Front suspension forks on a Brompton?
#27
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I'd say you should buy the bike designed around the suspension feature ,
Moulton or Birdy are examples ..
or forget about a suspension fork and ride your Brompton, If You already have it, as is.
Retrofit fork is a non starter.. Though maybe the factory Brompton Titanium fork
will have a little elasticity and springiness, because of what its made of.
Moulton or Birdy are examples ..
or forget about a suspension fork and ride your Brompton, If You already have it, as is.
Retrofit fork is a non starter.. Though maybe the factory Brompton Titanium fork
will have a little elasticity and springiness, because of what its made of.
Last edited by fietsbob; 07-12-10 at 12:28 PM.
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#28
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And yet there are still only a handful of fully suspended bent trikes made and very small quantities sold. Not much of an incentive for a bike company to made a radical shift in their design and manufacturing plans. Fully suspended 2 wheel bents have been around for ages and similarly a few people have bought them, but they remain a niche item in a niche market because most people prefer the lower cost, lower weight and simplicity of non-suspended bents.
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In terms of the U.S. mass market (xmart and the like) I'd be willing to bet that most new bikes sold today have some sort of suspension. By this I mean those hybrid uprights with a suspension front fork and some with a suspension seatpost. And, I'm not counting those cheap MTBs that have at least a front suspension fork. In the main, these are weekend riders that won't really put their bikes through the paces that people who frequent the BF forums would, though. However, they'd probably very satisfied in what they buy and the price they paid for their bikes.
#30
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+1 - having ridden a few bikes with small wheels [16" & 20"] through the centre of town with all the crap roads and debris you find in any large town I can say that I would not qualify the ride as abysmal...in fact I often ride my small wheel bikes preferentially because I enjoy the ride so much.
#31
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Changed brake shoes on my Brompton... older bike, CLB made single pivot calipers,
Kool Stop Salmon Continental molded shoes, a bit different from the shoe/padholder that CLB designed due to a threaded boss on the pad holder.
But cutting a strip out of an aluminum pie pan, folding it over, and wrapping it around the molded in stud on the KS pad, worked fine, just needed to get the stud in the center of the slot in the brake arm . and a bit wider flatwasher..
Kool Stop pads are a good upgrade for any rim brake .
Kool Stop Salmon Continental molded shoes, a bit different from the shoe/padholder that CLB designed due to a threaded boss on the pad holder.
But cutting a strip out of an aluminum pie pan, folding it over, and wrapping it around the molded in stud on the KS pad, worked fine, just needed to get the stud in the center of the slot in the brake arm . and a bit wider flatwasher..
Kool Stop pads are a good upgrade for any rim brake .
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I just wanted know if anyone has had any luck fitting front suspension forks to a Brompton? I was looking at some 16” wheel child bikes the other day and noticed that many had front suspension forks. Surely it would be possible to cannibalise a kid’s bike and make something up for the Brompton? Alternatively what about taking the front suspension system off a Birdy bike and reengineering it to fit a Brompton. Has anyone ever tried anything like this? I know Steve Perry has done a handlebar stem suspension, however I don’t know if anyone has ever done anything with the front forks?
So did anyone actually tried this and had any luck?
I was looking at Prevelo's HEIR FORK for 16inch wheels, it is quite attractive, but is it theoretically doable (despite of the weight and the look..etc, just whether it is mountable or not).
Last edited by rezo; 04-28-20 at 03:10 AM.
#33
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Great thread, oldie but goodie because of its thoughtful discussion of several topics.
Handling, fetishism, novelty , thoughtful comments and pure riding, with several great lines summing things up well.
One of my surgery professors once said, "Whenever you see more than one approach to a problem, it means that nothing in particular is working very well."
The standard diamond frame bike hasn't been around for 130 years because of the soul crushing war on inspiration creativity and diversity.
That said ,
at what point does the addition of more than vestigial suspension push a 16"bike back towards 20"weight fold and handling?
And does suspension add only to very specific task customization?
There are some streets I dread on the 16"s, but that's why I have other bikes, and take other roads.
Handling, fetishism, novelty , thoughtful comments and pure riding, with several great lines summing things up well.
One of my surgery professors once said, "Whenever you see more than one approach to a problem, it means that nothing in particular is working very well."
The standard diamond frame bike hasn't been around for 130 years because of the soul crushing war on inspiration creativity and diversity.
That said ,
at what point does the addition of more than vestigial suspension push a 16"bike back towards 20"weight fold and handling?
And does suspension add only to very specific task customization?
There are some streets I dread on the 16"s, but that's why I have other bikes, and take other roads.
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There are reasons some people have more than one bike - because no single bike can do everything perfectly. I guess most Brommie riders use them in cities and are not riding daily more than 20 miles max. Yes, some people do decide to do longer rides but I doubt they are the bulk of Brompton owners. Brompton markets toward the multi-modal fast fold crowd, not the comfy long distance tourer.
Get a Birdy if you want to tour with suspension and a halfway decent fold. Or put the trekking bars on your Brompton and some cushy tape and buy some gel gloves and call it a day, lol.
Get a Birdy if you want to tour with suspension and a halfway decent fold. Or put the trekking bars on your Brompton and some cushy tape and buy some gel gloves and call it a day, lol.
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There are several cities in Europe with a lot of cobbles streets.
Riding a Brompton on cobbles is not pleasant at all and you need to slow down if they are bad.
Having a front suspension like the Birdy really help.
Using a Frog (ETRTO 305 smaller wheel version of the Birdy) would probably help to have a better bike geometry (with this fork from a ETRTO 355 Birdy, the front of the Brompton is higher than with the factory fork).
Riding a Brompton on cobbles is not pleasant at all and you need to slow down if they are bad.
Having a front suspension like the Birdy really help.
Using a Frog (ETRTO 305 smaller wheel version of the Birdy) would probably help to have a better bike geometry (with this fork from a ETRTO 355 Birdy, the front of the Brompton is higher than with the factory fork).
Last edited by Jipe; 05-03-20 at 03:57 AM.