So many great comments and feedback from everyone. I did make a follow-up to this video where I made a few changes to reduce weight, most notably removing the rear rack (ruclips.net/video/p1iEYi3DKXg/видео.html). Over time, I'll probably swap out some titanium parts (like seat posts, etc), but I"m not in a huge rush. Right now it's about 26.5 lbs, and I'm pretty content with it. I also came around on the H bars, and am probably just going to leave them as is. I do like the upright casual position when riding. Bottom line is that I really do love my brommie, and use it almost daily for commuting to work (3 miles one-way). I am able to bring it into my office and tuck it away under my desk. For what it's worth, I highly recommend a brompton to everyone that asks about it (although I'm not sure how I feel about the new 4-speed gearing in the new lines)
I would've loved to hear more about " wheel popping off in the store"?! - alot of people putting alot of research into this buying decision SO MUCH THANKS FOR YOUR CONTENT :)
I bought a B-spoke Brompton H6R in 2012 in orange/orange with the -12% gear option, 44T giving gear inches from 28.2” up to 88.7” (perfect for cycling up 17% inclines) as to riding downhill if I spin in 6th I top out at 31.5mph, my current highest speed is down a 17% decline where I can do 46.2mph (gravity assisted). The Brompton will be 10 years old this August. It took 9 years before I decided to remove the rear rack and replace it with the rear mudguard and stays making it an H6L, the bike is lighter by 440 grams, it feels quicker when riding, I run a modified Eazy wheel that has 2x Eazy wheels connected by a horizontal rod, so that I still get the four points of contact when I park it. There is a picture on Flickr that shows a Dawes Galaxy touring bike with a Brompton side by side with it. Both hubs are inline (front and rear together, hence the same wheelbase), as are the saddle and the handlebars, the Brompton is therefore a full-size bike, it just happens to fold. The Brompton will be slower compared to a 26” or 27” wheeled bike, that’s a given, the larger wheeled bike has a larger rolling circumference and a greater gear range, meaning it will go further, faster and quicker (in time) for less effort than the Brompton. The Brompton are said to be on average 2mph slower than ‘conventional’ bikes. You “feel” the road more because the 1.35” tyres run at a high pressure for a low volume tyre (eg: Schwalbe Marathon at 60psi) compared to a MTB tyre which run at low pressure (eg: 30psi) but a higher volume resulting in a cushioning effect. It isn’t a negative of the Brompton it’s just the way it is. A 700c road tyre often runs narrower tyres than the Brompton at 120psi! The H bars are not taller than the M bars, they are identical in size and width. The difference is height comes from the handlebar post, in effect the ‘stem’ (from the headset to the handlebar clamp), the H-stem is 60mm longer than the M-stem (30mm between headset and clamp and another 30mm above the clamp). If the bars are too high, simply change the bars, I did. I changed to Joseph Kuosac mid-rise bars (link: www.sjscycles.co.uk/handlebars/joseph-kuosac-handlebar-for-bromptons-mid-rise-254mm-clamp-silver/ ), they’re 600mm wide and have an 80mm rise, I trimmed my bar width down to 560mm with a pipe cutter (20mm from each end) they have graduated marks with the width in millimetres marked on both ends. I’ve changed a fair few components over the years: saddle (Brompton to Charge Spoon to Brooks B-17 Flyer Select), grips (Brompton to Ergon GP-1L), pedals (Brompton to Wellgo flats with pegs), bars (M/H to Joseph Kuosac mid-rise), suspension block (standard to firm), seatpost (extended to standard), brake pads (Fibrax to Swissstop Flash Pro BXP Blue), brake levers (old Brompton ‘Saccon’ design to new Brompton tryptich ‘logo’ levers). Currently planning to go back to extended seatpost as I’m intending to fit an Ergon ST Gel Mens M/L saddle, as I’m finding the Brooks uncomfortable (the saddle leather has cracked under my sit bones and sometimes I’m riding on the rivets, not recommended) and I’ll experiment with the Ergon GP-5 grips I recently bought as they have full ‘ski’ bar ends for different hand positions, I can experience hand numbness, despite wearing Specialized BG mitts that have extra padding for the ulna nerves. There’s no need to change the bike, just change the gearing, simply buy a 50T chainring and a 100-link chain and swap out the 44T ring and 98-link chain, you can take off the chainring without removing the pedal. If you plan to do that, definitely replace the 16T and 13T rear sprockets at the same time, otherwise you’ll create uneven wear and that will cause gear change problems down the line. The naming convention is now: A line (the previous B75, which itself is an M3E: old pre-2017 M stem, 3-speed Sturmey Archer hub, no mudguards and no pump). The all-steel bikes are now called ‘C line’ and the gearing is either ‘Utility’ (2-speed), ‘Urban’ (3-speed Sturmey Archer hub) or ‘Explore’ (3-speed Brompton wide ratio BWR Sturmey Archer hub with 16T & 13T sprockets = 6 gears) and the handlebars are referred to as ‘Low’ (S-type), ‘Mid’ (previous post-2017 M stem, plus new lower rise bars - the pre-2017 M stem was on the B75) or ‘High’ (H-type). So the H6R we both have is now called ‘C line Explore High’ - the M6L is now called ‘C line Explore Mid’. The previous steel and titanium bikes that were referred to with an ‘X’ in their name, eg: H6R-X or M6L-X are now called the ‘P line’. They have a new rear triangle that isn’t backwards compatible with previous bikes (they strengthened the join behind the brake bridge where the ‘ears’ that hold the Eazy wheels are mounted, as careless handling by airline baggage handlers could break these off entirely, meaning you can’t park the bike, as you’d then need an entire new titanium rear triangle, unless you’re friendly with someone who fixes titanium). Also, the gearing is completely different they now run a an adapted derailleur akin to a rear mech and 4-sprockets that have a smaller, narrower gear spread than the 3-speed hub! And has a different mounting for the new rear mech. A retrograde step in my opinion, along with the naming convention. But hey, that’s ‘progress’. They also have the ‘T line’ a titanium main frame, rear triangle and handlepost stem with carbon fibre forks, seatpost, carbon saddle rails and mid rise bars, also running a 4-speed rear mech called the ‘T line Urban’ weighs 7.95kgs and cost £4,000 or a single speed bike called ‘T line One’ £200 less,flat bars and weighing 7.45kgs. There have been lots of reported problems with the gearing on both P line & T line bikes. A cycle forum here in the UK called LFGSS (London Fixed Gear Single Speed) which has a dedicated Brompton page that’s been active for the last 10 years, has a guy that bought the T line (that’s been back to Brompton 3 times in 4 months) he bought his wife a full titanium Brompton clone from China that has better quality and reliability than the T line Brompton, which he is returning for a full refund. Don’t bother with the electric, they’re expensive and damn heavy and have also had reliability issues with software upgrades, you cannot change the motor assistance on the fly, you have to stop first and then select another mode, then set off again. Their luggage option is severely hampered by having to carry the battery inside the bag, therefore greatly reducing the potential carrying capacity, to carry stuff you’d need the rear rack, then you can’t park the bike without first removing the luggage. To wheel the bike around a grocery store, you’d be better off fully lowering the seatpost to lock the frame and either push/pull the bike around using the handlebars (ie don’t fully fold them down, so that they stick upwards at a 45 degree angle, if turning the bike is a problem you can get modified Eazy wheels from a guy in Australia, it allows the bike to pivot around corners akin to grocery trolley wheels. If you want to try new tyres, try Continental Urban Contacts, developed specifically for the Brompton, they roll faster than the Schwalbe Marathon Racers and have protection like the Schwalbe Marathons. I bought a pair recently but won’t be fitting them till my current Marathons need replacing, and before you ask yes they’re available in tan wall (or black wall with reflective strips). Link: us.brompton.com/shop/parts/continental-urban-contact-dark-tan-wall-tyre-folding
Great comments to a great video! The Joseph Kuosac is a very good alternative, I used it to raise a S-bar to M-bar height. Another option is to buy a second Brompton with an M-bar and exchange the stem and cables. This is not a dificult job. The Brompton Electric is fun but is really heavy. In my opinion especially an option as a second Brompton. The lower the handle bar, the more you'll benefit from better grips, like Ergon GP1 grips. Personally I would never go without the rear rack, as this part gives the folded bike the stability I need when doing my groceries.
@@vp501 It rattled a lot when I was cycling and I noticed one day when the bike was folded that it was leaning to the right, so in fact it was resting on only 3 wheels, not 4. I tried to remedy it but in the end I changed mudguards and went back to the rack, now it rests on all 4 wheels when folded.
