Clip on drops for the Brompton

The last thing I have to fix on the Brompton is hand comfort. Even with the Ergon bar-ends the M bars just don't have enough hand positions to be comfortable for long rides. I also keep finding myself wishing for drops when there's a head-wind. I found these clip-on drop bars on Amazon that solve both these problems.

They are low-profile, ergonomic, clip-on drops for $24 a pair. They are not really compatible with the Ergon GP3 bar-ends so I drilled out the ends of the handlebar grips that originally came on the Brompton and slid them all the way onto a pair of S bars so that I had room to attach these drops. I could see replacing them with Ergon GP1 which would be an improvement over the original grips.

I also added a Satori 4cm riser for the handlebar which put it at a very good height for me. Here's how it looks with my new custom 3D printed Wahoo mount.

I printed my own Wahoo mount because all the Wahoo handlebar mounts I could find on Amazon project too far forward and strike the wheel when the bike is collapsed. Because these drops are compact and I turn them slightly up to get a good "brakehood" hand position, they don't take any more room than the M bars do when the bike is folded.

I rode a fifty mile ride on the new drops and I love them. I swear they are 50% more comfortable and 10% more efficient. I will never get to road bike efficiency because of the Brompton drive train and wheels but I am getting close in terms of air resistance.

Here's the new custom low-profile Wahoo handlebar mount. It attaches with a hoseclamp.

This is fun.

Edgar's first century

 Amber's boyfriend, Edgar, took a big step yesterday and rode his first century. We rode a modified Four Rivers that gave us 104 miles. A century ride really only needs two intermediate stops but, as this is a modified 200k and Edgar's first century, we made three civilized and relaxed stops.

First stop was The Crema, of course, which now has outdoor seating again. I had a ham and brie baguette and a Thai iced tea. Very civilized! Then we rode up to Montebello and ate at the Jack-in-the-Box there. I saw a poster on the window for a "Cluck Sandwich". They can't even commit to it being chicken? Plus it has "Mystery Sauce" - I absolutely do not want to eat this thing. There's a deluxe version that adds tomatoes and lettuce. It's going to take a lot more than that to make this edible.

So that's what Edgar ate at the halfway mark. I had a rice bowl and avoided the chicken. 

Anyone who has ever ridden any of my brevets knows the next section has a head wind at least for the last ten miles into Long Beach and today was no exception. Amber did a heroic pull into the wind and by the time we got to the marina we were ready to rest. We went to Chronic Tacos in Belmont and Amber and I split a cheese quesadilla. Edgar's stomach was bothering him but he ordered a chicken taco and a fish taco. Ouch!

The last 30 miles were a bit slower mainly because Edgar's stomach was bothering him and I got a flat. Funny thing - at the start of the ride I said to myself  "I really should replace my rear tire because it's looking very worn". I was right! I have no idea what caused the flat, but I will be replacing the tire today. It looks like I have about 5000 miles on it and that's when I find Gatorskins need to be replaced.

Congratulations to Edgar and I hope he feels better today.