The G Line Brompton

[Drago]

A shame to hear that. I think you could use lighter and thinner tyres to make it roll a bit easier and quicker. Though it is marketed as a gravel bike is it not?
Are the brakes disk or hydraulic?

I believe they do an option with more road oriented tyres, but I'm told it doesn't make them feel any livelier.

 

[Kell]

The version I test rode was fitted with Conti Urban Contacts in 20” x 2.2"; 50x 406

https://www.brompton.com/p/1372/con...dQn5vL7qauE8bifO3RUdhecRInup90YDGbO25jyaN3daP

According to the Conti website, you can also get 1.6 and 1.25.

 

[wafter]

I took out Warlands demo G Line for a test ride last year, really wanted to love it, but unfortunately was pretty underwhelmed by it. It felt very heavy and big, the brakes lacked feel and IMO very expensive for what it was, I bought another 6 speed Brompton instead.

View attachment 776495

That is a shame as on paper I can sort of see the argument and it looks like they've sorted some of the grottier bits of the smaller model.

I suppose the larger you make it the more it moves away from the key selling point of its folded portability and becomes ever-more compromised compared to potential non-folding alternatives in terms of performance.

I'm sure for certain super-niche use cases it might make sense (on the face of it my old commute actually; where the terrain might not be great and the only lifting is in and out of the car). That said I'm not sure I'd want to lug one around the supermarket or try to get it under a pub table for those peripheral excursions.

I think the smartest thing Brompton can do now is trickle down some of the improvements here onto the smaller bikes..

 

[Gunk]

That is a shame as on paper I can sort of see the argument and it looks like they've sorted some of the grottier bits of the smaller model.

I suppose the larger you make it the more it moves away from the key selling point of its folded portability and becomes ever-more compromised compared to potential non-folding alternatives in terms of performance.

I'm sure for certain super-niche use cases it might make sense (on the face of it my old commute actually; where the terrain might not be great and the only lifting is in and out of the car). That said I'm not sure I'd want to lug one around the supermarket or try to get it under a pub table for those peripheral excursions.

I think the smartest thing Brompton can do now is trickle down some of the improvements here onto the smaller bikes..

They need to take a good look at what Ben at Kinetics is doing, Rohloff hubs and disc brakes, the 12 speed Brompton is a pig in a poke

 

[FrankCrank]

To me a glaring improvement would be a switch to the more common wheel 16" wheel size, opening up more tyre possibilities.

I'm fond of Raleigh Twentys and their ilk, and have converted a couple from 451 wheels (skinny tyres) to the more common 406 size.
The ride on higher volume BMX type tyres is very noticeably more plush and forgiving, and would imagine a Brommie would feel the same.

 

[wafter]

They need to take a good look at what Ben at Kinetics is doing, Rohloff hubs and disc brakes, the 12 speed Brompton is a pig in a poke

Aye; although given that a Rohloff is what, the fat end of a grand on its own I think that would be a hard sell. Plus, IMO while clunky and odd the 6sp setup is perfectly fit for purpose so I suspect the 12 would be similar but a bit more versatile.

Totally agree about the brakes and I'd like to see some more quality-led design changes - i.e. the horrible glued-in seatpost bush, crap mudguards that assist said bush and frame itself in eating themselves, along with the worthy-of-a-£50-off-Ali-Express-rotter splined pivot pins on the frame and lesser extent stem..

To me a glaring improvement would be a switch to the more common wheel 16" wheel size, opening up more tyre possibilities.

I'm fond of Raleigh Twentys and their ilk, and have converted a couple from 451 wheels (skinny tyres) to the more common 406 size.
The ride on higher volume BMX type tyres is very noticeably more plush and forgiving, and would imagine a Brommie would feel the same.

 

[tinywheels]

They need to take a good look at what Ben at Kinetics is doing, Rohloff hubs and disc brakes, the 12 speed Brompton is a pig in a poke

Spot on matey, instead of faffing around the muppets should sort the 16inch out.
Anyone with ten minutes to spare on the net can see what the owners want the Brompton to be.
Why Brompton have failed to listen to their customers is beyond me. This blinkered thinking might end up being the downfall of the buisness. Oh,and forget that white elephant of a new factory, that will definitely sink you.

 

[Gunk]

Spot on matey, instead of faffing around the muppets should sort the 16inch out.
Anyone with ten minutes to spare on the net can see what the owners want the Brompton to be.
Why Brompton have failed to listen to their customers is beyond me. This blinkered thinking might end up being the downfall of the buisness. Oh,and forget that white elephant of a new factory, that will definitely sink you.