Great post but I think you misunderstand the electric. I used to review ebikes, and there's a lot the BE does very well. Of course it's heavy compared to a regular Brompton, but if you want an electric bike in the first place, at 38lb the Brompton Electric is easily one of the lightest ebikes in the market, let alone foldable ones. Few ebike weigh less than 50lb, and even fewer under 40lbs, and the BE is even more practical to carry since that goes down to about 32lb when you take off the battery for transport. Its one of very ebikes i could recommend to an apartment dweller. And that's just for the regular/C Line; the P line is even lighter. The motor is also more powerful than it's 250W rating would have you believe. To me it feels closer to a 500W bike. You also definitely can switch speed modes while pedaling, whether on the battery or on the mobile app. My other ebike is 500W and don't feel like I'm missing much other than top speed. I do think it's lame that the electric has fewer cargo options than the regular Brompton, but hopefully there will be more options soon.
I have traveled extensively with my Brompton. Two things: 1. It does not fit in the overhead bin on your typical domestic flight. It does on most international flights-but on those I have already placed my Brompton in its hard case where it is well protected. 2. I have ridden it well over 100-miles - specifcally, around Lake Balaton in Hungary, which has a 150-mile circumference. It was fantastic.
Thank you a great review. I have a 30 yr old 3 speed which I used to commute on the train into London. Since retiring I rarely used it because as you say a road bike is much more efficient. A year ago I added a Swytch electric kit and this has revolutionised the bike. I now use it all the time around town and on short 20 mile trips to the coast. My road bike is now mainly used for longer day trips of 30+ miles. The kit is quite light and the battery detaches and is easily carried. I have replaced the seat post, pedals, rear rack and chainset with lighter chinese versions which are great ( This also gives you more freedom to change the size of the chainwheel.) This way you get to keep your current bike but I can promise you will ride the e brommi with an even bigger smile. A bit scary to think you go up to 25mph on it! if you feel you want more speed it is an easy job to change the size of the rear sprocket if you havent already done it.
I have the m6L with standard gearing, and generally love it. I wish I had purchased the rack, specifically for stability when taking it grocery shopping. Took it to Thailand on vacation for a month, and it was fantastic having a bike, and I never would have dealt with the hassle of bringing a full-sized bike when traveling.
yeah I do know what you're saying about stability. What I ultimately did was take off the rack, but add a wheel extender so that I maintain the stability, but remove the weight of the rack. I use the front bag now for all of my cargo and/or groceries
The most helpful and honest review I've read about the Brompton. Kept me captivated throughout. Thank you. P.s. In my day back in the 60s Brooks were common place and the B17 was cheap!
Ultimately, its all about compromise! Balancing the competing aspects to end up with something that performs to an acceptable level in all modes! However, the result is beyond expectations in every respect! This is, without doubt the very best folding bike ever concieved and made! The fold itself is a masterpiece of ergonomics, engineering and reliability! It is also quite exquisite to behold in its folded mode, design and engineering excellence! With the Brompton Cover in place it is as unobtrusive as a courier type bag, and may be taken where no other bicycle can venture. Given that unmodified, standard Brompton bicycles have travelled the world, its fair to say that they're very capable, tough little bikes! They're designed to be good at what they do, and given their longevity, they're designed to do it for many years, too. In the decades since its inception, there isn't anything even remotely as good, other than perhaps the Brompton Titanium and Carbon Fibre Ultralight, weighing in at around 8.5kg! I prefer the original Brompton.
I think I read somewhere that Brompton made the front clip out of plastic because it is made to break first if too heavy a load is used vs putting stress on the bike frame itself. ???
When it comes to industrial design, the Brompton is near perfection. I don’t own one, because of the price and some of the compromises made to the setup to allow the folding makes me steer clear. However, for the daily commuter that needs the brompton’s attributes, don’t know one could do better. Whatever the clip is made of it’s because that is the best material. Nothing on a Brompton is cheap or careless. But so much of it being proprietary, makes everything seem overpriced compared to “regular” bike parts.
+1 for the Rack for me. I never use it as a rack but for mixmode commuting where you're wheeling it through train stations or even taking it through the supermarket, the extra stability the rack gives is really important. The extra weight is a problem for climbing up four flights of stairs but that's just once a month rather than every day with the trains so the rack wins. Agree with the awkwardness of locking it up. I still haven't bought a lock for it as I dare not leave it out of sight outside. They are VERY conspicuous. Fortunately, there's very few places I can't take it with me. On those very few days, I just hire a cycle share bike.
I am going today to buy a Brompton C-Line and I will be taking it on a Metro occasionally and into cafes and small stores, so you would think the rack would be beneficial over the extra weight? I had planned on getting the rack until I watched this video. I probably should still get it?
@@GlobalAdventurer If you think you'll spend a lot of time in airports, train stations, supermarkets and the like, the extra four wheels that the rack has makes it much less like to tip over when rolling it around..
4+ rack for rolling. Fender wheels on the L are only for the smoothest of surfaces. Thin carpets are too much for them. Doable but not for more than rare use. Strap and handle are useful, too
Saw the Honda 125 trail review before. I thought your woods looked like the Coconino. I used to work on the North Kaibab years ago, got to Flagstaff a lot. Used to ride my MTB out by Walnut canyon. Sounds like you have a very busy life. So glad I found your channel. Blessings, Jim. Oh, coffee shop. Macy's?
If you want extra luggage but want to ditch the rear rack I'd recommend the Topeak Beamrack. Its both compatible with Topeak's line of luggage plus it has bungie cords to attach what you like. The Beamrack clamps to the base of your seatpost so you can fold the rear wheel without having to remove luggage. To fully fold the bike down just unclamp the rack with the bag it is carrying still attached as a unit and then re-clamp it on when you reach your destination. Make sure to get the straight "e-type" and not the a- or v-.
You can convert the H-bars to de-facto M-bars by buying the straight S-bar and swapping it for the "swoop" bars. Lowers the handlebars by 5cm, which is close to the difference between the H- and M-'s 6cm.
One point about ordering it without the rear rack: If you go grocery shopping, you might have issues with the little wheel on the flexible mudguard. If you have a lot of stuff / high weight on your bag, the mudguard will not withstand it and is pressed against the floor - as I saw in other videos. So the rack might be helpful even if you don't use it for luggage - but if you use it folded as a grocery cart.
Brompton's really come in to their own if you use it for commuting or general travelling along with public transport. Either simply to cover a biggish distance on your commute or to get to your holiday area destination.
That rear rack is sought after, I used it for my Vincita Big Nash Bag for the clips to mount. I got M6L but I had to buy the rack separately as add on. 6 gear is optimal for me but if i were to go touring, 6 gear ain't enough to hills and steep slopes. Your idea of setup is literary opposite of mine. 🤣
A few other comments: With the fancy Brompton lighting I have, I guess it’s a SON front generator hub, and the front high intensity lighting, and the rear light, mounted on that damn RACK, it IS FUN, and SAFE, that the rear light’s CAPACITOR keeps the tail light ON, after it saves enough charge, when you’re stopped at a traffic light. Also, you mentioned new tires. One of the first things I did, when I got the bike c. 8-10 years ago is swap out the normal Schwalbe tires for the Schwalbe KOJAKs, and it made SUCH a difference in speed and pedaling effort. Now, after just having to remove the rear wheel to replace the tube, i saw my old Kojaks were looked a bit ahead. I have ordered the NEW Schwalbe Kojaks, which are now foldable, as well as being tan wall, and I’m sure I’ll love them, as well as being so much easier to remove that the original non-foldable tires!
Thoroughly enjoyed your review. Picked my Brompton in May 2022 and boy is it fun to ride. I too, placed my AirTag in the same place. The weight is a killer but I wanted the Piccadilly colour and it wasn’t available in the lighter ranges.
Thanks for all the info. i've been on a deep dive into these this past day. Really into them but the weight and the cost seem tricky for me. I tried one in the shop and found that a heavy surprise.
A Brompton is a special tool for certain uses. I may bring it in a train for no extra cost, as folded, if wanted. Mine is a 2019 yellow, flame painted, black version, LightweightH6LXBrompton with much added, extra titanium and carbon. Latest a new standard length, black titanium seat post (A little too low for me, as a tall guy, but I also have an extended length black titanium version with a ring-mount on top! But it is un-handy when wanting to put it in my German B&W travel box (Specially and sturdy made for travel-transport of a Brompton), as I need to remove the long post and saddle then, before being able to put my, folding bike in it!). Also a ceramic ball, titanium hub. I found out that the clamps holding the original titanium struts for my original mudguards are rather "heavy", so I found a carbon set of clamps with lightweight screws (China). Also a pair of black brackets holding the mudguards, from aluminum, as the originals also are rather heavy (And they are two kinds, instead of finding out how to use one type for both?). And I gave my frame an auto polish as a first, and found out that the useless and rather ridiculous, clear tape strips from the factory had been worn through after only two folds, so I found a full set of carbon protectors for my bike, as a first.
Thanks! I just checked out the brand new Bromptons and they have some REALLY nice new models! I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a little bit tempting to trade-up for a new (and lighter) one...
