Lalato

I think a lot of folks are wondering the same thing... by all means please be our first data point.


@Raxel... didn't you mention somewhere that these bikes are sized for smaller people... and that at least 3Sixty or EasyTi (can't remember which one) was planning on making something more standard sized?

biker8989

wow amazing

rob1ie

@Raxel, Loving your work and thank you kindly for the posts. Before I dive in to all 303 of them, can you let me know what brand cables you are running/ prefer these days. This for a currently stock Ti Brompton. With thanks

bikebikebike

[QUOTE=BromptonINrio;21000613]it does matter indeed.
Thor was banned for that if i can remember correct./QUOTE]
And here I thought that the blinding purity of his vision was causing so much
distress among those who bore witness,
that their tortured souls could not but cry out for vengeance.
But, I have been wrong before.

Raxel

I recommend ZTTO cable available at aliexpress, which is a close copy of jagwire elite link cable. They are super cheap compared to big brand cables (you can get two 1.8m packages for around $30-40), look great and are lighter than Nokon cables.

Raxel

AFAIK all titanium clones (including EasyTi) have exactly the same geometries as the UK original ones.
And last year's 3Sixty cro-mo bikes indeed had bit shorter top tube but now they are making large sized ones, which have very slightly longer toptube than UK brompton.

Here's a pic of 'L' sized 3sixty bike (chrome plated version) I took from 3sixty forum.

rob1ie

Blinding, @Raxel and thank you kindly

Paul Ko

Wow! wonderful bike. I also have a Birdy standard white.

Zoopster

Hi Raxel. That's a gorgeous bike. After your recommendation of ZTTO cables, I'm pondering them for my own Brompton Superlight. Do you think they would play well with the stock drivetrain? Also, can the aluminum segments of the ZTTO cable be individually removed without damaging them so that two colors can be alternated?

2_i 

I ran into quality problems with ZTTO and had to drill through some of their segments to be able to use them. TRLEQ is just slightly more expensive, with more consistent quality. The colors can be mixed.

Zoopster

Cool, thank you. I'm not having any luck searching for TRLEQ cables. Where would you recommend I look?

tuleggi

Which brand/model is the Carbon handlepost ? where I could find it? thanks

Winfried

It's TRLREQ.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32789719830.html

2_i 

Indeed :

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3303...7a22285cH17Q6n

https://www.ebay.com/itm/MTB-Road-Bi...s/372840987534

Zoopster

Awesome, thank you kindly.

FoldingSpace

That’s amazing. Now do a Tern Eclipse x22!

question: does the material difference affect anything beyond weight and tensile strength? Like does it affect the engineering for the folds and other weak points? And how does titanium ride vs steel, aluminum and carbon?

kraftwerk 

5.20 kg. / 11.46 lbs. is less than what my wife's purse weighs...

mlau

How's this aging?

It's still one of the sexiest folding bikes I've ever seen.

hubertj

Wow wonderful build it looks like your wife would be enjoying her ride since you posted this quite a while back.

CheezeKeyk

wow! that's a goodlooking folding bike man.

hubertj

able to give us some supplier u used while building this bike?

nelsonli0118

will it be too soft?
I am planing to get one. but I have seem people talking about the ti frame, don't know which brand they are getting tho.

captkkk

Only 5.2kg********** OMG!!

pinholecam

does the material difference affect anything beyond weight and tensile strength?
>> Yes, since tensile strength is different, "by right" the thickness has to be adjusted accordingly to get the same strength.
That said, a lighter person would probably get away with a lot of this consideration vs a much heavier one.

Like does it affect the engineering for the folds and other weak points?
>> This really has 2 ways to go about it. The hack/experimental way of making the folds similar to the one it was copied from and seeing what happens (or not at all) or proper design guided by the material strength.
weight+strength wise : Alu > Ti > Steel So generally, a Ti part copied from a Alu one can use a bit less material and a Ti part copied from a steel on probably needs a bit more (or a larger diameter )


And how does titanium ride vs steel, aluminum and carbon?
>> It still depends on the construction of the bike, but generally :
Alu - (based on older 10-6yr ago designs ) feels rigid and solid. Oddly no metallic 'zing' in the handling of high freq road vibrations. I have read claims that modern alu is different with those triple butting and hydro form, but I have not tried one.
Carbon - high freq road vibrations feel "dud"... (Imagine a over damped freq response curve ).
Steel/Ti - They have that same "zing" in the translation of road buzz. Sort of like a tuning fork when tapped (but nicely damped ). So it gives that lively feel that some people describe as 'alive' (wrt the above 2 materials ).

In terms of low freq bigger bumps, I generally find all materials are about the same in that none of them will comply enough to make that big a difference (ie. rider will still feel that bump). This area is better handled by sprung saddles, suspension seatposts, saddle choice, thicker tape, suspension stem, etc. Perhaps there are some exceptions like the GT grade, Topstone, which try to add a little bit of more compliance with unique seat stay designs.

Schwinnsta

While Ti alloys rival steel for strength, its Modulus of Elasticity is about 60% of steel. So it is more flexible for the same size tube. This should allow for more suspension or compliance giving Ti bike a more comfortable ride. I say should because I have never had a Ti bike myself. Ti as a material for bikes seems ideal. Light weight, does not rust, greater comfort. Unfortunately its very expensive and more difficult to weld.