The Brompton: an Owner's Impression

A few months ago we became owners of Brompton folding bikes. I am still surprised and a little embarrassed by how much I like my bike. Why that mix of emotions? Well, because I cannot really take credit for this purchase or for the specs - it was mostly the husband's idea! Don't get me wrong: I've been admiring the Brompton for years and have written about it here wistfully. I've even taken one on an extended test ride last summer. In the end I was not convinced that I actually needed or wanted to own a Brompton. But my husband was, and he argued that it made sense for us to both get them at the same time. Since he felt strongly about it I ultimately agreed, though remained nervous that my use of the bike might not justify the purchase. I now ride the Brompton nearly every day. Funny that something I was not sure I needed can now feel indispensable.

Designed by engineer Andrew Ritchie, the Brompton is a British folding bicycle that has been in continuous production since 1987 and has remained largely unchanged since. You can read about the history here. There are many folding bikes on the market these days, but the Brompton is said to offer the most compact and easiest fold, with the durability and speed of a full-sized bike. The Brompton has 16" wheels and a hinged "unitube" frame. The construction is brazed steel, with the option of titanium extremities (fork and rear triangle) occasionally available via special order. The bike is optimised to carry a front load with low-trail geometry. The frames are hand-made in Brompton's factory near London. The wheels are built in Wolverhampton. Components are sourced from a variety of manufacturers including Sturmey Archer and SKS, 80% of the components being Brompton-specific in design. A selection of colours, handlebar setups, gearing options and accessories is available.

Our bikes ended up being identical except for the saddles and seatposts. The model is the Brompton M6L-X. This is code for the bikes having upright handlebars, fenders, 6 speeds, and titanium extremities. The finish is raw lacquer. The tires are Schwalbe Kojaks. The bikes are fitted with SON/ Lumotec IQ Cyo dynamo lighting. The Ti and SON specs were to save weight, improve ride quality, and have the best available lighting system. The raw lacquer we chose simply because we both love the look. Going with the 6-speed gearing option and choosing the lowered (-12%) gearing was a decision based on the advice of Todd from Clever Cycles in Oregon, who has toured on his own Brompton extensively. We did not want to make our bikes touring-specific, but we wanted the option of riding them in hilly areas.

We chose the M-type model, because we both prefer upright handlebars when riding for transportation. Since handlebar height is mostly non-adjustable once you choose the model, the rider's positioning on the bike depends on saddle placement. I am just under 5'7" and with the M model my handlebars are almost 2" above saddle height. He is just over 6' and his handlebars are ever so slightly below saddle height, for a more aggressive position.

As far as accessories, we share a shopping basket and each have a Carradice City Folder front bag. The shopping basket is a big, open container with handles. The Carradice City Folder is a large office bag, with a padded laptop compartment, plenty of room for other things such as books, clothing and camera equipment, and two rider-facing pockets each large enough to fit a water bottle (or coffee cup!). I have lots more to say about this bag and will post a review soon. But no matter which Brompton bag one chooses, the system is easy to use. A front block must be installed on the bicycle's frame, and the bag or basket simply clicks onto it via an internal rack-like frame structure. The attachment system - consisting of the block, the "socket" that accepts the block, and the rack-like frame that extends from the socket - is rigid and solid. The bag does not budge once attached. We opted not to install rear racks, figuring the front bags - supplemented with saddlebags when necessary - would meet our needs. We can always add rear racks later if we feel it necessary.

Not to overstate the obvious, but the Brompton is a very compact bicycle. It can be folded to different extents, including the "sit" fold that stabilises the bike as a kickstand would, the "shopping cart" fold that allows it to be rolled around by the handlebars (with basket attached, the bike turns into a shopping cart), and the complete fold shown here. After some practice, it takes me less than a minute to do the complete fold. The small fold makes it suitable for travel like no other folding bike.

The compactness isn't just for travel and multi-modal commuting. The bike is light (compared to other city bikes) and easy to carry in and out of the house even in its unfolded state, which is especially practical for city dwellers who live up several flights of stairs and for those who wish to keep their bike in their office instead of parked outdoors for hours in an unsafe neighbourhood. I very rarely do multi-modal commuting unless I am traveling, but I still find the compactness useful for these reasons. Somehow, a small bike is an easy bike and I am enjoying this much more than I anticipated.