@@On2Feet I really love the internal Hub though and don't want a bigger chain tensioner sweep (too close to the ground!) or I would be looking into efficiency upgrades as well LOL
@@On2Feet If you have money and 4-speed is fine (obviously some mod will come to the market soon to change to more gears) - then P and T Line are the babies! Otherwise, 6-speed Superlight ones are great.
Good review. I ride a CHPT3 v3. It is basically the super light. I recently took it on the train to NYC. It was great being able to put it in the overhead. I then had the pleasure of riding around the city before joining the East Coast Greenway fundraiser ride from NYC to Philly. 127 miles over 2 days. It was a great ride despite the weather, traffic and a crash. I am considering picking up another. My dealer has two 2021 Superlights left in stock. Both in the flame lacquer. We shall see.
great video - you mentioned the slightly heavy weight - as well as taking the rear rack off there are lots of after market titanium parts (stem, front fork and the back part of the frame, that you could buy without needing to upgrade to Brompton's superlight version.
Yeah...I did end up doing several of these things and shaved about 2 lbs...and have essentially come to a point that I'm fairly content now. I had considered some titanium parts, but honestly it just wasn't worth it to me for a few grams.
I had one a few years ago and always regretted selling. They are fantastic but a little heavy. Currently thinking of investing in a Moulton purely because the roads in my locale are awful and I think a slightly larger wheel is more appropriate
you could save a ton of weight with a single speed titanium with no rack and light tires. the rack spoils the looks in my opinion too. i have a pull out titanium set of rollers so its still stable without a rack.
The trouble with a desirable bike like the Brompton is that when you park it in town the only way to have peace of mind is to lock it with some hefty piece of kit, like my Kryptonite Evolution, which weighs several pounds. Buying a fancy titanium model(which I'd love to own) like the new T line is really pointless because of this.
Indeed. For me, I never take mine anywhere that I can't take it inside with me. I have only ever locked it up outside once, and it made me ridiculously nervous. With that said, if I DID need to, I'd use a hefty U-lock or my Gold-Rated FoldyLock. My problem with the P-line bike, is that for the extra thousand dollars, you do shed several pounds, BUT, the new gearing is terrible. I live in a very hilly place, and like have the wide 6-gear range. The new 4-speed has less range the the previous 3-speed!
Which brings us to JamesP's Law (it could be somebody else's, but I stole it): The weight of a bicycle system is always the same. The lighter the bicycle, the heavier the lock. ;-)
I've wanted a Brompton for so long, I'm still deciding. One of my main concerns is what to do when you need to leave alone?! Like you pointed out, It will get a lot of _unwanted_ attention, specially in my city where bike theft is such a big problem. Cool video
It was probably an unexpected advantage of the Brompton when it was initially designed and that nobody thought of, that it became theft-proof on the basis that you simply took it with you wherever you go, so there is very little reason to ever lock it up to a post or similar. It is just unlike a normal bike where you have to lock it up because it won't go indoors with you. I've owned three Bromptons since the 1990s here in London and have never, ever, used a lock with one because I never felt the need to leave them anywhere. I think the only time I left it alone was after work when we went for a drink after work and I actually checked it as if it was a coat in the bar, and they looked after it for me. For all other occasions, I have never, ever, had anybody ask me to leave a premises while carrying it (they just seem to be innocuous, even to people who dislike bicycles). I have carried it into many, many, pubs and nobody has objected. I've never done it, but I expect that nobody would say anything if you put one in a shopping cart in a supermarket - after all, some people let their children stand in them, and nobody knows what they have stood in. It is interesting that the bike above is in Flagstaff. I visited there many years ago and I find it amusing that Bromptons have now found their way there. When I bought my first Brompton, it was almost exclusively a London bike for London commuters travelling into the city on the train. For me it is fascinating that they are now sold around the World..
@@stephenschuit7880 cable lock? I don't think those are that hard for theives with powertools. LockPickingLawyer recommends a heavy duty chain lock by kryptonite, since chains allegedly are harder and more dangerous for theives to try to cut with a grinder I've yet to see him review the hiplok, though, which boasts a grinder resistant material that wears out and breaks grinder disks. But it's not cheap at $300 and is out of stock. Likely heavy too
Very interesting review,some good points, I’m glad you still like your Brompton, I have a M6R, I don’t mind going slow uphills, have you tried touring on your Brompton?
Good video, very useful and comprehensive. If you buy the Brompton without a rack then the small wheel they place on top of the mudguard to protect it and keep the guard off the ground when folded is RUBBISH. I must have replaced the mudguard 4-5 times in 15 years as after several years it becomes very scratched on top and then cracks. I bought my M6L without a rack as I think the Brompton rack is 1) ugly 2) too heavy, but I didn't fit any rack not even an aftermarket one for many years until about 18 months ago. I fitted the alloy ACE rack and it looks more OE spec than Brompton's offering, it is a lot lighter and you can actually use it to mount small panniers to if you want. Wish I had fitted one years ago. Also you can increase the gearing simply by fitting a larger front chain ring. I am guessing your Brompton has the 44T front ring? Just buy a 50T front ring and add 2 links to the chain. Mind you I think the M6 Brompton is massively over geared in std spec of 50T. I tried the 44T, still too high. I then fitted a new 39T Shimano Ultegra chain ring I had kicking around which has been brilliant. I now use ALL gears. I can pedal up to about 25mph on the flat before it spins out and down hill 25+mph I just coast. I would rather have the low gears for climbing when loaded with shopping or touring than high gears at the top that I seldom use. I have the M bars and I am 5'8" and they are just about perfect. I also fitted stubby Titec bar ends which don't affect the folding and put BBB foam grip over them. The only other upgrades I would recommend are fitting spd pedals, larger jockey wheels (Joseph Kuosac as they have super smooth proper sealed bearings), an axle extender for the right hand front jockey wheel which makes the bike far more stable when extended out and the bike is folded and also for pushing around say in the food stores. Also get the Brompton front wheel with the SP front hub dynamo with Supernova E3 Pro 2 front light and rear light. They are BRIGHT and you never have to worry about lights ever again. Like you I have other bikes, but riding my Brompton always puts a smile on my face. It is just so practical on so many levels. Utility score is 9/10 (minus 1 point for the security worry of leaving it anywhere - solution DON'T!) and fun factor 10/10. Absolutely agree security is an issue if you have to leave it somewhere. I don't as I never let it out of my sight if it is away from home. My first Brompton although locked up with a Kryptonite New Yorker D lock and a flock of CCTV cameras watching over it, was stolen. I never saw it again, but I got another quite quickly on my house insurance. This never leaves my sight when I am out on it which as you highlight can be a pain and sometimes awkward. What do you do with it if you want to leave it? They are VERY nickable as I know to my cost. Mine is an M6L 2006 but now has an aftermarket rear rack. I had to replace the rear hub as the first one a SRAM I think the seals were crap, water got in and it corroded inside. Total crap design, but the newer BWR hub is much better. I also upgraded the brake levers to the newer versions as the older ones are a bit pants. I don't have the tool kit for it in the frame. I just carry small 8, 10 and 15mm spanners, a multi-tool and a small pair of pliers plus spare tube, puncture repair kit and Topeak MTB Morph pump in one pocket of the T-bag. Ebikes are for the lazy squad. You already have a motorcycle, why do you want to ride a moped?
Currently got a M3L via the monthly hire scheme in the UK. I'm 6'2 and I find the M bars fine, but the bike isn't exactly pleasant to carry around and I think I'd much rather have the rear rack so I can roll it about when I need to. The 3-speed setup is also insufficient for a lot of the terrain we have in Scotland, since the P-Line has a similar gear range to this imo you're sacrificing rideability in exchange for making the bike a bit easier to carry. At the end of the day I think the weight of the steel bikes is fine for when you have to carry it and instead it's better to focus on what makes the bike good to ride.
All great points. I put a follow-up video to this one, where I did make a few adjustments. I did remove the rear rack, but installed a better fender wheel, as well as a wheel extender. This allows me to roll the bike effectively while folded, but also gives the bike sufficient stability and reduced weight. In the end I decided to leave the H-bars as it wasn't worth it to me to mess with it. I did swap out the chain ring to allow for slightly more speed. We do have a lot of hills here in Northern Arizona, but at the 12% reduced gearing, I was never using the 1- gear. Now, I feel like it is geared perfect for me and I use all 6 gears. I've been back to the porta-pedal bike shop a few times and have tried out the new P-line bikes. They are much lighter, but I am not a huge fan of the new 4-speed gearing. Honestly, I think I'll probalby just keep my H6 as a forever bike now. I did try a P-line electric and it basically weighs the same as my H6....but is almost 5000 dollars! Perhaps one day if I am really looking to burn 5 grand, I'll consider it, but I'm not sure I want to deal with carrying the battery around everywhere. I don't mind pedaling my bike manually. Lastly, if I DID have 5 grand to burn, I'd probably use it on another motorcycle ;-)
Easy solutions: get a bigger front sprocket, get a lower handlebar, get another back mudsling and take the wrack off))) any stock bike you buy will need some tuning 😉
Indeed! I did a follow-up video to this where I essentially did all of these things. The only thing I left was the H-bars as I decided I liked sitting a bit more upright...but I changed out the sprocket, and took off the rack and shed about 2 lbs.
