paid £15 to for a new sleeve (fitted and reamed) which I think is way easier than having to tighten and loosen a secondary clamp every time you fold.....cheaper too if you cost in your own time.....


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## ukoldschool (25 Apr 2022)

Of course there is always somebody that will argue that taking your bike apart, breaking out the old sleeve, then cleaning up the tube and then glueing the new sleeve in place, then reaming to size, putting your bike back together again, only to inevitably have to do all that again in maybe 6 months (depending on how much you use your bike and in what conditions), is easier than fitting a £6 clamp....
and extra time to undo a quick release clamp?


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## T4tomo (25 Apr 2022)

ukoldschool said:


> Of course there is always somebody that will argue that taking your bike apart, breaking out the old sleeve, then cleaning up the tube and then glueing the new sleeve in place, then reaming to size, putting your bike back together again, only to inevitably have to do all that again in maybe 6 months (depending on how much you use your bike and in what conditions), is easier than fitting a £6 clamp....
> and extra time to undo a quick release clamp?



I was saying paying someone £15 once every 12 years or so to keep it working as intended was less hassle. 
Where are you getting 6 months from


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## berlinonaut (25 Apr 2022)

ukoldschool said:


> Unless of course you just add an additional clamp onto the seat post, which is a lot easier and cheaper than changing the seat post sleeve



What do you do when your brake pads or your tires are worn?


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## berlinonaut (25 Apr 2022)

ukoldschool said:


> Of course there is always somebody that will argue that taking your bike apart, breaking out the old sleeve, then cleaning up the tube and then glueing the new sleeve in place, then reaming to size, putting your bike back together again, only to inevitably have to do all that again in maybe 6 months (depending on how much you use your bike and in what conditions), is easier than fitting a £6 clamp....
> and extra time to undo a quick release clamp?



Realistically with most users a change of the sleeve is necessary somewhere between 3 and 12-15 years with an average at maybe 5-8 years. The wear is built in on purpose - some other folding bikes do use sleeves made of steel or aluminum or no sleeves at all. You could also replace your brakepads with pads made of steel to not suffer from wear. I would however not consider this a good idea...


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## ExBrit (26 Apr 2022)

berlinonaut said:


> What do you do when your brake pads or your tires are worn?



I glue new brake pads on the stumps of the old ones.
Doesn't everyone?


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## rogerzilla (26 Apr 2022)

Wear is mileage-related. I have a 2008 bike on its original sleeve. The previous owners don't seem to have used it a great deal, judging from the lack of wear on the sprockets, etc. At the other extreme, there is a Brompton employee with a long commute who needs a new rear hinge every few MONTHS.

I have a stash of spare sleeves and the reamer, in case Brompton stop supplying them at some point.


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## berlinonaut (26 Apr 2022)

rogerzilla said:


> Wear is mileage-related.


That's an improper statement. Rather a combination of mileage and usage.


rogerzilla said:


> I have a 2008 bike on its original sleeve. The previous owners don't seem to have used it a great deal, judging from the lack of wear on the sprockets, etc.


You can ride many miles w/o folding but also fold often while doing only a small number of miles. While you will earn some minimal wear of the sleeve due to the friction while riding the vast majority of the wear is a result of folding. So even with low mileage your sleeve can be worn if you just fold often enough.



rogerzilla said:


> At the other extreme, there is a Brompton employee with a long commute who needs a new rear hinge every few MONTHS.


That's surely an extreme case and Brompton were probably better off not having published that fact. As - as we can see - this gets tooted around as an example for the "terrible wear" of the rear hinge, not mentioning that with many people the rear hinge lasts 20 years and longer and with almost anyone at least several years and several thousands of km at minimum. The wear here clearly depends from mileage, weight of the rider, riding style and riding conditions. Brompton themselves called the guy their destructive quality tester. The highest mileage of a Brompton I am personally aware of w/o need to change the rear hinge is way over 40.000km. Unfortunately I am not aware of many Bromptons that have covered more miles at all, so not many datapoints to choose from.


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## Kell (27 Apr 2022)

rogerzilla said:


> At the other extreme, there is a Brompton employee with a long commute who needs a new rear hinge every few MONTHS.



I have to say I find that incredibly hard to believe. 

I'm +/- 16 stone and have been for the entire time i've owned my Brompton. My commute is not overly long at around 16 miles a day. but I regularly jump up and down kerbs, have had a long patch of cobbles to deal with as well as ridiculous speed bumps and don't ever treat my bike with kid gloves. 

I think i've had it since 2016, and while the rear hinge developed some lateral play early on, it's not got any worse. 

This guy's commute must be like this: 


View: https://youtu.be/BE12q6myTTM


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## berlinonaut (27 Apr 2022)

rogerzilla said:


> At the other extreme, there is a Brompton employee with a long commute who needs a new rear hinge every few MONTHS.





Kell said:


> I have to say I find that incredibly hard to believe.


