Brompton Electric
Discussion
jinkster said:
Has anyone bought a Brompton Electric? The Youtube video reviews say its really good. How about an old Brompton and the conversion kit?
Nope. Not even seen one in the wild. Hugely expensive tooI've had a Brompton since July 2016. It recently clocked over 8000 miles. I'm over weight and nudging 40 an I currently do about 240 miles a month on my Brompton. If I can peddle that anyone can!
There are certainly loads of electric bikes in town now. I remember seeing my first on my cycle home about 5 yrs ago, now I see a few every time I go out on the bike.
Only ever seen an e-brompton in the Velorution shop though. I have wondered why - its not price alone because Brompton fans are pretty well heeled on the whole.
I think it's because the key advantage of an e-bike is that you can go further for less effort, but most Brompton riders only do a couple of miles anyway. Anyone can pedal that far.
Also a Brommie is already pretty heavy to carry when folded. Add in battery and motor and its probably a bit of an arm stretcher to lug about on the train.
Only ever seen an e-brompton in the Velorution shop though. I have wondered why - its not price alone because Brompton fans are pretty well heeled on the whole.
I think it's because the key advantage of an e-bike is that you can go further for less effort, but most Brompton riders only do a couple of miles anyway. Anyone can pedal that far.
Also a Brommie is already pretty heavy to carry when folded. Add in battery and motor and its probably a bit of an arm stretcher to lug about on the train.
dontlookdown said:
There are certainly loads of electric bikes in town now. I remember seeing my first on my cycle home about 5 yrs ago, now I see a few every time I go out on the bike.
Only ever seen an e-brompton in the Velorution shop though. I have wondered why - its not price alone because Brompton fans are pretty well heeled on the whole.
I think it's because the key advantage of an e-bike is that you can go further for less effort, but most Brompton riders only do a couple of miles anyway. Anyone can pedal that far.
Also a Brommie is already pretty heavy to carry when folded. Add in battery and motor and its probably a bit of an arm stretcher to lug about on the train.
This. Only ever seen an e-brompton in the Velorution shop though. I have wondered why - its not price alone because Brompton fans are pretty well heeled on the whole.
I think it's because the key advantage of an e-bike is that you can go further for less effort, but most Brompton riders only do a couple of miles anyway. Anyone can pedal that far.
Also a Brommie is already pretty heavy to carry when folded. Add in battery and motor and its probably a bit of an arm stretcher to lug about on the train.
When looking at a job with a train / cycle commute I considered a Brompton as a bit of toy.
If I'm going for a proper ride I'll take a proper road bike.
My post sounds a bit anti-Brompton, which it's not meant to. I think they are a very neat design, a great way of opening up options for commuters, and getting a few miles in regularly.
But the e-version just seems like a solution in search of a problem. Fun to ride no doubt but not really that much more useful than an unmotorised one.
But the e-version just seems like a solution in search of a problem. Fun to ride no doubt but not really that much more useful than an unmotorised one.
dontlookdown said:
I think it's because the key advantage of an e-bike is that you can go further for less effort, but most Brompton riders only do a couple of miles anyway. Anyone can pedal that far.
I have a Gocycle - not a direct competitor to the eBrompton, but the same "template" - small wheels, step through frame and upright cycling position. Both are primarily aimed at short urban hops, so a lot of stopping and starting and filtering. The upright position aids visibility when filtering (seeing and being seen) while the electric motor gives a welcome "boost" at lights and junctions - a quicker getaway is safer and I find it tiresome constantly building up speed and slowing. Once I'm up and rolling at 15.5 mph I don't need the electric power anyway.
For me it's not really about distance, it's the nature of the trip. Intra urban short hops with a lot of stopping and starting are ideal for an ebike - they just eliminate a lot of the tediousness for me.
Plus it's great fun
CooperS said:
This.
When looking at a job with a train / cycle commute I considered a Brompton as a bit of toy.
If I'm going for a proper ride I'll take a proper road bike.