Dear On 2 Feet, I have the same model Brompton as you, in Turkish green with white extremities. Mine also has the high end low friction front generator with the top of the line lights. As you say, this configuration makes it heavy, but… well there it is. A word of advice about inflating your tires, and I’d really like your feedback, if you would. You said you couldn’t inflate your front tire with a full-size pump, but I can on my bike. The reason? : I think I spot an error in how your front wheel is laced! It may have been an error all the way from the factory! From what I can see, the error doesn’t happen on the rear wheel. The valve stem should always be set between two spokes that are MOST PARALLEL, to give the best access to attaching the pump to the valve. On your front wheel, it appears your wheel was laced wrong, and the valve hole had come out between two spokes that cross high up (due to the small wheel diameter). I built myself a randonneur bike previously, including lacing the wheels, so I know some of the ins & outs of lacing & truing the wheels! Unfortunately, picking the wrong place to start lacing a wheel, and after all your work, you say, “damn, the valve hole is in the wrong place!” and you’ve got to tear the whole thing apart,🙄! Is this what’s going on with your front wheel? David Pearce, Fredericksburg, Va.
The reason I couldn't inflate my tire with my stand up pump is just that the head on my brand of pump is too big to fit between the spokes. I could just buy another pump that fits....but I also just can use the brompton hand pump or my electric pump....so it's not a big deal.
This is a good review from a US perspective. I'm in the UK and have been riding a Brompton since it came out 1995 (27 years). I agree its a bit on the heavy side. Mine is a L5 so it has 5 hub gears, unfortunately not available now. I've had very few problems with it and in fact I've not changed the chain! I think I may change the size of the chainwheel to reduce the gearing as I very rarely use the top gears (I am an old man 69 years) and speed is not an issue to me, getting up hills is.
As an owner of a 2019 Flame painted yellow, "SuperlightM6LXBrompton", I have just ordered a carbon M handlebar for test, as I also have a Sport. I also have/use a black titanium seat post for less weight. I use it when delivering my car for service, and when I'm on vacations, without leaving it alone at any time! After all it is really expensive! Mine for now is 9,35 kilos and I still have some ideas for making it lighter. The clamps holding my mudguards (Titanium stays as original) really weighs a lot, so I have ordered some from carbon, and two from aluminum, holding the guards on the frame. Finn. Denmark
Some great ideas here! I have a titanium seat-post bookmarked...but so far haven't actually purchased it yet. I eventually will...but I've really settled into this bike...and am quite content with it. For a brief while I toyed around with the idea of upgrading to a new P-line or even electric, but I think I'll probably just keep this brommie for a long while.
And the frame protection from the Factory! Clear tape to show "We know it is/may be a problem, but we really don't care!", so I at once ordered a set of "protective plates" and a cable-badge for the fork, from China! After two folds one tape was nearly worn through to the paint, when I gave it a car polish all over, a few days after my buy! I have sown protective leather round both my frame and the stem post, and I have a special padded, Vincita pouch for my folding pedal (Absurdly expensive!). And of course brake parts and possible bolts changed to titanium also. I still use the standard saddle , but I have some lighter also. Finn 😁
Yeah this definitely happened to me more times than I was using the 1- hill gear. I'm pretty happy with the new conventional gearing right now, although it's taking some getting used to as things are a bit off from what I'm used to. As I get older/slower, I might go back to the reduced gearing, but for now the standard 50 tooth sprocket seems to be my sweet spot.
I got tired of weight on M3E then got a super light S2E for my daily commute since I like the speed and lower wind resistance. Maybe remove the fender and rack, it maybe be good enough and change the chain ring to 50 tooth
Thanks for tips guys. I may remove rear rack. I’m hoping to make a trip down to the brompton dealer next week and see what I can do. Regardless, I’m excited to test ride one of the new 4-speeds P models
@@On2Feet here is the direct link to his vid ruclips.net/video/wntOUuYjO-A/видео.html He does the full walkthrough and install and shows you the weight and everything. He's so thorough
@@NoZenith I'm thinking of getting one of those. I don't need it for my day-to-day use but I'm planning to do a cycle tour. I have no idea what sort of roads I'm going to come across so best to be prepared for everything.
@@daelra I feel that! I have one bike H6R -12% that I plan on traveling with, not exactly cycle touring but taking my bike with me as transportation in unknown cities. A lot of these cities will have significant Hills to them or bridges I would need to cross... I'd rather not have to get off and walk the bike all the time as I am not a strong cyclist but I also love to go faster and I am forever spinning out on anything even a tiny bit downgrade.
I love my Brompton, but I have become aware that it is relatively heavy on tyres. Unsurprisingly, the sixteen inch size wears out in about half the time of the SAME tyres on a full-sized bike. This is to be expected, with tyres that only have half as much rubber in them. My gripe is with the cost of replacement. Brompton tyres are smaller, yes, and use much less material, but they are not sold any cheaper. Indeed, the tyres for Bromptons are not even sold at the same price as full-sized ones. Brompton sized 16" tyres are typically sold at about DOUBLE the cost of the much larger tyres on 26" 27" or 28" wheels. Effectively, a Brompton bike costs 4 times as much (2x2) to keep well shod in rolling rubber as the bikes with bigger wheels.
I'll look into that for sure. For now, I've decided I'm quite content to keep the bike as is and am quite happy with it. I trimmed a couple of pounds off by removing rear rack along with a few other things, and it's a noticeably lighter now.
Ha yeah...I see your point. What I should have said, is that I adjusted the internal hub exactly as taught by the mechanic, sighting it perfectly in the sighting hole. When the shifting stuck at that setting I tried several turns in either direction to clear up the issue. When shifting worked for say, 2-3, it would then stick from 1-2. Then I would fix it for 1-2, and it would stick for 2-3. No matter where I set the small shifting chain for the internal hub (and I tried every iteration of turns), it just wouldn't shift cleanly for each transition. Ultimately, I took it entirely out, lubed things a little, put it all back together, and it seems to be shifting better now. But...even the Brompton mechanic was thrown off by my bike's "Temperamental Weirdness" as he called it.
Foldies are heavy. Bromies hold their value. You pay for convenience, but they deliver. Rack really helps rolling. Straps with carry Forget about the odd ounce you save with Titanium. That's a WHOLE 'nother game. Single speed track bike out of a sow's ear. Yeah, uh hun. You carry bags and tools and worry about weight? Geeze.
Indeed. I ended up tweaking it a small bit and saved about 2 lbs, but for the most part, am content with it now. I prefer the 6 speed and comfort of my version and have no plans to update it now. I quite like the setup I've settled on. (see also here: ruclips.net/video/p1iEYi3DKXg/видео.html ).
You mean the wheel hub generator? Yeah, I roll pretty simple and just use the brompton 500lm front USB light. I'm ok with that set up and it saves me on weight as well....but I definitely can see the utility of having of the hub and think it's an awesome idea.
So many great comments and feedback from everyone. I did make a follow-up to this video where I made a few changes to reduce weight, most notably removing the rear rack (ruclips.net/video/p1iEYi3DKXg/видео.html). Over time, I'll probably swap out some titanium parts (like seat posts, etc), but I"m not in a huge rush. Right now it's about 26.5 lbs, and I'm pretty content with it. I also came around on the H bars, and am probably just going to leave them as is. I do like the upright casual position when riding. Bottom line is that I really do love my brommie, and use it almost daily for commuting to work (3 miles one-way). I am able to bring it into my office and tuck it away under my desk. For what it's worth, I highly recommend a brompton to everyone that asks about it (although I'm not sure how I feel about the new 4-speed gearing in the new lines)
I would've loved to hear more about " wheel popping off in the store"?! - alot of people putting alot of research into this buying decision SO MUCH THANKS FOR YOUR CONTENT :)
I bought a B-spoke Brompton H6R in 2012 in orange/orange with the -12% gear option, 44T giving gear inches from 28.2” up to 88.7” (perfect for cycling up 17% inclines) as to riding downhill if I spin in 6th I top out at 31.5mph, my current highest speed is down a 17% decline where I can do 46.2mph (gravity assisted). The Brompton will be 10 years old this August. It took 9 years before I decided to remove the rear rack and replace it with the rear mudguard and stays making it an H6L, the bike is lighter by 440 grams, it feels quicker when riding, I run a modified Eazy wheel that has 2x Eazy wheels connected by a horizontal rod, so that I still get the four points of contact when I park it.
There is a picture on Flickr that shows a Dawes Galaxy touring bike with a Brompton side by side with it. Both hubs are inline (front and rear together, hence the same wheelbase), as are the saddle and the handlebars, the Brompton is therefore a full-size bike, it just happens to fold.
