Brompton Replacement Rim: Match the Hub Before Ordering Spokes
A Brompton replacement rim needs more identification than a familiar wheel size. The manufacturer's historical selection matrix separates hub types, rim constructions and spoke codes. Its incompatible combinations are particularly useful: they tell an owner when a seemingly similar rim should be removed from a shortlist before a wheelbuilder is asked to confirm the complete build.
Read the Brompton replacement rim chart by row and column
In Brompton's S1004 wheel chart (https://trade.brompton.com/Uploads/QPart/QPart-Datasheets/ds-wheel.pdf), the BWR and BSR rear-hub rows specify two-cross lacing. Both show QSPOK-149-PG-13G with the old single-wall rim, while the QRIM-28-AGL double-wall column shows QSPOK-146-SB-13G. The QRIM-28-STD column is marked incompatible with those hubs. Retain the complete code, including the letter suffixes.
The SRAM row has a different pair: QSPOK-151-PG-13G for the old single-wall rim and QSPOK-148-PG-13G for QRIM-28-AGL, again with two-cross lacing. That difference demonstrates why copying a nearby row is unreliable. A label describing the bicycle's total number of gears is less useful here than identification of the actual hub.
Turn the matrix into a wheelbuilder request
Document the hub marking, the existing rim marking and which replacement rim is proposed. Include whether the wheel has been rebuilt before. Ask the wheelbuilder to confirm the complete current parts specification against that exact combination; an archived code describes the sheet's assembly and is not a promise that the corresponding part remains available.
The diagram also distinguishes crossing spokes from interlacing them. For the one- and two-cross patterns covered, Brompton says the outside spoke crosses over the inside spoke without interlacing, warning of stress and premature failure otherwise. This is a reason to supply the original diagram with the enquiry, not to treat a brief chart reading as a full wheelbuilding procedure.
Keep a copy of the complete selected row and column rather than transcribing a length alone. The codes contain different gauge and letter designations, and the table does not invite the reader to discard those distinctions. If a supplier proposes a superseding part, ask it to explain the replacement against the identified hub and rim. A substitution needs its own confirmation rather than borrowing the authority of an unrelated chart cell.
FAQ
Does QRIM-28-STD fit the BWR and BSR rows?
Those two rows are explicitly marked incompatible in the STD column. The chart places their listed double-wall build in the QRIM-28-AGL column instead.
Do BWR and BSR use the same listed AGL spoke?
Yes: S1004 lists QSPOK-146-SB-13G for both, with two-cross lacing. This shared entry does not make all hub or rim combinations interchangeable.
Can spokes from the old single-wall build be assumed correct?
The chart gives different codes for the single-wall and AGL builds. Identify both components and have the wheelbuilder confirm the replacement specification rather than reusing a code by assumption.
Finish the enquiry with a hub, a rim and an explicit compatibility question. The Brompton topic and rim-tape identification article address the accompanying tape decision without replacing this hub-specific check.
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Original title: Brompton bicycle half folded and loaded
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