2021 Brompton C-Line Explore
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12boy
Guru
- Location
- Casper WY USA
I tried roller blade wheels but more heel strike. I never roll my older Brompton around on the wheels but it isn't stable without something so I put 2 large steel washers on each side and that works fine. As a matter of fact, I rarely fold mine other than the parking position unless I am taking it somewhere in my car. Why do I even have a folding bike let alone 2 Bromptons? Because I like riding them and in the park mode they don't take up as much space in my garage or bicycle shed as my full sized bikes.
Scooter wheels are probably a better option because they are far narrower.
Maybe, maybe not. Seems that the rack places the wheels further back than that on the mudguard; meaning a smoother transition during folding between the rear wheel and rolly-folded wheels (giving the flap an easier time) but this may or may not be bourne out in practice.
Perhaps.. although tbh I find £20-odd for two injection-molded wheels with a couple of standardised O-rings, bolts and bearings a bit of a pish-take tbh. Sadly seems to be par for the course with these bikes, however. As always I remain happy to spend money on decent gear, but the price of these seems a bit excessive tbh..
Arguably yes; however worst case for the short term it's better than nowt (powder coat is already through to the bare metal here) and best case it'll save me having to spend any more money on further preventing its degradation
Thanks; figures as I get occasional heel strike with the standard wheels. I definitely need a foldy-rolly-friendly solution however, so not sure whether to go with a rack or just bigger wheels all round..
Big sell on mine is getting it in the car, although in my week+ of ownership I've already had it in a shop and pub or two
Bit of a mishmash update as the situation surrounding the bike has been hectic, but I don't have a lot to show for it and still have many, many things to sort:
Clothing
Because I'm a lazy sod and getting changed at work is a pain, I'm gravitating more towards riding in "presentable" clothes in technical fabrics, to maintain some air of aesthetic acceptability without having to get changed. This week I've swapped my over-stuffed-sausage-skin-tight base layer for a lightweight Mountain Warehouse shirt (that makes me look like my dad in 1986).
The big score on this front has been a pair of grey Mountain Warehouse "Explore" 3/4 lengths; hastily purchased in the dying minutes of Wednesday's working day after smashing it down there on the bike. These look reasonably presentable, are very light and have zipped pockets - meaning that I can hopefully carry some of the stuff I need immediate access to (keys, phone etc) upon my person to avoid the pain of having to open a bag when I arrive.
I liked the look of some of MW's cotton shirts, however upon inspection they turned out to be far too thick / warm for this application - at least it was a win for visiting the shop over mail-order and the associated grief of returns.
So, I'm squeaking by with clothing currently and better than I was last week; however I'd like some more shirts and remain woefully unprepared for when the weather changing as the year rolls on.
Luggage
Seems I've poked around every possible luggage solution and nowt stands out as being ideal. This last week I've left the eternal comfort-rucksack-of-all-things at home as it's too big, heavy and sweat-inducing. Monday I did the commute just with the B's basky-bag in an effort to see what it would be like running just a front-mounted bag; a jarring and sub-optimal, if ultimately workable experience. Capacity (23L) is acceptable if a shade tight; lack of waterproofing or other shilding from the elements / scallies due to its open-topped format are not. Could do with more zipped pockets, along with better accessibility to stuff I need regularly / rapidly (keys, phone and wallet to a lesser extent). This bag is decent for what it is, however better suited to a casual urban environment than my needs.
For the rest of the week I've continued to use the front bag for less personal / critical stuff (change of clothes, lunch, water, deodorant..) with my faithful Osprey Syncro 12 backpack for all the more precious and usual bike-related stuff.
This has many advantages - bike stuff is typically always in there ready to go (a few B-specific things notwithstanding) and it makes my valuables feel more secure than sat out on the front of the bike. The rucksack is light, well-vented and comfortable and it in conjunction with the front bag is the best I've managed so far; providing a workable stop-gap (at least while the weather remains civilised). However, it's still not ideal as it means carrying two bags which is a bit of a pig off-bike, the rucksack isn't particularly kind to clothes and while ventilation is good, it can't be any better than no rucksack at all.
