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Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Brompton Accessories #6 - Brass Bells

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BROMPTON ACCESSORIES #6 - BRASS BELLS
(This blog is not a review, it's more on my foray in purchasing accessories for my 3rd Foldie - a Raw Lacquer Brompton P6R)
Recently a friend asked me to look for polished brass bells for the Brompton bicycle, seems like they are available from a Thai company in Bangkok. These bells come in polished brass and ...


... and unpolished brass. However, the production of the unpolished ones have been halted as their ring just does't sound right. My friend was not keen to get the polished ones, but I proceeded all the same and got two of the polished ones.


Another friend in Thailand, TH Tan, bought my goodies and sent it over by airmail parcel.
After a couple of weeks of impatient waiting, the parcel finally arrived.


Anxiously, I unwrapped the parcel box. Inside were the bells and also a Thai-made headlight for the Brompton (with a bracket for installing), but we will come to this headlight in another blog (... see Akslen Headlight blog).


TH Tan had carefully wrapped each of two bells in bubble wrap and put them into individual zip-lock plastic bags. These are precious items, almost like golden pieces.


Even more anxiously, I unwrapped the bubble wrap.
Inside was the bell, together with a brass-knob striker. There is also a chrome screw already attached. It looked a bit stained from storage - no problem there, I can always polish it OR leave it as is goes well with the rugged look of my Raw Lacquer Brompton.


Now comes the part of removing the original Brompton black bell.


This was simple, just using an Allen Key... and Presto! It's removed!
But do take note that there is a washer that is screwed on with the original bell, don't lose that, as without it the original bell don't ring at all.

The new brass bell has a protrusion at the bottom that takes care of this.
But then... Hey! There is no screw to remove the striker.


So, I went underneath and removed the bottom cover of the gear shifter. Oops... nothing there that holds the striker spring in place.
What should I do? I called up my friend Felix of the OX team (they being much more familiar with Bromptons then me) and asked for advice. Seem like the spring is just screwed on - "Tape up the spring for protection, and slowly use a pair of pliers to unscrew," Felix advised.


Taking a second look at the brass knob striker - well, it's just a knob; there is no thumb piece for flicking! One has to flick the knob itself. It seems a bit clumsy, so I decided to stick with the original black striker -  that has a thumb piece.


Here it is - the bell fixed with the original black striker.
How is the sound? It is sharp with a long resounding ping.



Another view - from the top of bell.


A full P-handle view of the installed bell.
Cringgg.... Crinnnnnnnnnng... watch out here I come!

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(comments most welcomed below. if you like this pls share via facebook or twitter)

13 comments:

  1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0b0clCokmo&feature=share&list=UUypUJaJdD8G4C42pI-0epgQ

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  2. Hey there! I love the bell and I would love to order one for my own brompton! Would you be able to put me in touch with the seller? I would really appreciate it!

    Eric
    Erickratzer@mac.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Eric,
      Many thanks for reading my blogs.
      The manufacturer has posted a video in the YouTube video above, I am not too sure whether he did put his contact there. If not perhaps you could leave a reply in the above comment by him.

      If you do not make any headway, do let me know, and I will see how else I can help.

      Sorry for the late reply, I am in Cambodia now.

      Regards,
      the AhPek Biker

      Delete
  3. Hello again! I just saw your reply from August. I am still interested in purchasing a brass bell for my Brompton. I posted on poommm's video and I am hoping for a reply with instructions of how to pay him and have one shipped to me. Once I have them I plan to post back on this forum as I'm sure there are many eager Brompton owners out there that would love one too! Best wishes, Eric

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    Replies
    1. Great of you to do that... and it will be a Merry Christmas for the other Brompton owners too!

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    2. Eric,
      You could also try Vincita Thailand. They have brass bells, that are larger and sound louder too.
      This is the link :
      http://www.vincita.co.th/accessories.html

      Delete
  4. Thank you for the great blog, I will definitely share on our social media! Have you checked out this little beauty yet?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GgmI388Cok - Jack

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you for the great post, we will definitely share on our social media! Have you checked out this little beauty yet?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GgmI388Cok - Jack

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your are most welcomed NYCE.
      Do let me know the link for your share.
      You YouTube link on the bag is interesting and will share it on our MY Brompton FB page. Many thanks.

      Delete
  6. anyway , any link to the Thailand bell to purchase online? pls advice... as the only one I found in ebay is from Taiwan. similar.... how much is this cost u?

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  7. any link to buy? and price?
    I found similar ones from Taiwan ebay

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    Replies
    1. I gather that they have stopped production. If you do get the one from Taiwan from Ebay, do let me know how those performed.

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  8. I love my mens biker wedding ring from Renegade Traders. It's perfect for my fiance who is a biker and a romantic. It has a skull and a rose engraved on it, and it's made of high-quality silver. I highly recommend them to anyone who is looking for biker jewelry.

    ReplyDelete