Price for Brompton L3

[jellied]

I've been offered a Brompton L3
Black
L3
Telescopic seat post
In very good condition
2 1/2 years old approx

£335 - is that reasonable? I know next to nothing about them - but have had a desire for one for a while for no good reason.

[border-rider]

Yes.  Good price.  They don't tend to depreciate much if they are in good nick

Check the clamps that hold it together, and check the bearings that connect the rear triangle to the rest for play.  If it's been ridden hard the back end can get wobbly.

[rogerzilla]

I would say it's a good price - they tend to resell for close to their original retail price (i.e. they don't depreciate in £ terms, just in real terms).  The L3 is the old model though, and its M-shaped bars will probably mean they're higher than the saddle.

The telescopic seatpost is heavy (even if it's titanium, which is unlikely) and you'd be better off with a standard or "extended" plain post.

[oncemore]

A good price (for the buyer, that is!). I've been price watching them for a while: top end Ti ones are starting to fall in price - bankers' toys crunched I suspect!!

[jellied]

A friend is selling - so i know it will be in good condition. I hope to arrange a test drive ASAP.

I'm a little worried about the seat/handle bar positions never having ridden one before but we'll see. It's not though i plan to ride it for miles as that would rather defeat the object.

[rogerzilla]

The Ti  (-X version) is of dubious benefit; the weight saving is small for the extra monkey they charge, and it doesn't have a pump, which accounts for a significant proportion of the weight saving.

I did spring for a Ti seatpost because it's only £80 and it's a huge piece of metal.

[border-rider]

A friend is selling - so i know it will be in good condition. I hope to arrange a test drive ASAP.

I'm a little worried about the seat/handle bar positions never having ridden one before but we'll see. It's not though i plan to ride it for miles as that would rather defeat the object.

You can always change the bars

I used to do a 35 mile round trip on mine each day, and I've done 100 miles on it. Tkatzir of this parish has done PBP on one (and the Italian 1600 ?) so I doubt miles are an issue

[rogerzilla]

I've done a 40 mile trip on mine.  It wouldn't be my first choice of bike for that, but it was no problem.

The position is exactly the same as on my other bikes (by luck - the bar height and reach can't be adjusted with the S-type), it's just the extra rolling resistance of the small wheels that is a deterrent.  It's *much* harder to turn over the 58" middle gear on the Brommie than it is to turn over the 60" middle gear on my work bike with 700c wheels and race tyres (they both have 3 speed Sturmey hubs).

[border-rider]

My commute times on the Brommie were within a minute (in 50) of those on my Pompino. I'd not TT on one, but they do climb and accelerate quite well because of the low angular momentum.

[jellied]

Hopefully made a good impluse purchase night.

It's rather fun I must say, manual is rather quaint!

Still not the hang of folding but I'm sure that will come.

Any obvious purchases I should make? Not interested in the panniers etc but the bag it lives in looks appealing. Anything that makes it easier to carry - on your back for example.

[hellymedic]

I was impresssed by the skateboard wheels a friend put on the rack (of a T3 I think) which eased pushing a semi-folded B around.
Basic folding rules:
1) Saddle stays UP during all of fold/unfold (as it locks up rest of folding mech when down)
2) Handlebars always face forwards

[rogerzilla]

Two jubilee clips (get stainless ones) round the suspension block to stop it pogoing.

Learn the art of rear wheel removal and refitting; the chain tensioner is a b'stard to replace.

Consider Marathon Plus tyres.