Is it just me that doesn't like the Brompton?

[CopperBrompton]

How far?

Freewheeling is drama-free; pedalling, I wouldn't do it for more than a few turns of the pedal, else Dan would likely be right. :-)

 

[User482]

I bought one of these last week via cyclescheme and I'm hugely disappointed. I have been riding a Tern Uno for the last few months and it is fine. Apart from the magnet which doesn't really hold it together very well, it is a nice bike. First time out on the Brompton I nearly died twice because the pedal hit the ground going around corners, nearly pitching me into the path of oncoming traffic. It took about 3 times as long as the Tern to fold and unfold. There's no stand and, with the bag fitted to the front, flipping the back wheel under resulted in the bike falling over unless I held it all the time. The steering is incredibly twitchy...one hand riding is not really an option.

For £1105...I feel ripped off.

As @Fab Foodie says, I don't get on with them either - I find them slow, heavy, flexy and uncomfortable to ride. But the folding mechanism is superb (with practice), I've never had a problem with the front bag causing it to fall over, nor have I ever struck the ground with a pedal.

I believe that there are different options for handlebars which may help the ride, but the other problems you list don't sound like faults to me.

 

[colmac2000]

Sell it on ebay they sell well.

Next time do a lot more research and you won't feel ripped off. It sounds like your mistake and not Bromptons.

Difficult to know what kind of research to do really, other than trying it out and trawling the Internet for comments, both of which I did. I can't find a single negative comment about Bromptons on the Internet (apart from the one I've written!)...and I've tried quite hard

But yeah - definitely my mistake.

It's not obligatory to like Bromptons. I can see they are a bit of an acquired taste. @User482 doesn't get on with them either whereas I bought one a month or so ago and after 40 odd years of cycling and a fleet of many fine bicycle think it's the best thing since sliced bread. More smiles per mile than any other bike I've had since I was a kid and getting far more use than I ever expected.
Which model did you get?

Maybe it's worth a bit more perseverance or as TMN says sell it and you'll recoup a large amount of your costs for another bike. Try before you buy though!

It's a M3L I think...traditional handlebars and 3 gears. I prefer the look of the S but I tried one and the riding position was too hunched over for me.

 

[colmac2000]

You're riding a bike with 16-inch wheels, you're closer to the ground, but surely every cyclist on any bike learns very early on to keep the inside pedal high when leant over hard?

I really wasn't leaning very far over and I was peddling, rather than free-wheeling. It's the folding pedal that is the particular problem because the design is such that there's a big lump of metal above and below the pedal. Never happened on my Tern but that is 20".

 

[Kempston]

I bought one of these last week via cyclescheme and I'm hugely disappointed. I have been riding a Tern Uno for the last few months and it is fine. Apart from the magnet which doesn't really hold it together very well, it is a nice bike. First time out on the Brompton I nearly died twice because the pedal hit the ground going around corners, nearly pitching me into the path of oncoming traffic. It took about 3 times as long as the Tern to fold and unfold. There's no stand and, with the bag fitted to the front, flipping the back wheel under resulted in the bike falling over unless I held it all the time. The steering is incredibly twitchy...one hand riding is not really an option.

For £1105...I feel ripped off.

Nope, not just you. I still feel for many a Brompton is a folding fashion accessory first and a bike second and for me that is not bikes are about. I've said on here previously that they're the default for people looking for a folder, and not enough of them look into the better value alternatives.

I tested a Brompton on loan for a few weeks before deciding they simply weren't worth the money. They fold lovely (albeit not particularly quickly, as you say), but with only 16" wheels I felt they simply weren't comfortable enough in terms of ride, and the frame flexed a little too much which made for a disconcerting ride. And over £1100 to get one with enough gears to be practical? Ridiculous. I went for a 7 gear 20" Tern Link in the end for around £650, over £500 less than the Brompton and it rode so much nicer. After around 18 months I then decided I did enough mileage per day to move up to a full 26" so went for the 24 gear Tern Joe P24 and haven't looked back.

 

[Kempston]

Reilly? Most people rate that aspect very highly.

I can unfold my Tern Joe twice as fast as a Brompton, but the Brompton is far smaller so I guess you could call it an unfair comparison. As I said, the fold of a Brompton is fantastic. However, beside the multitude of accessories due to so many people buying them by default, the fold is the only thing going for the bike in my view. Everything else about them from the looks, the value for money and, most importantly of all, the ride quality, is lacking.

 

[colmac2000]

For me, the looks of the Brompton are definitely a negative - I don't like the 'traditional' thing, so that aspect is wasted on me. I appreciate that for a lot of people this is a big reason for owning one.

 

[Flying Dodo]

I quite like Bromptons. However I've always felt they are massively over engineered. The material on the main tube is far thicker than it needs to be.

 

[Kempston]

I quite like Bromptons. However I've always felt they are massively over engineered. The material on the main tube is far thicker than it needs to be.

It's a fair old length when unfolded so needs to be strong. It's the side effect of an old and outdated design that they refuse to update. In some ways Brompton are slaves to their own 'coolness' as the design is so set in stone they probably feel an update would be a betrayal to tradition or some other such gibberish, despite it probably resulting in a better bike.

 

[Flying Dodo]

It's a fair old length when unfolded so needs to be strong. It's the side effect of an old and outdated design that they refuse to update. In some ways Brompton are slaves to their own 'coolness' as the design is so set in stone they probably feel an update would be a betrayal to tradition or some other such gibberish, despite it probably resulting in a better bike.

True, although they could sell far more bikes if they did a new version, as all the cool people would HAVE to buy the new one as well. They could market them as the "Brompton Traditional" and "New Brompton".

 

[Fab Foodie]

I really wasn't leaning very far over and I was peddling, rather than free-wheeling. It's the folding pedal that is the particular problem because the design is such that there's a big lump of metal above and below the pedal. Never happened on my Tern but that is 20".

Swap the pedals? I use cheapo single-sided SPDs on mine and it's fine.

As for the looks, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I think they look just fine.I find the ride on mine is great too, the turn of speed shocks many. But each to their own I say.

 

[Ganymede]

True, although they could sell far more bikes if they did a new version, as all the cool people would HAVE to buy the new one as well. They could market them as the "Brompton Traditional" and "New Brompton".

You're going to go far, son.

 

[colmac2000]

Reminds me of the Gibson Les Paul guitar. They made some updates to the 55 year old design this year and are being flayed alive for it on Internet forums...and they are not selling well.

 

[andyfraser]

Reminds me of the Gibson Les Paul guitar. They made some updates to the 55 year old design this year and are being flayed alive for it on Internet forums...and they are not selling well.

Whatever they did to the new Les Paul it wasn't drop the price.

 

[colmac2000]

Whatever they did to the new Les Paul it wasn't drop the price.

They have now... they just dropped the prices across the range by about 500 quid. Not selling well, methinks.