A couple of Brommie questions....

[Jurek]

Hello,
Question One.
This

Fell off the Brommie not long after I bought it home from the dealer.
The digi-verniers tell me it is an interference fit into an orifice somewhere between 17.5mm Ø and 18.5mm Ø
In a year, or so, of having had the bike I have yet to find anywhere to put it.
Let me stop all of you right there.
The material it is fashioned from appears to be identical to that of the pivots / bushes that sit between the Ti rear triangle and the frame.
Any ideas? Or is it just a random plug that found itself somehow lodged into the bike at the dealer?

Question Two.
And I think I already know the answer to this....
Has anyone found a way of eliminating the ~2mm of slop which exists between the suspension bung and the frame, when the bike has both wheels on the ground?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Front axle nut
No

[Kim]

Front axle nut

Hmm.  I don't appear to have one of those (the above thingy, that is, not the nut).  Is it important?

[Jurek]

Front axle nut
No

Ta.
A quick test shows that it'll not stay reliably in place on said component.

[Jurek]

Front axle nut

Hmm.  I don't appear to have one of those (the above thingy, that is, not the nut).  Is it important?

No.
Not important.
Just one of those things which have been keeping me awake for a year.
 
Not really.

[Kim]

Is it perhaps to prevent things rattling about in transit, like those bolts that people forget to remove from washing machines, and therefore was removed by the LBS when they prepared my Brompton for collection?

[Jurek]

Is it perhaps to prevent things rattling about in transit, like those bolts that people forget to remove from washing machines, and therefore was removed by the LBS when they prepared my Brompton for collection?

That's a commendably good call.
Given that in a year of (light) riding I haven't come to any sort of grief, that's entirely possible.

Can I now take this opportunity to focus your attention to the second question, as both of you appear to have neglected this. 

[marcusjb]

It should be present on a B.

It's available as a spare part, should you wish:

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/brompton-front-axle-nut-cover-prod2983/

They do get loose if you remove them a lot over the years.

[Kim]

Can I now take this opportunity to focus your attention to the second question, as both of you appear to have neglected this. 

LittleWheelsandBig's "no" seemed to have covered it.

[Jurek]

It should be present on a B.

It's available as a spare part, should you wish:

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/brompton-front-axle-nut-cover-prod2983/

They do get loose if you remove them a lot over the years.

Wow.
Thank you.
That's gotta be an in-transit jobbee - rather than a feature.
Tonight I'll sleep 

Whaddabout the ~2mm slop?

[Jurek]

Thank you All for your much valued input.
J

[Fab Foodie]

It should be present on a B.

It's available as a spare part, should you wish:

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/brompton-front-axle-nut-cover-prod2983/

They do get loose if you remove them a lot over the years.

Wow.
Thank you.
That's gotta be an in-transit jobbee - rather than a feature.
Tonight I'll sleep 

Whaddabout the ~2mm slop?

I don't have one of those .... but it looks like they have a proper role to play, not just for shipping ....

Replacement front axle nut cover for Brompton bikes.
Cover sits on same side of forks as chainstay hook, protect chainstay against scratching when bike is folded.

[Sergeant Pluck]

Tonight I'll sleep 

Even with that unresolved 2 mm gap? All night. No contact: just air. 2 mm of it. And no-one answering question 2 of 2. ;-)

For peace of mind I recommend removing the chain.

[Kim]

I don't have one of those .... but it looks like they have a proper role to play, not just for shipping ....

Replacement front axle nut cover for Brompton bikes.
Cover sits on same side of forks as chainstay hook, protect chainstay against scratching when bike is folded.

I'm wondering if their presence depends on the type of hub?  I haven't examined mine in detail.

[rogerzilla]

I've never noticed a gap, and now I'll have to go and get the bike out of the porch to check (edit: no, there isn't a gap).  Do you have the rear latch?  I ordered the S-type without one and I removed it from the M-type.  I wonder if the gap is due to the latch grabbing the rear triangle before it's fully seated?

All Brommies are supposed to have the plastic nut cover from new but they crack or get loose too easily.  Dealers nearly always carry a few, just to replace missing ones on new bikes.  As so often with Brompton, the engineering solution is a poor one; a small patch of clear vinyl on the chainstay would work just as well and wouldn't fall off.  The commercial patches are too thick and don't work but clear Fablon is perfect.  I have it in various places on my S-type, with its ludicrously lavish paint job, and you wouldn't notice.

