A rare conversion, this aluminium-framed version of the Brompton was made by Merc I think. I replaced the very worn frame bushes, and fitted disc brakes and Rohloff hub.
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So what’s it weigh? I presume the front stem, front fork and rear triangle are steel?
Has an aluminium frame reduced its load-bearing capacity?
Is there more flex in the ride? Or there’s no noticeable difference?
It’s a pretty striking B. Love your work
It weighed pretty much the same as a standard steel Brompton! Aluminium is lighter, but you have to use a lot more of it and can’t triangulate the frame like a diamond frame.
Ki, I think the rear frame looks different. Is that one of yours?
Yes, both the forks and the rear frame are mine.
If I well understand, this is a home made Brompton clone. Others who have commercialised Brompton clones have regretted it: the Brompton silhouette is a registered trademark. Bicycle designs featuring both the chararcteristic curve of the main tube and the characteristic cable routing are definitely off-side.
Perhaps it would be interesting to see a stainless steel Brompton, especially now that mararging tubing for bicycles have become widely available (Reynolds 953) – perhaps Brompton could be persuaded to make them officially?
Neil, i read elsewhere that the Brompton patent is out of date. But insteresting that you point to a copy of ‘form’. A south korean company, (www.chedeck.com) made a carbon version with pretty much same fold but slightly different/better hinge clamps/locks.
Info from other forums point to Brompton having also copied Dahon in the past. Not sure of validity.
Brompton continues to use made in London as it’s USP, not sure at what cost to taxpayer/ incentives. Good on them but they really need to update their product.
Has there ever been a carbon Brompton?
I’ve seen carbon stems, and rumours of a complete frame but not sure if they’re real.
I’ve got a Merc and a Brompton. In comparison the Merc is awful. Very cheap and heavy, It is a 3 speed (whereas my Brompton is a S2L) but even so it just feels much more than 1kg heavier.
Really need to replace the Merc brakes with Brompton ones. I do prefer the Merc crank though.
Although the Brompton cost many multiples of the price of the Merc.