Brompton Electric or normal

[steveindenmark]

I ride a Brompton and would not entertain the electric version until they sort out the wide array of niggles that should have been addressed in R&D.

I am sure that there are new owners who have had no troubles at all. But there are far too many who have reported having all sorts of problems.

Get a regular Brompton, They are great fun.

 

[CXRAndy]

Doing a full time job and cycling 40 miles would be a demand on the person. I would opt for an S pedelec bike ride upto 28mph with relative ease on the flats, low gradients. Use the power for easing up the climbs.

 

[e-rider]

So what are all the problems with e-Bromptons you talk about?

 

[Pale Rider]

So what are all the problems with e-Bromptons you talk about?

Several owners reported motor surges, which is almost certainly a controller fault.

Very unimpressive, given that it's basic hub motor control technology which has been in use for 10 or 15 years.

The faults were on earlier bikes, so may - or may not - have been sorted by now.

 

[e-rider]

Several owners reported motor surges, which is almost certainly a controller fault.

Very unimpressive, given that it's basic hub motor control technology which has been in use for 10 or 15 years.

The faults were on earlier bikes, so may - or may not - have been sorted by now.

I was thinking about converting my Brompton to electric however, from what I can see the 'official' e-kit isn't available as aftermarket? I've seen some other companies selling Brompton e-kits but who knows if they are any good!

 

[Pale Rider]

I was thinking about converting my Brompton to electric however, from what I can see the 'official' e-kit isn't available as aftermarket? I've seen some other companies selling Brompton e-kits but who knows if they are any good!

@e-rider

The Brompton Nano kit is pretty good.

I had one for a while.

You do need to dremmel the drop outs a little and splay the forks a few mm.

I think Nano will sell you all the bits you need.

https://www.nanoelectricbikes.co.uk/

 

[shingwell]

Second vote for Nano here - the motor suits the Brompton well and you get it ready-mounted in a good quality replacement front wheel. Spreading the front forks is a bit nerve-racking at first but you get everything you need to do it easily and safely. That also affects the "hook" for folding and you get everything to sort that out too. Nothing too difficult if you are reasonably handy, or you can get Nano or their agents to fit it for you, in the UK anyway.

I didn't like that the battery lives in a bag - it means a) you always have to ride with a bag and b) when you actually need a bag, half of it is taken up with the battery (same with the official e-Brompton.) So I found a suitable battery and mounted it to the frame in a position that does not affect the fold: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/variation-on-a-nano-conversion.251868/

 

[Pale Rider]

I had a 10ah battery which did rather fill the bag.

Nano now offer connection to the compact Bosch lawnmower and power tool battery.

That wouldn't take up much space in a Brommie bag, and would be fine if you knew you were only doing a 10 or 12 mile trip.

 

[ExBromptonMan]

Several owners reported motor surges, which is almost certainly a controller fault.

Very unimpressive, given that it's basic hub motor control technology which has been in use for 10 or 15 years.

The faults were on earlier bikes, so may - or may not - have been sorted by now.

I had one of the first Brompton Electric bikes. The motor was “clonking”, kept surging and often cut out completely... I then had to switch off and back on to reset the system.
The bike went back to the factory where, I’m lead to believe, had a new motor and controller. The result was.... it was worse than before.
I got a full refund.
I waited six or so months for things to settle down and tried again. It was alot better but occasionally cut out after a “freewheeling session”.
The main problem I have to say is the motor surge on startup. This got me thrown off the bike twice with wheel spin. I’d had enough so reverted to a non electric version for the car boot and a Cube Compact Hybrid 20 for longer trips on very hilly terrain.
I was told by Brompton never to change power when riding. The reason was “it will upset the bike sir!” So if you ride on undulating roads and need to change power level you have to stop, press a button on the battery, then restart. Brompton need to add a handlebar controller for adjusting the power.
Enough was enough so I sold it..... as with all Bromptons I got a great price for it.

 

[rogerzilla]

Doing a full time job and cycling 40 miles would be a demand on the person. I would opt for an S pedelec bike ride upto 28mph with relative ease on the flats, low gradients. Use the power for easing up the climbs.

Motorbike helmet, insurance and licence?