Brompton Saddle Height Insert Fitting

Brompton has released a video showing how to install a Saddle Height Insert Fitting.  This fitting limits the seat post height a maximum extension to the height that you prefer.  No more guessing when you pull your seat up!



I've had a prototype of this for since BUSC, but just got around to installing it today.

Installation was pretty easy, as shown in the video.  You do have to make sure that the fitting "bottoms out" on that back slot.  And when you are cutting the fitting, err on the short side (cutting off less material).  You can always go back and cut another section off.

Fitting is bottomed out

There are a couple of things to note:

• You will still have to make sure that your saddle is pointed straight forward.
• If you share the Brompton, you will have to set the insert for the higher (taller) position.  Either that, or buy another Bromtpon!

Interbike 2014 roundup

I just came back from Interbike 2014 last week in Las Vegas.  I'm going to break up my observations into three sections: Brompton, Tannus Tires and overall observations.

Brompton

The big news this year is the addition of new colors, which will replace some of the current colors.  Admittedly, these new colors look just slightly different from the colors they will replace.

Lime green, which I think replaces yellow or maybe Apple green

Lagoon Blue, replacing Arctic Blue

Berry Crush, replacing Claret

Lagoon blue main frame with orange extremities

Cherry Blossom, replacing hot pink

Vanilla main frame, replacing desert sand.  The extremities are  Turkish  green.

The MetroGnome crew admiring the new colors

 Damn, I thought I had a picture of Tempest blue, which will be replacing Cobalt blue.  Oh well, there's a good one here.  I hope I got all the new and replaced colors correct... if not, let me know in the comments.

Also, there will be an option to have black handlebars (except for the P-type), seat post, and cranks on select color schemes.  I think the current selected color schemes are lime, white, lagoon blue, and berry crush (although these are subject to change).

Lime green with blacked out extremities

Tannus Tires

I was able to ride a prototype formulation of Tannus tire polymer (tentatively dubbed Aither 2.0) on a Brompton, and I must say I was very impressed.  Although there is still a touch of dead feeling to it, it feels much closer to a tubed tire, and there is much less rolling resistance.  The tire will be designed  specifically to fit a Brompton and is about 90% developed, targeting final release in early 2015.  The new tire will be available in black, and perhaps only black (which would be fine by me).

Tannus Tires with their current generation of tires.

Overall Observations

There was a big push to electric bicycles this year.  There were at least a dozen that were available for demo rides outside, and a few more inside on display.  They were all fun to ride, from the top of the line Stromer ST2 to the more frugal folding e-Joe Epik.  I was particularly impressed with e-Joes... they got all the basics right (throttle controlled and/or pedal assisted), costs under $1350 for the base model, and were a hoot to ride.  I can really see how these electric bikes could get a lot more of the casual riders and potential commuters out on the road.  I'm looking forward to getting my ShareRoller soon.

Electric e-Joe

Yeah, it doesn't fold like a Brompton...but it's still fun to ride!

I also noticed more folders this year.  However, they were mostly cheap copies of Dahon / Tern models.  Dahon had a model with a Rohloff hub as well as a 30th anniversary edition which looked very nice (and should be at over $5000 each).  Tern had some minor updates, one of which was adding a custom BionX kit.  I had a go on this one also and it was fun.

New colors due for Brompton in 2015

It appears that Brompton will be producing some new colors for the 2015 model year.  I haven't seen them in person yet, but Portapedal has some pictures up here.  They really don't look to drastically different from the colors they will replace, but it's a nice change to have nonetheless.

I'll be at Interbike next week and hopefully will be able to see these new colors in person.

Bromptons in the (virtual) wild.

I love it when I randomly see Bromptons, especially at non-Brompton specific events or websites.  One such case I recently saw was Charlie Sorrel from Cult of Mac.   For a guy who writes for a Mac website, he sure does like to write about lots of other cool non-Apple stuff.

Of course one of the things he raves about are Brommies.  While there are a few things that he thinks can be changed, overall he says it would be the bike he would keep if he could only have one.

In addition to a post solely about Bromptons, Charlie also wrote a post about traveling light.  In that post, Charlie considers his Brompton as his main transportation mode of choice for excursions lasting upwards of two weeks.  The post also contains lots of excellent advice in terms of the types of clothes to pack  (merino wool trumps all) and stuff like gadgets and chargers.

Here are the links to Charlie's posts:

http://www.cultofmac.com/286290/brompton-folding-bike/

http://www.cultofmac.com/289299/guide-to-traveling-light/

BUCDC 2014 video...by me!

