I use a GPS, a headlight, and a mirror mounted on the handlebars of my Brompton. As I acquired this stuff, I wondered how it would all fit when I folded my Brompton.
Well, the headlamp doesn’t — it gets removed when I fold Basil. Ditto for the GPS, but the mounts stay on the handlebars, and the mirror is permanent. Thanks to clever bases for the GPS and the light (and the right mirror design), it all works. The mirror even clears the floor; all I have to do it fold it in toward the handlebar before folding Basil.
Here are close-ups of the bits and pieces. Here’s the lamp mount (the tiny, but powerful) lamp is removed before folding:
The GPS mount:
Here’s the mirror, unfolded. It’s a Mirrcycle Mountain Bike mirror, fitted into the handlebar end. It rotates next to the brake lever when folded; it’s quite quick and easy to do.
The mirror just perfectly misses the ground when it and Basil are rotated into the folded position.
Basil has a bell, too, but that came integrated into his gear shifter:
There are also two hook-and-loop fasteners on the handlebars (you can see one just under the bell’s lever, above), for holding a cue sheet, but they (and their small clips) aren’t really taking up any room. I haven’t used them yet, so they’ll be the topic of another post. In any case, they don’t interfere with the rest of this gear, nor with the folding.
Bromptons can be purchased with an integrated headlamp, but it’s the one thing Brompton owners seem to uniformly complain about; apparently it gets knocked around too much when the bike is folded. There are lots of choices for battery-powered, removable lights, so that’s what I went for, instead.