# Thinking about Brompton.



## Bill (13 Oct 2015)

While out ,..Fast Walking.. around the local hills recently I was pondering about Brompton Cycles and their cost. So yesterday i looked for the first time at the Brompton web site. I like the ...build your own bike...feature so did so! But when i pressed the final button for the finished job I had a awful shock!...the cycle for me would cost ..eleven hundred and eighty pounds...Doing the pondering i wonder at the true cost of making the cycle? Has there been a foreign take-over of the company? (Up go the prices!) A simple cycle like the Brompton should not cost that much so why such a high price..This is a honest query and i know there is rabid support from this makes owners on this forum but i would be interested in knowing about the cost matter....


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## cisamcgu (13 Oct 2015)

I think the cost is due to many factors. The first is that they are made here, in the UK, and therefore the labour costs are higher, the second is that it is a relatively small production and economies of scale don't factor in compared to Tiawaneese made bikes and thirdly they are desirable and the company, quite understandably, raises the cost until supply and demand are approx. equal

At least that is what I imagine are some of the reasons.


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## MichaelW2 (13 Oct 2015)

Bill said:


> A simple cycle like the Brompton should not cost that much


Brompton is not simple. It is unique, so shares little in common with industry standard parts. It has 3 hinge points, so the amount of cutting, shaping and brazing per frame is high.
Most Brommies are used hard, every day, and if you do the sums, over a 5 year period, they probably save their owners quite a bit compared to the alternative means of transport.


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## threebikesmcginty (13 Oct 2015)

The last time I saw anything regarding profits at Brompton they were at about 10% against sales, that's about twice as much as average for UK manufacturing so they're doing OK now (wasn't always the case). At £1180 they're making £118 on your bike were you to buy it, if you think that cost price of £1062 is still too much then you're probably better off buying something else. They're probably not spending all the profit on fancy stuff for themselves, some of it might be reinvested in the company.


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## Lonestar (13 Oct 2015)

I've had one for a year+ but hardly use it.I've done about twenty miles as the other bikes cover quite adequately.So it's stored in my cupboard.Orignially bought it to take on holiday but changed my mind as the plane thingy looked like too much hassle.


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## threebikesmcginty (13 Oct 2015)

Lonestar said:


> I've had one for a year+ but hardly use it.I've done about twenty miles as the other bikes cover quite adequately.So it's stored in my cupboard.Orignially bought it to take on holiday but changed my mind as the plane thingy looked like too much hassle.



£50?


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## Lonestar (13 Oct 2015)

threebikesmcginty said:


> £50?



Nah it cost more than that.


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## CopperBrompton (13 Oct 2015)

As others have said, they use very few standard parts, and are hand-made in Britain. They are not expensive for what they are.

The cost is less than a Zone 4 travelcard for one year. After that, you're quids in. Plus you can take them on tubes, trains and planes without hassle. I love having my own bike with me when I travel.


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## Fab Foodie (13 Oct 2015)

Brompton ..... because they're worth it .....

If you have the need.
Yesterday I commuted into London with mine, cycled from Abingdon to Didcot, hopped on a train to Paddington and then commuted across London to The Barbican and then home. There were possibly 8 to 10 Brommies on the same train as me, most of them more regularly used I don't doubt.
I fly with mine on business - it packs into a hardshell case and I check it in. No hassles.
I go to the shops on it, no locking faff either carry it in or put it in the trolley and push it round.
I've ridden 78 miles from Abingdon to South London without any issues on it.
I've been cycle touring on it with full camping kit, cooker etc
The Dynamo lights are good enough for an Oxford to London Night ride.
Anybody can ride it.
It fits easily in the car
It fits easily under the stairs at home.
It's an absolute hoot to ride, especially in cities.
I have a choice of another 7 nice bikes to ride in the garage (the Brompton is NOT the most expensive by a stretch) but if the garage was on fire I'd rescue the Brompton first.

One bike to rule them all? It's about as good as it gets.


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## Lonestar (13 Oct 2015)

Yup,not unhappy now I've got a Brompton.
Very versatile.Was thinking of using it in the snow for using alternative transport (buses and stuff) and for cycling back when things are clearer instead of walking half the way like I did when we had snow back in 2009.


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## SavageHoutkop (13 Oct 2015)

Mine was only c. £865 when I bought it, now it would be around £1200. It has been worth every penny


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## The Jogger (13 Oct 2015)

I'm sitting on a train now with mine now, on my usual daily commute. I'll get off at Clapham cycle to Hammersmith and later down to Waterloo. Yesterday I had a meeting in Oxford Circus so from Hammersmith to there along Oxford Street was easy. I rarely use the other bikes now. I enjoy the Brompton so much.


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## steveindenmark (13 Oct 2015)

If I have to quibble in my head about the cost of a bike, I dont buy it. That does not mean I want to pay the LBS the full price. My last bike was reduced from £1800 to £1400 and that was great by me and I love the bike.

Bromptons are something totally different. I dont have one but I would like one. But on the other hand I dont know what I would use it for. But it is iconic and that must add a bit to the price.


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## GrumpyGregry (13 Oct 2015)

I think they are pretty good vfm for the engineering involved, and if used by their target demographic, rail commuting types who want to do the urban "last mile" from mainline termini to workplace on two wheels rather than on the metro/tram/bus/&c., they usual save their purchase cost in the first year.

