r/Brompton

I’m thinking about riding my 2-speed from the Babylon LIRR station out to Southampton, which is roughly a 55–60 mile ride. Curious if anyone here has done something similar and would be willing to share tips or their experience

I ordered my base model awesome purple c line. … pics will follow soon.

Should ride a Brompton and fold it and cart it around from store to store, place to place.

They would appreciate why handicap access is important everywhere. So many times I asked myself, how would a person with a wheelchair or crutches get through this entrance or up those stairs etc.

Credit to most public libraries for doing so.

/speech

I bought myself a Brompton A-line a couple of weeks ago and am LOVING it. I'm hoping it'll at least largely replace my car for most trips.

I also have a small business where I vend and to make my life really easy, I usually use a beach wagon I found at five below a couple of years ago to take things from my car to my booth spots and back. It fits my folding table, folding chair, jewelry making kit, and a huge picnic basket(think large Rubbermaid tote sized)for my cash box, merchandise, jewelry/accessory stands, etc. It is surprisingly compact for what my booth turns into! The only thing it doesn't fit is my pop-up market tent(standard Walmart one that you see at farmer's markets).

Quite a few events that I vend at are within biking distance to me, most are outside, so I bet I could skip the car altogether on those market days!

Anyway, I've been looking around at bike trailers and have been frustrated by not finding any that seem to fit the bill(they're soft, small, zip ones or look like a hand truck and I'd be afraid of too much falling off). I'd like for it to securely carry all the stuff I described and potentially have the option to swap the hitch for a handle so I don't have to keep two trailers around(some events are too far away and I'd have to go by car).

Does anyone have any reccomendations?

I am fairly new to brompton ownership, and noticed a bit of play out of my headset today while pulling/pushing on the bars.

I'd say it's likely that it's been loose since I bought it, maybe 150-200 kms ago.

Anything I should check for in terms of possible damage? Or should I just tighten it up and forget this ever happened?

It's a 6 speed C-line if that matters. M6L.

I've been wanting an Brompton for a while as I like that you can keep them inside and the possibility of multi modal traveling, I think they call it. I'll be riding 6 miles to and from work, a few slight hills. Last weekend I tried to order a 2025 12 Speed C Line electric that was on offer at Evans Cycles, I had a faff around with my bank not authorising payments and a voucher I bought to use to buy the bike, as it was above my credit limit. The voucher wouldn't work each time the credit card failed. Had some back and forths and 2 days later I ordered, and it got cancelled 2 days later, now I'm also stuck with the voucher for the store.

I was having a look at online retailers and on ebay, mainly looking for 12 speeds, but didn't find any great deals, but I came across an auction ending soon on ebay for an A-Line that's supposed to be brand new, just opened to take pictures it looks like. Anyhow, after a quick 'research hit' I thought I'll bid on it, and I ended up winning it, so it's now on route to me. Hopefully when it arrives all is well and it works as it should.

I think I may have a slight buyers remorse and think I should have held out for a C-Line, but I guess it's not the end of the world. One of my thoughts was since it's 3 speed maybe I could do an electric conversion, since legally we're only allowed to go upto 15.5 mph in the UK, on the electric motors. I was thinking of Swytch conversion kit but saw quite a few negative comments about their customer service on some threads here.

I'm thinking of the things that I will need to get, and since it isn't there in the first place wondering if I should stick to offical Brompton stuff or if in some cases there might be better aftermarket items.

Folding pedal

Mudguards front and back

Front bag block holder

Maybe a rear rack, that I could use to carry stuff

I heard bigger roller wheels are useful if you want to push whilst folded.

Pump

That Brompton kit that looks like it goes in the frame looks good (the idea of it, not seen it in action to think about it.)

Electric conversion kit, are there any that are recommended?

Did I hear you can add an extra gear? if so is it worth it?

Any other things I should think about changing on the bike?

My bottom hurts A LOT (to the point that sitting in a padded chair hurts) after a ride of only 20 minutes to work. I thought at first it was just me, not being used to cycling anymore.

But I’ve biked quite a few times now, I’m starting to think it’s the saddle. Anybody else have the same experience with Brompton seats?

I'm not a huge cyclist that would go to the mountains / hiking and stuff like that.

More towards daily use, super short distance from work - home. Occasional cycling where it's not more than 1hr max on a flat / non-hilly city surface

I do have to fold it as my country is rather small and I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving them outside as I'm afraid of thefts.

I was recommended P-line 12 speed with a M bar

c-line to P-line price difference to me is acceptable so I wouldn't mind taking the plunge...

But T line also feels nice to me. Just that I'm not sure if it's worth the extra 2.5K cost difference

I used a brompnot for 2 years before selling it off as it constantly breaks down 😅