Well, Mr. Zilla is telling a very single sided story here. Not for the first time. The fact comes from Brompton themselves, of an article in their Zendesk-support-database that is no longer available. But it has been quoted in this very forum: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/brompton-clones.278930/post-6550726



> *How often will this need doing?*
> The time in which these bushings wear out varies enormously dependent on the amount of use, style of riding, rider weight/power output, number of folds, general cleanliness of the bike, etc.
> _*For comparison: our resident test technician rides approximately 30 miles a day, 3 days a week on his Brompton and requires a rear hinge replacement service around every 4 months.*_


So the person in question is *supposed* to destroy things - *it is* *his job* to outlast components as quickly as possible. To tell the story hiding this fact and to pretend that this would be normal wear by an average rider ist at best misinformation if not a flavor of purposefully spreading fake news. And to complain about it is as if you would complain that a car is defective after a crash test in the factory and to state that it would thus be of bad quality.
Also: The distance covered by this guy in three months sums up to roughly 1500 Miles (if he only rides to work with his bike w/o any additional rides), this is clearly _way_ below average for a worn hinge but also possibly way more than many riders cover even over a year.

No idea why _some_ people especially on this forum seem to have the deep desire to constantly claim Bromptons would be of inferior quality - based on fake news. There is enough to criticize with Brompton w/o fake news, based on reality. Where this hate and extreme bias comes from - no idea what the motivation is behind this. Possibly reality is not dramatic enough and the hate sits too deep for whatever reason. Should not be trusted.


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## T4tomo (27 Apr 2022)

> _*For comparison: our resident test technician rides approximately 30 miles a day, 3 days a week on his Brompton and requires a rear hinge replacement service around every 4 months.*_



I still find that staggering. Yes I only covered 10 miles a day, but 5 days a week when I was Bmuting, on an SL3 I bought in 2005. I had a couple on non London commuting years, and changed to a 2 bike commute in maybe 2019, so that's at least a dozen years use. I had to replace seatpost sleeve, but rear triangle hinge is still as good as the day I bought it. 
Other than that I upgraded brake levers out of choice, replaced a rear mudguard (failed at stay join) and a crankset that departed company with the chainring, and obviously a chain, sprocket & tyre or two.


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## Kell (27 Apr 2022)

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that for the first two years of its life my Brompton was *folded *to go in the car, *unfolded *to cycle to the station, *folded *to go on the train, *unfolded *to ride from the station to work, and then the rear was *folded *as I used to leave it in 'park' mode at work as it was easier to lock. And then *unfolded *to ride to the station. *Folded *to go on the train. *Unfolded *to ride back to the car. *Folded *to go in the car and finally *unfolded* when taking it out of the car to put in the garage. Repeat five times a week.


Now it only gets folded twice a day, three days a week.


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## berlinonaut (30 Apr 2022)

berlinonaut said:


> The sleeve wars. With every fold. So if you fold often you need to replace the shim earlier than someone who barely folds his bike. When the seat post starts slipping you can tighten the bolt a tad more. But not too often. If you ignore that, don't replace the shim and tighten the bold excessively instead you may/will damage the frame.



This is btw. what you typically end up with when you ignore the wear of the seat post sleeve:






(Pic taken from here: https://www.lfgss.com/comments/16497014/)


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## cougie uk (30 Apr 2022)

So if I've not had my seat slipping - I'm not constantly doing my clamp tighter - I've got no problems with my sleeve then ?


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## berlinonaut (30 Apr 2022)

cougie uk said:


> So if I've not had my seat slipping - I'm not constantly doing my clamp tighter - I've got no problems with my sleeve then ?


Nope. Disappointed? 😊


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## Fields Electric (8 May 2022)

Mine is folded 8 times a day. 6 miles a day. The seat post sleeve lasts 2 years with regular seat post cleaning. The rear hinge seems to be working out at 3 years between replacement. Thanks for the seat post clamp pictures. Given the distortion on the seat post. It looks like the sleeve has almost worn to nothing. Much more than mine before it’s replaced.


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## ukoldschool (19 May 2022)

berlinonaut said:


> This is btw. what you typically end up with when you ignore the wear of the seat post sleeve:



Incorrect, that is what you end up with if you overtighten the clamp. You cannot say for certain whether the user ignored seat post slippage, only that the clamp was clearly overtightened. It could be that the user had a dirty or greasy seat post.


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## berlinonaut (19 May 2022)

ukoldschool said:


> Incorrect, that is what you end up with if you overtighten the clamp. You cannot say for certain whether the user ignored seat post slippage, only that the clamp was clearly overtightened. It could be that the user had a dirty or greasy seat post.



If you've seen this defect a couple of times and have followed researched the root cause you can fairly say that


berlinonaut said:


> This is btw. what you typically end up with when you ignore the wear of the seat post sleeve:


That's what I did. As I did not take the above picture myself I obviously cannot claim or testify it for that specific case/bike - but on the other hand the person who took and posted the picture did and I consider him trustworthy.

So what's your point? If you are not Conan the Conquerer you will not be able to produce a defect like that w/o a worn seat post sleeve. 
If you *are* Conan the Conquerer w/o a worn seat post sleeve you'll rather destroy the seat post itself or the saddle clamp screw before achieving this kind of frame defect. 
As you can see in the picture the defect seems to have been there for quite some time already, so it probably wasn't Conan the Conquerer producing it as you won't be riding your Brompton far with a defective seat post or an exploded seat post clamp. Not even as Conan the Conquerer.


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## ukoldschool (24 May 2022)

you could start an argument in a paper bag mate


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