Extra Brommie Bits...

Having bought a basic M3L Brompton folding bike last year, I bought some add-ons after having decided that life with it would be a little easier with them.

The Brompton folding basket adds more utility to the bike for
carrying various items and IMO makes the bike look more
purposeful, and maybe a bit eccentric - bit like me...

The first was Eazi Wheels - replacement solid rubber wheels for pulling the bike along when folded. Useful over very short distances like in shops etc so I don't need to carry it. The Eazi wheels make this much easier than those that come with the basic bike - I think they should be a standard fitting. You just remove the standard, hard plastic ones and replace them with these. Not quite sure why they aren't fitted as standard, but there you go.

   

Eazi Wheels - much easier to pull the
folded bike around; an option,
but shouldn't they come as standard?
Maybe they will in the not too
distant future?

Front Basket - the simplest and cheapest of
the Brompton luggage - very useful for
small loads - 24 litres, not sure about weight limits though

The second was the folding basket. I missed the convenience of being able to load up the Brompton with stuff like small grocery shops like I could with my other bikes that had racks and baskets. This changes this - a rather nifty simple addition. It consists of a cordura bag fitted over a metal frame with a large plastic moulding that has a slot. The whole thing then slides over the luggage block that you will have either purchased separately (like I did) or, came with the bike. It just slides on and then clicks into place. Pushing a small lever on the luggage block, the basket just slides off and you can carry it by its handles. If the bike didn't come with the luggage block, you purchase one separately at £15, remove the screws from the frame and attach it by the two screws supplied.

The folding basket is the cheapest and most basic of Brompton's front luggage. Others in the range include the S-Bag and the C-Bag. There are also offerings from Carradice, a highly respected brand, although I don't have any of their products yet. Orlieb also make Brompton specific luggage.

The basket capacity is 24 litres, so it's quite large. I would have liked some indication of a weight limit too; on at least one other basket (an all metal one), the instructions say 5kg which I've used as a guide.

Luggage Block - you need one of these before you can fit
the basket or any other front luggage

The large plastic frame moulding in the middle at the bottom
of the frame slides over the luggage block and is the only
attachment to the bike itself.

The fitting block attached to the frame allows the basket to be
stood up when not attached to the bike.

The whole front luggage assembly on Bromptons is fitted to
the main tube, not the forks/steering, so stays facing to the
front.

The whole basket and block fits to the main tube of the bike frame and the forks/handlebars turn independently of it so the basket stays facing forward regardless of how much you turn the handlebars. I rather like this feature. I also like the look of the bike with the basket attached - it gives an extra feeling of purpose. I have also found it very useful and convenient for small shopping trips when I can get say, 3 days groceries in the basket, probably more, if I didn't include tins and bottles.

I have to say that I do like Brompton's accessories. They are certainly made specifically for the bike and work very well. Like many others ie internet reviewers, whilst satisfied with their performance and quality I've often wondered whether they are on the expensive side. However, I have to take into account that they're specifically for this bike, therefore probably low volume and from a small company, and, there's nothing else to really compare them with. Being an accountant, I have a good idea about these things. In the UK, I find a lot of other cycling specific products from bike shops to be expensive say, when compared to more generic products from the larger chain stores. You have to compare like with like.

I've got a few other Brompton goodies on my wishlist and will cover them here as and when I've bought them.

Anyway, website time - what's available and where you can get it:

Brompton Main Site

Brompton Junction

Carradice

Brilliant Bikes.

Shaft Drive

Look - no chain! Shaft drive - rare on push bikes though
popular on motorbikes I believe.

Recently I had a day out in Reading, a town about 15 miles away, that has a hire bike scheme. These appear to be gaining in popularity and I'm liking the trend - a hire bike in Brussels is how I got back into cycling in 2008.

The docking station - these are dotted about all over the town

You key in your account number and pass code - given when
you register and take a bike. £1 per hour.

For me, these bikes demonstrate the forte of pushbikes as transport - short distances in fair weather, but they seem to be either ignored, derided or given token attention at most by many if not most cyclists in the UK. Why is this? Probably because they are heavy and slow, ergo not much use for sports and leisure cycling, still the primary purpose for most pushbikes here. The irony is, if cycling is to be promoted to the masses as a viable mode of transport as many want, these bikes will probably play a key part in doing this.

Forget racing, triathlon or mountains...

Put it this way, I found it thoroughly enjoyable pootling about a town or city riding in areas that are inaccessible to cars but a lot faster than walking. It was also very cheap - once registered via internet, you pay £1 per hour for the bike. To me, this is far more attractive and more likely to popularise cycling than expecting everyone to get kitted out in specialist clothing so they can cycle over 10 miles to work and back each day in all weathers. Maybe that's for later on once you're well into it, but I think it's unrealistic for those wanting to just get from A to B and if anything, might put them off.

Seems many British cyclists look wistfully at the cycling cultures in Holland and Denmark and want something similar here; strange that the heavy slow bikes popular there are often overlooked.

But I digress...

One of the reasons for me wanting to use one of these was because, unusually, they are shaft, as opposed to chain driven.

Shaft driven push bikes have been around for over a century, but have never caught on. Apparently they are less efficient than chains drive something others are quick to point out as a disadvantage. This might be important for sports bikes where every percentage counts in efficiency, speed and weight saving, but, obviously, that's not what these bikes are for.

