My 2nd Foldie

Giving in

After months of my beloved mini bike, I gave in. I bought my second foldie, a Brompton P6R. Pre-owned but still in good condition. It was from a good friend of mine, also a foldie person. It is in black color with leather straps and grips, added by my friend.

Folded together with my mini.

Fits perfectly in my cubicle

Comes with stock saddle, pedals, breaks and gears. So far I'm happy with it specially on how easy and compact it is to fold.

Cleaning the Brompton

The first thing I did when I got the bike was to clean it. It came in good condition but I really want it clean based on my own standards. My plan is to take it apart, clean it, grease or lube it, then put it back together.

The first one to go was the drivetrain, since this should be the dirtiest part. Removed the chain via chain link, remove the rear bolts, tensioner and sprockets. I have a bottle of paint thinner left from my old painting project so I used it to soak all the parts. Paint thinner is very good in removing the grit , gunks and grease. You can google the procedure for removing these parts, its easy. Just remember to take note all the correct placements of the parts that were disassembled. After some soaking and brushing, drivetrain parts are now clean and grease free. Lube them with dry lube and grease before putting them back together.

Then the brake sets. There's some dirt and gunks trapped between the calipers so it's time for some cleaning too. Disassembled both the front and rear caliper brakes, soak with the thinner, lube and clean as new :)

Finally, the front hub axle. Removed nuts from both sides, pull the axle, remove the ball bearings, soak, wipe, grease, done.

Well, it sounded easy to do it but it will really require some planning, time and proper tools to get the job done. I even broke the rear brake cable when I was putting it back and have to buy a new one.