Here's a video that I finally finished from the BUCDC footage that I had.  This is the first time that I've really done some serious video editing... I probably had over an hour and a half of footage to try to pare down to under 3 minutes.  The GoPro died somewhere close to the end of our journey, so I just lumped the images together.  Enjoy!

Del Rey singing on a Brompton

I had mentioned in an earlier post that ukulele and guitar player Del Rey had joined me and some other Tucson folks on a group ride.  Del is a bicycle enthusiast (and a Brompton owner!!) and had written a song about her passion for cycling.  She was kind enough to share it with us... while sitting on a Brompton of course!

Brompton Urban Challenge: London 2014

Here's a cool video of the Brompton Urban Challenge in London this year (featuring the legendary Bumble B).  Is this what I have to look forward to in DC in July?  I think there's also going to be one in Philly to if I remember right.

Lazy Sunday

Today the Tucson Brompton Meetup Group (in association with Metrognome Music and Cycle to Go) went out for an easy ride to Sky Bar for some coffee and calzones.  We even had a guest from out of town... ukulele and guitarist virtuoso (virtuosa?) Del Rey (not to be confused with Lana Del Rey).  We were also joined by a couple of prospective Brompton owners, who after the ride became pending Brompton owners (orders were placed for some arctic blue H6Rs!)  The weather was hot (hey! It's almost June in Tucson!), but the ride was enjoyable as usual.

2014 Brompton US Championship Registration is Live!

As I've mentioned earlier, this year's Brompton United States Championship will take place in Washington, DC on July 11-13.  Well, registration for the event is now live and you can sign up here:

http://www.bromptonuschampionship.com/registration/

Here is the event schedule:

Friday night (July 11): Packet pick-up and Meet & Greet.

Saturday (July 12): Brompton Urban Challenge - a scavenger hunt-type competition.

Sunday (July 13):  Brompton US Championship, 500-meter sprints and fastest folder competitions.

Hope to see you there!

2014 Brompton US Championship date is set!

This year's US Championship will take place on July 11-13 in our nation's capital, Washington DC!  The event will be hosted by bicycleSPACE.  More details to come... hope to meet you all there!

http://www.bromptonuschampionship.com/

ShareRoller electric motor drive

Update:  Included pictures and Kickstarter preview link.

Remember when I mentioned over the holidays that Bromfoot creator Jeff Guida had something cooking?  Well, Jeff’s finally allowing me to share what it is!  It’s ShareRoller, a portable electric friction drive system for several types of bikes, including Bromptons!  The unit resembles a very small suitcase and weighs about 6 or 7 pounds.

The ShareRoller is primarily designed for bicycles used in major metropolitan bike share programs, such as New York City’s Citibike and Washington D.C.’s Capital Bikeshare.  The bikes used by those programs are super stout and very heavy… it is hard to imagine a lighter weight person pushing one those.  I weigh around 175 lbs. and I had a tough time getting much speed on a Citibike.

The ShareRoller uses a high power drive wheel motor (such as those used in electric RC cars) to drive the front wheel.  The unit latches on to where the bike share bicycles lock onto the docking station, and the drive wheel presses against the front wheel.  The drive wheel has a hard rubber outer surface which contacts the front tire… this is less damaging to the tire compared to some sort of gritty sand-paper like surface.

For the Bromptons, Jeff designed an adapter block so that the ShareRoller can be used with your typical Brompton luggage options (C-bag, S-bag, etc.).  The adaptor block weighs about half a pound and is designed to not impede the folding of the Bromptons (Note:  it’s not certain yet whether Bromptons with dynamo hubs will be able to use the ShareRoller due to the location of the lights.  Jeff didn't have access to a dynamo hub equipped Brompton during the development of the ShareRoller.  The ShareRoller should work with the dynamo hub itself, but the light may impede installation of the adapter).  The adaptor block allows you to install the ShareRoller in about 10 seconds.  This allows you to quickly revert to your “normal” Brompton with minimal weight added… for comparison, hub-motor electric kits must be permanently installed on your front wheel and they add around 18 pounds even if it’s not in use.  Having multiple adaptor blocks allows a single ShareRoller to be used on multiple Bromptons (not simultaneously, of course).

There are two battery capacities that will be available at launch:  one will provide a 12 mile range and the other around 20 miles.  Other notable features include headlight (20 lumens) and a USB port for charging your portable devices.

