Review: Ergon GA3 Grips Mellow Yellow

Thanks to Brilliant Bikes we have our first upgrade to the Brompton BumbleBee Special Edition affectionately known as “N+1”

ERGON GA3 Handlebar Grips - Large - Yellow mellow

The ergonomic shape fits the contours of the hand and significantly reduced arm pump on long trails whilst the wing provides support to ensure the correct hand position preventing aches and pains.

• Carbon friendly CNC Aluminium clamps

• Replaceable bar end plugs

• Weigh approx 135g per pair

Super soft rubber compound for outstanding grip 

Increased contact face for optimised hand position to reduce aches

Uses: Trail riding, cross country, MTB-touring

Lock on clamp made from forged aluminium / CNC machined

I was looking to upgrade the grips for alittle while. I have to say the original Brompton grips are not to bad compared to what originally on offer when I got “The Legend” all those years ago. Just basic dripped foam which didn't last all that long from normal use.

These grips feel pretty good with a soft rubber feel and grippy. I personally always wear cycling gloves either full fingers or fingerless but to the bare hands they feel nice. Would have been perfect if the bar ends were black and yellow, which is something we will be looking out for.

 

I have to say the colour is pretty close to the Special Edition’s yellow, so wouldn’t be a good fit for “The Legend” as he is a much lighter shade of yellow.

till the next ride, bee safe…..

More legendary upgrades?

So a few months ago I got contacted by Laurel over at BrommieMods

BrommieMods is a website where you can get Coloured Metal Chainguards And Mudguards / Fenders For Brompton and even arrange complete resprays of your beloved Brompton.

Brommiemods is a small business taking over production and supply of Brompton metal chainguards from Tiller Cycles. It was Graham at Tiller cycles who first invented the metal chain guards and mudguards that are so superior to plastic in both looks and durability. He took it upon himself to manufacture them in his workshop and sell to the Brommie masses. On his retirement, we at Brommiemods are continuing and expanding on his good work. Order your Brompton-compatible chain and/or mudguard with 100% confidence. Satisfaction guaranteed!  

I've had one of Graham's yellow chain guards for yrs.

Anyways I've been using the original Brompton mudguards and over the years I have gone though a few sets of the plastic ones. When BrommieMods contacted me about some new ideas and processes they have undergone with the metal mudguards we had to get something worked out for the legend.

I also had the idea of painting the mudguard stays but BrommieMods had already done something like this  already with a CPT3 project. I still had a spare set of mudguard stays so sent those off to get painted at the same time as the new metal mudguards.

I've had the metal mudguards and stays for a good few months now and ridden in all weathers and conditions. They are TOUGH. I won't getting replacement ones unless I want different colours or something with these puppies.

There are a couple more small upgrades that I haven’t had the chance to install yet but most people wouldn’t even notice unless I pointed them out which I always do when people ask what new with the legend.

As I have said you can approach BrommieMods with any ideas you have and they will see what they can do you get your Brompton PERFECT.

SPOILER: I did get a discount but this in no way changes how I review goods or services. You get honest straight up reviews in my blog ALWAYS!!!

Here is a link to BrommieMods

till the next ride, bee safe.....

The curse has returned...

So over the last couple of months I have noticed a "pulsating" feeling coming from Bumble B's rear wheel. I knew this was from last time my rear rim had worn out and was basically breaking though. But this rear wheel is just over a year old and shouldn't be wearing out so quickly, something was afoot....

I took it to my main man at Mamachari to check out. He trued the wheel for me but found something odd which he couldn't explain. Basically the brake surface was pushing out in odd places on different sides which he couldn't explain and his never seen anything like it. I had another rear wheel on order already so was just waiting and would swap it out. Told him I would have a closer look at the wheel to see if I could spot anything usual about it and report back. I mentioned that the last Velocity AeroHeat rim had a huge crack down the middle which you wouldn't see if the yellow rim tape was in place and then the light bulb idea came to us at the same time. Maybe the AeroHeat rim at split again and was wondering why.

Our theory is that under the extreme pressure of 100psi the Marathon + tires needed as well as my weight may have pushed it to its limit and over time it developed cracks which just got worse over time. Even though there is no mention of max tire pressure for these rims.

I finally got the replacement wheel from Brilliant Bikes (god damn courier didn't actually deliver to The HiVE but left it at the local courier drop off without leaving a "No one was in" card)

I took a very close too at the troubled rear wheel and our theory was right. The AeroHeat Rim had split again if you looked very closely. You can just about make out the crack developing. Not as bad as the first Velocity AeroHeat rim but I caught it much earlier than before.

2nd Velocity AeroHeat rim (Apr 16, 2016 - 2 Oct 2017)

I also found where the rim is joined it had split but I have a feeling that was from me taking the Marathon + tire off as its pretty new and tough to remove from the wheel. No way me and Bumble B's surgeon would have missed that split for damn sure.

