Older brompton rear trianges aren't clamped when unfolded

[Gattopardo]

So when you lift the rear end the back tucks under....

Why did no one tell me this?

[Arellcat]

I used to think it was better having the rear triangle able to be folded on a whim.  That was before owning a Brompton; I've had mine for six or seven years, and it has the Brompton clip thing that hooks onto the notched bolt head.

It's an easy fix for earlier Bromptons: http://www.spacycles.co.uk/m2b0s155p127/SPA-CYCLES-Brompton-Clip

(illustrated in Kim's post, post-York Rally)

[Goldcrank]

Mrs Gc thought that she  preferred the free swinging rear end, but since the referb she has seen the light. It's one of the creeper upgrades. 

How are your brakes?

[Tom B]

Within a week of getting my Brommie in 1998 I strapped a short bungee from the seatpost to the rear rack. It also came in handy for securing the folded package

[rogerzilla]

I like to swing free but I rarely have to carry it up flights of stairs.

[SA_SA_SA_SA]

.... easy fix for earlier Bromptons: http://www.spacycles.co.uk/m2b0s155p127/SPA-CYCLES-Brompton-Clip....

I had one of those but replaced it with a retrofit of the official Brompton one (which I prefer):
http://brilliantbikes.co.uk/brompton-folding-detail/340-brompton-rear-frame-clip-retrokit.html

[Gattopardo]

Mrs Gc thought that she  preferred the free swinging rear end, but since the referb she has seen the light. It's one of the creeper upgrades. 

How are your brakes?

Single pivot and alright with some cheap road pads.  Was looking a dual pivots but they seem to be brompton only.

[Goldcrank]

They were the best upgrade on Mrs GC's bike. About £100 for brakes and levers. They look a lot nicer too.

[Kim]

I like the Brompton clip.  It can be enabled and disabled by rotating the suspension block, so you can set the behaviour on a per-ride basis depending on how much cyclocross will be required.

[Gattopardo]

They were the best upgrade on Mrs GC's bike. About £100 for brakes and levers. They look a lot nicer too.

Do they make that much of a difference?

[Gattopardo]

I like the Brompton clip.  It can be enabled and disabled by rotating the suspension block, so you can set the behaviour on a per-ride basis depending on how much cyclocross will be required.

£25 quid is a bit much for bungi cord

[LittleWheelsandBig]

The new Brompton brakes and levers are well worth the money, compared to their single pivot models.

[Goldcrank]

They were the best upgrade on Mrs GC's bike. About £100 for brakes and levers. They look a lot nicer too.

Do they make that much of a difference?

Yes, like night and day.

[Gattopardo]

So I can't just replace the brakes has to be the levers too?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

It is definitely worth replacing the levers at the same time. The original levers are pretty crap.

[mrcharly-YHT]

The original levers always felt like they might snap if you squeezed them too hard. I once broke one by (unintentionally) hitting a car mirror; the mirror survived, the brompton lever snapped.

I have nearly had serious accidents on a brompton, braking hard at speed and having the rear triangle start to fold up. If you are going to ride a brompton with effort, brake hard or go through big potholes, I think some sort of clip would be very worth while.

[Kim]

I've not managed to lift the rear wheel of mine (with the new style brakes and levers, and Koolstop Salmon pads), but your hand strength and centre of mass may vary.  I can certainly imagine an unlocked back end reacting badly to the wrong kind of speedbumps, though, and for me the convenience of being able to lift the unfolded bike up short flights of steps is more important than rapid folding.

[Jurek]

My 2013 Brompton came with the clip / latch for the triangle as standard.
I can't imagine using the bike without it.
When my C bag has more kg of luggage in it than it is supposed to have (frequently), and I need to carry the bike up some stairs, I need that rear triangle sticking out as counter-weight - not dangling below and causing the bike to nose-dive.