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| Free standing - useful for parking |
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| Fully folded with the seatpost locking the fold - a compactness unmatched by other folders - well, those with 16 inc or greater, diametre wheels anyway. |
In the opinion of many, the best folding bike - the Brompton has a cult following. Nothing else compares for compactness; there are others matching the quality and even a lot more expensive - the Moultons especially and some of the German folders, but the ingenuity of the Brompton puts it into a class of its own. The company has won numerous awards for export etc. Also, I think a bike that folds is likely to have an added level of complexity for this, so will be more expensive.
It's currently my most expensive bike - £890; for some reason, stockists don't sell them at a discount, so you cannot shop around. Mine is a basic M3L, a 3-speed, and probably the cheapest - they go up to about £1500 if you add some of the options available, like 6 speed derailleur gears, dynamo lighting etc. There are a huge number of options: I plan on purchasing the following in the near future: a Brooks saddle (it's a scaled down one for the Brompton), Eazy Wheels for towing - the ones that come with the bike are OK for flat, indoor floors but not very good outside, and some luggage - probably the A-Bag which fits on the front.
Other premium brand companies like and the German luggage company, Ortlieb, make products especially scaled down for this bike.
I consider it a public transport bike - I can ride to the train station, fold it up, get on the train, get off at my destination, unfold it and ride it about at wherever I've stopped off. I think this is one of its key strengths. You can enjoy days out without having to walk, use a bus or find somewhere to park if you have a car. Some people take this further and take them touring say, around Europe and this appeals so it's something I might do in the near future.
Some question the price, which does seem pretty expensive and the accessories certainly are - even I have to wonder at the prices charged. You are looking at another £400 if you want titanium bits which shaves a grand total of about 1 kg off the weight. Maybe for the man/woman who has everything including £400 in the bank they cannot think what to do with? Then again, it's evident from mine that everything is built up to a standard and specific to it - the bike itself has no generic parts - everything is scaled down to keep the bike compact - even the 3-speed hubgear, a Sturmey Archer is of modified design. This combined with what is probably low volume production goes some way to explaining the price...
Many buyers pay nearly £200 less - the 20% VAT (sales tax). This is because they buy the bike through the UK's Cycle To Work scheme whereby they can purchase any bike up to £1000 through their employer tax free and pay it off in instalments over 12 months. An incentive to get more people cycling to work, it's also an opportunity for many to indulge...and I don't blame them. I would if my employer was a member of the scheme. I believe the Brompton is a very popular purchase for those who have access to this scheme.
Mine weighs between 12-13kg as opposed to about 18-20kg+ for my Kettler full sized bikes; yet the steel frame and the bike's design give a similar ride of bikes nearly twice the weight. It rides like a full size bike. This is surprising - you may expect something so small and light to wobble all over the place, but it doesn't. Another thing I've noticed, it seems to be nippy, quite fast. I think this is down to the 50 tooth chain ring - 12 more than on my full sized bikes.
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| The 50 tooth chain ring - probably why the bike accelerates quickly, plus its size. |
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| This black rubber bung thingy is a form of suspension - acting as a buffer between the rear of the frame and the front. |
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| The pedals stand out as little masterpieces - they look like they've been machined from solid blocks of aluminium and the left hand one folds upward to reduce the width of the bike when folded - another thoughtful touch. |
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| A chain tensioner is fitted |
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| The standard wheels the bike comes with so you can tow it along folded. These work OK particularly indoors on nice flat floors, but less so outside. Brompton do the Eazi-wheels option to make this easier. I think these should fitted as standard |
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| The modified Stumey Archer 3 speed hubgear made by Brompton themselves. My first 3 speed. OK, but would prefer more gears. Brompton do a 6 speed which uses the same gear plus an extra cog/derailleur. |
The two-tone colour plus the obvious quality makes it quite a looker attracting a few looks and compliments. I find this a bit surprising given that in my town, there's quite a few about - must be because the others tend to be filthy...
A coupla niggles: the tyres have to be pumped to 100psi pressure - it says on the side and they seem to lose this pressure pretty quickly, dropping to 80psi or so within a couple of days, meaning you have to pump them up more frequently. I can't help but feel that the frame's paint finish is a little delicate, picking up dings and scratches a little easier than on my other bikes. Also, not really a niggle, it's just that I'm used to my Kettlers and Gazelle which have racks and chainguards, my Brompton has neither, although a luggage rack is available as another option. So I can't carry anything and on one or two occasions, my trousers got caught in the chain. That will be the same with any bike without a rack or chainguard though.
One thing I noticed with the seatpost fully extended, is that it's just right for me, but I'm below average height/inside leg measurement (5' 7", 30"). This suggests that it would be too short for the majority of males at least, thus necessitating the purchase of the extended seatpost options, and thus extra expense - from Brompton. However, I haven't read or heard any criticisms regarding this, so maybe it's just me.
To conclude, a great little bike, amongst the best, certainly the most compact and it's popularity is no surprise. Some people have more than one. The company is also continually improving it.
See more on the Brompton site:
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