Brompton P Line: PRO Stealth Saddle

Another modification for the Brompton P Line! This time it would be a straightforward saddle swap, or so I thought. The stock Brompton saddle is quite comfortable, but it is too long and gets in the way when I mount or dismount from the bike.

Stock Brompton saddle, installed with the infamous Pentaclip in the lower position.

Stock saddle is mounted in the lower position, with the round clamp setting.

There are 2 sides to the clamp. The 7 mm side is for round rails, while the 7x9 mm side is oval and meant for carbon saddle rails.

Side by side comparison of the round vs oval clamp area.

Stock Brompton saddle is 276 grams

PRO Stealth Superlight saddle which I wanted to install on the Brompton. It was taken from the Focus Paralane when I dismantled and sold off that bike.

When the Pentaclip is in the lower position, there is almost no clearance between the seat post, clamps and the underside of the PRO Stealth Superlight saddle.

Due to the small clearances and shape of the saddle, a standard Allen key cannot be inserted into the bolt head to tighten the clamp to 10 N.m.

I had to buy a special set of Allen key with extra short head.

All the Allen keys in this special set have short heads, usually for special use cases.

With the extra short head, the Allen key will be able to tighten the clamp as shown above!

Taking off the Pentaclip to weigh it (94 grams). It is infamous because of how many parts it has, and how fiddly it is to assemble and adjust. Still, this is a better version of the original Pentaclip.

The two thick rubber O-rings that come with the stock seat post. I think the purpose is just to stop the Pentaclip from knocking into the seat post clamp when the seat post is lowered.

The Brompton stock seat post is flared at the bottom, so you cannot pull out the seat post from the top. Rather, you need to remove the saddle and Pentaclip, and pull out the seat post from the bottom of the bike.

Stock seat post length is about 55 cm. However, this is without the seat post clamp like on other seat posts, so it is difficult to make a 1:1 comparison in length.

Stock seat post is made of steel, and weighs 394 grams. If the Pentaclip weight of 94 grams is included, the total weight is 488 grams which is quite heavy!

I decided to use a more comfortable saddle instead, the PRO Stealth Off-Road saddle, which has more cushion than the PRO Stealth Superlight.

Comparison of stock Brompton saddle vs PRO Stealth Off-Road saddle. See the difference in length!

PRO Stealth Off-Road saddle on the left, PRO Stealth Superlight saddle on the right. Similar shape, but very different construction, cushioning, weight and price!

The height of the PRO Stealth Off-Road saddle is somehow shorter than the Superlight, despite the thicker cushion.

This is where the problem starts. Due to the size and height of the Pentaclip, I realized that it can interfere with the saddle. Read on to find out what happened!

On the Brompton saddle, the saddle rails are tall enough that the Pentaclip can be mounted in the lower position as shown above. This is the position which the stock saddle came in.

Here is how the Pentaclip looks on the Brompton saddle, when in the lower position.

However, the lower position doesn't fit on the PRO Stealth Off-Road saddle, as the saddle rails are closer to the shell of the saddle.

On the PRO Stealth Superlight saddle, it barely fits. I got the special short Allen keys because I wanted to mount it in this position. However, I won't be using this Superlight saddle for now.

I tried various setups and combinations, and found that there is no way I can mount the Pentaclip in the lower position, when I am using the PRO Stealth Off-Road saddle. Therefore, my only option is to mount the Pentaclip is the higher position, which would theoretically make the folded size taller.

Saddle rails mounted in the higher position of the Pentaclip.

Here is how it looks! PRO Stealth Off-Road saddle on the Pentaclip. It would be neater if the Pentaclip could be tucked under the saddle, but it is physically not possible.

To my surprise, the folded height with the new saddle and higher Pentaclip position is about 60 cm, which is the same as the stock condition.

Stock Brompton saddle with Pentaclip in lower position as shown.

From the comparison of these 2 pictures, I realized why the eventual heights are the same, even though the Pentaclip positions are different. The PRO Stealth Off-Road saddle is shorter than the Brompton saddle, which compensates for the added height from the higher Pentaclip position.

With the PRO Stealth Off-Road saddle installed, it is now using the same saddle as a few of my other bikes. This makes for a consistent sitting experience across different bikes.

Bestrider Pump Pro 20: Frameset, Handlebar, Seatpost, Saddle

It's time to disassemble the Bestrider Pump Pro 20, before starting the modifications! As there are some  stock components that are pretty good, I will be reusing them. As for the other parts which do not meet my requirements, I will swap them out for something better.

Bike frameset with most of the components removed!

Only the aluminium frame left!