As for alternatives to the front bag every day I seem to favour something different.. From massive, old-school leather-and-canvas efforts to smaller, more modern offerings. I love the look of the Barbour wax holdalls and tbh would probably take the £200 hit if they were still available new; as it stands they've all sold out and those that remain available are from profiteering parasites trying to flip them for obscene sums.. I also remain a bit skeptical of the whole fashion-led angle on these items too; while apparently the Barbour bags are made in China so probably of questionable value for money.
I also like the look of the Ortlieb O-bag, but again these are now discontinued and the only available offerings are pricey used / NOS.. again it all seems like a bit of a pish-take; £200+ for a single, 20L bag when two Backroller Classics of double the capacity are typically about £130..
Bike
Not done much to the bike.. mounting the trip computer continues to be an absolute nightmare as nothing suitable is available off the shelf and the best bet appears to lash something up using the QuadLock phone mount that came with the bike.. however the previous owner's lost the rubber shims that sit around the bars and obtaining replacement appears expensive and wasteful at best; impossible at worst.
For now I've lashed the Polar mount to the top of the stem - can't really see the display when riding but at least it allows the unit to be used without bouncing around on top of the bag / sliding about in a pocket.
I'm on the cusp of dropping the fat end of a ton on some "essential" bits - replacement mudguards, easy-wheels, touch-up paint.. but the usual indecision is delaying things. I think I've gone off the rack currently on cost / mass grounds; but will maybe re-visit if I remain unsatisfied with the bike's folded rolling behaviour once the easy wheels are on.
The DIY frame protection tape is holding up well in some areas, less-so in others. Toying with the idea of buying a roll of transparent stuff touted for the purpose from Ali Express as the prices over here are ridiculous.
I'm still not appreciating the noises from the geared hub, however I think I'm getting a bit more used to them / accepting that they're not indicitive of a problem as they'd be on any other bike.
By chance yesterday I noticed that there was a lot of slop in the headset and on further investigation found it needed maybe half a turn on the top nut to get it right. Given how little mileage it's seen, it appears that someone at the factory dropped the ball on that one. A sigh of relief was had once I'd managed to do the job without marking anything (courtesy of a bit of old ally drinks can between the headset and spanner).
I used the Lezyne pump in anger for the first time the other day, and wasn't impressed tbh. Construction feels cheap and the threaded bits are all plastic - and very easy to cross-thread. Like some of the other peripherals on the bike this doesn't feel as high-quality as it should.
The re-fitted original saddle has performed reasonably; still on the fence as to whether to replace it but it'll do for now.
The Ezclamp springs have made the foldy/unfoldy ritual far more straightforward and pleasant than a gram or two of printed plastic have any right to and in this regard are highly recommended; however I've found the one on the frame to have become a bit lazy recently; not sure if it's hanging up somewhere.
Commute
This week I've used the bike every day and actually now look forward to the journey - being intrinsically pleasant, virtuous, frugal and a very welcome alternative to the rage-inducing horrors of taking the car the whole way around, and into the city.
With the exception of some very unusual traffic close to home on Tuesday the journey to Yarnton in the car has been straightforward, low-stress and no doubt nice and fuel-efficient. Another bonus of the minimal traffic is the journey time is much more predictable and consistant; with the total door-to-door time being consistently between 1:10 and 1:15 on all but the first trip (with its associated sightseeing).
Tuesday saw me smashing it on the bike and taking the shortest route to offset the delay encountered in the car; which was less than ideal. Because the ride's so nice however I'm happy to try to leave a bit earlier and take it really steady; with Wednesday's ride being a perfect example; averaging around 11.3mph with my heart rate almost entirely in Zone 1.
All this still remains exhausting however as I'm not used to this amount of exercise on a school day, and the versatility of the bike has opened me up to a few more excursions in town after work - another welcome benefit over the car.
So far I've covered about 90 miles on the bike and on paper it's saved around 1.5% of its purchase price in fuel, having cut my work-related mileage in half. However, cost benefits run deeper than this as the car is doubtless more fuel-efficient in the flowing traffic it currently sees, while wear to the brakes / clutch / tyres will also be disproportionately decreased by the large reduction is vile stop-start driving. This could potentially be very significant as the car's worth very little and realistically the clutch going would probably write it off..
