ttakata73

For me it completes the rigidity of the fork/hub. Quick releases are only ~4.5mm thick so having that hold a hub in a open dropout is weak. I once let a fat 250lb guy ride my QR road bike and he torqued the rear wheel out of the dropout in a few pedal strokes.
Mainly the extra braking power of disc brakes wants to twist the entire wheel out of a QR dropout. MTBs are all 12-15mm thru axles now since they have larger braking forces with larger tires.
All new road disc bikes are going 12mm thick thru axles too.
It is simply impossible to have a thru axle hub twist out because the entire axle is surrounded by material unlike a QR that has to let the axle drop out.

chagzuki

Yep, the flex is obvious, though not possible to gauge accurately visually since one's head position moves slightly involuntarily on pushing/pulling.

kidshibuya

Yeah see for me they are all things that wont effect me. With my bike and gear I am still less than 80kg and I have never noticed flex in the skewers, even while braking hard enough to lift the rear wheel or sometimes pedaling hard enough to spin the rear. For me its only negatives.

Rootman

The motor on my Giant Roam 2 2015, especially on hills

Sorry could not resist.

slickginger

Tern D7i: it's heavy as shnoz, the brakes are as effective as pencils, and the rear light isn't a dynamo despite being paired with a dynamo headlight. Also the stock seat is awful.

I've fixed all but the first.

SparkyBeacon 

This is a good idea for a folder thread.

Birdy:
I think there is a high-speed shimmy. I am not 100% sure because I rarely ride on long downhills where I hit high speeds. Nevertheless, my confidence in the bike is diminished, which stinks, because I consider it to be my road bike. Conversely, my Bike Friday New World Tourist has proven itself on the downhill portions of the Hilly 100 bike ride.

kidshibuya

How long have you had it for? At first I thought my Mu LT had some sort of high speed wobble but a few months in of constant riding and I never noticed it, so I assume it was me rather than the bike.

JohanNeeda

Generally speaking the quality of the Tern Link D7i components is bellow average. Chain, brakes (pads and arms) crank set, electric wires and their connections is all what I have change in first 3 months of usage. No very happy about that. Still I use it for my daily commuting. All components are standard ones and they can be replaced and upgraded. No troubles on Tern own stuff, though (hinges, frame and so on).

SparkyBeacon 

Re Birdy shimmy
I have had it for 4 years. I think I have encountered a shimmy or wobble just twice. I was not in situations where I was inclined (sorry for the pun) to take the time to reclimb a hill and check what was going on. I am not a fast rider. It is flat here in central Indiana so I rarely see high speeds.

slickginger

Totally, completely agree. They picked garbage components. A STEEL crank, wobbly brake levers, flexy W-brakes, junky chain, etc. The frame and the fold mechanisms work great but yeah... they definitely cut corners. Now that it's done I'm happier, but I'll think twice before buying another Tern.

bikingbill

Curious, what year Brompton?

bikingbill

The Brompton:

1. The Seat Post clamp is a touchy piece of hardware. Overtightening can ruin the bike, under tightening leads to seat slipping down. Couldn't they have come up with something better?
2. The gearing range is a bit narrow. Can't they just convince Rohloff to do a version of their 14-speed hub (or Shimano with the 8 or 11) to fit the Brompton's rear stays?
3. A telescoping handlebar stem option would help very tall riders.

Schwinnsta

Those criticisms are right on.

Abu Mahendra

What would be the disadvantage, the compromise in Brompton making its rear OLD 130mm so you could run a 'standard' 349 wheel?

reppans

bikingbill

It might kill the one feature that made me buy the bike.

Getting it on airlines as carry-on baggage.

Southwest (Old) 737


Virgin America


British Air

bikingbill

Yeah yeah. Been there, done that.

I'm a Clydesdale class rider riding stupidly steep hills. Right now the clamp is fine, but it's a very touchy adjustment.

And yeah, I treat the seat tube like kryptonite. I have the OffYerBike handle on my bike, so I don't have to touch it.

astage

Have only had one instance of shimmy. That turned out to be caused by the outer part of one side's fork pivot bolt having disappeared - no idea when or how long before it was noticed. Not exactly pleased since the bike had only done 300km and not even been folded half-a-dozen times - so that wasn't the cause of it coming loose.
My two complaints with the Birdy.
1) No fitting to hold a water bottle - I have an ABUS folding lock on the stem.
2) My fault, but I chose matt black.

Bholio

I spin out on my adventurer 6 speed at at too low a speed due to gearing. And the seatpost is too short.
The seat on my wife's dahon my is way too soft. And it has a suspension seatpost instead of the nifty pump.

chagzuki

The main frame is really old, made in 2001 but clearly hardly used when I bought it second-hand. The stem and fork are probably around 6 years old; the fork is titanium and I use an S stem with an aberhallo extender. I installed a sealed bearing headset. I don't believe there are any mechanical issues contributing to flex, i.e. worn hinges or loose parts. The main hinge on the pre-2004 models probably has a little more flex than the LWB redesign but I don't believe it's the main issue. I think it's obvious that the wedge stem is a piece of crap in terms of design and the main culprit. I've ridden newer Bromptons and they appear to have a similar amount of flex, though I'd like to repeat the experience to be clearer.

avole

Can you explain what you mean by flex? I agree with you and don't see how a Brompton can flex from from the main hinge. However, what is the wedge stem? Also, are you sure you aren't confusing vibration transmission with flex? The handlebar stem certainly magnifies vibration from the road wheel upwards, mine does, so so do an awful lot of bikes. If a bike flexes, I simply wouldn't ride it, far too dangerous.

Schwinnsta

Just ride your brompton and pull back on the handlebars and you will notice the flex. I do on 2014. I am not as put off by this Chagzuki. Better if it was not there but a consequence of long shaft not the attachment in my opinion which is guess.

avole

Sorry, no flex. But note I don't have the Brompton handlebars, and before I had the S.

bikingbill

I'm pulling on the H-Bars when I climb the crazy steep stuff. Doesn't seem that flexy. 2014 model H6L.

bhkyte

1) steering is unstable. See birdie thread.
2) cant get stem replaced for my older birdie mk2.
3) not much frame clearence.
4) not much tyre clearence if fit wide tyres.
5) alloy frame get worn away if chain line incorrect, panniers mounted wrongly etc.
6) front pannier make it unstable steering +
7) if you dont have enough air in tyres the bike unfolds as it alters the frame locking mechanism for front forks.
8) stupid chain catcher can get bent and jam in rear cassette, breaking drailler,
9) internal cabling is a beast to install.
10) front brake set up on v brakes is tight. If you have a front rack the noodle can wear away the rack.
11) rear rack is a tad too small for panniers with out heel strike if you install larger rack wheels.
12) spares are rare and expensive.


finally the worst of all......
13) PEOPLE THINK ITS A BROMPTON