# Ti Brompton worth the premium?



## samsbike (18 Sep 2018)

I am curious is the ti Brompton really worth the premium over a standard model, it’s nealy £500-£600 more?


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## Cycleops (18 Sep 2018)

If you have to ask the question the answer is no.


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## rogerzilla (18 Sep 2018)

The weight saving is about 1kg - or was when they offered a Ti seatpost* but some of that is from having no pump! On the bright side, your rear triangle won't rust out.

*which was actually excellent value as it was an £80 premium and saved a lot of weight


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## Joe Brom (19 Sep 2018)

It's noticeably lighter if you carry your Brommie a lot, but that benefit is pricey. Some people just want it and are willing to pay the cost. You might be that person.


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## kais01 (21 Apr 2019)

there are cheaper ways to reduce some weight. 

- aftermarket titanium or carbon seatpost 60 gbp

- titanium bolts. a full set including brakes are around 100 gbp.

- ditch the rack

- buy a 2-speed.

- buy a lighter saddle 

- avoid marathon tyres 

of course all of these can/should be combined with the ti-version from brompton


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## ukoldschool (23 Apr 2019)

Its cheaper to buy a year old Ti model for pretty much the same price as a new standard bike if you can go down that route?


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## samsbike (23 Apr 2019)

Thanks


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## Kell (23 Apr 2019)

Worth it? 

IMHO, I don't think so.

It's a very big premium to pay for a bike which is still going to be a heavy lump at the end of it. 

I lost a stone in weight last year and that made way more of a difference to speed on the flat as well as my ability to climb than losing +/- 1kg from the bike.

Unfortunately, I've put in all back on over the winter so now I'm slow as feck again.


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## 12boy (25 Apr 2019)

I've never really got a satisfactory answer to the question "is taking 5 lbs off the rider as good as 5 off the bike". I am leaning to where he weight is taken off the bike, because I think lighter tires and wheels make a biiger change than a lighter saddle or frame. As far as losing a stone goes, the inceeased exercise needed to burn off that much weight, assuming diet is a constant and the extra weight was not down to weightlifting, would have a lot to do with riding faster.


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## kais01 (25 Apr 2019)

a say 5kg backpack is a considerably worse disturbance strapped on the rack of the bike, than the same on the back of the rider. the latter can also be an aerodynamic advantage, as long as it does not sit high enough to take wind over the level of the shoulders.

but a really heavy item like 20 kg is nevertheless better on the bike


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## kais01 (25 Apr 2019)

and riding a lighter bike is more FUN.

in the case of a folder, if carrying is needed, every kg counts. on my lightest 9.4 kg i gladly accept carrying it several hundred meters, and do not have easy-wheels on it - a necessity on my 12.3 kg winter brommie.

mostly however i roll the brommie on its own wheels all the way to the train.


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## Kell (29 Apr 2019)

Essentially anything that moves is where the best weight saving comes in. And it’s probably cheaper to lose it from yourself if you’re overweight (like I am).

When I lost the weight last year, it was mostly diet. Without going down to a full 5-2 diet, I did really cut down two days a week. This year, however, i went away at Christmas and New Year, didn’t do dry January and have already been on an all-inclusive holiday where I did no exercise. So it’s all plies back on. Alarmingly easily too.

But if you’re looking to save weight from the bike then the wheels are a pretty good starting point. Getting them rolling and slowing the bike down can add up to quite a saving over the course of a journey. And better bearings will help keep you rolling once you are moving.

However. All of this pales into insignificance compared to reducing aero drag. Something like 93% of your effort is punching through the air. So no matter how much weight you lose from a Brompton, the same person is never going to be able to go as fast as they could on a road bike because of the aerodynamics.


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## 12boy (29 Apr 2019)

I really don't think an S type Brompton without a front bag is any less aero than a road bike, at least if there is no front bag. I feel more secure on mine when there are heavy sideways gusts as well. Even with a flat bar it is possible to bend over quite a bit. My speed limitations come from lack of high gearing, since my current set up is 58/38 chain rings and 12/16 sprockets only yields about 77 gear inches. I guess the puny engine has something to do with it as well.