So, there we go - another big, boring wall of text; perhaps not of interest to most but if nowt else a welcome opportunity to organise my thoughts
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Maybe, maybe not. Seems that the rack places the wheels further back than that on the mudguard; meaning a smoother transition during folding between the rear wheel and rolly-folded wheels (giving the flap an easier time) but this may or may not be bourne out in practice.
Perhaps.. although tbh I find £20-odd for two injection-molded wheels with a couple of standardised O-rings, bolts and bearings a bit of a pish-take tbh. Sadly seems to be par for the course with these bikes, however. As always I remain happy to spend money on decent gear, but the price of these seems a bit excessive tbh..
Arguably yes; however worst case for the short term it's better than nowt (powder coat is already through to the bare metal here) and best case it'll save me having to spend any more money on further preventing its degradation
Thanks; figures as I get occasional heel strike with the standard wheels. I definitely need a foldy-rolly-friendly solution however, so not sure whether to go with a rack or just bigger wheels all round..
Big sell on mine is getting it in the car, although in my week+ of ownership I've already had it in a shop and pub or two
Bit of a mishmash update as the situation surrounding the bike has been hectic, but I don't have a lot to show for it and still have many, many things to sort:
Clothing
Because I'm a lazy sod and getting changed at work is a paint, I'm gravitating more towards "presentable" clothes in technical fabrics, to maintain some air of aesthetic acceptability without having to get changed. This week I've swapped my over-stuffed-sausage-skin-tight base layer for a lightweight Mountain Warehouse shirt (that makes me look like my dad in 1986).
The big score on this front has been a pair of grey Mountain Warehouse "Explore" 3/4 lengths; hastily purchased in the dying minutes of Wednesday's working day after smashing it down there on the bike. These look reasonably presentable, are very light and have zipped pockets - meaning that I can hopefully carry some of the stuff I need immediate access to (keys, phone etc) upon my person to avoid the pain of having to open a big when I arrive.
I liked the look of some of MW's cotton shirts, however upon inspection they turned out to be far too thick / warm for this application - at least it was a win for visiting the shop over mail-order.
So, I'm squeaking by with clothing currently; however I'd like some more shirts and remain woefully unprepared for when the weather changing as the year rolls on.
Luggage
Seems I've poked around every possible luggage solution and nowt stands out as being ideal. This last week I've left the eternal comfort-rucksack-of-all-things at home as it's too big, heavy and sweat-inducing. Monday I did the commute just with the B's basky-bag in an effort to see what it would be like running just a front-mounted bag; a jarring and sub-optimal, if ultimately workable experience. Capacity (23L) is acceptable if a shade tight; lack of waterproofing or other shilding from the elements / scallies due to its open-topped format are not. Could do with more zipped pockets, along with better accessibility to stuff I need regularly / rapidly (keys, phone and wallet to a lesser extent). This bag is decent for what it is, however better suited to a casual urban environment than my needs.
For the rest of the week I've continued to use the front bag for less personal / critical stuff (change of clothes, lunch, water, deodorant..) with my faithful Osprey Syncro 12 backpack for all the more precious and usual bike-related stuff.
This has many advantages - bike stuff is typically always in there ready to go (a few B-specific things notwithstanding) and it makes my valuables feel more secure than sat out on the front of the bike. The rucksack is light, well-vented and comfortable and it, along with the front bag is the best I've managed so far; providing a workable stop-gap (at least while the weather remains civilised). However, it's still not ideal as it means carrying two bags which is a bit of a pig off-bike, the rucksack isn't particularly kind to clothes and while ventilation is good, it can't be any better than no rucksack at all.
As for alternatives to the front bag, every day I seem to favour something different.. From massive, old-school leather-and-canvas efforts to smaller, more modern offerings. I love the look of the Barbour wax holdalls and tbh would probably take the £200 hit if they were still available new; as it stands they've all sold out and those that remain available are from profiteering parasites trying to flip them for obscene sums.. I also remain a bit skeptical of the whole fashion-led angle on these items too; while apparently the Barbour bags are made in China so of questionable value for money.
I like the look of the Ortlieb O-bag, but again these are now discontinued and the only available offerings are pricey used / NOS.. again it all seems like a bit of a pish-take; £200+ for a single, 20L bag when two Backroller Classics of double the capacity are typically about £130..
