An interesting, and quite difficult job this one – this frame was stripped and nickel plated to give a beautiful finish.
With red Rohloff hub gear and Hope hub at the front, and disc brakes.
His & Hers Bromptons
A matching pair of Bromptons – custom paint, Rohloff hubs, SON lighting…
The advantage of stainless rear triangles is they can be left unpainted, just wire brushed.
Grey & Red Brompton
This was an interesting project – a very modified Brompton:
The frame was repainted grey, and it got Rohloff hub and disc brakes, with a new design of integral rear carrier.
Lots of red anodised details, including a Hope headset.
A Pair Of Rohloff Upgrades
These bikes were for a couple who wanted to upgrade their existing Bromptons with Rohloff hubs.
It’s possible to match Brompton frame colours so the new rear triangle I fit doesn’t look out of place.
I do a kit if you want to upgrade your bike yourself, or I’m very happy to do the fitting here.
Cableless Brompton
Well, almost! This Brompton has a Sturmey Archer Duomatic rear hub which gives two gears and a brake with no cables – you backpedal a little bit to change gear, backpedal more to brake.
The front brake cable spoiled the look of the bike, so I ran it internally down through the stem.
Repairing a dented headtube
Not a pretty sight – a lovely Rivendell-made Saluki frame with a big dent in the head tube. Fixed it with a special expanding tool inside the head tube and some careful hammering on the outside, now good as new without having to replace the tube.
With a new paint job, it looks gorgeous:
Hannah’s Racerunner
I didn’t even know what a Racerunner was when Hannah approached me to build this – it was an interesting learning experience, though, and worked out half the weight of her previous one. It also splits in half for transport.
Herbert’s Big Apple Brompton
Herbert wanted a Brompton with the Big Apple tyres – these are 2″ wide but use the smaller 305 wheel size so only work with disc brakes:
It’s now back in Germany, and looking fantastic with matching mudguards and a front motor system:
![big-bumblebee-1 [618716]](https://i0.wp.com/www.kinetics-online.co.uk/test/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/big-bumblebee-1-618716.jpg?quality=89)
Tadpole or Delta Trike?
It’s a common question – which is the better kind of trike? The answer isn’t so easy – both configurations have their advantages and disadvantages:
Tadpole:
- Simple drive system – a normal chainset at the front with a chain leading through to normal rear wheel gearing.
- Very stable, you sit right in the middle of all three wheels.
- Can carry normal panniers alongside the rear wheel.
- You can see how wide it is when riding, for narrow gaps.
Delta:
- Very manoeuvrable – the front wheel can turn through about 80 degrees to either side, so it can almost turn in its own length.
- Very easy to get onto and off – you can sit down first, then swing your leg over. Access from a wheelchair is simple.
- More complex drive system, with single-sided drive to one rear wheel or a differential to drive both, sometimes with mid-mounted gearbox gearing.
- Less stable when cornering fast.
Four-Person Bicycle
This was a rush job – a four-person bike built in two weeks for a marketing roadshow.
It had S&S couplings fitted to make it a little easier to transport, and a beefy stand to hold it upright with four people sitting on it.
