How to change gear on a Brompton folding bike
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- We often get asked "how do I change gear on my Brompton?"
This is especially common on a 6 speed Brompton where it uses a combination of the 2 speed derailleur and the 3 speed hub gear to give a total of 6 gears
In this video we show how to change, when you should and shouldn't pedal and finally give a demonstration ride
Watching this at 01:02 am and had thought that I was the only Brompton ownner that didnt know how to change gears. Going to rewatch this helpful clip during the day several times and learn how to use my bike properly. Thanks for always giving us so much helpful info. Ps. Was nice to see you in person at the BWC 2024!
So glad it helped and thank you so much for watching! Nice to see you 😀
Got a six speed on the way. This is the easiest explanation of the gear operation i've seen.
I have my brompton for about 3 years and only now because this helpful video I've learnt how to change gear correctely. Thank you a lot.
Me too!!!!
Thank goodness I found this excellent guide. Just got a used 6 speed to save time walking to the railway station and the gears have baffled me until now. Thank you so much. Order going in tomorrow on your web site for a brompton medium bag, inner tubes and a new rack wheel .
Thank you so much for watching and choosing to order from us, we really appreciate it
Big help for new Brompton owners. This is the 1st video I watched after getting one.
So glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching and commenting
Just upgraded from a 2-speed Brompton to a 6-speed and didn't know at all about the need to stop pedaling when shifting on the hub side! Learned it the hard way on a hill today and was happy to find your explanation when investigating proper usage. Thank you for the video! :-)
what happened when you shifted gears on the hub while going up the hill?
Your videos are the best that you can find on youtube, always simple and well explained.
Just got my M6L a week ago. So happy to have stumbled on your channel, have binged watched other videos and has been very informative. Thank you from the Philippines ❤
Hello Edward in the Philippines
We hope you enjoy your Brompton as much as we enjoy ours
Thank you for watching and your kind comments- they really do make our day
Thanks for this. I picked up a 6 speed two days ago and figured it all out. Would have been useful to see this before. Prior to having the bike I'd assumed the 2 lots of 3 were sequential, I.e move through 1-3 on minus, then 1-3 on plus. I've also discovered the 3 speed hub gears are a wider range of gears on the 6 speed vs the 3 speed...
Many thanks for watching and glad it helped!
Just purchased mine (6 speed to replace 2 speed) today. I wished I'd watched this before I rode it home. Because the right hand dial doesn't move, unlike my 18 gear hybrid bike, I was confused about what gear I was in. Plus I was pedalling during every attempted change. Watching this, followed by a quick ride up and down a few gradients, sorted it. Many thanks.
Many thanks for watching and for your comment. So glad it helped! We hope you enjoy your new Brompton!
Thank you! Nobody, even the dealer, told about the non pedaling for the right gears! I was always mad passing to the 1st one when I needed on a uphill.
So glad it helped. Thank you for watching!
This helped me understand the gears better than anything else!!! 😊 thank you
Great to hear! We are glad it was useful
Thanks for watching and for letting us know
I do wonder what the world is coming to. Just hope you don't buy a car lol.
On the plus side it was nicely explained..
Got a new brompton a few days ago, rode once and couldn't work it out at all! So left it sad and folded... Watched this video then just had a lovely hour's ride so thank you!
So glad we helped. It’s so easy when you do it all the time. Hope you enjoy your lovely Brompton. Does he / she have a name yet?
@@brilliantbikes it's orange and black so I'm calling him Ruud Gullit :-)
Sounds perfect!
This helps. I just bought mine from REI, but I didn’t have time to get a debriefing, and they didn’t offer. I’ve been riding it a little, and changing gears, but I stopped pedaling each time i shifted on the left or the right side. I now know that I need to pedal when changing on the left side.
Thanks for watching, so glad it helped!
Omg thanx for breaking down the 6 gears perfectly, the #Brompton video ran through it so fast i didnt understand it.
So glad it helped! Thank you for watching!!!
Thank you so much for this video, it's so clear and breaks it down step by step instead of assuming everyone understands bike gear lingo!
Thank you for watching! Really glad it helped!
This is the first video on gears I’ve actually understood
So glad it sounds like it helped! Thank you for watching!
Great video, much better explained than on the official Brompton channel.
Just bought my first Brompton 2 days ago, and god this is so helpful. I may be too late for comment but thank you for your video!
Thank you so much, I just couldn't understand how this system works until now. Your videos are literal lifesavers! ❤
So glad it helped!
Thank you for watching.
Pick up my bike on Tuesday next and I had no ideal so thank you so much.
