This is just me, but ... I found the stock gearing on my 6-speed Brompton to be a little too low. The middle gear on the IGH (2nd gear, I guess) is direct drive, which is the most efficient. However, pedaling at a normal cadence when cruising on the flats required me to shift to the 3rd (highest) gear on the IGH.
To fix this, I purchased a 2-tooth larger chainring from Clever Cycles, which raised the gears enough that I can cruise in 2nd position on the IGH. 3rd position is saved for downhills or other fast sections. Low gears in the 1st IGH position are still low enough for me. If you're riding in the City, you might need lower gears than I do, in which case the -12% might be best. As always, YMMV. P.S. If your wife insists that you need a bike ... she's right! --Eric N www.CampyOnly.com CampyOnlyGuy.blogspot.com Twitter: @CampyOnlyGuy > On Dec 14, 2016, at 9:18 PM, Surlyprof <jmcclu...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Now that a Brompton thread has been started, I have a question for Bay Area > Brompton riders. Is it worth it to get the -12% gearing on a 6 speed > Brompton in the bay area or is the standard gearing just fine? Turns out my > wife now wants to get me a Brompton for Christmas since I have to stay a > little later on campus next semester. Brompton's are bus-able and I hesitate > to let my Sam ride on the front of a bus. That may be a silly reason but > what do I care... N+1! > > Thoughts? > John > > >> On Monday, November 28, 2016 at 1:01:56 PM UTC-8, Minh wrote: >> So i've really struggled with a case of the Novembers (longingly eyeing all >> the bikes for sale, Bill's Appaloosa, that Ebisu, that Crust, that >> Rambler....) and successfully dodged most of them until a Brompton popped >> up. I was reminded of my visit a few weeks ago to a Brompton dealer (just >> as i was walking by one...) and i was hooked. I think Brompton should do a >> kick back program for owners because we attracted a crowd when i went to >> pick it up and the seller was showing me the fold-unfold-fold. I have to >> admit that there is something fun about riding these bikes, the steering is >> a handful until you get used to it, and some of the components are >> laughingly cheap/crude but it's a fun ride. >> >> I think there are some cross-owners of RBW and Brompton, does anyone have a >> link to an owners group? I've seen the bromptontalk group on yahoo (too >> much noise), but looking for a group more similar to RBW. What i'm hoping >> to find is feedback/experiences on changes, with so much folding i'm worried >> about making changes that will then affect the folding mechanism. I'm >> thinking of swapping in new grips, levers, maybe a saddle but wanted >> feedback before i started ordering things. >> >> Thanks for any pointers, I need to go and practice my folding technique, i'm >> way slower than the videos online! > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
