Those Plastic Shifters Have Got To Go

Posted on 24 Feb 2013 by Diane

I think that one of the things I could never really understand on such a solidly built bike — a.k.a. the Brompton — was how flimsy the original shifters were. For most Bromptons built earlier than 2013, the shifters are made of plastic. For my 6 speed, a slight tap or accidental touch would be enough to change the gears for either the derailleur or the IGH (the IGH in particular!)… it wasn’t much of an issue unless I was going uphill.

The shifters sucked but it was manageable. I wasn’t really looking to change it or whatever. But then I did. It was just one of those things I found out about randomly. One day, as I was browsing a local Brompton group on Facebook, the nice guys at Tr Bikes posted about having options for the shifters. They had them for both the left and right sides too. I took a look at a friend’s bike — one of the earliest mods the shop did, and I was sold.

I had mine originally done nearly a month ago. Lynten fixed it up for me.

It is important to note that both IGH and derailleur use 3 speed Sturmey Archer shifters.

The result that day was this. The shifters worked beautifully! They were so crisp. They stayed in place! Solid as a rock. I was so happy. Once done, I went to visit my friends at another bike shop and showed them the changes. They tried it out.

Unfortunately, none of those said friends are Brommie owners, so someone (of three suspects!) accidentally tried shifting the derailleur down to a THIRD gear and somehow the stopper thingy on the shifter fell off.

Okay. First things first. You need to know that the 2 speed derailleur’s shifter is not a standard setup. I’m not really sure what you call it, but the cables usually have this flat side on one end like that on a nail. Usually that flat head is on the side of the shifter. But for the Brompton, the guys at Tr Bikes decided to switch the cable ends around, so that the flat end is at the RD. It’s better that way because if they put the stopper on the RD side, there’s a bigger possibility that it comes off. Which was pretty much what happened to my poor shifter, but much easier to “diagnose” than if it happened at the RD side.

Anyway, I let Lynten know that his stopper thing failed and he said he’d try out a different (BIGGER! STRONGER!) stopper for the cable. I just needed to go back to the shop to get it done.

This week, my friend Bless decided to change one of her Brompton’s shifters too, so we headed over to Tr Bikes to get them done together.

Chris fixed up Bless’ bike.

And I finally got the stopper fixed. Thank God for gears! It was so weird cycling on a lowered IGH gear. Instead of cycling on 6, 4 or 2, I had to battle it out using 5/3/1 on a 44 tooth crank. So low.

Here’s what I was talking about. The IGH shifter’s cable end thingy is all the way in.

And the RD’s shifter cable now has an industrial strength stopper to keep it in place. For those who question its size, I can say that my hand doesn’t really touch the stopper. Then again, you can always move the shifter down the handlebar a bit.

For those interested in doing the same thing, you can get it done in Tr Bikes at the ground floor of 7 Jalan Batu. It’s near the Tanjong Rhu/Geylang PCN (if you’re cycling) or the Mountbatten MRT (if you’re taking the train). The shifters are S$110 a pair including labor, but you might incur additional costs if you need to change the cables out to something longer. It would be best to call them (+65 6345-5085) or send them a Facebook message in advance to inquire if they still have stock, and to ask them if they can reserve a pair for you.

If you head over, you can even check out their copper pimped in-shop Brommie. I am digging those center pull brakes!

Standard Chartered is the peg.

Posted on 3 Dec 2012 by Diane

The Brompton Mini-O bag only comes in two colors: white, and this shade of Brompton Arctic blue. For the longest time, I was wanting to change colors on my brommie to make it match the bag better.

I ended up deciding to change out the cable housing. My friend and personal bike guru Paul found a similar shade of blue from “moves like Jagwire“. My bike would end up looking like something Standard Chartered threw up. I like!

He also found a new 50mm rise handlebar from Kalloy Uno because I was looking for a more upright ride. It is 6061 alu alloy and is super cheap. Best bang for my buck, for sure.

The last item on my to-change list was a set of Paul Component’s Love Levers in black… just for additional pimpage points. LOL.

I cycled over to Tryon, my main LBS whenever I’m in Manila. The proprietors Mang Jaime and Tita Rose are very nice, and everyone I know swears by their mechanic, Mang Nestor for any repairs related to folding bikes and Bromptons in particular. Tryon also has the added advantage of being very near my house. Score!

The day we were there, a truck came by and offloaded what seemed like hundreds of children’s bikes. Paul reminded me that it was Christmas season soon. All those bicycles would be going to kids as presents from “Santa”! Hah!

Paul told Mang Nestor what exactly should be done. I had my cables and the housing cut to exact length earlier this year; if the handlebars were to move higher, I needed to change out the cables again to accommodate the longer length. Tryon didn’t have a cable thin enough for the Brompton’s IGH shifter — Did I understand this correctly? They mentioned something about it needing to be Campagnolo or whatever — so Mang Nestor had to file down a new cable and make it thin enough to fit. The man is a genius at DIY, I swear.

We spent close to 4 hours in Tryon waiting for my bike to get fixed. The whole time, this was how Mang Nestor sat. Honestly, I felt back pain on his behalf. I don’t know how he can squat for hours and hours, day after day, fixing tiny bike details.

From what I understand, Mang Nestor is practically a Tryon institution, having worked there for decades. Don’t take my word for it though. If you ever get your bike fixed by him, please remember to tip him well. Support local talent! Some folks mentioned that they normally give him an additional PhP100 on top of labor costs. That’s only S$3! Try finding that kind of good and equally affordable service in Singapore!

I have no final product bike pictures but I gotta say Mang Nestor did an awesome job.

Thanks for helping out, Paul!

What To Do In Penang When You’ve Got Three Hours

Posted on 12 Nov 2012 by Diane

Wander, of course!

I mentioned in the last Campaign for a Lane post that I had some time to kill before awaiting my friends’ return to the Penang round-island bicycle ride’s starting point. My itinerary was to wander around for a bit, have some breakfast, then wander around again before heading to the hostel to hide from the noontime sun. I’ve been to Penang before and did the tourist route. The town’s layout is a bit familiar, even with bad sense of direction and all.

There are scattered installations of art all across Georgetown’s historical district and I was hoping to see those along the way.

I start at the reason why we were in Penang in the first place (besides the food, of course) — bike lanes!

Little Children on a Bicycle is on Armenian Street.

Also somewhere in Armenian Street.

There were many of these found too. Instead of boring plaques, they had wired sculptures depicting the history of all the street they were in.

In Burmese Street, there are two Buddhist temples that face each other. The first one I stopped by was the Dhammikarama Burmese Temple. There was a sign in front saying no bicycles were allowed, but I rolled the Brompton while folded and nobody batted an eye.

The Thai temple Wat Chaiya across the street houses a reclining Buddha. Unlike the Burmese temple, I was able to bring the Brompton in the complex without having to fold it. I just left the bike outside the doors of whatever temple I was in, alongside the footwear of worshippers and tourists alike.