The Brompton will be slower compared to a 26” or 27” wheeled bike, that’s a given, the larger wheeled bike has a larger rolling circumference and a greater gear range, meaning it will go further, faster and quicker (in time) for less effort than the Brompton. The Brompton are said to be on average 2mph slower than ‘conventional’ bikes.
You “feel” the road more because the 1.35” tyres run at a high pressure for a low volume tyre (eg: Schwalbe Marathon at 60psi) compared to a MTB tyre which run at low pressure (eg: 30psi) but a higher volume resulting in a cushioning effect. It isn’t a negative of the Brompton it’s just the way it is. A 700c road tyre often runs narrower tyres than the Brompton at 120psi!
The H bars are not taller than the M bars, they are identical in size and width. The difference is height comes from the handlebar post, in effect the ‘stem’ (from the headset to the handlebar clamp), the H-stem is 60mm longer than the M-stem (30mm between headset and clamp and another 30mm above the clamp). If the bars are too high, simply change the bars, I did. I changed to Joseph Kuosac mid-rise bars (link: www.sjscycles.co.uk/handlebars/joseph-kuosac-handlebar-for-bromptons-mid-rise-254mm-clamp-silver/ ), they’re 600mm wide and have an 80mm rise, I trimmed my bar width down to 560mm with a pipe cutter (20mm from each end) they have graduated marks with the width in millimetres marked on both ends.
I’ve changed a fair few components over the years: saddle (Brompton to Charge Spoon to Brooks B-17 Flyer Select), grips (Brompton to Ergon GP-1L), pedals (Brompton to Wellgo flats with pegs), bars (M/H to Joseph Kuosac mid-rise), suspension block (standard to firm), seatpost (extended to standard), brake pads (Fibrax to Swissstop Flash Pro BXP Blue), brake levers (old Brompton ‘Saccon’ design to new Brompton tryptich ‘logo’ levers). Currently planning to go back to extended seatpost as I’m intending to fit an Ergon ST Gel Mens M/L saddle, as I’m finding the Brooks uncomfortable (the saddle leather has cracked under my sit bones and sometimes I’m riding on the rivets, not recommended) and I’ll experiment with the Ergon GP-5 grips I recently bought as they have full ‘ski’ bar ends for different hand positions, I can experience hand numbness, despite wearing Specialized BG mitts that have extra padding for the ulna nerves.
There’s no need to change the bike, just change the gearing, simply buy a 50T chainring and a 100-link chain and swap out the 44T ring and 98-link chain, you can take off the chainring without removing the pedal. If you plan to do that, definitely replace the 16T and 13T rear sprockets at the same time, otherwise you’ll create uneven wear and that will cause gear change problems down the line.
The naming convention is now: A line (the previous B75, which itself is an M3E: old pre-2017 M stem, 3-speed Sturmey Archer hub, no mudguards and no pump). The all-steel bikes are now called ‘C line’ and the gearing is either ‘Utility’ (2-speed), ‘Urban’ (3-speed Sturmey Archer hub) or ‘Explore’ (3-speed Brompton wide ratio BWR Sturmey Archer hub with 16T & 13T sprockets = 6 gears) and the handlebars are referred to as ‘Low’ (S-type), ‘Mid’ (previous post-2017 M stem, plus new lower rise bars - the pre-2017 M stem was on the B75) or ‘High’ (H-type). So the H6R we both have is now called ‘C line Explore High’ - the M6L is now called ‘C line Explore Mid’. The previous steel and titanium bikes that were referred to with an ‘X’ in their name, eg: H6R-X or M6L-X are now called the ‘P line’. They have a new rear triangle that isn’t backwards compatible with previous bikes (they strengthened the join behind the brake bridge where the ‘ears’ that hold the Eazy wheels are mounted, as careless handling by airline baggage handlers could break these off entirely, meaning you can’t park the bike, as you’d then need an entire new titanium rear triangle, unless you’re friendly with someone who fixes titanium). Also, the gearing is completely different they now run a an adapted derailleur akin to a rear mech and 4-sprockets that have a smaller, narrower gear spread than the 3-speed hub! And has a different mounting for the new rear mech. A retrograde step in my opinion, along with the naming convention. But hey, that’s ‘progress’. They also have the ‘T line’ a titanium main frame, rear triangle and handlepost stem with carbon fibre forks, seatpost, carbon saddle rails and mid rise bars, also running a 4-speed rear mech called the ‘T line Urban’ weighs 7.95kgs and cost £4,000 or a single speed bike called ‘T line One’ £200 less,flat bars and weighing 7.45kgs. There have been lots of reported problems with the gearing on both P line & T line bikes. A cycle forum here in the UK called LFGSS (London Fixed Gear Single Speed) which has a dedicated Brompton page that’s been active for the last 10 years, has a guy that bought the T line (that’s been back to Brompton 3 times in 4 months) he bought his wife a full titanium Brompton clone from China that has better quality and reliability than the T line Brompton, which he is returning for a full refund.
Don’t bother with the electric, they’re expensive and damn heavy and have also had reliability issues with software upgrades, you cannot change the motor assistance on the fly, you have to stop first and then select another mode, then set off again. Their luggage option is severely hampered by having to carry the battery inside the bag, therefore greatly reducing the potential carrying capacity, to carry stuff you’d need the rear rack, then you can’t park the bike without first removing the luggage.
To wheel the bike around a grocery store, you’d be better off fully lowering the seatpost to lock the frame and either push/pull the bike around using the handlebars (ie don’t fully fold them down, so that they stick upwards at a 45 degree angle, if turning the bike is a problem you can get modified Eazy wheels from a guy in Australia, it allows the bike to pivot around corners akin to grocery trolley wheels.
If you want to try new tyres, try Continental Urban Contacts, developed specifically for the Brompton, they roll faster than the Schwalbe Marathon Racers and have protection like the Schwalbe Marathons. I bought a pair recently but won’t be fitting them till my current Marathons need replacing, and before you ask yes they’re available in tan wall (or black wall with reflective strips). Link: us.brompton.com/shop/parts/continental-urban-contact-dark-tan-wall-tyre-folding
Great comments to a great video!
The Joseph Kuosac is a very good alternative, I used it to raise a S-bar to M-bar height. Another option is to buy a second Brompton with an M-bar and exchange the stem and cables. This is not a dificult job.
The Brompton Electric is fun but is really heavy. In my opinion especially an option as a second Brompton.
The lower the handle bar, the more you'll benefit from better grips, like Ergon GP1 grips.
Personally I would never go without the rear rack, as this part gives the folded bike the stability I need when doing my groceries.
How did you do the Eazy wheels connected by a horizontal rod so you have 4 points of contact without a rack?
What a great detailed information post, thanks I've learnt a lot 😀
@@vp501 It rattled a lot when I was cycling and I noticed one day when the bike was folded that it was leaning to the right, so in fact it was resting on only 3 wheels, not 4. I tried to remedy it but in the end I changed mudguards and went back to the rack, now it rests on all 4 wheels when folded.
Great post but I think you misunderstand the electric. I used to review ebikes, and there's a lot the BE does very well. Of course it's heavy compared to a regular Brompton, but if you want an electric bike in the first place, at 38lb the Brompton Electric is easily one of the lightest ebikes in the market, let alone foldable ones. Few ebike weigh less than 50lb, and even fewer under 40lbs, and the BE is even more practical to carry since that goes down to about 32lb when you take off the battery for transport. Its one of very ebikes i could recommend to an apartment dweller. And that's just for the regular/C Line; the P line is even lighter.
The motor is also more powerful than it's 250W rating would have you believe. To me it feels closer to a 500W bike. You also definitely can switch speed modes while pedaling, whether on the battery or on the mobile app. My other ebike is 500W and don't feel like I'm missing much other than top speed.
I do think it's lame that the electric has fewer cargo options than the regular Brompton, but hopefully there will be more options soon.
I have traveled extensively with my Brompton. Two things: 1. It does not fit in the overhead bin on your typical domestic flight. It does on most international flights-but on those I have already placed my Brompton in its hard case where it is well protected. 2. I have ridden it well over 100-miles - specifcally, around Lake Balaton in Hungary, which has a 150-mile circumference. It was fantastic.
Great
❤
I like your voice. Very clear and understanding too.
Thank you a great review. I have a 30 yr old 3 speed which I used to commute on the train into London. Since retiring I rarely used it because as you say a road bike is much more efficient. A year ago I added a Swytch electric kit and this has revolutionised the bike. I now use it all the time around town and on short 20 mile trips to the coast. My road bike is now mainly used for longer day trips of 30+ miles. The kit is quite light and the battery detaches and is easily carried. I have replaced the seat post, pedals, rear rack and chainset with lighter chinese versions which are great ( This also gives you more freedom to change the size of the chainwheel.) This way you get to keep your current bike but I can promise you will ride the e brommi with an even bigger smile. A bit scary to think you go up to 25mph on it! if you feel you want more speed it is an easy job to change the size of the rear sprocket if you havent already done it.