I have one because I can have one. (No UK bike shed worthy of the name is complete without a B imo - they are that iconic)


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## Dogtrousers (13 Oct 2015)

Bill said:


> i know there is rabid support from this makes owners on this forum


You doubt the value of a Brompton? For that, I will bite you.

Grrr


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## SavageHoutkop (13 Oct 2015)

Honestly, my Brompton changed my life. It made a completely mad commute possible for 1.5 yrs because I was able to take it on the train without booking it on. It opens up lots of options.


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## The Jogger (13 Oct 2015)

I get free travel on the tube but choose to go by Brompton, I wonder why?


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## threebikesmcginty (13 Oct 2015)

The Jogger said:


> I get free travel on the tube but choose to go by Brompton, I wonder why?



Is it because you smell?


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## The Jogger (13 Oct 2015)

threebikesmcginty said:


> Is it because you smell?


Gosh, the wit.


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## shouldbeinbed (13 Oct 2015)

Yebbut you've not denied it 

------------------------------------------

Bromptons only look expensive if you have a consideration at the back of your mind that they are still not a proper bike.

I doubt many people on here would look at £1100 for a roadie and think gosh that is a lot, but apart from going very fast, a Brompton has more strings to its bow and is a bike you could live with and do different things on every day far more easily.

Even in the pantheon of quality folders, Brompton lives in the upper middle section rather than being properly costly.

All told over its working life it could end up costing you way less than £100 a year irrespective of whether or not it saves you on public transport fares / tanks of fuel.


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## Aperitif (13 Oct 2015)

This is all Brompton oratory


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## Fab Foodie (13 Oct 2015)

threebikesmcginty said:


> Is it because you smell?


It's because it's poorly staffed you plonker ....


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## threebikesmcginty (13 Oct 2015)

Fab Foodie said:


> It's because it's poorly staffed you plonker ....



No, I'm not playing, we're not allowed to be light-hearted in the Brompton section.


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## Bill (18 Oct 2015)

Thanks for all of the replies. I was not on a 'soap box' when entering this question. I own a Dahon Vitesse eight speed. It also has the bracket on the head tube for my old style Brompton Touring Bag and a SP extension carrier for another bag. I purchased it as I am profoundly deaf and did not want hassle off railway staff when day touring by train...no booking needed.


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## jay clock (18 Oct 2015)

I am another Brompton PLUS Dahon owner. And the Dahon has not been used since the Brompton arrived two years ago. Nuff said


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## Kell (22 Oct 2015)

I have to say I was very anti-Brompton before I got mine.

Now I understand why they're more expensive.


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## chris folder (2 Nov 2015)

Hi I use dahon and bromptom bikes if I need a rack I use dahon I was thinking about adding a rack to my bromptom but cant belive the mudguard needs changing to fit it. I will just use my dahon


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## TheDoctor (2 Nov 2015)

I'd always suggest a front bag on a Brompton rather than a rack. I'd remove the rack on my M6R if the process wouldn't turn into a swearfest, as these things inevitably do for me!


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## SavageHoutkop (2 Nov 2015)

What the Doctor said, front brompton luggage is great. I have rack and would still recommend, adds to folded stability and have used the rack bags in the past - less often now as if we need capacity we go out on the cargo bike. Mr SHK's bike started life as a M6L but went M6R soon after.


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## 12boy (11 Nov 2015)

Bromptons are spendy for sure, but I find it very reliable and fairly cheap to keep running, and good for so many things. Carries a lot, goes at a decent pace, keeps me clean with the fenders, and is comfortable in street clothes due to the upright position. I find myself actually riding when weather, changing into bike stuff, dealing with locking up my other bikes etc would result in finding riding too much trouble. I expect to leave it to my kids which I think unlikely for the rest of my fleet.


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## StuartG (11 Nov 2015)

I tried to save money by fitting my old high quality bar bag to my Brompton. It used the Klick-Lok attachment and didn't affect the fold. But when I splashed out on the block and the T-Bag I realised what I was missing. Carrying 35 litres on the block is nicer than carry 10 litres on the bars. I now also have the shopping basket (shares the T-Bag frame) and the mini-O bag. Luggage for every occasion.

Bromptoneering is reassuringly expensive and worth every penny!


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## RMurphy195 (27 Nov 2015)

They do look pricey on the face of it, but are worth every penny. Mine is a P6R with the Marathon tyres, bought specifically to pack into my rather small car boot to take along the various cycle trails in Derbyshire, trundle around the Forest of Dean, Ironbridge etc. It's great for this, best if you just want to trundle along and admire the view.

But I've also travelled into Brum on the train with it, and pulled it around the station and various shopping centres, it's been folded up and taken into various stores, and under the table at a city centre pub while I listened to lunchtime bands during the Jazz festival. It's very handy in all sorts of ways really.

The longest single distance I've been on it is about 27 miles (Ashbourne - Parsley Hay and back on the Tissington trail).

I bought a rack bag to go with it, with a shoulder strap, this makes it very useful.

One of its main plus points is that when you fold it, all the oily bits end up in the middle, with the gears etc out of harms way.

Nowadays I wouldn't be without it, alongside my Tourer.


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