A northern UK city, Liverpool also has shaft drive hire bikes...could we be seeing shaft drive becoming more popular?

Well I hope so; I have to say that I like the look of the shaft drive; it has something in common  with hubgears really - the major working parts are all enclosed, with no dangly bits. Also, they can only be used with a hub gear - a plus or minus depending on your point of view. They look much cleaner with less maintenance although, I might add, with chains, this is mitigated a lot with the use of a chaincase/guard.

Otherwise, they are similar to other hire bikes; upright riding position on an agricultural step through frame, 3 speed internal  Shimano Nexus hub with drum brakes, dynamo lights permanently on and there is a front rack for carrying odds and sods. There is a double kickstand and mudguards/fenders and a combination lock security cord. To be honest, given their intended purpose, this is the best configuration and probably every hire bike no matter where, is the same. The only difference here is the shaft drive.

Further reading: what shaft drive is and if you want to hire one:

Shaft drive

Readybike Reading

Citybike Liverpool

With nice weather on it's way, might be worth a try.

And if you want your own:

Beixo

Dynamic Bicycles - an American firm, I've just found out is importing into the UK

Biomega - a design oriented Danish firm

All About Chain Guards And Chain Cases And Why They're A Good Idea

Originally this post was going to be just about how I got black chain oil on 4 of my jogging bottoms, but I've since expanded it to cover what I think are important additions to any bike intended to be ridden in your everyday street clothes.

So, I bought a Brompton and it's the first of my bikes without a chainguard (amongst other town bike refinements). Unsurprising given the type of bike it is. it is built first and foremost with compactness in mind. Now, one of these is a chain guard which would detract from this compactness if it were fitted.

But you know when these things aren't there...because you start to notice your trousers have gained another colour - black - from chain oil! Now, thankfully, said trousers, of which there are 4 pairs...are dark blue joggers costing less  than £5 - including a new pair. But imagine if it had been business clothes or white chinos :-0. 3 pairs have elasticated bottoms whilst one doesn't - which is why it got caught in the chain...

My new £3.99 joggers...then again, could
have been a pair of cream/white £75 chinos...
or whatever from one of those fancy boutique
designer label fashion shops...

Now, I've noticed, chainguards are quite rare in the UK, probably because the industry and the majority of (serious) cyclists see cycling as something you dress up for, eg cycling shorts or somesuch. Because for many, cycling is seen as mainly a sports activity or something strenuous - commuting 12-20 miles to work, followed by a shower and change of clothes.

Also, I thought I could get away with just making sure I pedalled in a straight line, theory being my trouser leg didn't touch the chain. But you cannot cycle with your head down all the time looking at your right leg...

Roughly, there are 3 types of chain  coverings: the chainguard - by far the most common and easiest to fit, the chaincase, and the Hebie chainglider.

Chainguard on my first Kettler

Chaincase on my Gazelle Toer Populaire

The chainguard is easy to fit, but usually, the frame still needs holes in it to attach with the screws. As you can see from the photo, it is just a shield covering some of the chain, but does the job. A chaincase completely covers the chain. Aftermarket chaincases are a lot harder to fit - seem to be specific to the bike and made for the manufacturer eg Pashley and Gazelle, fitted when the bike's being made, but offer the most protection for the chain and your clothes...I bought one and found that if I wanted to fit it to my Kettler, extensive cutting was involved.

Caveats - if you buy something mail order, you could find it may not fit...a problem made worse when factoring a hefty postage and packing expense, especially from the European online shops. Could be a matter of trial and error ...and expense to even find one that fits...Also, some of the chaincases are made of plastic parts that clip together and come assembled so you need to take them apart to fit them...quite difficult with mine. Yours truly broke the plastic clips when taking said case apart...broken before even fitted! :(((

Hebie Chainglider - photo taken by Robert Thomson on Flickr
(Think I've satisfied the legal stuff for using other peoples'
photos on Flickr).

Next up in keeping our trousers (coats/skirts/dresses? - some Dutch bikes like my Gazelle come with dress/coat guards) and chain clean is the Hebie Chainglider. A unique German product, it's basically a plastic sleeve that fits round the chain. Not tried one, but plan to soon. Some might (I did) have reservations about something that looks like it's subject to friction from the chain, but given many German companies use them on their £2K + Rohloff trekking bikes, I'm sure it's fine. I suppose it depends if it's fitted correctly, but it looks easy to fit - just clips round the chain and sprocket - see the short film on the company's site per the link. Speaking from experience, make sure you allow enough time to do it right...;-) Also, make sure you get the right size...they are specific to the number of teeth on the chain ring, as you'll see from the link. The whole thing is £40-50 by the way, with individual fronts/backs costing £20 or so.

Where To Buy (Aftermarket In The UK):

Surprisingly, I couldn't find much even on the internet including ebay. This together with the effort needed to fit them means that it's probably best to buy a bike that already has one, especially a chaincase. With a few exceptions, odds are you won't find chainguards in a typical bikeshop and you'll be lucky to find a chaincase. The Hebie is difficult to find outside London too, so may as well start with the internet. Don't forget many bikeshops do ecommerce as well. You should be able to find something that meets your needs via the links below:

Dutch Bike Bits

Rose Bikes

Fietspunt

SJS Cycles