I have the m6L with standard gearing, and generally love it. I wish I had purchased the rack, specifically for stability when taking it grocery shopping. Took it to Thailand on vacation for a month, and it was fantastic having a bike, and I never would have dealt with the hassle of bringing a full-sized bike when traveling.
yeah I do know what you're saying about stability. What I ultimately did was take off the rack, but add a wheel extender so that I maintain the stability, but remove the weight of the rack. I use the front bag now for all of my cargo and/or groceries
The most helpful and honest review I've read about the Brompton. Kept me captivated throughout. Thank you.
P.s. In my day back in the 60s Brooks were common place and the B17 was cheap!
Ultimately, its all about compromise!
Balancing the competing aspects to end up with something that performs to an acceptable level in all modes!
However, the result is beyond expectations in every respect!
This is, without doubt the very best folding bike ever concieved and made!
The fold itself is a masterpiece of ergonomics, engineering and reliability!
It is also quite exquisite to behold in its folded mode, design and engineering excellence!
With the Brompton Cover in place it is as unobtrusive as a courier type bag, and may be taken where no other bicycle can venture.
Given that unmodified, standard Brompton bicycles have travelled the world, its fair to say that they're very capable, tough little bikes!
They're designed to be good at what they do, and given their longevity, they're designed to do it for many years, too.
In the decades since its inception, there isn't anything even remotely as good, other than perhaps the Brompton Titanium and Carbon Fibre Ultralight, weighing in at around 8.5kg!
I prefer the original Brompton.
I think I read somewhere that Brompton made the front clip out of plastic because it is made to break first if too heavy a load is used vs putting stress on the bike frame itself. ???
Exactly, and it glass reinforced plastic, not "cheap plastic".
When it comes to industrial design, the Brompton is near perfection. I don’t own one, because of the price and some of the compromises made to the setup to allow the folding makes me steer clear. However, for the daily commuter that needs the brompton’s attributes, don’t know one could do better.
Whatever the clip is made of it’s because that is the best material. Nothing on a Brompton is cheap or careless. But so much of it being proprietary, makes everything seem overpriced compared to “regular” bike parts.
I went for medium bar, I'm 6ft2 and have no regrets
great video. thank you.
+1 for the Rack for me. I never use it as a rack but for mixmode commuting where you're wheeling it through train stations or even taking it through the supermarket, the extra stability the rack gives is really important. The extra weight is a problem for climbing up four flights of stairs but that's just once a month rather than every day with the trains so the rack wins. Agree with the awkwardness of locking it up. I still haven't bought a lock for it as I dare not leave it out of sight outside. They are VERY conspicuous. Fortunately, there's very few places I can't take it with me. On those very few days, I just hire a cycle share bike.
I am going today to buy a Brompton C-Line and I will be taking it on a Metro occasionally and into cafes and small stores, so you would think the rack would be beneficial over the extra weight? I had planned on getting the rack until I watched this video. I probably should still get it?
@@GlobalAdventurer If you think you'll spend a lot of time in airports, train stations, supermarkets and the like, the extra four wheels that the rack has makes it much less like to tip over when rolling it around..
4+ rack for rolling. Fender wheels on the L are only for the smoothest of surfaces. Thin carpets are too much for them. Doable but not for more than rare use. Strap and handle are useful, too
Saw the Honda 125 trail review before. I thought your woods looked like the Coconino. I used to work on the North Kaibab years ago, got to Flagstaff a lot. Used to ride my MTB out by Walnut canyon. Sounds like you have a very busy life. So glad I found your channel. Blessings, Jim. Oh, coffee shop. Macy's?
If you want extra luggage but want to ditch the rear rack I'd recommend the Topeak Beamrack. Its both compatible with Topeak's line of luggage plus it has bungie cords to attach what you like. The Beamrack clamps to the base of your seatpost so you can fold the rear wheel without having to remove luggage. To fully fold the bike down just unclamp the rack with the bag it is carrying still attached as a unit and then re-clamp it on when you reach your destination. Make sure to get the straight "e-type" and not the a- or v-.
You can convert the H-bars to de-facto M-bars by buying the straight S-bar and swapping it for the "swoop" bars. Lowers the handlebars by 5cm, which is close to the difference between the H- and M-'s 6cm.
One point about ordering it without the rear rack: If you go grocery shopping, you might have issues with the little wheel on the flexible mudguard. If you have a lot of stuff / high weight on your bag, the mudguard will not withstand it and is pressed against the floor - as I saw in other videos. So the rack might be helpful even if you don't use it for luggage - but if you use it folded as a grocery cart.
Could replace the rack with a light mini Q Rack,
Such an honest review! I liked it! Thanks!
Brompton's really come in to their own if you use it for commuting or general travelling along with public transport. Either simply to cover a biggish distance on your commute or to get to your holiday area destination.
That rear rack is sought after, I used it for my Vincita Big Nash Bag for the clips to mount. I got M6L but I had to buy the rack separately as add on. 6 gear is optimal for me but if i were to go touring, 6 gear ain't enough to hills and steep slopes. Your idea of setup is literary opposite of mine. 🤣
A few other comments:
With the fancy Brompton lighting I have, I guess it’s a SON front generator hub, and the front high intensity lighting, and the rear light, mounted on that damn RACK, it IS FUN, and SAFE, that the rear light’s CAPACITOR keeps the tail light ON, after it saves enough charge, when you’re stopped at a traffic light.
Also, you mentioned new tires. One of the first things I did, when I got the bike c. 8-10 years ago is swap out the normal Schwalbe tires for the Schwalbe KOJAKs, and it made SUCH a difference in speed and pedaling effort.
Now, after just having to remove the rear wheel to replace the tube, i saw my old Kojaks were looked a bit ahead. I have ordered the NEW Schwalbe Kojaks, which are now foldable, as well as being tan wall, and I’m sure I’ll love them, as well as being so much easier to remove that the original non-foldable tires!
Thoroughly enjoyed your review. Picked my Brompton in May 2022 and boy is it fun to ride. I too, placed my AirTag in the same place. The weight is a killer but I wanted the Piccadilly colour and it wasn’t available in the lighter ranges.
Thanks for all the info. i've been on a deep dive into these this past day. Really into them but the weight and the cost seem tricky for me. I tried one in the shop and found that a heavy surprise.
Foldies are heavy. Bromies hold their value.
Rack really helps rolling
same here, was surprised when it was delivered home !, plenty of options for replacingparts with lighter alternatives, but more cost !
A Brompton is a special tool for certain uses. I may bring it in a train for no extra cost, as folded, if wanted. Mine is a 2019 yellow, flame painted, black version, LightweightH6LXBrompton with much added, extra titanium and carbon. Latest a new standard length, black titanium seat post (A little too low for me, as a tall guy, but I also have an extended length black titanium version with a ring-mount on top! But it is un-handy when wanting to put it in my German B&W travel box (Specially and sturdy made for travel-transport of a Brompton), as I need to remove the long post and saddle then, before being able to put my, folding bike in it!). Also a ceramic ball, titanium hub. I found out that the clamps holding the original titanium struts for my original mudguards are rather "heavy", so I found a carbon set of clamps with lightweight screws (China). Also a pair of black brackets holding the mudguards, from aluminum, as the originals also are rather heavy (And they are two kinds, instead of finding out how to use one type for both?). And I gave my frame an auto polish as a first, and found out that the useless and rather ridiculous, clear tape strips from the factory had been worn through after only two folds, so I found a full set of carbon protectors for my bike, as a first.
Love your content, watched all your Brompton videos. Happy biking! :)
Thanks! I just checked out the brand new Bromptons and they have some REALLY nice new models! I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a little bit tempting to trade-up for a new (and lighter) one...
@@On2Feet I really love the internal Hub though and don't want a bigger chain tensioner sweep (too close to the ground!) or I would be looking into efficiency upgrades as well LOL
@@On2Feet If you have money and 4-speed is fine (obviously some mod will come to the market soon to change to more gears) - then P and T Line are the babies! Otherwise, 6-speed Superlight ones are great.
Good review. I ride a CHPT3 v3. It is basically the super light. I recently took it on the train to NYC. It was great being able to put it in the overhead. I then had the pleasure of riding around the city before joining the East Coast Greenway fundraiser ride from NYC to Philly. 127 miles over 2 days. It was a great ride despite the weather, traffic and a crash. I am considering picking up another. My dealer has two 2021 Superlights left in stock. Both in the flame lacquer. We shall see.
CHPT3 V3 is very nice, around 2kg lighter than the normal steel M6R version. Flame Lacquer superlight was very popular when it came out.
What does the CHPT3 stand for? Thanks
great video - you mentioned the slightly heavy weight - as well as taking the rear rack off there are lots of after market titanium parts (stem, front fork and the back part of the frame, that you could buy without needing to upgrade to Brompton's superlight version.
Yeah...I did end up doing several of these things and shaved about 2 lbs...and have essentially come to a point that I'm fairly content now. I had considered some titanium parts, but honestly it just wasn't worth it to me for a few grams.