Bike
Not done much to the bike.. mounting the trip computer continues to be an absolute nightmare as nothing suitable is available off the shelf and the best bet appears to lash something up using the QuadLock phone mount that came with the bike.. however the previous owner's lost the rubber shims that sit around the bars and obtaining replacement appears expensive and wasteful at best; impossible at worst.
For now I've lashed the Polar mount to the top of the stem - can't really see the display when riding but at least it allows the unit to be used without bouncing around on top of the bag / sliding about in a pocket.
I'm on the cusp of dropping the fat end of a ton on some essential bits - replacement mudguards, easy-wheels, touch-up paint.. but the usual indecision is delaying things. I think I've gone off the rack currently on cost / mass grounds; but will maybe re-visit if I remain unsatisfied with the bike's folded rolling behaviour once the easy wheels are on.
The DIY frame protection tape is holding up well in some areas, less-so in others. Toying with the idea of buying a roll of transparent stuff touted for the purpose from Ali Express as the prices over here are ridiculous.
I'm still not appreciating the noises from the geared hub, however I think getting a bit more used to them / accepting that they're not indicitive of a problem as they'd be on any other bike.
By chance yesterday I noticed that there was a lot of slop in the headset and on further investigation found it needed maybe half a turn on the top nut to get it right. Given how little mileage it's seen, it appears that someone at the factory dropped the ball on that one.
I used the Lezyne pump in anger for the first time the other day, and wasn't impressed tbh. Construction feels cheap and the threaded bits are all plastic - and very easy to cross-thread. Like some of the other peripherals on the bike this doesn't feel as high-quality as it should.
The re-fitted original saddle has performed reasonably; still on the fence as to whether to replace it but it'll do for now.
The Ezclamp springs made the foldy/unfoldy ritual far more straightforward and pleasant than a gram or two of printed plastic have any right to and in this regard are highly recommended; however I've found the one on the frame to have become a bit lazy recently; not sure if it's hanging up somewhere.
Commute
This week I've used the bike every day and actually now look forward to the journey - being intrinsically pleasant, virtuous, frugal and a very welcome alternative to the rage-inducing horrors of taking the car the whole way.
With the exception of some very unusual traffic close to home on Tuesday the journey to Yarnton in the car has been straightforward, low-stress and no doubt nice and fuel-efficient. Another bonus of the minimal traffic is the journey time is much more predictable and consistant; with the total door-door time consistently being between 1:10 and 1:15 on all but the first trip (with its associated sightseeing).
Tuesday saw me smashing it on the bike and taking the shortest route to offset the delay encountered in the car; which was less than ideal. Because the ride's so nice however I'm happy to try to leave a bit earlier and take it really steady; with Wednesday's ride being a perfect example; averaging around 11.3mph with my heart rate almost entirely in Zone 1.
All this remains exhausting however as I'm not used to this amount of exercise on a school day, and the versatility of the bike has opened me up to a few more excursions in town after work - another welcome benefit over the car.
So far I've covered about 90 miles on the bike and on paper it's saved around 1.5% of its purchase price in fuel, having cut my work-related mileage in half. However, cost benefits run deeper than this as the car is doubtless more fuel-efficient in the flowing traffic it currently sees, while wear to the brakes / clutch / tyres will also be disproportionately decreased by the large reduction is vile stop-start driving. This could potentially be very significant as the car's worth very little and realistically the clutch going would probably write it off..
So, there we go - another big, boring wall of text; perhaps not of interest to most but if nowt else a welcome opportunity to organise my thoughts
Wow, I’ll save this for a decent read later when I pour a beer
tinywheels
Über Member
- Location
- South of hades
Wafter, thank you for your enjoyable posts.
You sum up the dilemma all brompton owners encounter. Whilst being enjoyable to own,they have often infuriating issues. My own thoughts on this are well known. Perhaps rectifying them is another joy of brompton ownership.
Happy cycling
You sum up the dilemma all brompton owners encounter. Whilst being enjoyable to own,they have often infuriating issues. My own thoughts on this are well known. Perhaps rectifying them is another joy of brompton ownership.
Happy cycling
EltonFrog
Legendary Member
I’m extremely wary of Ali express, an acquaintance of mine rebuilt a Brompton exclusively using parts from them, the bike literally collapsed underneath him, in front of me when we were on a ride out.
