Turf Zone – LighthouseW
Riding round the City of Edinburgh yesterday on Mr Orange, my trusty C Line Explore and I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed myself. And I did not change gear the entire three-hour session, even managing to climb all the way from Leith to the city centre. Of course, this was all planned as I wanted to try the Brompton as a single speed. And now I want one. I want that simplicity and neatness that single speed offers. But what are the options available to me?
The first option is the easiest, quickest and cheapest. Simply leave my C Line Explore as stock and don’t change gear. Instant single speed. No outlay of hard-earned cash, no greasy hands working in the bike shed. However, the bike still remains as stock with lots of redundant components cluttering up the bike. What I also want is the simplicity of a single speed Brompton build. No gear shifters, no gear cables, no unused hub gears or rear sprockets and so on. I want a single speed as if it has just emerged that way from the Brompton factory.
My next option is to convert Mr Orange to single speed, a fairly simple task. Parts for newer 2024 models are readily available online and a cursory check reveals I would need the following, rear wheel without the hub gear, rear sprocket set, front chainring and chain tensioner. The sizes of the rear sprocket and front chainring have still to be decided. Total cost comes to around £250.00 and I can do all the work myself. On the down side, this means I would have a bike without gears and I’d like to have that option when I’m away with my partner Cathryn on her Brompton or for friends to borrow.
The option that I would much prefer is to purchase a new single speed Brompton, but unfortunately, Brompton in their wisdom do not offer such a model, other than the new titanium T Line One which comes with a mighty price tag of £4250.00. For that amount you get the lightest, neatest and amazing Brompton ever built. And very desirable it is too, suffice to say I want one, right now. Dream on. Would need to add mudguards and change the tyres and inner tubes.
It’s a shame Brompton don’t include single speed options throughout their range. The basic A Line would be ideal as a single speed, as would the C Line and especially the lighter weight P Line. Just imagine if there was a fixed wheel option, a Brompton Fixie! Must find out if there ever was a Brompton single speed in the archives. And, yes there was, but the single speed or one speed option was discontinued as a factory fit option in 2021.
The closest available Brompton model to a single speed would be the C Line Urban, a 2-speed with two external rear sprockets. Conversion would be fairly simple, much the same as my C line above, actually even less work required, just swap the sprocket and the chainring. No need to change the combined brake/gear shifter as the shifter part can be removed. At least I’m fairly certain it can.
Another option is to purchase another Brompton and carry out the same conversion as described above. Perhaps purchasing second-hand from eBay or elsewhere. There seem to be plenty of used Brompton bikes available with prices ranging from around £500.00 to £1000.00 depending on age, condition and model.
And this is the option I’m going for at the moment and have placed a bid for a 3-speed on eBay. However, with another 57 people watching I may not be successful. The bike has also had some components modified and they would need replaced at additional cost. Should know the outcome on Monday at 20:30 when the auction ends. The bid was unsuccessful.
To summarize the options and costs involved:
- Leave existing C Line Explore as standard. No cost.
- Convert existing C Line Explore, approx. £250.00 for components.
- Purchase used Brompton, could be anything up to £1000.00 all in.
- New A Line, £950.00 plus approx. £300.00 parts.
- New C Line Urban, £1300.00 plus approx. £70.00 parts.
- New T Line One, £4250.00 plus £150.00 for mudguards, etc.
To finish. After much deliberation, Internet searching and head scratching, I’m now fairly settled on the option of purchasing a new Brompton C Line Urban, the 2-speed model, hopefully in Bumblebee Yellow. All I need do to convert to single speed is swap the rear sprocket set for a single 12T and front chainring for a 44T. Remove the shifter, cable and derailleur and add single speed chain tensioner. Adjust chain length as required. Back with more soon.
Copyright ©2024 Gary Buckham. All rights reserved.