Of course, I am taking advantage of the fold as well. We have not owned a car for close to two years now, and it hasn't been simple to travel with two full sized bikes. The Bromptons will fit into any Zipcar without requiring bike racks or an oversized car, and they can go on any train, even at the most crowded of times.

But what surprised me about the Brompton was not the compact fold, which I'd already known about. It was the features that distinguish it as a bike, not just as a folding bike. For instance, I had not fully understood previously how well it works for riding in everyday clothing. My positioning is upright. The frame's unitube is so low, the bike is essentially a step-through - no more difficult to mount/dismount than a loop frame. It has fenders and even tiny mudflaps. The wheels are so small and far down that even without dressguards my skirt doesn't go anywhere near the spokes. The crankset has a built-in chainguard, which is not an enclosed chaincase but good enough. The quick-release seat post is great for wearing shoes with different heel heights: Instead of setting my saddle for the flattest pair of shoes I own and then feeling as if my knees bend too much when I wear heels, I can simply adjust the saddle to whatever height I want for every ride. I can wear any outfit I want on this bike and not feel limited.

Then there is the cargo capacity. The Brompton can carry a surprising amount of stuff in the front, with no detectable impact on handling. I can carry all of my camera equipment - medium format clunkers, flash units, whatever - on the bike in a way that feels stable, safe and comfortable, not precarious or dis-balancing. Ditto with art supplies - heavy paint, primer, stacks of wooden panels. No problem. It just works and my balance on the bike is not affected. Essentially I now own a cargo bike that is sufficient for my needs.

When considering the Brompton, I worried about the handling and ride quality. I ride my bikes a lot. The kind of work I do, I don't just go to an office in the morning and back at night; I might ride from place to place all day and some of my destinations are 10+ miles apart. For that reason, a bike that is easy to transport but does not ride well is useless to me. When I test-rode the Brompton, its handling struck me as peculiar (the front end felt weirdly wobbly) and I was not sure whether I'd be able to get used to it. Even after a couple of days test riding it, I remained unsure. It took me about a week of owning the bike to truly get used to it, but once I did I started to prefer the handling over other bikes - especially in the city. The Brompton is easier for me to maneuver through tight spaces, easier to U-turn than other bikes, just somehow easier to handle all around. I no longer feel the "weird wobbly" sensation. When I later learned that Bromptons have low trail, it made sense.

It is a common complaint that small wheel bikes feel harsh. I was concerned about this, and together with the MTB-style hand position of the Brompton's handlebars, it just seemed like asking for trouble. I have nerve damage in my hands and am usually unable to ride in this hand position, especially if a bike's ride quality is harsh. I could just imagine my hands going numb after 10 miles (it has happened on other bikes after much shorter distances). However, I have experienced no problems with harshness or numbness on the Brompton, and do not know how to explain why not. I do not think it is attributable entirely to the Ti bits, but it could be the combination of that and the geometry. In any case, my longest single Brompton ride so far has been 45 miles (sandwiched between two 30-mile days) and I have yet to experience any discomfort so far.

As far as speed and the bike's ability to tackle hills, I would describe it as being more like a roadbike than a city bike. That does not mean it is quite as fast as a roadbike. But with the lowered wide range 6-speed gearing it can handle the same type of terrain. It takes me longer to climb on the Brompton, but I can do it, even with my decidedly upright position. Opting for a model with lower handlebars (the S-type) would have made it even more aggressive.

Finally, the Brompton has done better than I imagined it would off road. The handling feels intuitive on dirt and gravel, and the Schwalbe Kojak tires feel wider than the 32mm they are. The small size and the low step-over on the bike somehow makes me feel as if I'll be able to bail easier in the event of a "wipeout," which in turn makes me more confident. The most challenging off road ride I have done so far has been on the Brompton.

