kidshibuya

When someone spends their hard earned money on something they have been dreaming about for a while they tend to have a positive bias and just love their new toy. So this thread is just for dumping on your bike. Spill the beans, what sucks about it?

Ill go first:

Doppelganger Aurora 219

• The weight, must have been about 15kg, though I didn't have scales before I gave it away.
• The rear suspension was more solid than steel.

Dahon Mu LT11

• Again the weight, while less than 9kg still feels like a brick to me.
• The headset failed (in a hard to detect way) which led me down a rabbit hole trying to narrow down the creaking it was making.
• It is hard to keep the carbon post from slipping.
• My bodge 1x system using an outer ring does drop rather often.

Tyrell CSI

• The carbon steer tube creaks.. Yeah back to that issue.
• I have ran out of gears on both ends of the 11-25/53T.
• They put ugly stickers underneath the clear coat on the carbon chainstay.
• The freaking ear splitting rear hub on the KITT Design wheels. Never heard anything so loud and the drag needed to produce all that sound energy stops the wheel from spinning fairly quickly.
• I am getting about 1 chain drop every 300kms, once on the inside which took a nice bite out of the paint.

And now I am noticing that my points of complaint raise as the price of the bike does.... Hmm...

chagzuki

Brompton:

It's bendy, there's way too much flex.
The steering is too sensitive over long distances.
It ought to be designed to accommodate larger tyres.

avole

The Brompton flexes?? Never found that, it is lively, but that's to do with wheel size more than anything else. The steering is sensitive over any distance, perhaps you notice it more as you tire. As to larger tyres - why?? It's designed as the ultimate folding commuter bike

fietsbob

Bike Friday Pocket Llama , BB so high I cannot reach the ground without getting off the saddle entirely..

or pulling over and putting a foot on the raised curb.

Usually, shifting my weight to 1 pedal , getting off the saddle,
and putting the other foot down ,

or if in a (disc brake) panic stop, falling over when stopping short, bike stops,
out from under me, but I didn't.





..

Abu Mahendra

You must be new around here. No criticism of Brompton is permitted here. You must conform to the group-think, or the faithful will be on you like the Pharisees on Jesus of Nazareth.

gdh81

My Raleigh Folder weighs a thousand pounds and rattles if I look at it sideways.

chagzuki

Hehe, my criticisms have remained constant since 2011. The biggest flaw is the ridiculous wedge stem technology from the 80s or 70s or 60s, or whichever decade, or perhaps century, which is wildly inappropriate for a folding bike. It doesn't matter how stiff the rest of the frame is when the stem and steerer are connected with that crappy narrow tube which is only wedged at the lower end. Dahon appear to have focused specifically on this area in the Curl but the rest of the bike looks not so great to me. So I continue to use the Brompton and like it a lot, but wish certain aspects would evolve beyond the prototype stage, and this mainly refers to the stem/steerer interface. The obvious solution that a few brands have opted for now is to make the steerer a fixed part of the stem and for the fork to attach to that.

chagzuki

Brompton:

Can't remove the rear wheel without removing the chain tensioner, which is generally a messy operation.

Dahon Vitesse:

An all aluminum bicycle can develop squeaks and creaks in just about any area, and it can take days, weeks or years to track down the culprit. It's a squeak machine.

avole

I don' understand - where is the flaw? Yes, the steering is lively, but bendy?? Never seen anything flex or bend on mine. Are you sure you're tightening the clips over the hinges enough ?

Taking off the rear wheel is a pain, but you need to understand it is the fold that forces use of the chain tensioner in that way. It's a compromise, but most would still rather have the smallest fold currently available - the Brompton is designed for commutes, and that includes trains, buses etc and cars being part of that commute.

Weight is easily the biggest problem with the bike. I'd say changing tyres, too, but that is partly because the Schwalbe Marathons many use are so stiff they're pigs to get off.

chagzuki

It would be easy to redesign the chain tensioner so that it's not held in place by the axle nut, so like a derailleur you could remove the wheel and leave the tensioner where it is. Yes, there's a lot of flex, exponentially perceptible the higher the handlebar, since the flex comes from the wedge stem/steerer interface, and so the degree of flex in that area is amplified up the length of the stem. With a S bar you probably wouldn't experience flex, and similarly with casual riding it's not an issue. But when you have to power up hills etc., then the bike acts as a big spring, or set of springs.

splithub

Noahk iF10:
handlebar stem too flexy
proprietary BB - width 50mm (..where to get replacement?)
original crank too short (152mm)
gearing and tire size increase only possible with sawing on the frame (..remove chain catch pin)
quality of workmanship is poor


FSIR Spin 2.0:
original gearing too long (52/10)
wheelbase too short for pedaling standing

Java Air:
basic riding geometry does'nt match the sporty appearance
no mount points for luggage racks

SHBR

Entry level Dahon:

Weight, flex and requires major disassembly to fit in a suitcase.

Its cheap and fairly easy to replace if damaged, lost or stolen.

avole

All I can say is that isn't my experience, and that includes powering up hills. The bike has now been modified, by the way, and the handlebars have been raised. Still not an iota of flex - perhaps you could have someone film the problem you perceive to verify it really is the bike, and not the rider mistaking flex for something else? I'm puzzled, since the clone I have was indeed bendy with mainframe flex, so I know what it is like. That turned out to be an incorrectly adjusted clamp, which wasn't a Brompton type, but a quick release one. The clone also scores over the Brompton throught being made of aluminium and therefore much lighter, plus uses far more readily-available parts. Still has the chain tensioner, by the way, though it folds on the other side, chain out.

rishardh

My Brompton S6L - Not enough cup holders. Wait, there aren't any. For the price I paid I think I should have got at least 5. Wish it was whisper quiet. The internal hub makes a tickity tick sound. The only way to stop it is to get on the lowest gear and spin like a hamster. I also don't like that you cannot put a modern handlebar.