2nd Velocity AeroHeat Rim (Apr 16, 2016 - 2 Oct 2017)

2nd Rear AeroHeat Rim:

Born:     Apr 16, 2016
Died:     Oct 2, 2017
Mileage: 3,453.98 miles

New Brompton Black Wide Range Sturmey Archer hub, looking all sexy in proper black which is what I've always wanted.

So Bumble B is back up to full strength again. WOOP :D

till the next ride, bee safe.....

More legendary? Damn straight

Back in July I found out that Brompton had released the Black Edition Brompton parts that you could buy. Thanks to my partner in crime My Orange Brompton for giving me the heads up.

I always had the plan to change out parts on Bumble B to be black as soon as I saw the Black Editions.

As always Brilliant Bikes came though for the legend as always.

• Brompton BLACK crankset with 44T "spider" chainwheel
• Brompton BLACK brake caliper - front - dual pivot
• Brompton BLACK brake caliper - rear - dual pivot
• Brompton BLACK brake lever set aluminium (pair)
• Brompton BLACK headset 1 1/8", steel

I could have installed all this myself but I didn't have the proper time to spend doing it properly. Lucky my personal cycle engineer is near by and was happy to sort my boy out.

Within 5 mins of being in the shop my boy was on the bike stand and getting a worked on. I think they really love BBB and it shows in their work.

Original headset

I had to go back to work & leave my boy overnight but I knew he would be fine. I'd be lieing if I said I wasn't missing him badly. Hoping he wasn't missing me too much but we both knew it was for the best. 

Turned out he needed a little more work that planned. The bottom bracket was basically dead so needed replacing.

New black edition brake levers

Black edition Spider crank & matching 44T Chainring

My guy forgot my custom yellow chainring guard but I had an idea. Why not get black bolts as I needed slightly longer bolts for it to fit on the chain wheel anyways. Abit of digging & he found some. 

It's the little things that matter.

Bling Bling baby

Looking good there Bumble B but if I find some brake pad holders in yellow they will be changed out. ;)

Front Brake Caliper

Turned out the rear brake caliper was also pretty much worn out and dead so it was a good thing I was changing everything out.

Rear Brake Caliper

48hrs later my boy was ready. As always Mamchari Walthamstow did a AWESOME job on my boy.

His back and up to speed as always. I can guess that Bumble B is about 98% finished, just spokes, hubs & saddle rails to be done and the legend will be DONE ! 

til the next ride, bee safe

BBB

Death of another rim

Over the last few months I have been getting the sense that BBB's rear wheel rim maybe wearing out. Under braking I would feel a "pulse" as it were. It's happened before so I know the signs well. 

Ever since I got the new black AeroHeat rims I have been looking after them much more than the double walled original Brompton rims. Even with all the care I have taken with them the rear rim visibly split. 

I basically came back from meeting up with the LBC gang that was having a ride down to the Olympic Velodrome at the Olympic Park. I wasn't on the ride itself but needed to see a few folks as I had some Brompton bits from "Ben's Box of Goodies" (once again thanks Ben)

On closer inspection I could see the rim had actually split on both sides of the braking surface as you can see with the photos below.

Splitting Aero Heat

Opposite side also splitting

It was an emergency so I went straight to my local bike shop ran by Noah who now had his own bike shop just down the road from me. Noah was the first person to ever service BBB so I knew I could trust him with my boy.

Noah changed the rim over to a spare original Brompton rim I had but told me that the AeroHeat Rim had some structural cracks. I didn't know about this and thought I had just worn it out but check this next photos out for the true horror. Another 2 huge cracks *shock horror*

HUGE crack #1 :(

These cracks where on the opposite side to each other on the INSIDE of the rim where the rim tape goes. I wouldn't normally remove the tape to look so I wouldn't have seen it myself with my normal checks.

I thought damn I've been riding with that for at least a couple of months as that is when I noticed the "pulse" under braking. As you can see it hasn't been knocked or hit anything as the rim looks in good shape and lots of metal on the braking surface.

When I got the AeroHeat rims on BBB the original double walled rims where relatively new so I saved them. I didn't think I would be changing the AeroHeat rims so soon.

So the Stats I have for this Rear AeroHeat Rim:
Brompton BWR 6sp hub & Velocity
Born:     May 7, 2015
Died:      Apr 16, 2016
Mileage: 3,047.7 miles

Quick message to Phoenix Cycles and looks like I can get it changed under warranty where I got the AeroHeat rims originally so BBB is there now getting another AeroHeat so his all matching again. The whole reason why I got both rims changed back then when only the rear rim had worn out was that he could be in line with his color scheme.

I currently have a loan Brompton which happens to be black and yellow so not to much of a shock for anyone seeing me without the legend who should be sorted over the next few days.

til the next ride, bee safe....

