j.postema

Hi,

today my Brompton handlebare just broke! Fortunately the right half was still ok, but the left part of the handlebar came loose which felt dangerous. I managed to brake carefully and continued biking using 1 hand and using as less as pressure on the remaining handlebar part as possible.

As my girlfriend also owns a Brompton which has very serious rust problems, and because of my bad experiences with Brompton customer support and my local Brompton dealer, and because I'm a tall guy measuring almost 2 meters body length which gives me lower back problems on longer, non commuting rides, I think about replacing my second hand bought 28 year old Bromton (which was not used much by the previous owner as the original outer tires were still in use whebn I bought the bike). Also maintanance was more expensive than expected. I've been using the bike for over 4 years now, cycling about 3000 kms on it. (not that much in my opinion). But the bike took me everywhere which is a very nice thing.

I prefer a folding bike for taller people, preferably made in Europe. (local)

Any suggestions which bikes would meet my requirements?

berlinonaut

If your bike is 28 years old the handlebars were subject to a recall already back in 2002 - 20 years ago (-> Bromptonauten | Lenkeraustausch). They should have exchanged for a new bar or fitted with a crossbrace as the bars at that time were delivered by Neobike (who later started the clone business) and it turned out they were prone to break. So if they have not been exchanged and the recall has not been performed it is no surprise that they broke.

Other than that the manual requires a regular change of the handlebars every 5000miles, so you may or may not be over that interval as well with a used bike.

Given your requirements I would point towards a Bernds: https://bernds.de/faltrad/

j.postema

berlinonaut thanks for your insightful response. I wasn't aware of the recall action of my handlebars.

The Berds folding bikes look like a serious replacement candidate as they seem to be manufactured in Germany (by hand?) and come in different frame sizes and are made of steel which I prefer to aluninium. The design looks clean as well compared to many aluminium folding bikes which look too complicated to me. Seems they also equip them with pannier racks... They even equip with both SON dynamo hub and Rohloff rear hub

berlinonaut

The Bernds is indeed manufactured by hand and has a history of I think close to 30 years of development and incremental and not so incremtental improvements. It does ride like a "big bike", folds quickly but not super small. I is built to order, so you can have any spec you want but it is by no means a cheap bike (rather a pretty expensive one). One can often get used ones as a bit of a bargain as they are hardly known but you have to know about the subtile differences between the model years to be sure to grab a bargain. I do own one and like it (though most of the time I prefer my Brompton due to the small fold).

j.postema

Thanks for sharing your experience with this bike. Yes I find them rather expensive - Brompton was already expensive to me, but this bike is even more expensive. But as I don't own / drive a car, I can afford if, if I want. And I prefer to spend my money on local businesses rather than more affordable remote businesses. So it seems the Bernds folds not as compact as the Brompton, but maybe the most important thing to me would be sizing as I'm a tall guy measuring 198 cm body length. Would the Bernds fit better? I cannot find clear frame measurements. My girlfiend for instance owns an Brompton model from 2019 and she has the "larger" frame (the old ones had smaller wheelbase measurements) and the higher handlebars, but still to me this is a tiny bike. These Bromptons are advertised as suitable for tall people but I have to disagree - for shorter rides this is ok, but for longer rides they are unconfortable to me. Especially the handlebars are rather low to me forcing to have an agressive body position. Not sure if the Bernds handlebars can get higher than the Brompton? Not sure if the handlebar stem is telescopic?

phatjonny

If a small and fast fold is very important to you then this will not catch your interest. I am not very tall, 180, but these feel like a 'big bike' compared to a Brompton mostly down to the 24inch wheel. I have never seen a 26inch wheel version but they are meant to be more suitable for taller riders.

https://airnimal.co/products/joey/sport/#.Y7agfGQo-k8

Alu too, but mine has held up well for years.

berlinonaut

The Bernds bike is available in different sizes, three different ones according to the configurator (https://bernds.de/en/faltrad/faltrad-konfigurator/) and the XL size has a top tube of 62cm (outlined in the German version of the configurator, the English one states 580mm for all three sizes which is probably a mistake). The stem is adjustable and stems as well as seat posts are available in different lenghts. I do not know if the Bernds handlebars can get higher than the Brompton H ones but ergonomically that would not make sense anyway as the Brompton H bars are way to high from factory to be ergonomically correct, even if you are very tall. You can however fit almost any bar you like to a Bernds, so whatever you want should be possible. It is btw. a very comfy ride on the Bernds. You can btw. have a Brompton carrier block at the front so using your existing Brompton bag(s) which is what I do.

berlinonaut

Indeed, the Airnimal Joey is a very nice bike, too. Pretty much undestructable. Rides very well but has no adjustable handlebar height. The biggest downside is in my eyes the fold - it is rather a "if you really need it I can fold too"-fold als you have to take out the front wheel and loosen (or better remove) the front mudguard to fold it. Thus mine get's barely ridden.

j.postema

Thanks for your response! I think I prefer steel frames to aluminium...

