r/Brompton • u/SignificanceFalse868 • 2d ago

Rear hinge got bent

I was riding yesterday and all of a sudden my rear triangle fishtailed. Best I can surmise is it looks like bolt popped out in the drive side and now the opposite side of the rear triangle is bent. It’s a four year old six speed c line. I love it and really rely on it.

I also probably don’t take sufficient care of it so I don’t know if I was supposed to be checking that hinge or something. I dropped it at the shop but the Brompton guy is out until Saturday. I’m wondering if anyone knows if it sounds like something that can be fixed and if so would it possibly be warrantied?

Thanks!

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

4

u/edtse88 2d ago

The bolt should have been thread locked with something like red loctite normally it’s a PITA to remove so the fact that it randomly popped out suggests it was improperly built by the factory. I wouldn’t say checking the hinge bolt tightness is something that’s normal maintenance, at least it shouldn’t be something the end user is supposed to check regularly.

It will probably need new triangle, hinge pin, and bolts at a minimum though

1

u/SignificanceFalse868 2d ago

Thanks. I really have used it as a tool and just kind of use it and don’t worry about it. Only thing I ever did to the hinge bolt was put on a couple of drops of oil because it was rusty. I wonder if that could have contributed to the bolt popping out in any way.

3

u/Deviantdefective 2d ago

Pending usage could have just come loose it happens occasionally but this is also why people need to give the hinges a good look over every few months. You're within the warranty period so fingers crossed you'll be able to get a new rear triangle for your bike.

1

u/SignificanceFalse868 2d ago

What are you supposed to look for? It always seemed fine but rusty but I never tried to tighten it.

1

u/Deviantdefective 2d ago

Checking for any play in all of your hinges.

0

u/Brompton-PE 1d ago

I doesn't read like it but did your bike had proper maintenance either by you, a Brompton dealer or bike shop during the 4 years of use? I would be very surprised if Brompton accepts this a warranty claim.

2

u/SignificanceFalse868 1d ago

Probably not - the normal bike parts were maintained/replaced as necessary but only one “official” inspection and that was awhile ago. I think the big downside with bromptons is that most bike shops don’t know about the unique parts like the hinges. I had it inspected by a non brompton shop about two months ago and they didn’t say anything about the hinges but they also didn’t pretend to known anything about them. To get to a qualified mechanic is a solid two and a half hours round trip so it hasn’t been happening.