My wife's Dahon Eco 6 - Her biggest complain is that it's heavy. Then she says the stand is too short and pointless. When she cant keep up she screams that the bike is too slow and wants a Brompton. I try to tell her that it's the engine but then she points out there is no engine calls me stupid.

linberl

My Bike Friday NWT: the stem attachment with the threaded tube and quick release is not a great design. It's either hard to get on or hard to release.
My Bike Friday pakiT: The seat mast kept slipping and the rear tailpiece fit was a bit too loose and made a clicking noise. (Must say I have fixed both of
those complaints, though, with a titanium seat mast and Chromag clamp plus a little bit of old tubing for the clicking). Having remedied both of those
complaints, I now have no negatives about this particular bike; but for what it cost, I would not have expected any issues, lol.

zebede

On Dahon Speed TR, I hate, I hate, I hate the little bity (but expensive) piece of HDPE plastic in the stem hinge latch that deteriorates over time. [Same issue on Dahon Helios but slightly different part] Both more than 10 years old. I wish I could fashion this piece my self.

On Bike Friday Tikit, Creaks and Flex under load. The manufacture recommended taking a rubber mallet to the catch.

Nightdiver

Good stuff that is.

blakcloud

Brompton:

1. Why can't they use better hinge clamps with the springs to keep them in place? Sure you can buy aftermarket but why?
2. The absolutely ridiculous 6 speed with double shifters. What were they thinking? Time to have someone build a custom Alfine or equivalent.
3. Though it works just fine, the penta-clip seems so cheap looking on a bike of this price range.
4. If making a two speed why not a shifter for the right side of the handlebars, the left is non-intuitive.

The first two should be fixed, the next two are just quibbles. Other than that the bike works fine. I am getting to like mine more and more, though it will never be my primary bike at least for the time being.

rishardh

I try ... cheers

rishardh

Merckx Corsa Zero Uno - Perfection! But does not want to fold.Sorry, wrong place to post this but I love it so much I give it praise whenever I can

BromptonINrio

Bromptom:
its stell made so it get rusty over time.
for me is hard to believe thet a us$1.2000,00 bike is done that way.
you neew to take care paint, rust, and need to look after methods to prevent rust INSIDE steel tubes, wich is quite a hard thing to do.

brompton;
115mm old in rear wheels, so veru hard to custon gearing

dahon dove:
89mm old in rear wheels, so no custon gearing.
slim body so chainring may hit frame depending on size(max 47tooth)

dahon curve d3:
120mm old in rear wheel, hard to custon gearing

Rob_E

Sadly I destroyed my Raleigh folder, but that was something else. Took a hacksaw to the bottom bracket, cold-set the rear dropouts, completely replaced the front fork with a generic fork, a stem extender, a modern headset, a seatpost binder, and prayer. Never did get the rear brakes working properly. Yeah, there was a lot to say about that bike, but most of it was my own fault.

On my Downtube, I'll go along with the cupholder complaint, even if it was a joke. One set of bosses for the bottle cage, and only a relatively small bottle can fit in there. Also I wish I could do disc brakes without a suspension fork. Maybe there's a 3rd party option. Doesn't look easy to set up a coaster brake, but I haven't tried. And I wish it were easier to use other handlebars. I have used other handlebars, but they interfere with the fold. Not really the bike's fault. Flat bars just are naturally going fold into the bike easier.

tdonline

I have a Dahon D7 and the only truly annoying thing is the crap shifting. I've had it adjusted a few times and not much has improved. There's the usual wobble and creaking that I hear is quite common to lower-end folders.

It's also too heavy for me to really use it as a folder so it's really a mini-velo for me. Maybe I should just get a mini-velo and that would cure the wobble and creaking issues.

ttakata73

Since the Brompton is expensive I complain about it the most. I like modern technology, but Brompton likes to live in the past or is too greedy to invest in new tooling to make the bike better.
1. Too much flex at the grips. When I push forward on the bars on my M type I can see the top of the stem flex 5mm or so (just torqued stem quill bolt to 20nm per spec too). Then the tall handlebars flex a bit too so hard charging feels flimsy.
2. A 16" tire needs a big chainring. Even with a 58t it spins out for me on the flats.
3. The narrow M bar can't fit regular width lock on grips with aftermarket levers. I would get an H type if I had to do it again so I could fit wider handlebars.
4. Why does it still have an external headset and quill stem? Road bikes went to integrated headsets and stems clamping steerers 20 years ago to stop flex.
5. Stamped fork ends and axle nuts are what come on the cheapest $60-$100 bikes.
6. Mostly the archaic/heavy caliper brakes annoy me. V brakes would be an easy design change and disc brakes can be done.

R&M/Pacific continually update the Birdy frameset and are smart by offering the latest Gen3 and Classic at the same time. It is weird that a much larger company like Brompton doesn't sell a modern frame with the latest standards alongside the current relic. If there were larger 20" tire versions with the same folding principles; I bet those would sell too.

Every bike: saddles need to be replaced. All bikes should move towards disc brakes, thru axles, and tubeless tires.

kidshibuya

Was agreeing with all you said till that part. They don't seem any better at all, why do you like them?

For me they are a terrible idea. My QR are areo and 17g for the pair. Plus thru axles come in way too many sizes, finding the exact length for your frame will really limit choices if you can even replace them at all depending on what you have.