Brompton pivot replacement, originally uploaded by Ben Cooper.
Tool to remove old bushings: £145
Reamer for new bushings: £200
Doing the job properly: priceless
😉
Despite appearances, you don’t just wallop in the new bushes and hammer in the pivot pin – do that and the entire thing locks solid. Some other Brompton dealers (naming no names) have yet to learn this…
I use an old nail to remove the bushes and then a hand reamer of the correct size to do the reaming. To get it alligned, I work from the other size of the frame with tape wrapped around to get it all square. Seems to work fine.
But removing the old bushes can be a sod. What’s the £145 tool? I thought you just used a tap of the right size, but I’ve never been able to find one.
Anyway, I only need to do the job every 5 years or so.
Ian
I used to use the tap trick, but I found that on older frames where the bushes had corroded in that it just slipped out. The £145 tool is an internal bearing puller – it expands behind the bush then you can pull or push it out.
It also works on Birdy bushes, though, so that recoups some of the cost 😉