A bit more prep for the next trip: on-road maintenance with lightweight & small stands is very handy on our Tardis escapades. A seatpost stand is very useful (& tweaked since my previous post, to reduce the packing size) but some maintenance work is best done when the bike is inverted – so more tinkering was needed. Assembling the bits provides handlebar support for an inverted bike. Not just for our Bromptons, the new stand expands to suit wiide-bar bikes. It does the job ..read more

Another Brompton stand knocked together (literally). It’s been a few years since the first one got done & it’s worked out fine – although impractical to take on a trip away? Now the latest stand is light & easily transportable. Ingredients: PVC pipe fittings PVC pipe – cut to lengths 5x100mm & 1x165mm Total cost: about $35 Finished weight: 430g ..read more

Some QR pedals seem more prone to self-releasing than others – possibly due to the pedal platform shape? While my lightweight Aceoffix pedals have never budged, a TiParts Mini-Q pedal surprised me recently by falling off while I was stepping off. Did I fail to snap it on properly or did I nudge the release mech while pedaling? Time to start using the yellow nylon retainer clip, even if my old style retainers are fiddly to remove? With newer retainers having a small protusion/handle, maybe I could match them? Voila! A small cable tie around the clip (& the head of another tie as a grip hand ..read more

Clarence Type: S5RE-X Weight: 9kg Another 5speed conversion – but done differently to BromTi & BB ..read more

BB Type: S5L-X Weight: 8.7kg Brief flirtation back with Ralph, & Alfine hub – now over! BB returns as a 5speed lightweight, slightly more comfy than BromTi ..read more

Rudolph Type: Chpt3 v2 (S9E-X) Weight: 9.8kg Not an every-day Brompton & looking better “as original” (almost). Gone are the rack, rainguards & Conti tyres ..read more

BromTi Type: S5L-X Weight: 7.5kg … and now with comfy 18C rims ..read more

With all the mods & tweaks to BB (my S6L-X super lightweight black Brompton), I realized that the only component original & unmodified was now the steel mainframe! Also, that meant my parts bin contained almost enough to build a complete Brompton – what I needed was an extra mainframe! Time to try a Ti mainframe? – & to resurrect Ralph for resale? (Ralph being my original S11E Alfine 11spd device that I’d decided really didn’t suit my current medical state & became the basis for the rebuild into the 8kg 6spd BB.) So, an order was made for a Ti mainframe (from Ti39) & it was ..read more

Some recent changes to my side of the Brompton fleet so here’s the status… All are now running “minimal rain-guards” (yes, Sydney has been rather wet – for far too long). Rudolph (10.6kg) Chpt3 S9R-X with 38T chainring & 13/15/18T cogs (GIs 76-22) After lowering Rudolph’s 6speed cog setup to the lowest feasible (15/18T, GIs 66-22), installing a 3speed shift conversion has given/restored some upper range flexibility (you never know when a tailwind will come along). Clarence (9.15kg) S4R-X with 46T chainring & 11/13/16/20T cogs (GIs 69-38) BB (8.05kg) S6L-X with 42T chainring & ..read more

A 4-cog setup on BB has been an on/off, frustrating affair but now I may have resolved it! An(other) inspection of the derailleur cable system confirmed that the cable had enough movement to suit 4 cogs but that the derailleur pusher wing-plate was restricting the rotation of the pusher, thereby causing inconsistency in shifting to the low cog (depending on cable tension, temperature, day of the week, etc?) Some filing of the low cog wing-stop & all seems well? Clarence & BB in their 9kg & 8kg 4speed guises ..read more