[Jurek]

I've never noticed a gap, and now I'll have to go and get the bike out of the porch to check (edit: no, there isn't a gap).  Do you have the rear latch?  I ordered the S-type without one and I removed it from the M-type.  I wonder if the gap is due to the latch grabbing the rear triangle before it's fully seated?

All Brommies are supposed to have the plastic nut cover from new but they crack or get loose too easily.  Dealers nearly always carry a few, just to replace missing ones on new bikes.  As so often with Brompton, the engineering solution is a poor one; a small patch of clear vinyl on the chainstay would work just as well and wouldn't fall off.  The commercial patches are too thick and don't work but clear Fablon is perfect.  I have it in various places on my S-type, with its ludicrously lavish paint job, and you wouldn't notice.

My bold.
It is this.

[Kim]

Okay, I've finally got round to looking at my Brommie...

That axle nut cover would appear to be completely superfluous:  When folded, there is almost a thumb's (certainly more than a finger's) width between the nut and the chainstay, and no reasonable way that the two shall meet.  The mudguard stay would have to pass through the chainring guard to do so.  Furthermore, the end of the skewer sits flush with the outside of the nut, which is itself a smooth dome, and unlikely to do major damage to the paintwork anyway^[1].  Probably different with a non-dynamo wheel and a Brompton chainset?

The only slop in the rear end that I can see is when the bike is lifted: The rear end drops and is caught by the latch after about 2mm.  Place it back on the ground and the gap disappears.  Obviously with the elastomer rotated to the latch disabled position, this doesn't happen and the rear end folds freely.  With hindsight, this probably isn't what Jurek is referring to.

I know that rogerzilla hates the latch with a passion, but I find it makes carrying the unfolded bike up and down stairs substantially easier (saddle nose on shoulder and away you go).  Since you can turn it on and off by rotating the elastomer, I see no reason not to have it available.


_{[1] It would have to get past my helicopter tape first.}

[Jurek]

Okay, I've finally got round to looking at my Brommie...

That axle nut cover would appear to be completely superfluous:  When folded, there is almost a thumb's (certainly more than a finger's) width between the nut and the chainstay, and no reasonable way that the two shall meet.  The mudguard stay would have to pass through the chainring guard to do so.  Furthermore, the end of the skewer sits flush with the outside of the nut, which is itself a smooth dome, and unlikely to do major damage to the paintwork anyway^[1].  Probably different with a non-dynamo wheel and a Brompton chainset?

The only slop in the rear end that I can see is when the bike is lifted: The rear end drops and is caught by the latch after about 2mm.  Place it back on the ground and the gap disappears.  Obviously with the elastomer rotated to the latch disabled position, this doesn't happen and the rear end folds freely.  With hindsight, this probably isn't what Jurek is referring to.

I know that rogerzilla hates the latch with a passion, but I find it makes carrying the unfolded bike up and down stairs substantially easier (saddle nose on shoulder and away you go).  Since you can turn it on and off by rotating the elastomer, I see no reason not to have it available.


_{[1] It would have to get past my helicopter tape first.}

My bold.
Au contraire It's 'zactly what I'm referring to. The slop experienced when lifting the bike, or placing it back in the floor again.
I like the latch for all the reasons you give.
I may have to introduce either some threaded adjustment into the latch, or molish some O-ring dunnage to the elastomer lump.

Having fitted the axle nut cover as prescribed, it appears even more superfluous than your superfluousness, on account of there being no paint on the rear chain stay to protect....

As an aside, I changed the pedals yesterday. Removal of the LH folding one caused me to express surprise that the bike doesn't constantly veer to the left, given that the pedal weighs as much as a small planet.

[Adam]

Question Two.
And I think I already know the answer to this....
Has anyone found a way of eliminating the ~2mm of slop which exists between the suspension bung and the frame, when the bike has both wheels on the ground?

No - when I've been using Rebecca's Brompton, that bit of give used to annoy me just slightly.  I couldn't work out any way of adjusting things and have come to accept it as yet another idiosyncrasy of the Brompton design. 

[Jurek]

Question Two.
And I think I already know the answer to this....
Has anyone found a way of eliminating the ~2mm of slop which exists between the suspension bung and the frame, when the bike has both wheels on the ground?

No - when I've been using Rebecca's Brompton, that bit of give used to annoy me just slightly.  I couldn't work out any way of adjusting things and have come to accept it as yet another idiosyncrasy of the Brompton design.

Engineering gauntlet-throwing stuff. IMO.