Frame weight is 1370 grams, with one headset bearing. It was stuck and I could not remove both to weigh.

Using sealed headset bearings, which is much nicer than loose ball bearings.

Aluminium front fork, with the super tall crown and large width.

Front fork is 507 grams, which is pretty heavy. It can be lighter as proven by the Fnhon front fork.

Stock super short stem weighs 85 grams.

Stock stem length is just 35 mm, which is like a MTB stem.

Lightweight carbon headset spacers weigh 8 grams.

Freshly cleaned and ready for new components to be installed!

As mentioned in the earlier post, the stock riser handlebar is too wide and too high. Therefore, I will be changing to a straight handlebar that is also narrower.

On the previous Bestrider Pump Pro 16, I got a new carbon handlebar in the preferred width, so that I don't need to cut it myself. However, for this new handlebar, I could not find a stock handlebar that comes in the preferred width, so I need to cut it to the correct length myself.

New carbon handlebar with a width of 580 mm

After cutting to the preferred width of 520 mm, the weight of the carbon handlebar is 131 grams. 

I used a very general formula to calculate the ideal handlebar width. Based on this guide, the handlebar width should be about 0.44 of the rider's height. This gives a handlebar width of 520 mm. The weight is pretty OK but there are lighter ones available. The one I used on the Birdy is just 107 grams for 580 mm width. Not sure why this one is significantly heavier, probably because I got a cheaper one.

As mentioned in the first post, the stock seat post and saddle is pretty bad, which is why I have to change them. 

Stock saddle and suspension seat post! Let's see how much they weigh.

Saddle is only 185 grams which is light, but that it because it does not have saddle rails for adjustment.

Stock suspension seat post is heavy at 408 grams, despite the short length.

The saddle and seat post which I got for the Bestrider Pump Pro 16 was good, which is why I decided to get another set for this bike.

Stock carbon seat post of 350 mm length before cutting. Diameter is 27.2 mm.

As the seat post length is too long to insert into the bike frame, I had to cut 60 mm to ensure it can fit at the lowest saddle position. Weight is 203 grams after cutting.

One more SDG Fly Junior saddle for the new bike!

Blue colour was chosen to match the new bike frame

Weight of 260 grams, which is pretty heavy considering the smaller kids size.

The weight of the original saddle + suspension seat post is 185 + 408 = 593 grams. Changing to the new SDG saddle and carbon seat post is 259 + 203 = 462 grams, a savings of about 130 grams.

There are other new components for the Bestrider Pump Pro 20 kids bike, they will be introduced in the next few posts.

Specialized Aethos: PRO Stealth Team Saddle + Camera Mount

A new saddle is needed for the Specialized Aethos, as it is an additional bike to my bike stable. Normally if I am replacing a bike, I will just transfer the saddle from the existing bike over to the new bike.

As you may already know, I am very comfortable with the PRO Stealth series of saddles, ever since I did a proper bike fitting at LOUE Bicycles. In fact, I bought many PRO Stealth saddles to replace most of my existing saddles.

The first Stealth saddle that I got was the PRO Stealth Superlight, which is found on the Focus Paralane all-weather commuting bike. Subsequently I also changed to the PRO Stealth Off-Road saddle on the Cervelo Aspero gravel bike and also the Fnhon DB11/12 folding bike.

Although there are many other saddles that are lighter than the PRO Stealth series, comfort and compatibility is more important. I would not want a superlight saddle that looks good but is not as comfortable. Therefore there was no doubt that I would get another PRO Stealth saddle for the Specialized Aethos.

Some additions to the PRO Stealth saddle lineup included the Stealth Team saddle, which is also a lightweight saddle that is different from the original Superlight model. This new model looks more appealing to me as it costs less, although it does weigh a little bit more. Check out the differences below and also at this link.

New PRO Stealth Team saddle, with an edgier appearance. This is the version with 142 mm width.

Fnhon DB12: Dura-Ace R9100 Crankarms and PRO Stealth Saddle

A few months ago, before I converted the Focus Paralane from a 1x11 speed to 2x11 speed road bike, I had the Dura-Ace R9100 crankset available and not in use on any of my bikes. This is the original R9100 crankset that I had on the Canyon Endurace, since year 2017.

Therefore, I decided to put this Dura-Ace crankset on the Fnhon DB12, because it is black and matches the frame well. Prior to this, an Ultegra 6800 crankset was in use.

Dura-Ace R9100 crankset with the Wolf Tooth 44T chain ring for AXS 12 speed chain.

Looking good with my signature 4 colour chain ring bolts!