Because I’ve chosen not to own a car, I want my bike to replace as many car functions as possible. Cargo capacity is a huge issue for tasks like grocery shopping and laundry.
When I bought my Brompton folding bicycle, I bought a giant front bag for it. This bag holds an enormous amount of groceries and serves as my “trunk” where I put random things I want to carry around, such as my helmet, purse, or rain jacket. However, for tasks like groceries, putting all the weight in the front makes for a bit of a wobbly ride.
The bicycle does have a back rack, but in order to fold the bike or put it into “kickstand mode”, the back rack gets folded under. Several times I have brought a metal basket with me to the grocery store, detached it at the door, gotten my groceries and then reattached it to ride home. It’s very clumsy to do this while also trying to rest the bike against something so it doesn’t tip over.
While researching kickstand options for Bromptons, I found only one that seemed to work better than all others, but it was priced at a pretty unreasonable $160. (Do not ask me how a small piece of metal could cost that much.)
When I consulted my trusty bike guru at Two Fold Bicycle Shop, he said he had just ordered a couple kickstands to test out. He invited me to see the result, but clearly the kickstand was too short. When mounted to the center of the back wheel, it made the bike very unstable.
While I was there in the shop, I looked around at some of the other folding bike brands to see what their kickstands looked like. I noticed that the kickstand on one of the Bike Fridays wasn’t mounted on the rear wheel but on two angled crossbars in front of the wheel. I looked at this setup. I looked at my Brompton. The Brompton had two similarly positioned crossbars. I asked, “Why couldn’t this kickstand go on a Brompton?” Michael looked at the kickstand. He looked at the Brompton. And he said, “I bet it could!”
He ordered a couple of these Bike Friday kickstands, and, for a price of only $20 plus installation, I now have one on my bike. It’s absolutely perfect and lets me more easily take my recycling to the transfer station and get groceries. The only concession was that the little air pump attached to the frame had to come off. Since I almost always have the bag attached, I threw it in there for safekeeping.
If you’re in St. Petersburg, Florida, there is no one better to help you pimp out your Brompton than Michael at Two Fold Bicycle Shop. He’s a problem solver and loves to experiment with fixes. Thanks to him, I’m ready for any cargo-carrying adventure.
Do you know how much of the kickstand was cut off to make it work on your Brompton bike? I have one on my brompton now but it is too long. Look forward to your reply!
Hm… I’m pretty sure it didn’t have to be cut off at all. Maybe it was the placement. I had to take my pump off to make it work. The bike is wobbly if not placed on a pretty flat surface. But it works well most of the time.
Yes, I just received it by mail and installed it myself. I had to cut it. It’s not created for Brompton. But it’s very easy to cut. I cut it at the mark 185. I would recommend that other people first try to cut at 190 and see if they like it. I preferred it at 185.
That’s so awesome! I love mine. So glad I could point you in the right direction.
Thanks for your post! Do you happen to have the exact name of that bike stand? Is it exactly this one? https://store.bikefriday.com/product_info.php?cPath=27&products_id=596
Thank you! Also – you said it’s wobbly. Is it only when the load is very large?
Yes, it is the kickstand at that link. You have to park it on a pretty flat surface for it to work, but I’ve used it quite a bit. It’s more difficult with weight on the bike. You just have to be careful. I’m so glad I installed it. I’ve gotten great use out of it.
If you’re mostly parking on sidewalks and such, you should be fine.
BTW, Elsie – just a thought: If you carry most of your load in a front bag, that might be the reason for less stability when you leave your bike on the kickstand. I think it would be more stable if your bag was on the rear rack.
Thanks again! I actually ordered this stand – $19.50 + $9 for shipping it to NJ. It is easy to install and looks very good. I had to cut it (very easy to cut with a hacksaw) – I cut it at the mark 185. It has a nice rubber shoe. Brompton folds beautifully with it. But yes – you’ll have to carry your Brompton pump ceparately. It actually looks pretty sturdy – stands installed on the back are usually sturdier than those installed in the middle.
I have, also, been looking for a kickstand for my B. I will be getting one of these. Any others, like those from Multi-S or Colorplus, made for or easily adaptable to the B, mount on the rear axle which is inherently less stable than Bike Friday’s and they are many times the price. A motive for me getting a kickstand is that it is difficult to lock my B to any of the bike racks here on the university campus where I work when it is even partially folded. This will solve that problem nicely.