Fentuz

If I were you, I would swap the handlebar; I'd go for a MTB bar cut to size but I understand you are told and may require something for tall people.
Saint John Street cycle have many good choices and even if you do not purchase from them, having a good look could give you some ideas.

When it comes to other bikes, you will not find something that folds as well as a Brompton. if it is not and issue, look for Tern/Dahon and all the others that use their frame design (Raleigh in the UK had one, Bickerton is the same). The advantage of these is that they use std/generic components and mix them to a 20" frame. much cheaper to maintain and easier to source.

alternatively, look at kinetic, https://www.kinetics-online.co.uk/fo...ikes/brompton/, they provide some good custom mod that may suit you and allow your Bromptons to get a new life.

berlinonaut

The OP has a 28 year old M-type Brompton, he considers even the higher H-type too low for him and you recommend swapping out the M type bar for a MTB-bar? He would end up much lower than stock M. Also, the OP is in the Netherlands, so SJS and Kinetics are not around the corner while Vincent van Eerd is: https://eerdermetaal.nl/
But the OP does not want another Brompton, so this does not matter anyway.


None of these are steel, none of these are made locally in Europe and none of these are made for taller people. Also, they do not use too many standard components and when it comes to maintainance you'll probably look a bit sad when trying to get spare parts, especially with Dahon.
So a bit of a strange advice, ignoring absolutely everything the OP requested...

Fentuz

As I said, many "EU made" are actually made from east asian frame... Tern and Dahon are made for taller rider and and optional telescopic seat post can be acquired if needed... and lately, other than the frame set, thing are standard... Groupset are shimano altus/sora etc or sram and wheels are standard 20" as found on children bike... in 2022, I built 2 bikes using dahon frameset, shimano groupsets and frog bike wheelset...

I was not ignoring since I clearly stated what is the easiest to find in EU and also mentioning Kinetic for a rebuild. when it comes to steel frameset, the choices are very specific and artisanal = not easy to fix if there is an issue.
I can clearly remember the issue OP had with the corrosion on his girlfriend lacquered Brompton... And please when you quote, use the full sentence rather than a partial section that does not reflect what is said "but I understand you are tall and may require something for tall people."

CEBEP

Fentuz this Berlino guy knows everything, you know nothing. Because of his approach I left cyclechat forum.

berlinonaut

Do you now want to start the same level of harassment and insults here that you started there?

berlinonaut

As I understood the OP he is not interested in those (and even less if they are not made from steel). That's why I recommended the Bernds: Steel frame, handmade from scratch in Germany.
The Airnimal Joey frame is made from Aluminium by Pacific Cycles in Asia (and for that reason not menioned by me) but one of the most robust frames I know of.

There are a couple of high quality folders made in Europe, most produced at smaller scale and unknown to people outside Europe or even their specific country of origin.

Probably depends from how you define "taller rider" - as the OP is almost 2m I do have very serious doubst (and we did not talk about weight yet - if someone of that size is not very slim this will rule out a lot of folders due to weight limit of the bikes).

Dahon and tern do use a lot specific parts and often even proprietary derailleurs. Dahon spare parts are impossible to get hold of. Both use front wheels of 74mm OLD and children's wheels are really not an option for someone of the size and possible weight of the OP let alone for a bike that serves as replacement for a car and must thus be robust.

It is nice of you trying to open more options - just be aware what the situation in Europe is regarding parts for Dahon (and partly Tern) as well as the size of the rider which is way beyond what most folding bikes were designed for.

Fentuz

As I said, Dahon and currently Tern have telescopic seatpost which allow an extra 90mm producing just over 1m of inseam length which is suitable for people 2.03m tall (typically 38-39" inseam)...

and who are you to assume I am not aware of Europe situation…

BillyD

Mr. berlinaut, please leave this thread, we're getting too many trouble reports about you in this thread. If folks don't agree with you, then drop the issue, their loss, right? Move on elsewhere, please.