View attachment 777988

A regular steel C Line with an 8 or 11 speed Alfine and cable disc brakes would be a great allrounder and really cost effective to develop. They’ve got blinkered with titanium which gives marginal gains, is far too expensive, and forgotten to focus on modernising the drivetrain, why on earth they are still developing the transmission around 1940’s technology is a complete mystery. My 6 speed sort of works but it’s an engineering hotch potch

 

[Fastpedaller]

I reckon a good 16 inch Brompton would have a 4 -speed derailleur wheel with 2 chainrings - light weight with a good gear range, and the choice (albeit limited) of altering the ratios. But I don't see a 4-speed Brompton in the catalogue. A 4-speed wheel is available, but can't be purchased as part of a new (non-electric) bike.
My 2-speed Brompton has been modified by adding a third sprocket and a double chainring (and front derailleur) making it much more suited to my needs. It has a gear range from 39 to 69 inches, which is still a tad limited - with 4 (or even 5) sprockets it would be ideal (for me anyway)

 

[Gunk]

Why Brompton have failed to listen to their customers is beyond me. This blinkered thinking might end up being the downfall of the buisness.

The current leadership comes across as having a huge ego and they don’t come across as particularly the listening type. if you read the recent book it’s quite interesting.

 

[CaptainWheezy]

But I don't see a 4-speed Brompton in the catalogue. A 4-speed wheel is available, but can't be purchased as part of a new (non-electric) bike.

The P-Line is available in 4 speed variant: Here

 

[Fastpedaller]

The P-Line is available in 4 speed variant: Here

Ahh - I hadn't spotted that! Why not a 4 - speed C-Line or A-line?

 

[Kell]

I keep coming back to this thread as I'm still tempted. There's nothing really wrong with my 6-speed, but the main points of contention for me are: the gaps between gears are comical and the state of the roads means that 16" wheels are increasingly uncomfortable.

The two bikes I'm considering are at a similar price: the 12-speed P-line and the 8-speed G-line.

I can make a use case for each as they both solve different problems and they both have pros and cons.

12-speed P-line:

The biggest con for me on the 12-speed is that there is overlap in the gearing. So you'd change from 4th to 5th and go down a gear, same with 8 and 9. It seems very complicated on paper. Although so does the 6-speed I currently have until you get used to it.

But then it's almost 3kg lighter than my current bike (the T-Line is even lighter, but then it's almost double the price). It also gives me both lower and higher gears - both of which I could do with at times on my commute.

8-speed G-Line:

The biggest con is probably also its selling point - the size. My test-ride bike felt cumbersome and it had the conti smooth tyres on. But the gearing was excellent and easy to use because it's linear. Up or down - no need to mess about with both shifters at once and skipping gears out to change. That said, it gives no more of a spread of gears that I can see with top and bottom being roughly the same - the benefit being it reduces gaps in between.

It's more cumbersome to fold - but I assume I'd get used to that. And it's heavier. however, the hope would be that it would make longer rides more do-able as it's more comfortable. I could probably get rid of my current bike and MTB - which doesn't do anything more strenuous than bridleways these days anyway. Although I think I would like to keep the original Brommie too.

My biggest reticence would be committing to a G-lIne and then in 6 months they announce a lightweight 11-speed version.
I also would really like an overnight test ride so I could use it on my commute and see how it compares. Before I bought my current bike I hired one from a Brompton Dock for a month to make sure I could get on with it.

I think if they did a try-before-you-buy scheme, I'd be all over it.

 

[Dan Lotus]

I was fully planning to get one on the C2W scheme this year, but ended up splurging on a new turbo instead.

I joined a G line FB page, and I'd estimate 80% of people on there are happy or very happy with their bikes.

For me, I wanted something that could be multi use, and gave me the option of bunging it in the van for when we went away for the weekend, or even taking it on a train should I want to have a nice ride back home.
Additional flexibility of having it in the van when I drop it off for a service, family rides, back up commuter/winter bike etc etc

I realised it was not that light, and the stock gearing (to my eye) looked a little shy at the top end.

A few people have had a new rear wheel built up with an 11 spd internal hub, which seems to get around most issues.
I've no problems chopping and changing bits on a new bike to make it my own, I've done it on a lot of bikes.

With regards to the width of the stock tyres, can you not just fit narrower road orientated tyres?
I appreciate there must be a minimum width it will take safely, but there must be some room for manoeuvre there I would have thought.

I might look to get one next year - for £2400 stock, it does seem to give a lot of flexibility.

 

[wafter]

The current leadership comes across as having a huge ego and they don’t come across as particularly the listening type. if you read the recent book it’s quite interesting.

Yeah, does seem they fit comfortably into the box of British manufacturer's stereotypes - like all of the once-great (and not-so-great) brands that are no longer with us for this reason..