Jeff graciously let me test ride a prototype when I was out in NYC.  I rode the ShareRoller both with a Brompton and a Citibike.  The application of power from the ShareRoller was very smooth and controlled from the thumb-operated throttle control.  It made the Citibike much more tolerable and the Brompton got almost scary fast.  I gotta say, it was pretty fun to use, and could be useful for pedal-assist up big hills or for just getting home when you’re super tired.

The ShareRoller will go on Kickstarter around February 28.  It certainly isn’t cheap, starting at an early supporter price of $995 on Kickstarter, but it’s a much better and much cheaper solution than other Brompton hub-motor electric kits.  Jeff runs a one-man operation, and the economy of scale just isn’t there yet for him to be able to offer it a a cheaper price.  Jeff and I are both engineers, and in talking with Jeff, I really got the sense that he would rather use higher quality parts than to try to build down to a price.  Jeff is very much a perfectionist…he’s worked hard at optimizing throttle acceleration rates to balance performance and battery life, which was difficult because his suppliers kept introducing newer batteries every few months.  The same attention to detail went into pretty much every aspect of this product.

I know a lot of hard core cyclists and very casual riders may not find this product useful, but for some this could be a very useful piece of gear to commuters.   Here are some use cases that come to mind:

• If you live in one of these metropolitan areas with compatible bike share bike (obviously).
• If the weather is really nice to ride in the morning, but brutally hot in the afternoon (this is usually the case in Arizona).
• If your route has a lot of hills.
• If you need to arrive at an appointment and would not like to be dripping with sweat.
• If you happen to be towing a lot of cargo and could use some assistance.

And here’s my own personal use case:
I’m in a city soccer league that plays at different fields around town.  I like to ride the Brompton to the closer fields (around 5 miles) because it gives my legs a good warm-up (plus all the environmental factors that goes with riding a bike in general).  I play my game, then afterwards the team usually goes to a restaurant for dinner.  I fold up my Brommie and ride in someone’s car to the restaurant so they don’t have to wait for me.  After I eat, I have to ride back home.  At this point I’m pretty tired and full, and my ride back takes super long.  The ShareRoller would really come in handy in this situation.  I’m looking forward to getting my hands on one.

Here are links to other articles about the ShareRoller (including pictures):
http://gizmodo.com/a-tiny-briefcase-that-turns-citibikes-into-electric-sco-1527113318
http://www.gizmag.com/shareroller-electrify-bicycle-share/30918/
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3026607/fund-this/this-lightweight-turbo-kit-will-turn-clunky-bikeshare-bikes-into-a-speedy-e-bike#6

And here is the Kickstarter preview link:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/247419341/1782517041?token=3224406b

A night out with a Brompton rep

Brompton North America representative Ed Rae swung by Metrognome Music and Cycle to Go to give a talk about traveling with the Brompton and just Bromptons in general.  Ed was also gracious enough to answer a bunch of questions that the audience had for him.  After the talk we rode to Sky Bar, had some pizza and had lots of interesting discussions!

2014 Brompton World Championship registration is live!

I'm sure most of you have heard by now that registration for the 2014 Brompton World Championship is now live.  It will be held at Goodwood Motor Circuit for the second year in a row on July 26 & 27th.  There will be three events this year... the World Championship, the Marathon, and the Sprint.

I do not plan to go this year but I hope many of my readers will.  Perhaps next year for me.  Good luck to all of you who enter.

Here is the link to the registration.

New Brompton tire levers for their toolkit

Brompton finally released their redesigned tire levers earlier this month.  I picked mine up from Portapedal this past weekend (I'll have more about that visit in a future post).  Here's some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Here are some comparison shots with the older tire levers:

It may be difficult to see in the photo, but the profile of the new tire lever is a little thinner than the old one.

The "spoke lock" entry is on the opposite side on the new lever.

The redesigned set of tire levers have a mass of 58 grams.

The old set of tire levers have a mass of 34 grams.

The new levers are obviously much heftier, and should be pretty much indestructible.  Otherwise, they pretty much function the same as the old ones.  Nice polishing job too... not super shiny, but you can't see any tooling marks either.

Ergon GP2 Grips - Installation

The first aftermarket upgrade most people do to their M, H or S bar Bromptons are to change out the underwhelming foam grips.  The Ergon line of grips are the most popular by far, and for good reason.  They are intelligently designed to be more comfortable.

