Monday 25 February 2013

Leather Strap Hub Cleaner for a Brompton

Before the ride yesterday one thing I forgot to mention was that our Commander and Chief, Mick had brought with him lots of samples from a company that makes bespoke leather products for Brompton Bicycles.

He had a few different types of main tube coverings. Once covered the entire main tube while others covered only certain sections. They were extremely well made and the leather had that gorgeous smell only new leather seems to have.

One of the items Mick allowed me to test was a small leather hub gear strap. This was one of three colours but for some reason this honey, almost orange coloured strap took my attention for some reason?



Honey coloured leather...could almost be classed as orange?


These straps are from a bygone age where hub gears ruled. They work in a very simple way. It is fastened around the hub and as the wheels rotate, the strap rubs gently along the hub from side to side keeping it clean. I remember by brother used to have one permanently attached to his bike and the hub was the only part of the entire bike that was ever clean.

At the moment I am thinking that the strap might be a little too wide and it would be better if it could be fastened to the hub in a more circular fashion, however it is very early days and I will need to test it out a great deal more before I can make a final assessment. One thing is for certain, this and the other items are incredibly well made and I can see myself getting more than one of these straps!




Once I have tested it out fully I will post a link to the manufacturer and the recommended price.

2 comments:

  1. My Orange Brompton,

    What a pleasant surprise to open your blog and see my hub shines being reviewed! All comments are gratefully received as I am still in the development phase. I take the point on the width of the strap, and will test out a narrower one. I will also make a shorter one for the front hub or single-speed bikes. I did consider making the strap so that it fits around rather than hanging down, but I was concerned that it would spin too much and not work so well, and also that the back of the stud might scratch the hub. If you would like a round one to test, I can do one for you.

    I have just taken delivery of some leather that is slightly more orange than the one you have - I will make you up a sample in that.

    Thank you again for the review.

    Jim Barrett

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks Jim. The sample products Mick showed me looked excellent. Anything orange would obviously be of great interest to me!

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