I’ve been commuting on my Brompton H6L for nearly eight months and have covered somewhere in the region of 1,500 miles.
By and large, it’s been a very satisfying marriage. The bike has performed admirably and has the capacity to surprise and delight with its nimble ride and ingenious fold.
However, the Brommie has not been without problems and in this post I’ll set out the some of the more negative aspects of my Brompton ownership and offer some advice for riders who may be considering taking the plunge.
Wheels
There’s no escaping the fact that the wheels on the Brompton are not that great. While strong enough for the task for which they were specified, the quality of the build leaves something to be desired.
The spokes on the rear wheel, in particular, are quite alarmingly bent and on changing the tyres for heavier Schwalbe Marathons, I discovered some pretty shoddy rim tape. This was quickly replaced with some Velox.
Both wheels remain pretty true, although the front has developed a slight wobble.
Significantly, new Bromptons are now fitted with an improved rear rim featuring new an angled drilling to ease tension and improve overall strength.
Rear mudguard
Being an L model Brompton, my bike does not have a rear rack.
Although I had planned to order my bike with the rear carrier, the effectiveness of the front luggage system convinced me that the rear carrier was surplus to requirements.
This has proven to be a mistake. More on the front luggage system next, but the rear mudguard has cracked on my Brompton as a result of repeated folding.
Now I’ll admit that them not the most careful… But when you’re running for a train and performing a quick fold, there’s little scope to proceed in a gingerly fashion.
The rear rack provides an extra line of defence while making the folded package that bit more stable if wheeling the bike around.
I may change the rear configuration of my bike and add a rear rack to prevent this happening again. That said, a new rear mudguard is a relatively cheap Brompton replacement part at £12.
Seat post
If you use your Brompton regularly and in all weathers, the seat post will eventually start slipping. Road crud and spray are thrown into the bottom of the open seat tube while riding, and this collects over time, along with other grease and grime, resulting in the slippage.
The only solution in my experience is to periodically remove the seat pin and degrease, along with the seat tube. This should cure the slip.
Front luggage block
My greatest disappointment with Brompton has to be the front luggage carrier.
While I remain convinced that this is an excellent design, I think I was unlucky that one of the bolts holding the luggage block in place sheared leaving a stud in the frame thread. Despite careful drilling and attempt to remove this stud, the thread is still clogged with metal (as can be seen in the picture).
I’m disappointed as I regularly checked these front bolts and took care not to overload my Caradice City folder.
So for now I am commuting with a pack and I’m a bit stuck as to what to do next with this. I’m sure a handy framebuilder or metalworker might be able to offer a fix but this may mean losing my Brommie for a couple of weeks.
It’s a price I may have to pay and reflects just how reliant I’ve become on this useful little bike.
I too have a Brompton, and quite frankly they are over rated. The hype is well past the truth. They are made of cheap parts and heavy tube. My Dahon rides, and stops, better by far.
Why not drill and tap a new hole? There is a bit of leeway inside the luggage block which I think only cost about £15 if it goes wrong. Other than that, an engineer shouldn’t have trouble removing a stud. I find model railway engineers are able to undertake many odd tasks for a couple of bottles of wine or one half bottle of whiskey :0)
I still think its the best folding bike, but not the best riding. I prefer my Bike Friday to ride but for mixed mode commuting the Brommie wins in my view. Drilling a new hole is certainly one of the options I am considering if the original can’t be salvaged.
Every time I mention the Brompton I start by saying it is the best fold but then go on to criticise the ride, the braking and the poor quality of the components. It seems odd to recommend a bicycle for its fold rather than the quality of its ride.
Your post has caused me to think about this more and realise that my B may as well go. I’d rather compromise on the fold than on the riding now that I have a choice through not commuting any more.
I think you’re right. I wouldn’t own one of these if I didn’t have the multi-modal commute. The only other situation would be if I had limited storage space and couldn’t squeeze in the Friday. That said, I don’t think the ride of the Brompton is that bad. It’s comfortable and the upright position helps in traffic, I find (if not in a headwind
). I certainly wouldn’t tour on it or start riding Audaxes like some do. There are far, far better machines for those applications.
That just needs opening up a touch more and the threads retapping; any good metal worker (and most good bike shops) should be able to do the job in no time.
I agree… It’s just finding a local shop/builder who is prepared to do it. I know I can send it off for the work to be done, but the turnaround will be slower.
To be honest, I could do it for you… I imagine Bicycle Boutique in Manchester would carry a tap & die set too considering how much they deal in older bikes.
Actually, that’s a good shout. Forgotten about them. (Appreciate the offer too
)
No worries
By the way, not sure if you saw it but you got a mention on my blog recently; somebody was asking whether you can ride a Brompton off road and I wondered if you’d be up for the experiment?
Ha ha… No way! With those tyres and questionable brakes?! I’ll stick with the Troll.
it’s the clearances (leaves and crud jam up the wheels, mudguards and brakes), believe it or not – many years ago AtoB made a custom off-road Brompton with 13 tyres (it didn’t work – heavy rolling resistance etc.)
Can’t say I blame you! I was having enough trouble staying upright on my Troll on the PBW at the weekend!
an honest review (there’s too many Brompton evangelists out there, much as I love mine) – I suspect you’re taller/heavier than me (5’11, 14 stone) which may come into it (my brommy’s wheels are intact) – after five years my front luggage block bolts inexplicably came loose too (fortunately I saw it and retightened them), BUT – having seen the (very serious) consequences of a friend having an accident when front luggage got caught in a front wheel at speed I feel safer using a carradice camper long flap (it’s seriously big) on a carradice quick fit on the brommy seat post rear (it’s indestructible). The biggest niggle for me with the Brompton was the limited gear range.
I’m a wee bit lighter these days but, yes, I imagine it’s my weight combined with the luggage on the front… and let’s not forget the pretty dreadful state of the roads which doesn’t help matters. I’ve been riding with a pack for a couple of weeks now and I’m actually starting to prefer the convenience (as long as I’m not carrying too much). I like the idea of the QR longflap though. While I am very fond of this bike, like other owners I am a little underwhelmed by the quality of some of the components. As a practical transport ‘solution’, (despite the niggles) it works day in day out though.
Thanks for your interesting blog. Could you please make some more comparisons between the Brompton and the Bike Friday pocket llama, since you have experience with them both. I ‘m considering the choice between them for a commute in Holland:starting by bike in the morning ( for one mile to a busy trainstation, then a 40 minute ride in the train) and cycling back in the afternoon. It’s a 25 to 30 mile journey on reasonably good roads with lots of asphalt. I love the fold of the Brompton, and the ride on the Bike Friday. What would you choose? I’ m 6ft 1,5 (187 cm), 17stone (110kg). Obviously I want to loose some weight by biking.
Hi Hans. Interesting question. Personally, I would not want to ride the Brompton regularly over those mileages. I imagine others on here would protest but that’s my opinion. I think the ‘Friday will be a better partner in this situation. You may want to check weight restrictions on Bike Friday. I think they manufacturer a number of their models to handle more weight. My llama was certainly ‘bulked up’ as I was over 17 stone when I started riding this bike. All the best, Matt.
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