Would love to see a brompton cleaning video, perhaps when the weather is a bit warmer for you guys!
Yeah! A proper cleaning video!
Lol - where do we collect it from?
Thanks for watching and commenting
We’ve added ‘how to clean your Brompton’ to our yo do list!
Finland is on the list of places we would love to visit but haven’t made it to yet
Great demonstration it does seem fiddly at first but its amazing how soon it becomes second nature. Even if I don't ride my bromie for months as soon as I get back on I just do it without thinking or having any problems.
Thanks for watching and your comment
Agreed - it does look a bit confusing at first
In reality we tend to use the hub gears mostly, then the derailleur for ‘fine tuning’
Thanks for the phenomenal video showing how to change the gears. Personally, I love the simplicity of the 2-speed.
Thanks for watching again
Thanks for your kind comment
The 2 speed is great - we had our only negative feedback when we were getting ready for the Brompton World Championships and ‘upgraded’ from 6 speed to 2 speed to save weight
We did change back to 6 when we hit the French alps though ;-)
brilliantbikes going up steep hills can definitely be a problem which is why I got the 19% gear reduction. Just don’t plan on going super fast. Fortunately speed is something you don’t need in stop and go traffic.
I ordered a M6R Brompton bicycle quite recently, gonna get it in about 12 weeks. It’s really interesting to know this kind of stuff beforehand. Cheers a lot for this video.
Thanks for this video, after 2 years of trying to find out - mind breaking thoughts during my rides.. - i find this explanation, so now i can think about different things while riding my Brommie.. :-) you are a brilliant lady!! :D
These videos are fantastic! Very informative. I've just bought a 6 speed Brompton and it's the one thing I'm a bit twitchy about is the gear change. I shall be watching this video quite a few more times before my bike arrives next, that for sure! lol
Really glad it has helped. It will be simple when you start riding your Brompton.
Thank you for watching!
Such informative videos! Truly a one stop shop for information! Thanks for the the effort and info you put out on here!
Thank you for the thank you. We enjoy making them and hope thy help people out. Thank you for watching!
Great video. Made even better by including the new & old style shifters. Making the seemingly complicated, less so. I love how you leave those more complicated explanations to the end.
Excellent explanation. I have only had my Brompton. Important to stop pedalling when changing the hub gear.... something the shop did not explain.
Thank you this make so much sense now I recently bought a Brompton didn't nderstand the gear changing lol.
So glad it helped! Once you have it sorted it’s fun and easy!
Thank you for watching!
As ever, cool, dispassionate, succinct with a suppressed element of frustration. Marvellous.
Brilliant. I had no idea about the hub AND derailleur differentiation. Thanks so much 🙏🏽
😀, so glad it helped and thank you for watching!
The old style shifter didn't need a numeric indicator to show which gear you're in - you could see immediately by the position of the lever. Actually _easier_ than little numbers ☺
Thanks for watching and the comment
You are right
The even older Sturmey Archer 3 speed shifter combined the two - allowing you to see based on position AND a small indicator number
Thanks for this extremely helpful video! But will need a lot of practice to get used to which gear changing to be done with or without pedaling.
Many , many years ago I owned a Danish Brand: S.C.O. which had a similar system on its Touring model bike, which made it able to go up an extreme hill, if not with ease. So I had no problems in handling my 6 speed Superlight 😄 Finn. Denmark
That’s awesome! Thanks for watching 😀
First gear change video I have seen so far. Well explained!
Thank you for watching
We’re glad our explanation made some sense ;-)
Thanks so much! I just bought the 6 gear so this info is invaluable.
Very helpful for me, new rider of a 6. Cheers. Cheering 🥳
So glad it helped! Thank you for watching!
Great video as always! Please make a video on how to effectively clean the wheel braking rims. Big fan!
@Alien On a Bike Yeah, sorry! I misspelled it! I've tried to clean before with a good degreaser. Nevertheless, it seems to keep a lot of black dirt on the wheel! The only way to take it off is scrubbing with detergent, but it take too long! Thanks for answering!
Yes - with a degreaser, you can be surprised just how much dirt comes off of an apparently clean wheel rim - and all this dirt is wearing down the rim quicker than necessary
The tip from @alien is a great one - it really helps - we use car disc brake cleaner
Okay now I feel more confident to ride my new H6L Cloud Blue Brompton. Thanks Hannah!!!
