In the last video, I showed you six accessories you could get for your Brompton. Some of those
really make your ride more convenient, but still, cost you some money. Today I will do
something a bit different and share 10 Brompton hacks that will make your life easier, for
free. Most of them, you can do with supplies you probably have at home.
When going for a bike ride, people usually carry a pack of tools, in case they get a
flat tire, or the brakes run out of adjustment. These packs usually consist of tire levers,
a patch kit, an extra tube, a pump, a multi tool and some cash. Carrying this tool bag
every time you go out for a ride can be quite inconvenient. But well, you do not need that
on the Brompton. This bike has an air pump that sits attached to the rear triangle and
a toolkit that is stored inside of the bike frame. The only piece that is missing here
is an extra inner tube. We can, however, store a spare tube on the other side of the top
tube. To do that, first grab a new Brompton inner tube and remove it from its packaging.
We are going to have to fold it in half, but we do not want to do it like this. We want
to keep it laterally symmetric when it is folded, so the result should look something
like this. Make sure you keep the valve pointing straight out, and not to the side. Then, use
some PVC film you may have in your kitchen to press it as tight as possible. It may help
to have an extra pair of hands here if anyone is around to assist you. Once you are done
with that, use some tape to prevent the film from unrolling. Finally, we are going to insert
it into the frame. Notice how the inner tube has a curvature that kind of matches the curvature
of the frame. This is the orientation we want to insert it into the top tube. If we flip
it vertically, the curvature of the inner tube will not match the curvature of the frame,
and the inner tube can get stuck in there. Now, insert the tube into the bike with the
valve pointing outwards. If you’re afraid the tube will slide in or get stuck in there,
you can also use a string to connect it to the clamp bolt, like this, and prevent the
tube from going too deep into the bike frame. I personally do not use a string myself, since
I can just tilt the bike and the valve will stick right out. The inner tube actually slides
quite easily inside of the frame if you tilt the bike back and forth. You may be concerned
about the inner tube getting damaged, but it has not happened to me, and my last inner
tube was in perfect condition after over a year of being kept inside of the frame like
this. The second hack is for those of you who do
not own the Brompton toolkit, and are willing to accept an improvised solution. Just grab
two tire levers, a cheap small multi tool, a patch kit and a small Ziploc bag. Put everything
in the Ziploc bag as tight as possible. Now put it in front portion of the frame, where
the original Brompton toolkit would go. Keep in mind that it may fall out while transporting
the bike with the frame open, so you can use a piece of electrical tape to prevent the
tools from falling out. It does not look good but, well, you have got yourself a hack.
Now, since we are talking about storing stuff inside of the bike, there is a bit more we
can do. Zip ties can come quite handy when improvising solutions on the bike. And so
is some duct tape and some electrical tape. So, let us keep them in the bike as well.
Grab an old pen you will not need anymore, remove the cap and the cartridge. Now, wrap
some tape around it. You can use different kinds of tape if you want. For example, I
am using some duct tape and some electrical tape. If you ever need a piece while on the
road, you just have to unroll the amount you need. You can also stick some zip ties in
it. Again, put it in a Ziploc bag, along with some extra, larger zip ties. Now, lower the
seat post and remove the lower cap and shove it all in there. Fit the cap back into place.
If you ever need a zip tie or some extra strong tape, you know where to find it.
You may be curious to know why I have a wire running across the seat post. Well, both my
front and rear lights are powered by my dynamo hub, and I decided to install a second rear
light closer to the saddle. It is connected to the main rear light in parallel, and the
cable runs from underneath the bike, up the seat post and into the rear light. I attached
the light to the telescopic seat post clamp using, you guessed it, a zip tie. The whole
system does not affect the folding process in any way, because I kept enough slack on
the cables to allow me to fold and unfold the bike seamlessly. I can make a more detailed
video about this mod in the future. Leave me a comment if that interests you. In the
meantime, if you have any DIY experience, know that it can be done with some fiddling
around, but the result is totally worth it. But since we were talking about zip ties,
this next hack is one of my favorites. Have you ever found yourself struggling to reach
the luggage block lever to release the front bag? I certainly have, but not anymore. Grab
a large zip tie, loop it through the hole in the luggage block lever and around the
headtube. Cut off the excess. Make sure the small plastic square is sitting against the
lever, as it will prevent the zip tie from moving too much and scratching the paint.
Now, use some other zip ties to make a small loop to stick your finger through, something
like I did here. This will make it A LOT easier to release the bags from your luggage block.
Of course, there is a much nicer looking solution to this problem, but again, this is a hack,
and it is not expected to look good, but it works.
Are you struggling to fit the tire back into the rim, because whenever you press the bead
in on one side, it pops out on the other? Well, use one of those zip ties you have stored
in the seat post to hold the tire against the rim while you work your way from the other
side. It works every time. After you are done, just break the zip tie off by sticking the
tire lever underneath it and rotating. If you want a more environmentally friendly hack,
you can keep some reusable Velcro strip together with your tools and use that to hold the tire
instead. This is an old hack known by many Brompton
riders, but if you’re new here, you’ll be surprised to know that one of the best
bags for the Brompton costs near to nothing, and it’s called the Dimpa Bag. You will
find it in the Organizers section of IKEA, and it is a true lifesaver. It does not take
up any space, and you can use it to carry the Brompton inside as luggage, if you are
not allowed to roll it in. Chris, from the channel Chris by Bike uses a Dimpa bag to
travel overseas, and she uses some pieces of cardboard to make the whole thing more
secure for the bike. I will leave a link to her channel down in the video description
and at the end of this video. You should definitely check out how she does it.
Since we are talking about bags, I found it is a good idea to keep a small reusable bag
attached to the bike at all times. It is useful for those occasions when you are caught off
guard and end up having to buy something on your way home but have no way to carry it.
Or maybe your front bag just got too full to fit anything else. This small reusable
bag from whole foods fits nicely on the handlebar without hitting the frame at the bottom. Since
it is so close to center, it does not make steering any harder, and I barely notice it’s
even there. When I am not using it, I keep it under the saddle, stuck in the gap between
the rails and the seat. Are your elastic straps getting loose and
losing their elasticity? Well, you may want to replace those, but in the meantime, you
can get through by looping them around the rack once, or even twice, depending on how
bad it is. It does not restore their elasticity at all, but it does stop them from rattling
when you are riding. Finally, if you have one of the older models
of the Brompton with the shifters on top of the handlebar, flipping it around to remove
a wheel will damage your shifters. In that case, you may want to keep the bike standing
up like this. It will allow you to remove both wheels without the handlebar touching
the ground. Keep in mind that the bike is not that stable in that position, so be careful.
Having the wheel extender will, again, make the bike more stable.
I hope you guys enjoyed this video. Let me know in the comments section if you know any
other hacks that were not mentioned here. If they are good, I will feature them in a
future video, and I’ll make sure I give you the credit. For all of you, thank you
for watching, and see you on the next one.