Brompton Hard Suspension

Brompton have offered an alternative to the standard suspension block, in the form of the ‘hard’ block for sometime now. It’s available for ‘heavier’ riders or for riders who prefer a firmer ride. Now I’m not by any means heavy so I imagine that puts me in the second camp. I do prefer a stiffer back end, all of my previous bikes have either been hard tail XC bikes or rigid trials bikes. I thought for the price I could get it for, it would be worth a try just to see how I get on with it. 
Just in case anyone reading this is considering getting one of these I usually either order my bike parts from SJS cycles or get direct from a suitable shop if I’m desperate, but SJS let me down this time, with P&P it would’ve worked out at £9! So I decided to test out Simpson Cycles which is based in North London. I ordered through the website on Sunday evening and received the block on Tuesday morning not bad for £3.70 plus free postage! Also, there was a hand written note thanking me for my custom and with the name of the person who had packed my order; a small thing but a nice touch. very little physical difference between the ’soft’ and ‘hard’ blocks, I think the difference I could see was just down to the softer block having been used. The only real way to tell the difference between them is that the ‘hard’ block has a small yellow spot on it; though from what I’ve read this will rub off fairly quickly. I fitted the block immediately, which is a very simple matter of removing the nut at the back of the current block and swapping the fittings over. While I was there, I wiped out all the old grease which was more dirt and salt etc and regreased. It’s worth greasing as the suspension block can be the cause of a curious squeak! I’ve since taken the Brompton out for a quick 2 mile spin to run some errands and the difference is immediately noticeable. Not only can you feel every lump and bump in the road (which, due to the cold snap are painfully frequent, more on that later…), but somehow the rear end of the bike feels much more in line with the rest of the bike. I think the hard block in conjunction with Marathon Plus tyres could be a lethal combination for my lower back. I will leave it on for a while and see if I get used to it. I do like being at one with the tarmac, but if it starts getting painful it could be a step too far.

In summary, for the lighter rider, the hard block does give the Brompton a much more positive and rigid feel but you pay the price and lose the ride comfort. If you’re umming and ahhing about changing to the hard block, I think for the money it’s worth buying it and giving it a bash and see if you get on with it. I will update after I have covered some more serious mileage…

New Tyres Please...

I've finally taken the plunge and purchased some new tyres. I've had the yellow labelled brompton tyres on since I purchased my bike what must be a year and a half ago and I've been nothing but impressed with them. But I had a puncture last Thursday (only my second puncture in over 1500 miles) which really brought home how much I need my bike to be on the road and how much I rely on it! It was only a slow puncture so I could get where I needed to be using a series of 'pump stops'. Bit of a nightmare, but at least I could remain mobile!

      So on Saturday morning I once again utilised Velorutions price matching (includes matching against online retailers) and bought a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Pluses. I was going to go for the normal Marathons but I've read nothing but good reviews for the Marathon Plus on the Bromptontalk forum (on Yahoo chat, if you've not been there, check it out). It was a bit expensive, but less expensive than time wasted walking somewhere with a flat or having to take an extra taxi/bus/train/whatever because I have a flat. So I set about putting them on when I got home, now I expected them to be a little difficult as I have an incompetency when it comes to dealing with tyres with a stiff bead, so I set aside a few hours. Well, two broken tyre levers and one self inflicted flat later I'd managed to get them on! They were noticeably heavier than the yellows before I put them on the bike, but now when carrying I can't really tell the difference. I've not done any mileage on them yet, but I will do an updated review as soon as I have got some miles under the rubber...In the meantime, if you're thinking of getting Marathon Pluses then do so, but for the sake of all that is holy, buy some metal tyre levers, take your time and don't pump the tyres up until they are back on the bike...Not that I did that...