I can't imagine many Bromptons are purchased as a toy. Most will be bought because they need a bike and don't have the space to store a full size one or like me, they don't want to use the Tube. When looking at a job with a train / cycle commute I considered a Brompton as a bit of toy.
If I'm going for a proper ride I'll take a proper road bike.
Previous poster was right about them being heavy to carry. As a general rule, I don't carry mine very far. I unfold it as soon as I get off the the train and walk with it full assembled through the ticket barriers.
Also most Brompton riders will have either a rucksack or one of the Brompton bags, and the E version means you now have something else to carry or the battery pack sits n the bike and that makes it even bigger and heavier.
I also see E-Bikes every day, but never seen a E-Brompton. I' be interested to know if they did ANY market research on whether the market would support a £2.5k Brompton. I'd be amazed if they sell more than a few a month.
I'd really like them to launch a disc brake variant....
I've got an electric Brompton. My commute is 5 miles to the station through hilly countryside at one end and then about 3 miles through London at the other.
It suits me really well as cycling to the station on it takes the same amount of time as driving and parking up. It's heavy, but the bike itself doesn't weigh a whole lot more than my old non-electric Brompton. You sling the bag with the battery over your shoulder when carrying it which distributes the weight a bit more. But like any Brompton rider would do, you'd fold the bike at the last possible minute (i.e. on the station platform) and carry it for the least amount of time possible.
The reliability has been pretty poor, it broke down before I'd even collected it suggesting that they don't do much QA in the factory. Then it broke down while I was riding it home one afternoon meaning I needed to get it back to Covent Garden for repairs. And now it's currently in the shop because the battery won't fully charge after a firmware update.
All in all, if a Brompton fits what you need it's great because it's a Brompton with electric assist. This sounds like a silly thing to say, but when I researched the competition there were a lot of electric bikes which fold in some way but nothing compared to the Brompton.
GoCycle have just brought out a new version of their bike which might be worth looking at though:
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/product-news/ne...
It suits me really well as cycling to the station on it takes the same amount of time as driving and parking up. It's heavy, but the bike itself doesn't weigh a whole lot more than my old non-electric Brompton. You sling the bag with the battery over your shoulder when carrying it which distributes the weight a bit more. But like any Brompton rider would do, you'd fold the bike at the last possible minute (i.e. on the station platform) and carry it for the least amount of time possible.
The reliability has been pretty poor, it broke down before I'd even collected it suggesting that they don't do much QA in the factory. Then it broke down while I was riding it home one afternoon meaning I needed to get it back to Covent Garden for repairs. And now it's currently in the shop because the battery won't fully charge after a firmware update.
All in all, if a Brompton fits what you need it's great because it's a Brompton with electric assist. This sounds like a silly thing to say, but when I researched the competition there were a lot of electric bikes which fold in some way but nothing compared to the Brompton.
GoCycle have just brought out a new version of their bike which might be worth looking at though:
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/product-news/ne...
There's a kit that turns a lot of normal bikes to electric and they do one for Bromptons. Seems to be a basket type battery pack that fits to the front handlebars and a wheel with a hub motor.
Think it is around £400.
That said, it seems to defeat the idea of the Brompton as a fold up bike that can be not so easily lugged onto the train/tube.
Mine has not been used for ages but at least it folds to be stored by the stairs unlike my poor old Giant that somehow survives every year being left out in the cold and rain.
Had it so long now that I can't remember how old it is, but a squirt of oil and it's good to go
Think it is around £400.
That said, it seems to defeat the idea of the Brompton as a fold up bike that can be not so easily lugged onto the train/tube.
Mine has not been used for ages but at least it folds to be stored by the stairs unlike my poor old Giant that somehow survives every year being left out in the cold and rain.
Had it so long now that I can't remember how old it is, but a squirt of oil and it's good to go
There are a few conversion kits out there, one of them is the Nano:
https://www.nanoelectricbikes.co.uk/
This is quite good because it uses a modified Brompton luggage block to connect a battery in your bag to the bikes electrical systems. You have to widen the front forks for this one though.
