avole

In depth, sometimes controversial comparison coming to this space soon ...

pastorbobnlnh 

What brands and models of folding bikes are considered clones of Bromptons? Being only familiar with the Dahon that I own, it would be great for a list ahead of time. That way we can do some of our own research. Thanks!

Joe Remi

Uhh, what's the point of starting a thread with no content?

tcs

Define 'clone'.

3sixty, B-bike, Chedech, Cigna, Flamingo, Fova, Groo, La Bici, MIT, Neo, Pico, Sanye, United Tri-Fold and Viking X are some of the bikes one might find in East and Southeast Asia patterned after the no longer patent-protected Andrew Ritchie design. The Burke 20, Crosshead and Java Neo have clearly evolved from the Ritchie design. Brompton claimed the Dahon Curl was a 'clone' and they brought suit in EU court. The suit was thrown out and Brompton wound up paying Dahon's legal fees.

Bromptonesque frames are available aftermarket fabricated in stronger, lighter materials than the HiTen steel Brompton uses; here in titanium:




"The best defense against copying is innovation.” Will Butler-Adams

pastorbobnlnh 

Great quote!

Probably a better question for the OP. How do you define "clone" @avole ?

2_i 

Best value also works.

avole

DON'T WORRY, GANG !!

Shocking revelations to come ! You'll never look at Bromptons the same way after !

rhenning

Will the revelations be this century or the next or is this going to be a Helix type post? Not important to me as I am not into the Brompton Helix myths. Roger

tcs

Marketing? Trolling?

tcs

On this thread, ironic.

avole

CliffordK

I talked to a guy up in Portland that believed that simply swapping steel for titanium induced too much flex, and a proper frame build required oversized tubing. He had a prototype built which was nice, but I think he only did it as a one-off. Perhaps he'll build more someday.

I've got the contact info somewhere.

avole

I've reported the post above to my lorry driving friend - yes, I survived - nothing to do with the topic.It's like putting a chapter from "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" into "The Great Gatsby". One is a classic, the other deserves its place as the precursor of the plethora of empty novels about the rich which sold millions before it became a vehicle for Hollywood hacks.

avole

tds101 

Get well soon,...I hate getting sick around the holidays.

fietsbob

Yea for $10K each.. it, the prototype was stolen and recovered a few years ago (if speaking of the same Guy)






..

avole

So - let us begin. I was on the first day of the tour, using the clone. Done all the right things, checked route, booked hotels, gone over the route many times, bought the water and so on. Anyway the Not my fault, it was a google error, fancy sending me up an unmade load, not to mention the - well, I anticipate.

The lorry had passed me earlier, careering along with an almost French elan. Around a corner, left turn, sea one side, nicely made road curling along the hills of the National Park, idyllic. But then, the unexpected. A nice sign , and another below written in English, explaining the road was blocked by a land fall 30 m further on. You could qubble, pàergaps about the distance - see later, but within 100cm os so it was probably correct. Whipped out the phone, fired up Google Maps, saw a road a little further on which seemed a good alternative, although it did seem to climb a little. Here I must point out that Google Maps are good, but that some indications of contours particularly in areas without many roads tend to be either missing or problematic. So, I continued. Then the road turned into a earth track. It began to climb and, as anticipated became more rutted as it did. That is often the case in areas like these, what with the runoff and rains themselves, and it was the *** end of the monsoon season. The road continued climbing, and so did I, after dismounting and strapping the baggage to my back, continued. Small wheels and dirt, rutted tracks do not go together,and I'd already had my fill of Bromptonesque punctures on the trip to to Angkor Wat. By the way, anyone who does not do that trip is as silly as those not visiting the war remnants museum in HCM, stunnng.

Anyway I turned a corner and saw the lorry which had evidently had tried to make a steep 45° bend and failed. Difficult choice since on one side there was a 2-300m drop, and on the other a sheer cliff face of he same proportions. n Thailand at midday. The lorry began to move upwards, so I followed it, then had to slip back so did I, clutching the bike to me. I'd chosen the drop side, and in a ghastly 3D slow motion Indiana Jones parody those rear wheels were closing in on me. I stepped back as far as possible, then the lorry went forward, wheels biting on some rocks on the road. I had room to pass now,so I did, tight, but that's what the lorry had been intending, He smiled and waved as I went past the cab. Never saw him or the lorry again, but vowed to find the first person I could, or network signal, as priority one. Didn't have to, as, a kilometre on, a white van appeared, I tried to stop it to indicate there was a stuck lorry stuck but he nodded, and pointed to the words on the driver door. In Thai, so no idea of what it meant, but I guessed this was the local rescue van.

As it was, the only tricky part was the 10 - 20m part when I was carrying bike and luggage So, here's the point of the comparison - the Brompton plus luggage weighs in at 23 kg, while the clone weighs in at 21 kg, a difference of 2 kg. That difference might have pulled a lesser person over the edge. As my friends on the touring thread would point out, this was just the thing that could have provoked a catastrophe. Well, it didn't, bearing in mind the my original route was some 30km shorter, and a lot quicker since it was mostly flat. Do I have proof of the incident? No. I thought about taking a picture several times, but decided against it.

Score 1 to the clone.

Weight
Brompton, 6 speed 13,2 kg
Neo, 3 speed. 11,1kg

tcs

Concerning cycles, hardly a unique or recent revelation.

Regular low-volume production item out of China. Alibaba. Ebay. Save weight; maybe it will keep a truck from squishing you.

avole

Next: the water hazard. Pic, so needs to wait a little

Raxel

I have two clones (3sixty and easyTi) and they are both quite good.

Bonzo Banana

Can you summarise this text at the end with the moral/point of the text. I get the Brompton is heavier bit.

avole

Then that's all you need. Bear in mind I was fully aware the thread probably wouldn't work on this forum, but it might be interesting to some.

There is no moral.

sgtdemeo

avole

sgtdemeo