Comments were helpful. Thanks.
Hello from a fellow Honda Trail 125 owner~
Omg! You have the two bikes I want! A brompton and Honda trail! Awe mannnnnn that’s so awesome!!
They are both fantastic and practical bikes! I have a blast on both.
I had one a few years ago and always regretted selling. They are fantastic but a little heavy. Currently thinking of investing in a Moulton purely because the roads in my locale are awful and I think a slightly larger wheel is more appropriate
And just think of the rise in class, prestige and acknowledgement you are a Moulton ambassador.
You will still wish you are riding a brompton
you could save a ton of weight with a single speed titanium with no rack and light tires. the rack spoils the looks in my opinion too. i have a pull out titanium set of rollers so its still stable without a rack.
Thanks for the video fella
Thank you.
Great review, thanks for sharing
extremely helpful, thank you!
Its a well interpretation. Thanks
The trouble with a desirable bike like the Brompton is that when you park it in town the only way to have peace of mind is to lock it with some hefty piece of kit, like my Kryptonite Evolution, which weighs several pounds. Buying a fancy titanium model(which I'd love to own) like the new T line is really pointless because of this.
Indeed. For me, I never take mine anywhere that I can't take it inside with me. I have only ever locked it up outside once, and it made me ridiculously nervous. With that said, if I DID need to, I'd use a hefty U-lock or my Gold-Rated FoldyLock. My problem with the P-line bike, is that for the extra thousand dollars, you do shed several pounds, BUT, the new gearing is terrible. I live in a very hilly place, and like have the wide 6-gear range. The new 4-speed has less range the the previous 3-speed!
Which brings us to JamesP's Law (it could be somebody else's, but I stole it): The weight of a bicycle system is always the same. The lighter the bicycle, the heavier the lock. ;-)
I've wanted a Brompton for so long, I'm still deciding. One of my main concerns is what to do when you need to leave alone?! Like you pointed out, It will get a lot of _unwanted_ attention, specially in my city where bike theft is such a big problem.
Cool video
I have rarely needed to leave my Brompton alone. When I do, I use a thick cable lock that I have.
It was probably an unexpected advantage of the Brompton when it was initially designed and that nobody thought of, that it became theft-proof on the basis that you simply took it with you wherever you go, so there is very little reason to ever lock it up to a post or similar. It is just unlike a normal bike where you have to lock it up because it won't go indoors with you.
I've owned three Bromptons since the 1990s here in London and have never, ever, used a lock with one because I never felt the need to leave them anywhere. I think the only time I left it alone was after work when we went for a drink after work and I actually checked it as if it was a coat in the bar, and they looked after it for me. For all other occasions, I have never, ever, had anybody ask me to leave a premises while carrying it (they just seem to be innocuous, even to people who dislike bicycles). I have carried it into many, many, pubs and nobody has objected. I've never done it, but I expect that nobody would say anything if you put one in a shopping cart in a supermarket - after all, some people let their children stand in them, and nobody knows what they have stood in.
It is interesting that the bike above is in Flagstaff. I visited there many years ago and I find it amusing that Bromptons have now found their way there. When I bought my first Brompton, it was almost exclusively a London bike for London commuters travelling into the city on the train. For me it is fascinating that they are now sold around the World..
@ZР36 You don't leave a Brompton around. You keep it with you.
@@stephenschuit7880 cable lock? I don't think those are that hard for theives with powertools.
LockPickingLawyer recommends a heavy duty chain lock by kryptonite, since chains allegedly are harder and more dangerous for theives to try to cut with a grinder
I've yet to see him review the hiplok, though, which boasts a grinder resistant material that wears out and breaks grinder disks. But it's not cheap at $300 and is out of stock. Likely heavy too
for me thé best is having 2 bikes, a foldable and a full size cheap
I’m late to this and you might have already figured this out: you can swap out the handlebar for a flat bar and essentially have a mid height one
Great video! Can you tell me the name of the handlebar bag and pump? Also, where did you buy both items? Thanks
Very interesting review,some good points, I’m glad you still like your Brompton, I have a M6R, I don’t mind going slow uphills, have you tried touring on your Brompton?
I haven't done any true touring per se, but I have done a century ride on it. It held up great! ruclips.net/video/vqtohGAKXVE/видео.html
Good video, very useful and comprehensive.
If you buy the Brompton without a rack then the small wheel they place on top of the mudguard to protect it and keep the guard off the ground when folded is RUBBISH. I must have replaced the mudguard 4-5 times in 15 years as after several years it becomes very scratched on top and then cracks.
I bought my M6L without a rack as I think the Brompton rack is 1) ugly 2) too heavy, but I didn't fit any rack not even an aftermarket one for many years until about 18 months ago. I fitted the alloy ACE rack and it looks more OE spec than Brompton's offering, it is a lot lighter and you can actually use it to mount small panniers to if you want. Wish I had fitted one years ago.
Also you can increase the gearing simply by fitting a larger front chain ring. I am guessing your Brompton has the 44T front ring? Just buy a 50T front ring and add 2 links to the chain. Mind you I think the M6 Brompton is massively over geared in std spec of 50T. I tried the 44T, still too high. I then fitted a new 39T Shimano Ultegra chain ring I had kicking around which has been brilliant. I now use ALL gears. I can pedal up to about 25mph on the flat before it spins out and down hill 25+mph I just coast. I would rather have the low gears for climbing when loaded with shopping or touring than high gears at the top that I seldom use.
I have the M bars and I am 5'8" and they are just about perfect. I also fitted stubby Titec bar ends which don't affect the folding and put BBB foam grip over them.
The only other upgrades I would recommend are fitting spd pedals, larger jockey wheels (Joseph Kuosac as they have super smooth proper sealed bearings), an axle extender for the right hand front jockey wheel which makes the bike far more stable when extended out and the bike is folded and also for pushing around say in the food stores. Also get the Brompton front wheel with the SP front hub dynamo with Supernova E3 Pro 2 front light and rear light. They are BRIGHT and you never have to worry about lights ever again.
Like you I have other bikes, but riding my Brompton always puts a smile on my face. It is just so practical on so many levels. Utility score is 9/10 (minus 1 point for the security worry of leaving it anywhere - solution DON'T!) and fun factor 10/10.
Absolutely agree security is an issue if you have to leave it somewhere. I don't as I never let it out of my sight if it is away from home. My first Brompton although locked up with a Kryptonite New Yorker D lock and a flock of CCTV cameras watching over it, was stolen. I never saw it again, but I got another quite quickly on my house insurance. This never leaves my sight when I am out on it which as you highlight can be a pain and sometimes awkward. What do you do with it if you want to leave it? They are VERY nickable as I know to my cost. Mine is an M6L 2006 but now has an aftermarket rear rack. I had to replace the rear hub as the first one a SRAM I think the seals were crap, water got in and it corroded inside. Total crap design, but the newer BWR hub is much better. I also upgraded the brake levers to the newer versions as the older ones are a bit pants.
I don't have the tool kit for it in the frame. I just carry small 8, 10 and 15mm spanners, a multi-tool and a small pair of pliers plus spare tube, puncture repair kit and Topeak MTB Morph pump in one pocket of the T-bag.
Ebikes are for the lazy squad. You already have a motorcycle, why do you want to ride a moped?
Currently got a M3L via the monthly hire scheme in the UK. I'm 6'2 and I find the M bars fine, but the bike isn't exactly pleasant to carry around and I think I'd much rather have the rear rack so I can roll it about when I need to. The 3-speed setup is also insufficient for a lot of the terrain we have in Scotland, since the P-Line has a similar gear range to this imo you're sacrificing rideability in exchange for making the bike a bit easier to carry. At the end of the day I think the weight of the steel bikes is fine for when you have to carry it and instead it's better to focus on what makes the bike good to ride.
All great points. I put a follow-up video to this one, where I did make a few adjustments. I did remove the rear rack, but installed a better fender wheel, as well as a wheel extender. This allows me to roll the bike effectively while folded, but also gives the bike sufficient stability and reduced weight. In the end I decided to leave the H-bars as it wasn't worth it to me to mess with it. I did swap out the chain ring to allow for slightly more speed. We do have a lot of hills here in Northern Arizona, but at the 12% reduced gearing, I was never using the 1- gear. Now, I feel like it is geared perfect for me and I use all 6 gears. I've been back to the porta-pedal bike shop a few times and have tried out the new P-line bikes. They are much lighter, but I am not a huge fan of the new 4-speed gearing. Honestly, I think I'll probalby just keep my H6 as a forever bike now. I did try a P-line electric and it basically weighs the same as my H6....but is almost 5000 dollars! Perhaps one day if I am really looking to burn 5 grand, I'll consider it, but I'm not sure I want to deal with carrying the battery around everywhere. I don't mind pedaling my bike manually. Lastly, if I DID have 5 grand to burn, I'd probably use it on another motorcycle ;-)
Easy solutions: get a bigger front sprocket, get a lower handlebar, get another back mudsling and take the wrack off))) any stock bike you buy will need some tuning 😉
Indeed! I did a follow-up video to this where I essentially did all of these things. The only thing I left was the H-bars as I decided I liked sitting a bit more upright...but I changed out the sprocket, and took off the rack and shed about 2 lbs.
