I didn’t see it when I first used my mesh cupholder with Basil’s Brompton “basket”
but Basil can’t be folded with the basket in place if the cupholder is folded down for use. The angles are wrong, and the basket frame hits the cupholder, so that the hook that holds a folded Brompton together can’t engage.
The difficulty is easily solved by simply removing the basket, but, when shopping, that solution’s not ideal. Of course, the other option is to simply put the water bottle into the basket, and flip the ring and mesh upward — or, in my situation, forego the water bottle altogether on these basket-enhanced trips, since I shop close to home, and can easily get water at the market.
It’s little details like this that make one appreciate how carefully a Brompton is engineered, and how neatly all the bits fit together. I, myself, hadn’t considered all of the ramifications of my water bottle/cupholder fix . . . not that the stakes were high, but it’s well to remember these little missed calculations, in order to avoid them in the future.
9 replies on “An Unexpected Cupholder Limitation”
Yes, my version of a bidon cage has pretty much the same issue when using a C bag (but not with my home-made “Mini-O” bag), although my bidon cage is attached to the stem & the “front wheel folding with C bag in place” pushes the cage & bottle aside – hard to describe but refer “aussieonabrompton.wordpress.com” various posts if needed.
Have you considered the scenario (didn’t want to call it a solution) of removing the bag before folding the front wheel, folding the bars (with bottle in place?) & then putting the bag back on & using the bag frame handle as your “wheeling handle”?
BTW, congrats on the recent hills
Ian, you’ve been holding out on us! (If you put your blog’s URL in the field when you comment, people will be able to click through your name when you write comments, and go directly to it. In the meantime I’m adding it to my blogroll, and looking forward to reading it ongoing!) Your “alloy adapter plate” is stunning; that has been a project too intimidating for me to try.
Good point about the fold. I did use the frame handle to wheel Basil, but it never occurred to me to simply slip the bottle into the cupholder while it was in the folded position. D’oh!
Thanks for the congrats. Now to make climbing them an ordinary event . . .
I’ve been seeking the ideal solution for a water bottle cage/holder since purchasing our Bromptons a couple months ago. I have tried several options. This one seems to be the best option as it allows the cage to be rotated to the side so that the cage does not interfere with the bag when the frame hinge is swiveled around. The mount is a combination of a rubber block and velcro strap. It grips the steerer tube firmly enough to keep the cage/bottle from slipping but does can be rotated without too much effort when folding the bike. This is also nice when the bike is fully folded so that the cage doesn’t stick out and increase the folded width of the bike.
http://www.amazon.com/Two-Fish-Quick-Water-Bottle/dp/B000AOZ1GY
Hi, David — the Two Fish is a good solution for some people. I worte about it here, but in the end didn’t like it as much as the Bar-Ista solution: Ovet time, I found that the rubber block on the Two Fish tended to slip, and rotating it frequently seemed to make that happen more often than it should.
The biggest difference for me is that I can put the waterbottle back into the Bar-Ista loop when my Brompton is folded. That’s a huge advantage for me when climbing into, and out of, railway cars (which I do a lot!). The steps onto the cars I use most often are steep, and I need one hand to hold a side rail — a hand I don’t have if my B is folded, and I must carry it in one hand, and a water bottle in the other.
In search of the elusive “perfect solution”. I’ve tried the Minoura B-100 handlebar mount for a waterbottle, and the Elite VIP Universal Cage Mounts. Neither was the ideal solution. Hoping that the Two Fish will do it for me. We’ll see. Thank for the info you provide in your blog. I enjoy reading it.
The perfect water bottle/cage holder search — it’s a hobby of its own. Thanks for your kind words, David P.
As Dr. Lorne Catena taught us in Dental Radiology, “Beware the tyranny of the obvious.”
Oh, this is great, Saul! And I love that it’s dental — great teachers; they’re a rare breed, indeed, but Dr. Catena’s words live on!
It was said in dental school, but as we know so well, it applies to life as we know it.