Brompton project

[Pale Rider]

Yes it is, and Cambium grips I actually chose the paint colours to complement the saddle and grips



That's interesting to hear, thanks We'll have a fiddle and see if we can improve it, I think an oil change is worth a try 🤷‍♂️

Didn't cause a problem on my bike which had a rigid chain tensioner.

Could be different on a Brompton, assuming you still have a spring loaded tensioner.

 

[Gunk]

I was seriously impressed with the amount of kit you have in your garage, then I realised you were in a bike shop.
😁

I thought the same! For a moment I was wondering if he was stocking up on cleaning products ready for self isolation!

 

[roley poley]

lovely fettle

 

[12boy]

Any updates?

 

[JhnBssll]

Guess what I just got back from the lbs

Just went for a spin round the driveway on it, grinning ear from ear I'd forgot how cool the silly little thing is

What shall I do to it next 🤔

 

[CharlesF]

Very desirable!

 

[Gunk]

What shall I do to it next 🤔

Just keep it and enjoy it!

 

[tom73]

 

[12boy]

You might sew up some matching togs to ride it in style. While I enjoy my other bikes too, for smiles per mile it's hard to beat.

 

[LCpl Boiled Egg]

Guess what I just got back from the lbs

View attachment 519347

Just went for a spin round the driveway on it, grinning ear from ear I'd forgot how cool the silly little thing is

What shall I do to it next 🤔

Fantastic. So pleased to see the end result

 

[Nigelnightmare]

Very nice!

 

[JhnBssll]

I fitted the front mounting block recently and found a basket on eBay that looked like it might do the job which arrived today. I had been on the look out for one where the mounting area was near the bottom of the basket and this one seemed to fit the bill.

I offered it up this evening and it looked about right, so I drilled a couple of extra mounting holes and off we went...

It even still folds with the basket attached, just

Spurred on by that little victory I have now measured the space left for the the dynamo light and - it doesn't fit

So I've decided to do away with the cheap bulky plastic light I'd previously bought and have purchased a nice Busch & Muller IQ-XS, the smaller brother of the IQ-X I run with great success on my commuter

I've also ordered some new brake cables, the ones on it at the moment are really low quality and make the brakes feel awful, I only used them to play with routing and lengths and had always intended to replace them once I'd got it right. I'm only now getting round to it

I have had lots more interest from the Brompton group I joined a while back now it's getting close to finished, with the current economic climate I will struggle to turn down a reasonable offer but rest assured it's still in the garage getting some attention at the moment

 

[Gunk]

That basket works a treat John, much better than the one I used from Decathlon, (you should post a link to the basket and bracket as I know from when I did mine there are lots of other Brompton owners who want to fit a basket) I had to modify and strengthen mine to fit the adapter plate. However after a couple of months of hard use and lots of weight it’s held up well, I probably over engineered it! They are really handy, I use mine most days just for running local errands.

Are you going to fit mudguards? black ones would look good. I also think that that’s a bike you will always regret selling. Just leave folded up out of the way and pop it out for local shopping errands or just when you feel like riding something slightly different.

 

[JhnBssll]

That basket works a treat John, much better than the one I used from Decathlon, (you should post a link to the basket and bracket as I know from when I did mine there are lots of other Brompton owners who want to fit a basket) I had to modify and strengthen mine to fit the adapter plate. However after a couple of months of hard use and lots of weight it’s held up well, I probably over engineered it! They are really handy, I use mine most days just for running local errands.

View attachment 529080

View attachment 529081

View attachment 529082

Are you going to fit mudguards? black ones would look good. I also think that that’s a bike you will always regret selling. Just leave folded up out of the way and pop it out for local shopping errands or just when you feel like riding something slightly different.

I'm really pleased with the basket but can't see anything wrong with your solution either - certainly seems to be standing up to normal use For future reference mine is a Klickfix Uni Basket, item number 0391KLIK, more details here

I'm not going to fit mudguards - I thought about it but decided it's not likely to get used in the rain so they're not likely to be needed.

The Busch & Muller IQ-XS front light turned up a while back, I finally had some time to spend on the Brompton again this evening so decided to try and fit it 😊

I started by offering it up, and it was immediately obvious that it wasn't going to fit with the standard bracket. I had rather expected this, so unperturbed I removed the standard bracket and mount by removing the small torx screw on the underside.

I have a little pot full of random brackets that I've collected over the years and quickly found one that looked similar to my needs. A couple of new bends required, and one new hole, but nothing beyond the wit of man

After about a quarter of an hour of pottering about I had a bracket roughly the right shape with holes in roughly the right places, so I bolted it all together for the first time...

As you can see, it's pretty tight But importantly, there is clearance in all directions and the bars turn...

So with that chalked down as a success I wired it up and performed the obligatory 'spin test'...

A quick ride around up and down the driveway gave very pleasing results - the light seems to be solidly mounted, it doesnt bounce or wobble over bumps. Also perhaps more importantly the beam isn't at all obstructed by the basket, and theres only a slight shadow caused by the tyre. I couldn't have hoped for better really

Since it has an output for a rear dynamo light I'm now on the look out for a decent one but am not entirely sure where to locate it yet. It needs to be somewhere on the rear triangle, the seatpost/saddle is a no-go as I won't be able to get the wire routed there without causing fairly major headaches Anyway, that's all for now - I've still not advertised it, so it may end up staying. It's really quite a splendid little thing afterall

 

[Gunk]

Great work @JhnBssll I really like the dynamo light conversion, I don’t know if I can justify the cost of doing it as I very rarely use the bike at night so the battery lights I have are more than adequate, but it is a very neat solution.