Thinking about this further on my way to work this morning, it seems that my explaination applies to total weight (bike + rider), not particularly to wheel size. I don't remember enough of the physics of rotating masses to know if has merit or not. The bikes do ride very differently, but that might not be the right explaination.
Other upgrades that I forgot to mention: - Cambium saddle - MKS folding pedals - EZ wheels - The sleeve you can get for the seat tube for it stops at the right saddle height - The crosspiece they sell for the M bars for extra rigidity and longer life. I don't remember why I wanted it, but it is a useful place to hold the bike if you have to walk it (e.g., through the lobby of my office). Adding a rack to an L Brompton is not straightforward and quite costly. Hmm, that's a lot of money in a bike that I don't ride every day. My life got pretty complicated this year and the Brompton was essential in making it work. So, worth it. Jay On Tuesday, November 29, 2016 at 8:16:53 PM UTC+2, Jay in Tel Aviv wrote: > I hated the stock grips. Quite happy with the Ergons with bar ends. They > don't interefere with the fold but do need to be cut. Not at all difficult > to do. > > I have no problem with the shifters or brakes. Kool stop pads are a > noticeable improvement. > > I used a Carradice saddle bag for year, moving it from bike to bike as > needed. I sprung for a c bag a few months ago and I really like it. So cool > how easily it clicks into place. Taxi drivers are impresed. It is biggger > than I expected though, and doesn't hold its shape well. Kind of looks like > a stuffed pillow case sometimes. Who care? It holds a ton. > > I currently have a Brompton tire in front and Marathon plus in the rear. > The idea of fixi g a flat in the field scares me. And the tires are light > enough anyway. > > Finally, a thought on the difference between 700c and 16" wheels. Heavier > wheels require more energy input to spin up to speed, but they hold it > better. I.e., they have more inertia. The Brompton is easier to get up to > speed but doesn't coast as far. You have to add more energy to "top off" > the inertia in the wheel since you didn't put as much in to start with. So > on a long straight run it should be a wash. But consider the constant stop > and go of urban commuting at rush hour. Now the lower inertia means you > don't waste as much energy each time you brake. At least that's what I tell > the engineers at work when they forget I have gears and insist the small > wheel must means I have to pedal more. > > Bikes are fun. > > Jay > > -- 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 [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
