Brompton Spokes and rims (and their associated hubs)

Choosing the correct Brompton spoke / rim combination for you wheel / hub can be confusing - so we have made this (not so simple) guide - if you think of anything that is missing - please let us know so we can improve it!

Rim types

Firstly - there are two rim types that have been used by Brompton:

Single wall rim - made by Alex rims  most recently - up until 2013
Front and rear wheels used the same rim

Double wall rim - from 2013 onwards
Along with the double wall rim came a different rim for the front and back
The angled (the spoke holes are drilled at an angle) rims are used for hub gear rear wheels only
The straight (the spoke holes are drilled straight - 90 degrees to the rim) rims are used for front wheels and single / two speed rear wheels

The double wall rims from Brompton are available in silver or black (the black rims still have a silver braking surface)

Spokes

We have split the spokes into the rim types they are compatible with

You do of course need to know which wheel / hub you have!

Single wall rim spokes:

Double wall rim spokes:

Brompton electric rim spokes:

The Brompton Electric uses a slightly different wheel rim to the standard Brompton - black in colour with a single wall

* The 1 / 2 speed rear wheel came with either plain gauge or double butted spokes
** These spokes were discontinued by Brompton in 2018

Note: Where a one or two cross pattern is used it is important not to ‘interlace’ the spokes. The outside spoke should always cross over the top of the inside spoke. Interlacing the spokes will put undue stress on the spokes and cause premature spoke failure.

Spoke style

PG = Plain Gauge - the spoke is an equal length throughout
SB = Single Butted - the spoke has a join at one end
DB = Double Butted - the spoke has a join at both ends

Radial versus 1 cross versus 2 cross spoke patterns