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## stoatsngroats (29 Apr 2019)

I don’t have a Ti, nor have I ridden one, but it isn’t something I would choose to spend my cash on, and I’m not a weight conscious cyclist, although over the years I have managed my weight pretty well, keeping 4St lighter consistently over the last 10 years. 
What is Ti, other than a selling point, unless a few Kgs is so important to you, that you can spend the extra cash.
Having said that, I paid more for a special paint job than a ‘black’ edition or a standard colour. So feel free to ignore my point!


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## ukoldschool (30 Apr 2019)

lots of 'missing the point' here, the point of a Ti brompton isnt to decrease weight for riding, its to decrease it for _carrying........ _If youve ever had to carry one for any distance (and I do fairly regularly if a train gets cancelled and I have to divert to the tube network) then 1 or 2 kg less would be a godsend..


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## Kell (1 May 2019)

12boy said:


> I really don't think an S type Brompton without a front bag is any less aero than a road bike, at least if there is no front bag. I feel more secure on mine when there are heavy sideways gusts as well. Even with a flat bar it is possible to bend over quite a bit. My speed limitations come from lack of high gearing, since my current set up is 58/38 chain rings and 12/16 sprockets only yields about 77 gear inches. I guess the puny engine has something to do with it as well.



It's not the bike itself. It's the riding position. 

I know, because I've ridden my (cheap) road bike over some of the same routes that I've ridden the Brompton, that even on a £100 Road Bike, I'm a good 3mph quicker over the same roads. 

Some of that will be down to larger wheels riding the bumps a little better, but most is down to aero. I've ridden the same route on my old Dahon - 26" wheels, but flat bars and I'm on par over most distances on my Brompton.


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## Kell (1 May 2019)

ukoldschool said:


> lots of 'missing the point' here, the point of a Ti brompton isnt to decrease weight for riding, its to decrease it for _carrying........ _If youve ever had to carry one for any distance (and I do fairly regularly if a train gets cancelled and I have to divert to the tube network) then 1 or 2 kg less would be a godsend..



It's a good point.

But while it's true that any weight saving would be more advantageous in the situations you describe, Bromptons were never really designed to be carried for any sort of distance. They were designed to be folded small and stored.

If you really want something light to carry, buy a Hummingbird.

If you've got £3,750 lying about that is.


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## kais01 (1 May 2019)

there is really no compelling reason to buy a ti-brompton, but as i stated above its more fun of a bike. 

but for the ladies in our family that last kilo of a bike may make more of a difference, and i have chosen to buy them 2-sp ti without racks.

for myself i commute wintertime with a t5 with 44/305 tyres, its something like 12.7 kg. no problem biking it, but getting it up the stairs to the second floor of the commuter train is more of a shore than with my 9.4 kg 2sp commuter. not enough difference though to make me getting another ti for the winter.

as for riding position i use 60-70 mm risers angled forward about 45 degrees mounted on an old model m stem. of course my racer is faster, but only by a few kmh.


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## 12boy (2 May 2019)

kais01 said:


> View attachment 464735
> View attachment 464736
> there is really no compelling reason to buy a ti-brompton, but as i stated above its more fun of a bike.
> 
> ...



What is the crank arm/chain ring set up on the Ti bike? How do those 44/305 tires ride? I wonder if the larger tire diameter works out to a wheel diameter about the same as the regular Brompton 37/349? Any brake changes for the 305s?


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## kais01 (2 May 2019)

on the two-speed i have a 69t chainwheel and regular 16/12 on the rear wheel. so not for hilly areas, have a different brommie for that. but use this as a no-fuss commuter when i know where i'm going. i have gone 90 km distance at 29 kmh on it. this bike is a great joy.

cranks are campa 172.5 on a square taper ti bb.

the winter bike is an old 90s t5 with a carbon seat post and lower handlebars. top gear is around 90, about the same as the two-speed. tyres are michelin diabolo 44/305 and these have proven to have unexpectedly good grip on snow and ice, which is a sure thing about four months where i live. so i almost do not use my other brompton with carbide studded schwalbes anymore. main reason for this is the michelins roll so much better. good enough to once while commuting accompany a fellow biker half an hour on his rando. only this guy had made pbp under 50h. i think he was quite surprised how well my bike went.

to accomodate the wheels brakes with longer reach were fitted, and also had to sand a bit of the outer tyre knobs.


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