Brompton Power Grips

In my previous post on pedals I mentioned that I also bought some Power Grips to go with them. I use
SPD shoes and pedals on my full size bike and I really like the way they secure my feet on the pedals. So I wanted something similar for my Brompton but without the need to wear special shoes. Before moving on to SPDs I had used toe clips which worked reasonably well so I started searching for toe clips suitable use on a Brompton. Whilst searching I ran across a few people that were recommending Power Grips as a superior alternative so I decided to give them a go.



The first thing you notice about Power Grips is the price, they're not exactly cheap for what they are at around £22, plus another £8 for reflectors if you want to be legal in the UK after dark. However, as far as I'm aware they're a fairly new idea and it seems reasonable to reward innovation.

Fitting them to my pedals was pretty straightforward just requiring a 3mm allan key and an 8mm spanner (you'll need a philips head screw driver too if you're not fitting reflectors). If you are fitting reflectors read both sets of instructions before starting as the reflectors replace a good proportion of the original fixings. You'll just have to undo your handiwork if you fit the grips first and then look at the reflectors.

The standard fittings look solid and are entirely metal, however when fitting the reflectors it looks like metal bolts are held in place by the plastic of the reflector. So far I've not had any trouble, but this system at least looks a bit less strong than the normal fittings so I'll be keeping an eye on it.

The main downside with Power Grips is that take a bit of setting up to match your shoes, and you then can't use them properly with any other shoes (unless they happen to have the same external circumference) without readjusting them. You can of course still ride in other shoes, they just won't be gripped as well. This isn't a  problem for me as I almost always wear the same shoes but could be an issue for some.

Some people have also not liked the fact that you have apply a twisting force to tighten the grips as it has hurt their knees. So far this hasn't been a problem for me - perhaps because I have quite grippy soles on my shoes. This means that once I've twisted them in they tend to stay put on their own.

I've been using the Power Grips for a few weeks now and I am happy with them. They hold my feet better than toe clips without straps, and don't require the constant faffing of toe clips with straps. They are also a bit easier to get your foot out of in an emergency. I had an episode early on when I was still getting used to having my feet strapped in to my Brompton. I did the usual thing of stopping before remembering to get my foot out of the strap but still managed to get my foot out in time to catch myself. I'm fairly sure that with proper toe clips I wouldn't have been quick enough.

Given the choice I still prefer my SPD shoes though, so if I ever went on a really long ride I'd look into getting some removable SPD pedals and just replace my current pedals for that trip.

Brompton Pedals

The Brompton folding pedal is very cleverly designed but the plastic section in the middle doesn't seem to be strong enough to cope with hard pedaling and creaks a bit when put under stress. Usually flipping the pedal the other way up works (probably because it transfers the stresses to the metal sections of the pedal) but not always for some reason.

So, I decided I wanted something a bit sturdier and something that would also allow me to attach toe clips later on. Whilst you can find people online that have attached toeclips and similar things to their Brompton pedals they all seem to involve drilling extra holes, and I'd still have the pedal creaking to contend with.

My Dahon had removable MKS pedals, and as it turns out MKS seem to be the main player when it comes to detachable pedals. Some googling later I was suitably inspired by this post describing not just a nice set of MKS pedals but also how to fit Power Grips to those pedals (my Power Grips will have to wait for a separate post).

One thing I wasn't keen on with the Dahon's pedals was the little plastic clips that you were supposed to use to lock the pedals in place. They were fiddly to remove and I managed to lose one of them. Personally I never had a problem cycling without the locking ring, but it still niggled (you can find stories of people accidentally detaching their pedals whilst cycling). So I was particularly happy with the added bonus of the MKS Esprit EZY Superior pedals. Namely the "superior" attachment system that does away with the plastic locking ring in favour of requiring the locking collar to be rotated as well as pushed.

Removing the existing pedals isn't exactly straightforward. The righthand one can be removed easily enough with a normal 15mm pedal spanner. However the folding pedal needs a 24mm box spanner to get it off.

Once removed the Brompton cranks show an interesting asymmetry. The righthand crank has the usual indentation for a pedal washer (not fitted with the Brompton pedal, but shown below with both MKS washers fitted).

However the lefthand crank is completely smooth.

The folding pedal instead has a very large washer.

It seems that the indentation in the righthand crank is little narrow for the MKS pedal so the pedal started to bite into the crank before the washer took the load. So, I ended up using both MKS supplied washers on the righthand pedal. On the lefthand pedal I used a single pedal washer I ordered from eBay.

The new pedals are much sturdier, although a bit less convenient to fold. Personally it's a trade-off I'm more than happy with.

Brompton brake levers

As I mentioned in my initial thoughts the biggest disappointment with my Brompton is the performance of the brakes. The cable oilers I fitted helped to some degree but I decided to try some different brake levers too.

I bought a pair of Shimano R550 levers in black. At £15 for a pair they are only about £5 more expensive than a replacement pair of Brompton levers but they are much more solidly made (and no doubt a bit heavier for it too). There are other levers around, but the important thing to check is that they are suitable for calliper brakes rather than V brakes.

These levers are much narrower where they attach to the handlebar than the Brompton levers. This means that if you use Ergon grips they need to be cut much less than with the standard lever (although they do need to be cut all the way around).

At first I found the levers a bit hard to use, but I realised that this was because I'd positioned them similarly to the old levers and they were facing almost straight down making them hard to reach. I adjusted the handlebars back to about vertical (when unfolded) which allowed me to position the levers at close to 45 degrees and still fold the bike. In this position they are much more usable and importantly feel much more positive than the original levers.