Thanks - appriciate you saying so
Genuinely thought the last one would sink without trace on the grounds of both content and presentation! I like to chuck some pictures in but that's proving currently due to a lack of photogenic locations around the house and all the other things I should be doing with that time..
Thanks for the thought - however your suggestions throws open wide the doors of a particularly grotty rabbithole..
Last week I contacted Brompton and asked about such replacement parts. They responded with that link; which first elicited joy that the parts were available, and seemingly at a reasonable £8 to get the unit fitted. This turned to disappointment when I realised that the kit includes a selection of three single shims of different sizes (i.e. two packs would be required, leaving 2/3rds of the contents unused) - probably for the fat end of £20 with postage included - half the cost of the unit.
Finally I actually engaged my brain and realised that those items won't fit - the largest shim ID is 28mm so OD must be 30mm+; while the ID of the clamps on the Brompton adaptor are 25mm.
Quadlock also list one other set on their site; but this appears to be incompatable too. I've spoken to them directly and they don't want to know - referring me back to Brompton - whom I've contacted again and await a response from (but don't expect much, tbh).
Yes, I could wrap something round the bars but as we all know I like things to be proper and dislike bodgery. As it stands the radial gap around the 22.3mm bars is about 1.35mm; with the last bit of inner tube I measured being around 1mm.. so that's not ideal either.
If this mount's going to work at all I'm going to need to source a Polar interface for something else (very few people seem to do these as they have a tiny market share) and manufacture (probably get printed) an adaptor to mate the two together. I did consider printing some shims at the same time - although I suspect these would need to be in a soft material to give some allowance for the slight curvature of the bars.. which would also mean sourcing / buggering about with a different printing filament.
I know I'm hypersensitive to this sort of stuff, but nothing in the world is ever bloody simple, is it?
lol - I'd have thought half a bottle of whiskey and / or a sizeable dose of opiates might have been more appropriate
Thanks - appreciate you saying so
Totally agree about the issues; infuriating is exactly what they are! I guess some are par for the course given the nature of the bike and the compromises that come with that. However, it surprises me that other issues still exist given how potentially easily they could be remedied during design / manufacture - such as the lack of frame protection for example - especially at the bottom bracket where the finish is clearly going to get hammered by the tyre.
There seems to be quite the gamut of design / product quality too - the core product mostly seems innovative and well executed, while some of the peripheral bits seems sketchy in these regards - namely the crap pump and tiny / soft / bushed rollers on the back.
I appreciate the thriving aftermarket for bits for these bikes, however IMO it's not right that one should have to throw more money at something after purchase just to make it fit for purpose. That said, while I recognise that on the grand scheme of things these bikes are pretty niche, it surprises me that there aren't more bags that appeal / are suitable for what I want.. perhaps I'm just not appreciating all of the limiting factors.
I love a project but this so far has been exasperating due to the lack of options and need to continue using the bike under sub-optimal conditions. Granted broad-strokes it works and my complaints are all very much first-world problems... However, I struggle at the best of times; let alone when I'm having to constantly make allowances for stuff that's not right.
Anyway, all that said I'm still looking forward to the commute tomorrow - even if I know it'll be hampered by various sub-optimal factors!
Good work for slogging through all that!
I am enjoying the ownership experience within limits and don't regret buying the bike; but it's also proving highly frustrating and tbh I just want it done as it remains all-consuming currently, while I have many far more important things I should be sorting.
I've ploughed through much of the stuff on Ali Express with renewed vigor since I realised they now take Paypal (which gives me more confidence than giving them my bank details). Truth be told after my initial enthusiasm I'm not finding much on there that appeals.
I was originally tempted by some Litepro easywheels but thought they were perhaps a bit showy, while the tyres didn't look replaceable.
There are some decent looking bags on there, but details are scant and prices still apparently robust for what they are.
The bike-specific frame protection plates initially looked good, however I'm not too sold on the aesthetic of a lot of it or the materials used (don't think CFRP is appropriate in this application and Ti seems wasteful - although on a silver bike its self-healing properties in raw form would probably be good). The logistics of removing such stuff also concerns me, however I imagine this would probably be helped by a bit of heat.
