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Here are five new bike hacks for your Brompton folding bike.
#brompton #bikehacks #foldingbike
Rotacaster Omni Wheel Resources:
- Brompton Kit put together by Rotacaster:
www.rotacaster.com.au/shop-pr...
NOTE: Brompton rear racks that are year 2016 or older use 5mm bolts instead of 6mm bolts. Make sure the references below are applicable to your model.
References for newer rear racks (2017 or newer):
Original bushings can be replaced by bearings (each wheel needs two, size 6x16x5mm, ref. 696A-2RS):
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
Longer bolt (needs to be metric):
- Hex Head M6 1.00 x 65mm (could also be 60mm long)
References for older rear racks (2016 or older):
Original bushings can be replaced by bearings (each wheel needs two, size 6x16x5mm, ref. 625-2RS):
www.amazon.com/uxcell-625-2RS...
Longer bolt (needs to be metric):
- Hex Head M5 1.00 x 65mm (could also be 60mm long)
This video is not sponsored by Rotacaster, but they did send me these wheels as samples to test if they would work well on the Brompton. My opinions are shared in the video.
Transcript:
5 Bike Hacks for your Brompton (+ Omni Wheels)
Well, it seems like bike hacks are one of the favorite topics on this channel. Today, I decided to make another bike hacks video, to share some of the new ones I’ve found over the past couple of months. Without further ado, let’s dive into them.
Have you ever struggled to undo the lock nut to remove the wheel? I certainly have. If you’re home, you can use pliers, and it’ll be quick and easy. If out on the road, you can use the piece of sandpaper that comes with your toolkit to improve your grip. If that doesn’t work and you have a spare inner tube, you can use it instead. It will hardly cause any damage to your inner tube and it may give you the extra grip you need to undo the lock nut.
If you lost the mounting bracket for the rear light, you may still be able to attach it to your seat post using a piece of inner tube. Just cut an inch or so from an old tube, remove the saddle from the seatpost, and slide it in. Now, you can easily mount your rear light to it whenever you want. You can use a longer piece of innertube and roll it back on itself if you want to keep something else, like a small multitool.
As you know, the Brompton has a plastic hook on the front fork, that’s used to lock the fork to the rear triangle when the bike is folded. It’s a good practice to protect your chainstay where the hook touches, to prevent the frame from getting damaged and developing rust. I’ve used electrical tape in the past, but that doesn’t seem to last for long, and soon enough it will be completely ripped apart. Use a couple of layers of electrical tape, and on top of that, a few plastic zip ties to resist abrasion. Now, it will last much longer.
This next hack is for those of you who want to carry a Brompton bag on the rear rack. I’ll demonstrate with an S-Bag. Fill the back pockets on the S-Bag with anything you want, lay the bag on the rack and cross the bungee cords over it. The rear pockets will prevent the bag from moving laterally and attaching the bungee cords to this indentation on the rear rack will prevent the bag from moving forward and hitting your heels.
Finally, this is the Omni wheel. This thing is similar in diameter to the Brompton EZ-wheels, but on top rolling like a normal wheel, it also has these rollers that allow it to move sideways. In fact, as the name suggests, it’s omnidirectional, meaning the combination of wheel and rollers allows it to move in any direction. I got these ones as samples from Rotacaster, a company in Australia that seems to make the best Omni wheels in the market. But, what are they used for? Well, by installing these on the rear rack of the Brompton, you’re able to turn the bike a lot easier when it’s folded. Using the Brompton as a shopping cart is a lot more convenient if I have these on, since I don’t have to worry about lifting the bike to change its direction. I’ve used them for grocery shopping for about five times now, and they just got a bit dirty.
Turn Closed Captions on for full transcription.