Chain Tensioner Pics for Chandra

These pics are for Chandra (iBrompton) and I guess anyone else who needs a reference as to what the chain length should be when replacing with a new one (I haven't messed with my chain yet, other than just cleaning and lubing it).

The distance from the bottom edge of the chainstay to the center of the bottom chain tensioner pulley was approximately 2.8 inches and to the center of the chain itself was approximately 3.4 inches.

Pic for Brahma (iBrompton)

Paz!

Bike Ride with Gary Fisher and...other Bromptons!

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to join a bike ride with mountain biking legend Gary Fisher.  Mr. Fisher basically created the genre, and nowadays is going around the country to promote utilitarian biking.  This ride was sponsored by Trek of Tucson and Borderlands Brewing to benefit the Living Streeets Alliance.

Mr. Fisher was quite cheery and generous with his time, signing a bunch of autographs and posing for tons of photos.  I think some 200 cyclists turned out for the ride.  One of these cyclists rode up in his wife's orange Brompton.  Instant camaraderie!

The ride itself was a little annoying due to the start and stop nature of trying to move 200 cyclists through major traffic, but it all worked out due to the efforts of El Grupo volunteers dictating traffic.  

As we rode, Mr. Orange and I spot another Brompton!  And this one was the one I posted about last weekend.  Just like magnets, we clung together throughout the ride, and hung out together once we reached Borderlands (where we met up with Mrs. Orange).  We discussed lots of topics regarding Brompton ownership and we all had the same kind of commuting habits and dreams of touring long distances (inspired by the Path Less Pedaled).  I think we're on the path to something good here!  We exchanged emails and hopefully we'll get something organized soon, like maybe some kind of club or meetup group.  Definitely exciting times this week!

The Trek Store

Me & The Man.

The crowd gathers.

Mr. Orange and his (wife's) orange Brompton.  And Rosa's (in the background) is delicious.

En route.

The second Brompton waiting at a stop.

Since I forgot my lock, the second Brompton owner was kind enough to lock mine with his.

Party at Borderlands Brewery

Bromptons of Tucson

Ride a Brompton, get a free beer.

Usually when I roll into my friendly bar with the Brompton, I fold it down outside and try to discreetly roll in with it and tuck it into a corner where I can keep an eye on it.

However, earlier this week I had about 5 people who wanted to check out the bike and having me fold and unfold it.  Other Brompton owners have stated the bike draws a lot of attention, and it really is true.  I'm still trying to deal with it, considering that I'm not really one to actively seek attention.  However, if a free drink is offered, who am I to refuse!

Cheers "Coconut" Joe!

I'm not alone!

Finally found another Brompton in the wild at the Tucson Meet Yourself Festival.  My ride is on the left.

Brompfication Hinge Clamps Review

After seeing a bunch of my Brompton blogging contemporaries post reviews of gear I figure I'd better get off my ass and finish the one I've been sitting on for a while.  I ordered the brass & black hinge clamp set from Brompfication a few weeks ago and have had some time to try them out.  They are made and shipped from Singapore and costs $88.86 shipped to Arizona and taking Euro conversion rates into account.

Brass & Black Brompfication Hinge Plate Set on my Brompton.

Brompfication Hinge Clamp Set Video (by Brompfication)

The hinge plates are asymmetrical so that, when properly installed, they are not allowed to rotate when opened.  This makes closing the clamp much faster because the hinge plate is locked in place and no manual alignment is required.  I didn't think this would be a such big deal, but the more that I use the Brompton the more aligning the plate bugged me.

There are a couple of other features to this product.  A spring that surrounds the lever bolt keeps the plate pushed out away from the hinge when clamp is loosened.  This keeps the plate "ready" to close anytime that the hinge is open.  The other feature is the locking nut on the end of the lever bolt.  The locking nut, when properly adjusted, stops the lever bolt when there is enough clearance for the hinge to open.  This eliminates wasted effort and quickens both the opening and closing of the clamp.

Here's my experience:

The upper hinge clamp works beautifully.  The lower hinge clamp, however, is kinda rough.  I think the spring surrounding the lower lever bolt is not clearing the hole between the two sides of the hinge and it's getting caught, not allowing the spring to function normally.  Perhaps I have closer tolerances between the the two halves of the clamp on my particular Brompton.

Although the brass lever bolt looks very nice, it is not as comfortable to use as the stock lever bolt.  The stock lever bolt is too short to accommodate the locking nut, but Brompfication states that the bolt part can be pressed out of the stock part and replaced with a longer bolt (M8 x 55mm).

A bonus benefit of the locking nut is that I'm no longer worried that some hooligan will steal the clamp bolt on those rare occasions that I have to lock up the Brompton outside.

Overall, I think this hinge clamp set is very nice and makes folding and unfolding less of a hassle.  It's a solid upgrade.  

Appendix:

Brompfication Hinge Clamp Set Manual

I could walk 500 miles...

I could walk 500 miles, but I'd much rather bike them on my Brompton.  And I just did tonight!  Well, I surpassed 500 miles since I've gotten the B.  I've been keeping track of stats on my handy dandy google doc spreadsheet hopefully viewable with this link.  I hope to make this spreadsheet a sticky on the front page somehow... gotta figure that out.

Anyway, here's some pics of today's momentus ride into downtown Tucson.

The beautiful Santa Cruz Church

One of my favorite signs... so real!

Believe it or not, this is a newly renovated sign.