I’m looking at some Used Bikes. There are some that were made in 2017 and some made from 2018 and above.
I see [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Brompton/comments/16da1cz/comment/jzo95bs/?share_id=129PTyPytgfu_uJzoGANW&utm_content=2&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1) that in 2018 a new brake design was added. [Here](https://curbsidecycle.com/products/brompton-brake-caliper-2018) it says “The new brake is now more powerful, lighter and has nicer aesthetics.” Is this 2018+ caliper really “more powerful”? Or does it really only matter which the brake pads are used? I know kool-stop and bxp are highly recommended to swap in for any Brompton. Anyway, I ask because I live around big hills so I gotta worry about the brakes. The prices are cheaper for the 2017 options but not by a lot, so even if the 2017 is a little cheaper it’ll cost minimum $200 to replace both brakes (parts + service) with the upgraded ones if they are worth having so I won’t even consider pre 2018 if the brakes really are much better.
by StewzilianPortuguese
1 Comment
I have pre-2017 and pre-2018 brakes on older and newer Bromptons. Visually, the 2018 brake arms have larger cross section to provide greater stiffness. However, I still brake successfully on the 2012 Brompton that has its original brake set, which performs very well now with the BXP pads. My rider plus cargo weight is typically less than 170 pounds, so if the rider plus cargo weight is near the 242 pound limit, then the stiffer 2018 brakes would be a benefit — for lighter weight riders, the difference between brake arm stiffness will be less noticeable, for example if hypothetically, the 2018 are improved by 30 %, going from 170 pounds to 242 pounds is similarly a 30 % weight increase – the heavier rider might see advantage as compared to the lighter rider. Individual’s arm/finger/length strength will also come into play for achieving braking performance.