tudorowen1

I have had a few Bromptons , Bike Fridays and Dahons..I always regret selling my Tikit .My biggest issue with the Brompton is fixing the rear wheel puncture..I know the fold is brilliant and the ride is quite good..not Tikit standard though..At the moment I am in Thailand and I keep seeing Mint and Backer bikes which have Brompton size tyres and wheels,disc brakes,cable or hydraulic,9 or 10 gears, bifold designs like Dahons,chromoly frames and I am so tempted....all around $250 USD or £200 GBP...I am so tempted ..
Can anyone give me their thoughts..please..?

Jipe

The first thing is up to you to know if a bifold that folds much bigger than a Brompton and is much less easy to carry fits for your needs.

If its fit, making a choice between the many brands/models of bifold is a second step.

CrimsonEclipse

I get that. Have you considered a Schwalbe Marathon Plus? It reduces punctures to near zero... and worst case, it you actually DO get a flat, it'll fold and store in an UBER with ease

2_i 

I have a Schwalbe Marathon Plus in the 20" size on my Bike Friday and I think I might have never had it go flat. However, I had very few flats with Marathon or Continental Contact Urban on Brompton. Otherwise, the level of challenge in taking the Brompton wheel off is a matter of practice. Still, it is up to the rider to pick the battles they want to fight. In that area, incidentally, Marathon Plus is not much fun to ride on.

pmhlb

I cannot offer hands-on advice, as I am in the researching stages, in my quest for a folding bike. So far, however, the one that impresses me most is the Tern BYB P8. Very nice compact folder! It has the most compact fold of 20” folders. The weight, at 31.4 lbs, is a bit heavy, however.

Jipe

The Birdy R20 11S now named "Birdy R" has 20" wheels, folds smaller and weight less than the BYB, all this without hinge on its frame.

Its possible to mount 20" wheels on any Birdy 3 to have a 20" Birdy 3.

Winfried

Go Dutch, no need to take the rear wheel off the bike if you know how to locate and fix a puncture.

And do get stronger tires, eg. Marathon Plus.

50PlusCycling

The Mint is a Brompton clone, but doesn’t use proprietary parts. It folds exactly the same way and to the same size, but you can use off-the-shelf Shimano or SRAM driveline and brake parts (including disc brakes). It also has quick release wheels, so you don’t have to carry a wrench to remove the rear wheel, or disconnect the shifter cable at the axle. To top it off, a Mint costs about half as much as a Brompton.

MAK

Nice video. How do you carry the bucket of water for roadside repairs?

mlau

I'm sorta jealous. You have way more Brompton clone options than here in NA (although we have bike friday and the Origami Swift).

I'd say try the clone. Buy what you like riding.
The Brompton has a brilliant fold, brilliant luggage system, adequate ride, and weird proprietary parts.
It annoys me to be using 50+ year old shifters on a bike that's worth a few thousand dollars.

12boy

Getting the rear wheel off on a non-P or T line Brompton isn't hard with a little practice. Getting a

12boy

Getting the rear wheel off on a non-P or T line Brompton isn't hard with a little practice. Getting a Marathon Plus off is not easy. Flipping the bike upside down and having something to rest the grips and saddle is a good idea, but that would be true for most bikes. I have a 2010 Brompton which I have fixed punctures on a lot. I use marathon racers (easy to get on and off) and carry a couple extra innertubes because the damn goatheads common in the US Southwest can leave holes that require tire immersion to find the hole

tds101 

Got link to this "Mint" you're talkin' bout?

DVC45

This might help.
https://tannusamerica.com/pages/tannus-armour

Or just get a pair of Schwalbe Marathon tires.

CrimsonEclipse

I did a search for a recent Brompton Clone thread and frankly ran out of time.....

Might be time for a new one....

tds101 

I so want a 20" wheeled Brommie w/an IGH. The Brompton lineup is so outdated. I love everything EXCEPT the drivetrain and brakes. I require IGH + discs, but I personally REFUSE to purchase one and be forced to mod it.

CrimsonEclipse

Preach it brother!

Jipe

You can buy a fully mounted 20" Brompton with disc brakes and IGH (Alfine 8 or Alfine 11 or Enviolo or Rohloff or Kindernay) from Kinetics Glasgow.

tds101 

It's an import for me, and it's still a MOD, and totally unsupported by Brompton. I also know all about this, and I have for years. Not interested... Thanks for the suggestion anyway.

john m flores 

If you miss the Tikit, why don't you get another? Or the newer Pakit?

Schwinnsta

I have or rather had a 6 speed Brommie that I had briefly converted to a 9 speed. I found that I almost always used the BWR in 2nd gear. I like riding plush flexible tires and Primo Comets were my preference. As they wear kind of fast, I would get flat tires fairly regularly. I finally bought a used rear two speed wheel, in part just to make dealing with flats easier. I converted it to three speeds, too, I changed the cogs and put on 19T, so I would have a bailout low gear. Unfortunately, it is still pretty high at near 40 gear inches. I do live in Flatlandia, so I can make it work for the occasional levee or bridge. Today I Conti Urbans. In the three years or so I have had them I got one flat, and it was in the front.

Jipe

Yes, its a kind of mod but done by replacing major parts of the frame by professionally designed+manufactured new ones and mounted by a professional bicycle manufacturer (its a small one, but its really a manufacturer, its more a manufacturer than brands that only assemble bikes from parts, including the frame, sourced in China).

And I think that seen where you live, almost all bikes are import (excepted Bike Friday).

tds101 

Ok, since you're being more difficult than I care to deal with, but I'll explain it to you this way. I have a BROMTON dealership in Manhattan, NY that I can get support from. I can visit a local bike shop and get DAHON or TERN support (authorized), I can also get personal support from ORIGAMI BIKES here in the USA. The company that you're recommending ISN'T A LOCAL ENOUGH OPTION, and it's a MODIFIED BROMTON THAT I'M NOT INTERESTED IN.

Since you're a BROMTON devotee HOPEFULLY this is a bit clearer to you now. I'm not interested in an IMPORTED TO ME BROMTON modded bike.

Jipe

OK, its clear that you are no interested but its not a MOD like the numerous Brompton modified their owners with Chinese parts.

Kinetics is a company that design and manufacture its own fork and rear triangle and mount them together with several types of IGH to sell a fully functional bike.

If this is a MOD, then all the bike sold by "manufacturers" that sell complete bike that they assemble themself using an existing frame they buy somewhere (like Kinetics does for the Brompton frame he use) are also MOD's.

tds101 

I take it the "local to ME" part doesn't register with you? Have a great weekend...