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| Green Brompton |
| The Brompton is the commuters bike par excellence. It folds in a matter of 10-15 seconds into a really small size that willgo behind a bus or train seat or under your desk when you get to work. However, I\\\'m retired and use it for local trips to shops--using the quick release front mounting shopping bag and for canal towpath trips---just pop it in the boot or behins a seat and drive to the canal car park and you\\\'re away. It has the SRAM 3 speed hub gears which are fine for my area which is not too hilly. I found the suspension a bit too basic and modified it by swapping the original handlebars for straight ones fitted to a suspension seat post. I also added a suspension seat post where it should be--under the saddle. These two modifications greatly improved the ride comfort on bumpy surfaces. The slight downside to the seatpost mod is that the saddle is a little bit higher than normal when the bike is folded—hoever, that does not matter for my sort of use. I also changed the brake levers for Shimano R44 so that I can change the gear shifter to a rotary one --when I get around to it. I have Aztec brake blocks on it and find these are much better than any of the usual blocks that are around. Although I\\\'m happy with my mods I would recommend the Brompton in its un-modified form to anyone wanting a folder. They\\\'re not cheap but good second hand ones can be found---and---they are made in England and any spares or accessories needed are readlily available. Submitted by Ray Henshaw on 10 Feb, 2008. |