Lovely. Thank you. You’ve made this so clear! Just picking the bike up at the post office and want to ride home. 😎
I was trying to change gears 1,2,3 while pedaling and was thinking this bike need adjustment. Now I know no pedaling while changing 1,2 or 3 but while changing + or - one should be pedaling . Thank you
Very clearly explained and demonstrated. Thank you from a Brompton beginner
This video changed my life / my life is now complete ;D
Thanks for doing this! :)
Thank you for watching
Knowing that the video changed your life has also enhanced our life considerably - thank you ;-)
Great video, thank you. Found, just as I’m pondering on a M6L Electric or M6R Standard.
Still mulling it over in my head. Exciting times....
Thanks again, Hannah. My Favourite British Teacher .👍🛴
Thx for the great videos Hannah and brilliantbikes!
Thanks. This is so informative. Gonna relocate to London before this year ends and I'm gonna get my gf and myself bromptons to get to work and around the city. :)
Thanks for the great video. Very useful information about changing the hub gears. I was wondering whey it felt quite hard to change the hub gears while pedaling. :D
Really glad it helped! Thank you so much for watching.
Fab, explained perfectly, many thanks 👍👏👏
Thank you for watching and for your kind comment
Got a new 6-speed, thinking I should have got a fixie.
Thank watching! You will get used to it!
Well explained,Just bought my new 6 speed so going to try it out. Thanks
Like your video , can I suggest to show us how to install breaks and gear cable and size explanation? Thank u 😊
I am still struggling with 6 speed. + .- confusing. Any other easy way of gear changing? What would happen if we change gears wrongly
There is no wrong sequence. Just don’t pedal when you change on the hub gears (1, 2, 3) and pedal when you change the derailleur gears (+ / -)
Thanks for watching!
Thanks! I just got a 6speed 3sixty. And now i understand how the shifters work. Lol
I dont know your name but anyway, "your name" thanks for your great videos, this is specially useful for me
Thank you for watching and for your comments. So glad it was useful, knowing this makes making them worthwhile. It’s Hannah
Thanks for that video, this is the one I understand the most.
Thanks Brillantbikes, I learned from you how to change gear. If - 1 2 3 -3 is a 1,3 & 5th gear right. Can you please
do a videos what tools we need to own and service our brompton without going to bike mechanic(save time and money and we also learn the bike mechanism . I watch every of your videos and understand better from you then from the Brompton Junction in Singapore. Thanks
Very informative, thanks so much!
Thank you for watching!
thanks for the video, I had got it all wrong with the 6 gears 😅
Great videos. Would the 6 speed be any less reliable, in terms of it having move parts of the gears to break?
Thank you 😊
Thank you for watching
Hi nice gloves whats the brand? Good video saludos desde argentina
Thanks for watching, the gloves are 100% hydro magic briskier
Excellent video. Very helpful. Thank you!!
Very informative and useful explanation indeed. What about the situation for going downhill? Should I change it to the fastest (hardest) gear (i.e. level 3) or to the slowest (easiest) gear (I.e. level 1) for the Hub gears? And what's the rationale please?
Brillant video Thanks!
Thank you for watching and your kind connent
An idea for a future video is a comparison of the metres development in each gear for all of the gearing choices. Or are these numbers already published somewhere? Thanks. We just watched your ride up The Mount on the electric and H3L - really helpful.
Thanks for watching and the great suggestion
We’ve just got some power meter pedals - so were planning to see how much power is required in each gear too
There is a calculator here
xldev.co.uk/bgc.html
It depends upon the tyres too - and it hasn’t been updated for recent tyres
Nice explaination. One query though. For uphill or steep uphill which gear dhould be used.? Similary gor downhill which gear should be used?
Thanks for watching and the kind comment
For steep uphill (on a 6 speed) you would select - (minus) on the left hand (derailleur) lever and 1 on the right hand (hub lever)
For downhill you would select + (plus) on the left hand and on the right hand lever
This is great thanks. I have a question about the gear levers ... I've read elsewhere that there can be a problem whereby through a combination of heat and humidity the levers can stick making it difficult/impossible to change gear. There are several suggestions how to fix the issue including one very good step-by-step YT video from July 2019 by Oliver Wilhelm who mentions having discussed the problem with Mr Butler-Adams who was aware of it. Do you know if Brompton has fixed the issue? BTW I'm in the UK so I reckon it's unlikely that high temperatures combined with high humidity will be a problem for me! Cheers 👍🏼
Thank you so so much for your video. Now I'm more understand the gear change system. Until today the Birdy vs Brompton should be 2 : 8. I think I will go for Brompton. But it is quite difficult to buy in HK with normal price :(.....
Great video. The changing of gears
-1 +1。-2 +2。-3 +3 makes sense. But, how do I change from +1 to -2 and from +2 to -3? Do I change + to - first or do I change 1 to 2 first?