After fondling a selection of Ergon grips at Metrognome Music & Cycle to go,  I decided to go with the GP2 small sized grips.  These grips have a small bar end that will allow you to change hand positions during a ride.  It's kinda hard to tell how these will feel without riding them... I hope I chose wisely!

Ergon GP2 grips (small size).

Loosening 2-speed gear shifter with a 3mm hex key and moving it towards the center.

Loosening the brake lever mounts with a 3mm hex key and moving them both to the center.

I tried to remove the grips non-destructively, but ultimately I just cut them off with a box cutter.

Use a razor blade to scrape off the old adhesive.

Slide on the Ergon GP2 grips with the bar ends removed so that you can see when you reached the end.  This is how I initially set it up (with the end of the grip is flush with the end of the handlebar) and Jeff from Ergon states in the comment below, THIS IS NOT HOW YOU WANT TO DO IT!

The correct distance is used by this template included in the packaging.  I used a permanent marker to mark the spot where the inner edge of the grip should be.

THIS is how much the handlebar should stick out from the grip!

Bar ends snapped on.  They are a bit tough to get on... I used a rubber mallet to help get it in position.  Use a 4mm hex key to tighten on the bar ends after adjusting to taste.  Re-adjust the brake levers and gear shifter.

The Ergon GP2 grips do not affect the fold.  No cutting of the grips were necessary on a S-bar Brompton.

Meet the newest addition, Mondrian.

I’ve been looking to get a second Brompton for a while, both as a lighter weight option for quick rides and also just to have another bike if I have company in town.  I’ve been riding a few S-bars and felt at home on them.  I bought Mondrian at MetroGnome Music and Cycle to Go.

Mondrian started life as a S2L Brompton, but I took off the fenders and made it a S2E.  I had seriously considered making it a single speed, but decided against it.  The main frame is red and the extremities are cobalt blue, which match the colors of the University of Arizona very well.  When Todd from MetroGnome was doing his initial order way back during the Brompton US Championships I suggested this bike configuration, with the idea in the back of my mind that if it didn’t sell I would pick it up.  I added the sunflower yellow saddle from Brompton that I had bought a week earlier, which should make it pretty unique.

I had originally planned to call this brommie Wilbur, after the UofA mascot, but decided on Mondrian.  Why Mondrian?  Check this out…

Piet Mondrian was the father of cubism a cubist a cubism-influenced abstract expressionist, which seems appropriate since the Bromptons look very cube-like when they’re folded up.  Also, MetroGnome’s building was influenced by Mondrian.

I already have a few plans for Mondrian, most urgently is installing some Ergon grips and perhaps cutting the handlebars narrower.  I’m also going to try to find a small Wilbur sticker to decorate it just a little.

Installation of 2013 Brompton brake levers

I recently installed a set of the new (2013) brake levers made available as an aftermarket upgrade from Brompton.  I did a little step-by-step for anyone interested in seeing what is involved in swapping the levers.  It's been a few weeks since I did this, so I hope my recall is correct.

The 2013 Brompton Brake Levers in box

Brake lever unleashed

Cool logo on the inside of the handle.  Shame that it can't really be seen.

For the weight weenies, the weight of the single lever is 77 grams (2.7 ounces).

Disclaimer:  THIS IS AT YOUR OWN RISK!  If you are not comfortable with working on your bike, have a professional do it.

Tools needed:
10mm wrench (spanner)
2.5mm & 3mm hex keys
Brake cable cutter and crimper

Supplies required:
New brake levers
New brake cables
Crimps

Original brake levers

Step 1: Have your bike unfolded, and on a bike stand if possible.

Step 2: Loosen the 10mm bolt that retains the brake cable and loosen the cable.

Step 3: Cut off the crimp on the brake cable using heavy duty cable cutters.

Step 4: Remove handle grips if necessary.  This may require cutting them off.
(Since I have a p-type handlebars I didn’t need to remove them)

Step 5: Loosen the bolts on the old brake levers and gear levers using the 2.5mm and 3mm hex keys.

Step 6: Slide off the old brake and gear levers.

Step 7: Pull the brake cables out of their housings.

Step 8: Thread a new brake cable through the new brake levers and the old brake cable housings.

Step 9: Reverse steps 6 - 4.

Step 10: Squeeze the brake caliper and re-tighten the 10mm nut to lock down the brake cable.

Step 11. Adjust the tension required to squeeze the brakes.

Step 12. Cut the excess cable length and crimp.

The brake levers are a good upgrade from the previous version...if I ever need to, I can now do a skid stop!