Daddy’s got a brand new bag

Ever since I had to replace BBB’s rims after wearing out my original 3 speed rear wheel a few yrs ago I said next time I would replace with some black rims if available & affordable.

Well I had to get a whole new rear wheel as I trashed it but I’m a man of my word and looked into getting some black rims.

AeroHeat 16″ from VelocityUSA where the rims of choice. A few people I have known have got these rims and reported them being pretty good so it was time.

BBB meets his Aeroheat rims

Lucky for me Harry Fullick @ Phoenix Cycles comes VERY highly recommended. A number of Bromptoneers have their Bromptons serviced and upgrades done here.

Also had BBB’s seat post sleeve replaced as Harry mentioned it was looking pretty worn out & I'd personally noticed the seat post slipping of late. My main frame hinge was also stiff and Harry loosen that up for me so now BBB is much easier to fold & unfold.

I got a message 48hrs later saying BBB was ready and in Harry’s words “Looked great!”

BBB’s new Velocity Aeroheat rims

Look closer and you may spot the yellow wrist bands really make BBB stand out from the crowd even more I think :)

Sexy Aeroheat rim with SON XS dynamo hub

Matching rear hub

Loving the logos

Feel the burn

We will have to return to Phoenix Cycles after a couple of hundred miles to check to make sure the wheels & spokes have settled in properly but can’t foresee any problems and looking forward to the next few thousand miles with them.

Big thanks to Harry @ Phoenix Cycles for looking after BBB & for his top quality workmanship. Harry even came up with the idea of yellow wrist bands for the hubs, gotta say we is liking the silliness of it :D

Another great Brompton workshop for all your servicing & upgrading needs, can't go wrong with Phoenix Cycles

till the next ride, bee safe…..

BIKEfun Classic Suspension for BBB

While I was at the Brompton World Championships a couple of weeks back I spotted something that I had wondered about for a long time.

I saw a suspension block for the Brompton that was a little different to Brompton's standard & firm blocks.

As always I want to make BBB unique so when I saw the BIKEfun Classic Suspension Block in person I was hooked. These suspension blocks are a combination of a metal spring and a rubber/plastic compound which when combined are equivalent to the Brompton FIRM suspension block. These suspension blocks come with 2 rubber compounds so you can tailor the the block to suit your riding style. I was more drawn to the fact that you could get the springs in different colours to match your Brompton if you so wished. I ofcourse got the yellow version, even the rubber compound has a yellowish tint to it was well. ;)

BIKEfun Classic Suspension Block

Using parts from the original Brompton suspension block it was easy to put together, remembering to tighten up the nylon locking bolt as when I changed the suspension block last time I didn't and came apart a few days later.

BIKEfun Classic Suspension Block in Yellow

BIKEfun Classic Suspension Block

As I am a heavy rider I choose to put the harder rubber compound in and it felt good on my short test ride. Following is the video of the ride with camera mounted to the saddle rails. I'm jumping up and down on the pedals so you can see how much the block compresses.



Available here @ Bike Gang

Reduced gearing for better hill climbing

Well this is an upgrade I have been toying with for over a year now. I've always had trouble going up hills so needed a little help. So here is BBB's latests upgrade.

2013 Brompton 44T Chainring & Guard for "Spider" Crank

13T & 16T Rear Sprockets & 98 link Chain

Which the new "Spider" crankset from Brompton it's very easy to change over the front chainring. Just the 5 bolts & swap. Dead easy.

2013 Brompton 50T & 44T Chainrings for Spider Crank

Anytime you change over anything to do with the chain always change the wheel cog(s) to as they wear together at the same rate. If you don't you will have problems with a slipping chain etc. The big front chainring doesn't need to be changed though unless you see major wear. With the reduced gearing I had to also reduce the amount of links in the chain to 98 links. You can buy the brompton chains to the right length so no need to mess about breaking links if you don't want to

5 Bolts

2013 Brompton 44T Chainring

All fitted and tightened up, easy. While I was upgrading BBB I took the chance to do a proper clean of the rear wheel before fitting the 2 rear cogs.

New cogs fitted

This upgrade reduces the gearing by 12% so should make it easier up steep hills. I've done a short test ride & a short sharp hill & it was much easier. Another thing I noticed is that my legs "spin" faster as a result of the reduced gearing but I'm used to spinning quiet fast with my high cadence which I can do in the 90-100 range for good periods of time.

Only thing that's left is to get a 44T chainring guard in yellow which should be arriving in the next day or so. Will be reporting back as I do more miles with the reduced gearing and give a better insight into the new reduced gearing.

Does my butt look yellow in this?

Well I know a few of you have been wanting to see BumbleB's latest upgrade.

Black & yellow baby

Mounted on the legend

The full on LEGEND

So that is the 2013 Brompton Yellow Saddle. Available at Brompton Junction for £35, in Red, Blue, Black, Lime Green & ofcourse Yellow. Also grips to match too. 

But now what's next for the legend?