Then there's the Swytch which has the battery slung off of the handlebars (as mentioned above):
https://www.swytchbike.com/
There's countless other kits too, some of them power the rear wheel and others are variations on the above.
https://www.nanoelectricbikes.co.uk/
This is quite good because it uses a modified Brompton luggage block to connect a battery in your bag to the bikes electrical systems. You have to widen the front forks for this one though.
Then there's the Swytch which has the battery slung off of the handlebars (as mentioned above):
https://www.swytchbike.com/
There's countless other kits too, some of them power the rear wheel and others are variations on the above.
croyde said:
There's a kit that turns a lot of normal bikes to electric and they do one for Bromptons. Seems to be a basket type battery pack that fits to the front handlebars and a wheel with a hub motor.
Think it is around £400.
That said, it seems to defeat the idea of the Brompton as a fold up bike that can be not so easily lugged onto the train/tube.
Mine has not been used for ages but at least it folds to be stored by the stairs unlike my poor old Giant that somehow survives every year being left out in the cold and rain.
Had it so long now that I can't remember how old it is, but a squirt of oil and it's good to go
There's a very strong market in used bromptons on ebay etc if you fancied selling it. I sold mine which was about 5 years old at the time when I moved to Singapore and ended up making a profit (bought via C2W). Back now and slightly regret selling it...Think it is around £400.
That said, it seems to defeat the idea of the Brompton as a fold up bike that can be not so easily lugged onto the train/tube.
Mine has not been used for ages but at least it folds to be stored by the stairs unlike my poor old Giant that somehow survives every year being left out in the cold and rain.
Had it so long now that I can't remember how old it is, but a squirt of oil and it's good to go
I've seen plenty about in London, and have borrowed one from the CG store for nearly an hour when I had time to kill in the area. I'm also a regular Brompton owner.
I personally think it's great, and it really resolves a lot of issues when going up hill. The whole execution seems spot on and a nice and easy user experience. That being said, it's very heavy. My mum has a Brompton and I think an e-Brompton would fit her needs even better but the weight just means it wouldn't work. Then there's the price, for the average commuter I think it would be very difficult to justify. It's a nice bit of kit but I bought my brand new motorbike for the same money as the base model so I think it's hard to justify. That being said the e-Brompton sold out almost immediately so clearly there's enough punters out there.
For me, the Brompton is excellent but at nearly triple the cost I think it's very difficult to justify the electric version. The only real scenario I could see use for one is a commute which is too far to walk, but within cycling distance (ie no train) where there is no secure storage for the bike at either end.
I personally think it's great, and it really resolves a lot of issues when going up hill. The whole execution seems spot on and a nice and easy user experience. That being said, it's very heavy. My mum has a Brompton and I think an e-Brompton would fit her needs even better but the weight just means it wouldn't work. Then there's the price, for the average commuter I think it would be very difficult to justify. It's a nice bit of kit but I bought my brand new motorbike for the same money as the base model so I think it's hard to justify. That being said the e-Brompton sold out almost immediately so clearly there's enough punters out there.
For me, the Brompton is excellent but at nearly triple the cost I think it's very difficult to justify the electric version. The only real scenario I could see use for one is a commute which is too far to walk, but within cycling distance (ie no train) where there is no secure storage for the bike at either end.
I can see now how electric bicycles can improve fitness.
Yesterday I was just coming back from a nice little 15 mile ride on my ancient and heavy 21 speed bike when a guy on a fat bike joins the road in front of me via a mini roundabout.
I'm thinking that his great big balloon tyres will be no match for me so give chase. I'm pedalling like crazy but not catching up. My heart is going ten to the dozen when I realise he is not pedaling.
It's a blooming electric fat bike
Yesterday I was just coming back from a nice little 15 mile ride on my ancient and heavy 21 speed bike when a guy on a fat bike joins the road in front of me via a mini roundabout.
I'm thinking that his great big balloon tyres will be no match for me so give chase. I'm pedalling like crazy but not catching up. My heart is going ten to the dozen when I realise he is not pedaling.
It's a blooming electric fat bike
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