@@On2Feet way to go mate 😎👍🏻
Great video thank you!
Yes, portable electronic pumps are great.
So far it's been nice. When I got a flat on my motorcycle and had to fill an full tire, it took a REALLY long time and used up most of the battery.
this is good review! thanks!
Glad you found it helpful. I've really enjoyed my brommie.
Dear On 2 Feet,
I have the same model Brompton as you, in Turkish green with white extremities.
Mine also has the high end low friction front generator with the top of the line lights.
As you say, this configuration makes it heavy, but… well there it is.
A word of advice about inflating your tires, and I’d really like your feedback, if you would.
You said you couldn’t inflate your front tire with a full-size pump, but I can on my bike. The reason? : I think I spot an error in how your front wheel is laced! It may have been an error all the way from the factory! From what I can see, the error doesn’t happen on the rear wheel.
The valve stem should always be set between two spokes that are MOST PARALLEL, to give the best access to attaching the pump to the valve. On your front wheel, it appears your wheel was laced wrong, and the valve hole had come out between two spokes that cross high up (due to the small wheel diameter).
I built myself a randonneur bike previously, including lacing the wheels, so I know some of the ins & outs of lacing & truing the wheels!
Unfortunately, picking the wrong place to start lacing a wheel, and after all your work, you say, “damn, the valve hole is in the wrong place!” and you’ve got to tear the whole thing apart,🙄!
Is this what’s going on with your front wheel?
David Pearce,
Fredericksburg, Va.
The reason I couldn't inflate my tire with my stand up pump is just that the head on my brand of pump is too big to fit between the spokes. I could just buy another pump that fits....but I also just can use the brompton hand pump or my electric pump....so it's not a big deal.
This is a good review from a US perspective. I'm in the UK and have been riding a Brompton since it came out 1995 (27 years). I agree its a bit on the heavy side. Mine is a L5 so it has 5 hub gears, unfortunately not available now. I've had very few problems with it and in fact I've not changed the chain! I think I may change the size of the chainwheel to reduce the gearing as I very rarely use the top gears (I am an old man 69 years) and speed is not an issue to me, getting up hills is.
As an owner of a 2019 Flame painted yellow, "SuperlightM6LXBrompton", I have just ordered a carbon M handlebar for test, as I also have a Sport. I also have/use a black titanium seat post for less weight. I use it when delivering my car for service, and when I'm on vacations, without leaving it alone at any time! After all it is really expensive!
Mine for now is 9,35 kilos and I still have some ideas for making it lighter. The clamps holding my mudguards (Titanium stays as original) really weighs a lot, so I have ordered some from carbon, and two from aluminum, holding the guards on the frame. Finn. Denmark
Some great ideas here! I have a titanium seat-post bookmarked...but so far haven't actually purchased it yet. I eventually will...but I've really settled into this bike...and am quite content with it. For a brief while I toyed around with the idea of upgrading to a new P-line or even electric, but I think I'll probably just keep this brommie for a long while.
And the frame protection from the Factory! Clear tape to show "We know it is/may be a problem, but we really don't care!", so I at once ordered a set of "protective plates" and a cable-badge for the fork, from China! After two folds one tape was nearly worn through to the paint, when I gave it a car polish all over, a few days after my buy!
I have sown protective leather round both my frame and the stem post, and I have a special padded, Vincita pouch for my folding pedal (Absurdly expensive!). And of course brake parts and possible bolts changed to titanium also. I still use the standard saddle , but I have some lighter also. Finn 😁
Hi we have almost the same height. I have a m handlebar but I find it tiring for my hands and back in the long run . How do you like the h bar?
Isn't the rear rack just an accessory, which you can remove if you think it adds too much weight?
Yep…and I did just that in a follow up video. It required a little work getting a standard fender on but shaved 1.5 lbs!
@@On2Feet Wow heavy. I guess it has to be that beefy to support the bike when you roll it around.
I love mine but wish I hadn't opted for reduced gearing. I spend 95% of my time in 3+ and spin out a lot
Yeah this definitely happened to me more times than I was using the 1- hill gear. I'm pretty happy with the new conventional gearing right now, although it's taking some getting used to as things are a bit off from what I'm used to. As I get older/slower, I might go back to the reduced gearing, but for now the standard 50 tooth sprocket seems to be my sweet spot.
I got tired of weight on M3E then got a super light S2E for my daily commute since I like the speed and lower wind resistance. Maybe remove the fender and rack, it maybe be good enough and change the chain ring to 50 tooth
There is an affordable dual chainring from H&H I believe! Brompton Family Time channel posted a video and is LIGHTER than the stock chainring!
Thanks for tips guys. I may remove rear rack. I’m hoping to make a trip down to the brompton dealer next week and see what I can do. Regardless, I’m excited to test ride one of the new 4-speeds P models
@@On2Feet here is the direct link to his vid ruclips.net/video/wntOUuYjO-A/видео.html
He does the full walkthrough and install and shows you the weight and everything. He's so thorough
@@NoZenith I'm thinking of getting one of those. I don't need it for my day-to-day use but I'm planning to do a cycle tour. I have no idea what sort of roads I'm going to come across so best to be prepared for everything.
@@daelra I feel that! I have one bike H6R -12% that I plan on traveling with, not exactly cycle touring but taking my bike with me as transportation in unknown cities. A lot of these cities will have significant Hills to them or bridges I would need to cross... I'd rather not have to get off and walk the bike all the time as I am not a strong cyclist but I also love to go faster and I am forever spinning out on anything even a tiny bit downgrade.
I have a trail 125 and a brompton also
It's a great combo! I pretty much use one or the other daily.
brommie and a ct 125. I think we would be friends.
lol AND an RE Himmie you legend
I love my Brompton, but I have become aware that it is relatively heavy on tyres.
Unsurprisingly, the sixteen inch size wears out in about half the time of the SAME tyres on a full-sized bike. This is to be expected, with tyres that only have half as much rubber in them.
My gripe is with the cost of replacement. Brompton tyres are smaller, yes, and use much less material, but they are not sold any cheaper. Indeed, the tyres for Bromptons are not even sold at the same price as full-sized ones.
Brompton sized 16" tyres are typically sold at about DOUBLE the cost of the much larger tyres on 26" 27" or 28" wheels. Effectively, a Brompton bike costs 4 times as much (2x2) to keep well shod in rolling rubber as the bikes with bigger wheels.
I change inner tyres with Presta Valve (French) ones with little stoppers, hope they will hold air better than standard valve.
How tall are you?
Only 5'9" (175 cm)
Fun bike :)
Beter option for electric is just buy swytch bike kit.
I'll look into that for sure. For now, I've decided I'm quite content to keep the bike as is and am quite happy with it. I trimmed a couple of pounds off by removing rear rack along with a few other things, and it's a noticeably lighter now.
The cons were many. Scary for a newbie.
I suppose....but I have loved my brompton and still ride it all the time nearly 3 years later now.
8:33 lol
Ha yeah...I see your point. What I should have said, is that I adjusted the internal hub exactly as taught by the mechanic, sighting it perfectly in the sighting hole. When the shifting stuck at that setting I tried several turns in either direction to clear up the issue. When shifting worked for say, 2-3, it would then stick from 1-2. Then I would fix it for 1-2, and it would stick for 2-3. No matter where I set the small shifting chain for the internal hub (and I tried every iteration of turns), it just wouldn't shift cleanly for each transition. Ultimately, I took it entirely out, lubed things a little, put it all back together, and it seems to be shifting better now. But...even the Brompton mechanic was thrown off by my bike's "Temperamental Weirdness" as he called it.
@@On2Feet Haha, I got what you were trying to say. My point was that I found the specific sentence you chose was kind of suggestive... ;-)
Foldies are heavy. Bromies hold their value. You pay for convenience, but they deliver.
Rack really helps rolling. Straps with carry
Forget about the odd ounce you save with Titanium. That's a WHOLE 'nother game.
Single speed track bike out of a sow's ear. Yeah, uh hun. You carry bags and tools and worry about weight? Geeze.
Indeed. I ended up tweaking it a small bit and saved about 2 lbs, but for the most part, am content with it now. I prefer the 6 speed and comfort of my version and have no plans to update it now. I quite like the setup I've settled on. (see also here: ruclips.net/video/p1iEYi3DKXg/видео.html ).
No generator 👎
You mean the wheel hub generator? Yeah, I roll pretty simple and just use the brompton 500lm front USB light. I'm ok with that set up and it saves me on weight as well....but I definitely can see the utility of having of the hub and think it's an awesome idea.