Raxel

Root cause is a bad design (thin titanium steerer tube + archaic conical expander nut that puts too much stress on a line, not a wide surface), not overtightened stem. It is almost meaningless to tighten the expander nut using the torque wrench as the friction between the nut and tube is huge. Brompton SILENTLY changed the expander with a wedge for this year to handle this issue (without recalling last year's fork and stem)

I did say they are factory assembled.

They are not my bikes. Owners did place warranty claims and the local dealer said those Bromptons are modified (disassembled) by third party so they lost warranty. Fun part is that one cannot know their steerer tube is intact before taking the fork apart. They got a ton of flak for this policy and I think owners got them replaced eventually.

All others do as well.

berlinonaut

Ti-Bromptons do exist since 2005 - the issue seems to be pretty new. Maybe a coincidence after moving production of ti-parts back to the uk a couple of years ago. It thus is not a generic design issue but one of maybe having choosen a wrong tube or having had a bad series of tubes. Should definitively not happen, that's for sure.

I personally do own two ti-Bromptons and -as far as I know - they do not have those issues. And I have had no issues tightening the nut correctly until now.

One calls this process continuous improvement and it comes from Japan... Out of curiosity: How do you know about the silent change when it was done silent and secretly?

This is an issue with the local dealer and his tolerance I'd say. Or maybe he knows his customers and their abilities - obviously cannot tell. And from one possible perspective he might be correct: If a third party does work or maintenance on a bike during warranty that is not average service work (which pulling the fork is clearly not) - how would one know who caused the problem. The good thing about not knowing about the issue before taking the bike apart is obviously that it does not lead to a dramatic accident immediately. But obviously a failure like that is beyond any tolerance. According to European law an issue like that that pops up during the first six months after purchase would be assumed to be caused by the seller/factory unless they would be able to prove otherwise. This is the law, independent from any warranty that may be given by the manufacturer or not.

Dahon i.e. is famous for not doing so. Look i.e. at the thread in this forum dating from 2012 when Tern was founded and how people were joking it would would be a main differentiator from Dahon it Tern would actually offer spare parts.
Would be interesting to see how well 360 is able to handle warranty and support and spare-parts topics.

berlinonaut

Pics tell you that something is broken, They do not deliver the context how and why and neither how the issue was handled. So what are you trying to prove? That Bromptons do fail, too? That's pretty obvious. If you want a product with more than 1/2 a million samples in use out there that has not had any issues: good luck. I think I know at least two if not all three of the pics you showed and if I remember correctly there is a story around and behind it that you missed to tell.

chagzuki

wesgreen

Moderaters, it sure would be great to some day have an ignore button on this forum! - Just thinking...

cb400bill

There is an ignore capability.

1. Click on User CP. It is on the left side in the blue stripe near the top of the page.
2. Scroll down to Edit Ignore List and click on it.
3. In the box that opens up, enter the User Name of the person who you would like to ignore.
4. Click on the Okay button.

wesgreen

Duh - I could have searched for that. Thank you!

mamypoko

Hi, I've been looking for information on the 3sixty bikes, I saw one with a derailleur and a 9 speed cassette online.

Was wondering if anyone had tried it?

michaeljwilliem

Hey Raxel, wondering if the 3d printed tensioner with chain pusher mount is being sold. I've been looking for a better solution than glueing a nut for it which is prone to misalignment since I can't find a guide of someone doing this except for you. 😆

fietsbob

over tightening the stem quill wedge can do that...

Supergal

New to this foldie. Previously got a dahon P30 bike but sell it off as its quite a speedy bike to ride. Trying to get a Brompton but it seem to be sold out and too expensive too. Came across this 3sixty on Korea website. Is this a good bike.

Winfried

Cheap Brompton knock-off, and they don't sell overseas (Korea), which makes sense since those bikes are illegal.

If money is tight, consider the Dahon Curve (~$700), whose three-speed gear hub can be replaced with an eight-speed hub. Doesn't fold as compact as the Brompton, but cheaper, nice to have all the gears in the hub, and the Brompton baggage block can be easily modified to hook a Brompton front bag.

https://www.foldingbike20.com/dahon-curve-d3-review/

tcs

Why are they illegal in Korea?

fietsbob

Ti and aluminum are subject to stress riser cracking..
the Ti tube wall thickness should be thicker than the steel..

For the fork steerer, it has to be added outside to fit the steering mast quill.. 1" inside..
so would be machined down @ the top for the headset threading.. ..

Schwinnsta

Really, their strentgh is the same, Ti and steel. What property is this? Just trying to understand.

fietsbob

How they crack. under stresses..

Winfried

They're not. Or at least, authorities don't seem to care.

I meant: They're illegal in the absolute because they're just Brompton knock-offs, and the bikes would be seized if they dared selling them in the West. Which is why they don't ship overseas, especially to Western countries.

As to why Korea allows those bikes to be sold there is a mystery. It's a developped nation now and part of the WTO, but it looks like local judges don't care much about intellectual property when the owners are foreign companies.

Incidently, look what happened to Chedech, also from Korea:
https://www.bike-eu.com/laws-regulat...-case-10138237

"The CJEU ruling in Brompton’s case is potentially significant for many such creators, as it confirms that the prevalence of creativity in their designs may afford them copyright protection. However, it’s important to reiterate that the Brompton case is not yet over. It will be for the Belgian court to decide whether the design of the bicycle displays creativity and originality. Other recent cases have shown that the outcome of court rulings on copyright can be difficult to predict."
https://www.farrer.co.uk/news-and-insights/brompton-puts-the-brakes-on-copycats-but-its-not-over-yet/

Schwinnsta

They are about the same strength which means they crack about the same stress. Maybe steel has a little more ductility but I don't know this and was hoping you did.

Supergal

Thank you.. Will look into dahon cruve d3

davidhunternyc

New full titanium model

I love this full titanium model. Have there been any reviews? How does this full titanium model compare to Bromptons? Is the quality any good? Thank you.

CheezeKeyk

I'm one of the owner of 3sixty bike since I can't afford a Brompton, so far its okay. upgraded few parts.

mlau

Hey Berlinonaut,

I've been a fan of your posts for years (partly why I bought a used Brompton)--but have to disagree with you on that one.

Kaizen originally came from William Demmings.
He tried presenting it to GM/Ford/etc. In typical American fashion, they shut him out.

He went to Japan, and was embraced.
His method was called the Deming method....later, Kaizen......later, Six Sigma...etc
Someone actually made a quasi-comic book of the guy and his methods. (highly recommended)
https://www.amazon.com/Four-Days-Dr-...=books&sr=1-13

I'm a huge Japanophile, but give credit where it's due.

likeabike

Hi! Where did you order your bike from, and how was the import process? Any tips would be appreciated as this seems a really appealing idea, thanks!

CheezeKeyk

Hello, Bought mine from a local dealer here in the Philippines.

likeabike

Ah thanks. Anyone have experience importing to the UK or EU?