While my husband does not have as many miles on his bike as I do on mine, he has been commuting on it more or less daily, with his 3-year old Pashley Roadster now an inclement weather/ winter bike. Like me, he likes the Brompton's handling and ride quality more than he expected to, and the more he rides it the more he likes it. He is also very happy that he can easily keep the Brompton in his office and take it with him everywhere he goes. He hates leaving his bike locked up outside, and now he does not have to. The Brompton has little wheels that allow it to be rolled around in "grocery cart mode," but when grocery shopping he often just rolls the bike in unfolded, piles food into the basket, and checks out and rides off, without anyone objecting (not all stores permit this, but the one next to our house does). Like me, he is impressed by the front load system - its carry capacity, simplicity, lack of extra weight and bulk, and low to the ground positioning. He agrees that carrying weight on this bike has no effect on steering or handling. He likes how the bike rides off-road. They've been resurfacing streets in our neighbourhood, leaving stretches of road without asphalt for days, and the Brompton rides nicely over the baselayer. He finds the bike maneuverable, easily able to make sharp turns and go around obstacles, hop curbs (I can't vouch for that one). In a general sense, what he likes is that performance-wise the Brompton does not feel to him like a compromise compared to a full sized bike. The one exception he is not crazy about, is the downhill handling - which he says is "more fun" on his full-sized bikes - though personally I do not feel that way.

One unexpected outcome of owning the Bromptons, is that we feel well-matched on them in terms of riding style. We are finding that it's easier to ride together on these bikes than either to go roadcycling or to ride our full-sizd city bikes together. So after a break of many months we've started doing recreational rides together again. The Bromptons handle hills well enough for us to do the same routes as we would on roadbikes, only slower. Now we ride side by side and talk more than we ever used to. I am not sure what about these bikes is causing this harmony exactly, but possibly it's the handling. 

As far as the Brompton's drawbacks, the main one for me is that there are times when I find carrying it around inconvenient. At over 20lb, it is not exactly a light bike for someone of my size to carry casually in one hand for prolonged periods of time, and it is not always practical to deploy the easy-wheels and roll it around (some shops and offices won't allow it). The good news is that after being forced to carry it frequently during my trip in Ireland, I now have more upper body strength and can deal with this better than I used to. Still, I do not see the Brompton being my sole transportation bike; I need a full-sized bike to supplement it for times when I prefer to leave my bike outside. Right now I ride the Brompton most of the time, supplementing it with my vintage Raleigh when I need a full-sized bike. I know there are debates as to whether it's okay to leave a Brompton locked up outdoors, and maybe some day I will feel comfortable doing that. But at the moment I do not.

As far as quality, malfunctions, and things of that nature, it is probably too early to tell. Both of us had issues with seatposts slipping when we first got the bikes. In my case, simply tightening the clamp resolved this (the quick release is harder to use now, but still doable). The husband uses an anti-slip paste in addition to having tightened the clamp. During my stay in Ireland, my gears went out of adjustment and a couple of clamps rattled loose, possibly during one of my off-road rides. Chris Sharp of the VCC Northern Ireland (who owns a Brompton as well) was kind enough to re-tighten everything for me. He tells me this is not uncommon in his experience, and that he uses Loctite or similar on his own bike.

A less serious complaint pertains to how much of a spectacle riding the Brompton is. I am a fairly private person in real-life and these bikes garner a lot of attention. Crowds gather to watch me fold and unfold the bike. Children point and shout "Mommy, look!" as I ride by. Strangers approach to ask what the bike is, then ask to spell it and actually write the name down on a little notepad. It can get out of hand, and of course when the two of us are riding the bikes together it is even more of a sight.

Then there is the "clown bike" aspect of it. While I find the Brompton to be adorable, in a cartoony forest animal kind of way, I am pretty sure that I look ridiculous riding it. Unfortunately I have lost all sense of perspective at this stage. Worse, I really don't think I care.

So here I am, riding my lovely weird little folding bike and enjoying it very much so far. Other than using my own saddle, I have not made any modifications yet and am even using the stock foam grips without issue. At some point I will think of something to personalise my bike, but it is not a priority at the moment.

As a bike that's a mechanical curiosity, the Brompton invites elaborate technical analysis, but I've tried to steer away from that here. While I appreciate that aspect of the Brompton, it is only one of the things that attracts me to it. I like it not just for its multimodal commuting and easy-travel properties, but as a regular bike. That is what I most wanted to communicate at this stage.