Changing times at Brompton

[deejayen]

My brother bought a Brompton a few years ago. It took him ages to decide on the spec, but he eventually ordered it, and it turned up at the dealer's a few weeks later. He tried to persuade me to buy one at the time, but I wasn't sure it was the bike for me.

I eventually ended up buying a used Moulton TSR.

Anyway, my thoughts have turned once more to a Brompton. I'm still not sure about it, but I can see it's appeal and usefulness. I always had in mind a singlespeed version with titanium rear triangle and forks. After contacting Brompton I've learned that the singlespeed has been discontinued, and that it's now not possible to order a bike to taste. It sounds like they don't intend to reinstate custom orders any time soon. Also, they're now selling bikes direct to end-users, whereas before they seemed really strict about only selling through their dealer network. Similarly, they used to prevent dealers from selling mail order. Now, they say that I can phone dealers and ask them if they can deliver.

I know too much choice isn't necessarily a good thing, but it was quite good to be able to spec a Brompton according to taste. I find it less appealing to be offered only a handful of prebuilt bikes to choose from. I suspect I'll loose interest for now, and hope they eventually reinstate custom orders and singlespeeds etc.

 

[Cycleops]

It was obviously a commercially driven decision by them, maybe it simplifies production and if they're selling all they can produce why should they offer a custom build? The single speed was likely not popular hence the decision to drop it, I wouldn't think they're coming back.
The Brompton is the sort of bike you either need or you don't so most buyers are happy to go with available options.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

The Brompton is the sort of bike you either need or you don't

I don't NEED a Brompton, but I want one!!!

 

[Cycleops]

It's gotta be a pretty serious want to spend north of £1k.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

It's gotta be a pretty serious want to spend north of £1k.

I think I know a man.....

 

[berlinonaut]

@deejayen Most of what you describe is a result of Covid and therefore probably temporarily. This affects the unavailabilty to spec a bike to order and the possibility of dealers to ship mailorders.
Demand for new Bromptons seems to be way higher than their capability to produce, so for the time being they spit out whatever they can as fast as they can and customers have to live with that.

Other things will stay - mainly Brompton selling directly and the vanishing of the single speed. You can however easily convert a two-speed to a single speed if you really want it. All you need is two spacers for the freewheel and the chain tensioner of the three speed. That is how it was built from factory as well.

 

[deejayen]

Thanks for that.

I knew the singlespeed used the chain tensioner of the three-speed, but wasn't sure if it had a different hub from the two-speed.

I remember we tested a three-speed against a six-speed, and for whatever reason the three-speed seemed to roll better! I'd probably go for a three-speed (I find the six-speed a bit too fussy for my liking), and then have a different wheel built up if I decided to revert to a singlespeed.

I'm not in a hurry to buy, so if I ever get a chance to visit Glasgow again I'd like to have a look at a Birdy and Hummingbird. Of course, the Brompton fold has a lot of appeal, so it's still a strong contender if I find one which is close to what I'm looking for.

 

[oldwheels]

I got a Brompton from Dales in Glasgow about 6 years ago by mail order and had no direct contact with Brompton. Did not seem to be a problem.

 

[deejayen]

My brother bought his from Dales (probably more recently than six years ago) and I seem to remember them saying Brompton had put an end to dealers offering mail order. I'll maybe give Dales a call to find out what bikes they have available.

 

[FolderBeholder]

Try being a Brompton aficionado here in the US…glad we ordered/bought ours when we did in 2018 but qualified Brompton service and/or Brompton parts is pretty much a snipe hunt here.

That said, we love our Bromptons!

 

[rogerzilla]

It wouldn't be hard to convert a 2-speed to a singlespeed, and you could sell the gear components. The so-called "integrated" shifter can actually be unbolted from the brake lever.

My understanding is that Brompton have gone this way to get more bikes out of the door. They have never really been able to meet demand because they won't borrow to expand their operations - it's all organic growth.

 

[robgul]

The production decisions are also probably dictated by the changes they made, a while ago now, from a "one man builds the complete bike" (as the Factory prog on TV with Gregg Wallace) to a "production line" method as in car assembly plants - "one man, one task"

 

[Fab Foodie]

I managed to order my S2E from my dealer without any issue just over a month or so ago. Took a few weeks to turn-up but I wasn’t in a rush....

 

[ExBrit]

Try being a Brompton aficionado here in the US…glad we ordered/bought ours when we did in 2018 but qualified Brompton service and/or Brompton parts is pretty much a snipe hunt here.

That said, we love our Bromptons!

You probably live quite near me. There are no Brommie dealers in the Inland Empire that I know of but Pasadena Cyclery and JustRideLA are both good, especially the later.

 

[FolderBeholder]

You probably live quite near me. There are no Brommie dealers in the Inland Empire that I know of but Pasadena Cyclery and JustRideLA are both good, especially the later.

Thats good info, Thank You. I live in Murrieta and ordered the bikes thru Cal Coast Cycles in San Diego, an authorised Brompton shop (newly authorized at that time) but frankly their service department’s heart isn’t really into Bromptons so much. We like to take the MetroLink to LA, often for CicLAvia, so dropping them at JustRide LA is a great option. Thanks again.