You can change in any order you feel like. So 1-, 2-, 3- or 1+, 2+, 3+, it just depends on how fast you are going. I hope that helps and thank you for watching!
Just what I needed for my just arrived new H6R bike. Thank you.
Also - could you do the promised video for changing to eazy wheels on a rack bike, please?
Thank you for watching
We plan to film the rack version Eazy Wheels this coming weekend
We hope you enjoy your new bike :-)
@@brilliantbikes Thank you. looking forward to it.
Very helpful. Thank you. Joe UK
So glad you found it useful. Thank you for watching and the lovely comment
Fairly straightforward. You didn't explain what happens if you change hub gear while pedalling - does it damage them?
Can you go from +3 directly to +1 (then + to -) or must you stop for a second at +2. I'm thinking about proper shifting when at a steep hill. Thank you.
You will always need to change to 2 between 1 and 3.
Thanks for watching and for the question!
Thanks for this!!
So glad it helped and thank you for watching!
Great video 😊
Perfect explanation
Sweet explanation thank you!
Would you be able to do a 12 speed version on changing gears?
Great idea! 💡 thank you! And thank you for watching!
Great description. Thanks!
Just bought a 3 speed Brompton, so this video is really useful. I didn’t realise you had to stop pedalling when changing gear on the hub - I’m a really newbie, so I’m not sure why? Is it bad for the gears to continue pedalling when changing on the hub only?
Yes, I’d also really appreciate an explanation why you stop dealing when changing the hub gear. It’s the first hub gear bike Ive used so I’m used to pedalling but just easing off the pressure whilst changing.
Can I request a video on replacing the shifter and brake cables
Many thanks for the suggestion. It’s one our list too
is it possible to change the great system, to something nicer/simpler, moving from Dahon which is a great bike to Brompton B75 (rabbit ear) I found the gearing system rather downside, any tips? great video
Blimey, they couldn’t make gear changing much more complex!
Honestly, it’s really simple when you get used to it! Thanks for watching
so its like counting in binary, where the 1s in decimal are the +/- and the 10s are the 123... lucky i don't have to deal with this rather weird gearing increments as I'm riding an single speed 😄
I have a sticking right hand gear changer, I tried everything, apart from pulling it all apart. Do you have a video on changing the whole unit ?
Changing gears on a Brampton is so complicated, it makes driving a manual car a piece of cake.
Thanks for watching. I promise it becomes so simple with time 😊, a bit like a manual car!
where can i buy this folding bike in Singapore
Many thanks for watching and for the question.
According to Brompton’s store locator, there are two locations in Singapore, link as follows:
www.brompton.com/find-a-store
Very useful indeed 😊
I'm interested in the single speed Brompton. Can you do a video on the gears with this one please?
Thanks for watching and commenting
We don't have a single speed right now - but i can say that the gear changing is pretty simple ;-)
@@brilliantbikes Is it automatic now? TIA.
A single speed Brompton has just one gear - so there is nothing to change
Or did you mean a 2 speed / 3 speed where there is only a single lever (Sorry if we misunderstood)
brilliantbikes Yes, that’s right, I only want a single lever. Do you have a video that shows how to select forwards? Sorry if I’m not understanding but I haven’t used an electric bicycle.
We don’t have one - yet!!!! Great idea 👍
Can the shifters be lubricated ?
Thanks!
Thank you for watching 😀
Which is the best crank for speed what size or Teeth. ??
Do you think the 3 gear option is better than the 6 gear?
Do you know what gears out of 6 use internal gear and which two are using direct link (internal gears blocked)?
I’ve just sold my Brompton 6 Speed and have ordered a Brompton E Bike which is due to be built on 18th August. Does the same principles apply to the ebike?
Thanks for watching, and the question
Yes - the Brompton electric uses the same gear mechanism as the non-electric
When coming up to say a moderate hill, should you kick down the gears manually a bit to give the electric chance to kick in or keep in a high gear and hope the electric senses you are struggling?
Martin Pearce hi I just got the brompton electric this summer. It's trial and error to find out the best gear and peddling ratio. I made the mistake of peddling to fast and exhausting myself up hill! once you find your personal combination it's really great and fun. You need to find out the right peddling force you apply to the peddles to best engage the electric assist. You'll find out pretty quickly, enjoy!
@@karinroten3606 Thanks Karin. I'm getting used to experimenting with the gears/electric assist now and you're right, it is great fun.
My friends bike actually has the shifting backwards for some reason. Meaning at number 3 it’s the easier while 1 is the top gear hardest one. I wonder how it got flipped. Any suggestion to fix this