The story (journey?) begins
Yes I got myself a Brompton Electric
Well actually we got two of them, a 6 speed for me and a 2 speed for my wife
For what it's worth the one on the right is my 6 speed and the one on the left is thus the 2 speed. To give them their technical titles they are an M6L and an M2L
Here they are in their condensed form or "folded" as it's known
So, why Bromptons and why electric?
As with many things there's a number of answers that come together to reach this particular decision point
Storage:
I've had bikes pretty constantly since I was a child, there have been many times when I've used them less, sometimes gaps of a year or two where I've not used them at all but they're always there, Then at other times I've used them a lot for everything from getting to and from work to just generally trying to retain a vestige of health and fitness
The thing about bikes though is that they take up a lot of space. Aside from the Brompton I have:
A 2010 Specialized Tricross Sport that's a kind of hybrid road / cyclocross bike which marketing would probably now try and sell to you as a gravel bike (or insert current marketing buzzword as applicable). Basically its a fairly robust road bike
A 1988 Kona Explosif that was an early days full on MTB but before suspension for bikes was developed. Reynolds steel frame, 21 speed Shimano and hard as nails
An Onza T Bird trials bike (never used properly) of indeterminate age
A Boardman FS Pro MTB
And my wife has a Creme Cafe Racer which is a very nice "sit up" type ladies road bike
And that little lot takes up SPACE where the Bromptons will fit in a shoe box (well nearly ish)
Portability:
Up until this year I drive a van for work, It's a very nice crew cab van with plenty of seating and stuff and it has a towbar. So I can put a bike rack on the towbar or even put a bike in the back without having to take things off it. But soon I will give up the van and that means if we want to take the bikes anywhere we have to get a towbar on our car and we didn't plan to do that. With the Bromptons we can just fold them up and put them in the boot (trunk)
Security:
Following on from the above, if we go away, securing bikes on the bike rack and securing the rack itself is a challenge. Again with the Bromptons we can put them in the boot or if we're stopping away we can take them in a hotel room or wherever without any drama
And if you like…..
Security 2:
Generally speaking you can take a folded Brompton pretty much anywhere; into work and stow it under your desk, into the coffee shop and put it under the table, into the supermarket where you can either put it in the shopping trolley or (if you have a rear rack) use it in "shopping cart" mode, there will be another post along in a while specifically about that. Essentially you don't often need to let your Brompton out of your sight.
Appeal:
Personally I like the engineering on the Brompton, they're clever. In honesty, two or three years ago my wife talked about them and I just couldn't see myself with either a Brompton or an E bike, now I'm sort of wishing I'd done this years ago
Acceptability and its associated safety:
This is a point that had never even occurred to me until I started riding it. There are many varied opinions people form when they see someone on a Brompton or similar. But something that is very noticeable is that there seems a lot of difference between the way people and car drivers particularly react to me on the Brompton compared to when I'm out on the road bike or an MTB. I don't know if it's the upright riding position or just the generally slightly more reactive steering which may look more wobbly from behind but I just seem to get a little bit of extra distance and better treatment from passing cars and a better reaction from people in general.
So why an electric?:
Originally I didn't plan to get an electric at all. We were going to get an electric two speed for my wife to make it more comfortable for her to cycle with me (I sometimes tend to leave her behind unintentionally). But along with the losing the company van thing mentioned above, I just don't enjoy driving any more and I wanted to start doing things a bit more sustainably so...
Shopping:
I would never have considered riding to the shops for any serious amount of shopping. A couple of small items maybe but nothing significant. There are some reasonable hills between the shops and where I live so the concept of the return uphill weighed down with shopping wasn't appealing. Now I just turn up the assist and whizz up the hill without even thinking about the load I’m hauling.
Age / health / fitness:
It seems to be fairly general and unavoidable that we're all getting older. With that comes an increasing reluctance by the body to work in the way we want it. My knees and back remind me of their existence regularly and my health and fitness had declined due to age and lack of exercise. The Brompton Electric not only compensates for that but has actually made cycling so much more enjoyable again. I cycle in a more relaxed way but much further and more often than I've done for years. I'm now out on the bike daily and have clocked up 260 miles in a month and a half compared to 0 miles cycling in the last year on my conventional bike.
But it’s cheating…..
I‘d say it’s not. I’d say as above it‘s encouraging me to get out there on the bike and do more miles. I’d say it’s enabling. It’s not an electric bike, it’s an electric assisted bike. If you look at the electric scooters that are the rage currently, they are full electric with little user effort required.
The electric Brompton is only power assisted. If you don’t pedal, it won’t assist.
But it's not a "real" bike..........
Usually a point of view proffered by a "cyclist" who is a devotee of a specific genre whether it be road, mtb, fixie, singlespeed, insert genre here I'll quote from the great philosopher Lauren Cooper:- "am I bovvered though? Look at my face, I ain't even bovvered".
You can’t get / keep fit on a Brompton Electric
Think not? In each assist level (there’s 3) there’s a top end speed where it stops helping.
Level 1 seems to cut out around 10 - 12mph
On level 3 (maximum) it’s top end limit is 15mph (25kph) so if you want to go faster than that it won’t be helping you.
I generally keep it in level 1 so it only really kicks in on the uphill bits. And if I check my ride on iCardio after the event my heart rate tracking shows I’ve made some effort. The breathlessness and sweating gives a hint as well…
And again I’ll mention that since I got it I've been out pretty much every day and my fitness has already improved dramatically.
Oh but I thought the point was that you don’t get hot and sweaty on a Brompton Electric?
If you don’t want to then don’t! Turn up the power, pedal casually with not a great deal of effort and arrive cool calm and collected.
Should you buy one?
I’ve no idea! Honestly I don't. I don’t know your needs and circumstances and even if I did I’d tell you it’s your choice to make. All I can tell you is that I’m delighted with mine.
So there’s no downsides?
Well, they’re not cheap. They can also be difficult to get hold of currently and the available range in electric is currently quite small.
They're definitely not for weight weenies, performance chasers or determined off roaders
They are, despite their size and all the good points above, pretty damn heavy to lug about if and when you need to.
And I’m going to add that I’ve had some minor motor problems.
I’m going to do a complete separate post on this because, as an engineer and as someone who works in Aftersales I get why things go wrong with products so I’ll deal with what problems I had, what I did and why I’m not particularly perturbed about it.
I’ll put a link here when it’s online.
In closing and in absolute seriousness, if you think you’d like one, try before you buy!
Find a good dealer and test ride one.
We got ours from Brilliant Bikes in Chobham, Surrey and I have nothing but good to say about them. I'm not affiliated to them in any way so I'm not saying it because I'll get rewarded in any way, I just like their operation and service. Go check 'em out on https://brilliantbikes.co.uk/ and they have some great and helpful videos on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/brilliantbikes
Oh and don't forget to check out my Brompton section on YouTube at oldmanwith Brompton playlist
Have fun, be safe