Spotted here on ebay for £600 new...
On cursory inspection this appears to be a blatant Brompton knockoff with a few differences; the most obvious being a 1x9 drivetrain as opposed to the Brompton's weirdo hub and / or 4sp derailleur approach.
The gearing system may or may not be "better" - certainly more straightforward, possibly cheaper, probably lighter, maybe a bit close to the ground... not sure about axle spacing or wheel dish / strength).
The execution of the bike itself may or may not be comparable to the product that it's imitating, but to those who aren't going to dig too deep it looks like an easy sell at well under half the price of a "comparable" 4sp C-Line.
On top of that, while the Chinese have a deserved reputation for flagrantly copying other people's IP, I notice more recently they seem to be showing a lot of innovation and improvement as well. In this case one tiny little indication in this direction is the apparently metal protection plate on the rear triangle to protect the finish when folded. After years of this area getting rapidly ruined due to the pitiful half-arsed nod towards protection fitted by Brompton (a thin plastic patch that's chewed to nothing after a few weeks of use) it looks like the copycat has actually gone one better than the product it's ripping off.
This does make me wonder whether in a few years time we might actually see knock-offs that are both cheaper and objectively better than their "inspiration".
Not difficult to see why Brompton's struggling, is it?
On cursory inspection this appears to be a blatant Brompton knockoff with a few differences; the most obvious being a 1x9 drivetrain as opposed to the Brompton's weirdo hub and / or 4sp derailleur approach.
The gearing system may or may not be "better" - certainly more straightforward, possibly cheaper, probably lighter, maybe a bit close to the ground... not sure about axle spacing or wheel dish / strength).
The execution of the bike itself may or may not be comparable to the product that it's imitating, but to those who aren't going to dig too deep it looks like an easy sell at well under half the price of a "comparable" 4sp C-Line.
On top of that, while the Chinese have a deserved reputation for flagrantly copying other people's IP, I notice more recently they seem to be showing a lot of innovation and improvement as well. In this case one tiny little indication in this direction is the apparently metal protection plate on the rear triangle to protect the finish when folded. After years of this area getting rapidly ruined due to the pitiful half-arsed nod towards protection fitted by Brompton (a thin plastic patch that's chewed to nothing after a few weeks of use) it looks like the copycat has actually gone one better than the product it's ripping off.
This does make me wonder whether in a few years time we might actually see knock-offs that are both cheaper and objectively better than their "inspiration".
Not difficult to see why Brompton's struggling, is it?
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