Currently I thinking of seeing how I get on with some transparent film from Ali Express as it seems a lot cheaper than it is over here; for potentially the same stuff (although that in itself is also a minefield). The PVC tape is working well in some low-stress areas, if not others.
Indeed - tbh I'd not entertain the idea of any large / safety-critical parts from there..
A few other scintillating bits I forgot to put in my last post.. As mentioned elsewhere my seatpost clamp has become marked by the burred spring washer fitted.. this has now been de-burred but I now realise my part in this after yesterday finding on the kitchen floor the second washer that had evidently been protecting the clamp until the unit fell to bits on the kitchen table upon disassembly recently
I remain ambivalent about the Fizik saddle as I don't think the current setup gives me enough layback as potentially evidenced by some knee pain after rides. I've considered reversing the clamp on the seatpost, although appreciate how having my mass hung further out the back of the seatpost might not be a good idea from the perspective of frame stress.
For reference the pitch between the centre of the seatpost clamp and saddle rail clamp bolt is around 18mm; meaning that in theory reversing the clamp should give around 36mm more layback; which should be able to be reduced to a useable amount by pushing the saddle forward in the clamp.
I'll drop Brompton an email to see what their position is on reversing the clamp - then at least I'll have something in writing if they endorse it and the frame drops to bits down the line!
Onto some good news for once! The previous owner said she'd never registered the bike with Brompton - which I apparently managed to do recently by inputting the serial number onto their website. So.. in theory I should still have some warranty left from the purchase date in March last year. I appreciate that a lot of the stuff on the bike was probably only covered for one year from purchase; however Brompton offer an extended 7yr frame warranty which seems well worth having - although hopefully of course it won't be necessary. Not sure if I'd get rumbled later down the line if I did make a claim (need for proof of purchase etc) however for now all seems good.
I've been exhausted all weekend so not been out on any bike much; although I've done a few laps of the village on the Brompton as well as a trip to the bottle bank. As I'm getting more confident I'm increasingly appreciative of its traits - while its size is dictated by the need to fold down into a small package, the low inertia of the wheels makes it perfect for nipping around urban environments where rapid changes of direction are often necessary.. and getting onto a full-size bike afterwards everything feels very slow and damped by comparison.
I've done a few trips to the local shop (for local people) on it too. It's less than half a mile so I usually walk in preference to getting a bike from the shed; however with the Brompton being quickly and easily accessible in the house it's an easy decision.
While I've had zero resistance so far taking the folded bike into all manner of shops and pubs I'm still a bit unsure about moving it around. Rolling's a bit sketchy thanks to the shafted wheels... although a lot better now I've realised lifting the seatpost slightly so its rubber bung doesn't drag on the ground offers a distinct advantage to progress
I like the ideal of dragging it around like a trolley with the bars deployed; however in smaller shops this seems a bit inconsiderate / restrictive due to the space it takes up. For now I've mostly been carrying it by the frame; which is certainly manageable for short periods but does make my neck ache after a while.
The bike got a compliment the other night from a local chap as I was unfurling it outside the shop - its admirer apparently has one as well and was particularly appreciative of the colour. There are a lot of well-heeled folks around here and I think Bromptons potentially cross the class divide a lot more than other bikes as for all of life's ills that can be transcended by wealth, London / city traffic usually isn't one of them.
I think that's all for now - if I'm lucky today I might overcome my anxiety about missing something and actually order some of the parts I need..
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My understanding is that the Pentaclip can be used in either direction. It’s all about establishing a seat position that works for you.
ExBrit
Über Member
- Location
- Southern California
You can find the stl files for the orange bit online and 3D print your own for a few pennies if you have the skills.
Thanks - appreciate the suggestion that I might not be the only one bothered by it to this extent
Good thought about BB - I did think about bothering retailers but I suspect it's not really the sort of thing they're likely to get (mounts are fairly new and unlikely to break). Might drop them a message however I've not bought owt from them in the past and although I'd be happy to pay for them of course, don't want to take the pish..
Thanks - it certainly will go on the other way but I wasn't sure that it was sanctioned by Brompton as the further back you hang the rider the greater the bending moment and corresponding stress at the frame.
A second googling has confirmed it's apparently allowed however:
As such I'm off downstairs with my ruler, notepad and Early Learning Centre toolkit to see what else I can make a b*llocks of 👍
