# Electric Brompton is (almost) here...



## Kell (26 Jul 2017)

Demo bikes at The Prudential Ride London event this weekend.


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## Cycleops (29 Jul 2017)

This might be a bit more up to date:
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel...-folding-bike-will-butler-adams-a7865576.html


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## srw (29 Jul 2017)

Here's the email announcement, with a link to a longer promotional video and more details at https://www.brompton.com/Brompton-e... 4: Charge, unfold, GO&utm_term=Find out more

http://email.brompton.com/q/1f1copJKesYs0DE3WOLiTmQ/wv

It looks as if there will be a £1000 or so premium for the motor, which is integrated into the front wheel, and the battery pack is housed in a bag which attaches as regular front luggage - either standalone or inside a bigger luggage bag.

Quite neat, and presumably one day they'll offer a standalone upgrade to an ordinary Brommie.


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## Pale Rider (29 Jul 2017)

I read somewhere the price is going to be £2,495, rather a lot for a Brompton with about £500 of Chinese electrics plonked on it.

The design - front hub motor and battery in Brommie bag - is fine, but hardly innovative, and a bit disappointing given all the pre-publicity about the involvement of Williams F1 Engineering, and the years the product has taken to come to market.

It's all but identical to the Brompton Nano, a kit designed by a bloke on his kitchen table.

The Nano has more options, not least style and colour of donor bike.

It's also available fitted for around £1,900, significantly less than the factory version.

https://www.brompton.com/News/Posts/2016/Electric-bike

http://www.nanoelectricbikes.co.uk/


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## Arellcat (29 Jul 2017)

Given that the e-mail says:


> We have partnered with Williams Advanced Engineering to develop a compact and smart motor which responds to the riders needs.


and given Brompton's preference for in-house designed componentry for its bikes, I think it's a bit of a slight to suggest it's cheap Chinese electronics. Unless there's some evidence I've not seen, in which case I'm happy to be corrected.

The Brompton is a great bike, and a superb folding bike, but that price is going to put off a lot of people.


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## Pale Rider (30 Jul 2017)

A couple of pics I've seen online suggest the eBrompton has BMZ electrics, which is a German make of batteries and motors.

That could be good news on the battery front in terms of quality.

Less of a benefit for the motor, because the Chinese hub motors are as reliable and perform as well as any others.

Hard to see the gold standard engineering touch of Williams F1 on what is essentially a basic front hub motor set up.

Seems to me it's another example of Brompton now being as much about marketing as bike making.


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## velovoice (30 Jul 2017)

I'm just trying to work out (from their marketing) who this e-Brompton is _for_. Everyone in the video looks fit and able. It's people who are less fit and able (oh, and _rich_) who might be interested in this. I for one could be very interested as my arthritis progresses but I cannot imagine the e-Brompton to be any lighter than the standard Brompton, which is borderline too heavy as it is. So that's me out, then!


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## welsh dragon (30 Jul 2017)

I'm sorry to say that i am not a fan of Bromptons. In my opinion, they are very basic and having been designed by someone in their own home it shows. The best bit of a brompton is the folding part, apart from that it is nothing special. In fact it does look a bit twitchy and flexible, but that it just my own personal opinion, and yes i have seen one in the flesh. 

The electric version is also way overpriced for what it is as well. I agree with Pale Rider, the nano looks much better and is far more cost effective.

It's a no from me on the electric brompton. It's taken them long enough to come up with something that is far from special, and costs far too much. To me it looks like a case of another manufacturer charging way to much for a product simply because of the name.

I have no doubt some people will love them. They are a bit like Marmite it seems. You either love them or hate them.


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## Pale Rider (30 Jul 2017)

velovoice said:


> I'm just trying to work out (from their marketing) who this e-Brompton is _for_. Everyone in the video looks fit and able. It's people who are less fit and able (oh, and _rich_) who might be interested in this. I for one could be very interested as my arthritis progresses but I cannot imagine the e-Brompton to be any lighter than the standard Brompton, which is borderline too heavy as it is. So that's me out, then!



Weight is given on the website as 17kg.

That sounds about right, with current (ho-ho) technology, a motor, battery, controller and associated wiring weighs about 5/6kg, which added to a standard Brommie gives the quoted weight.

As with the Nano conversion, the battery is in the detachable Brommie bag.

This gives a carrying possibility of two separate packages, about 14kg for bike/motor, and about 3kg for bag/battery.

Not too bad compared to most big wheel rigid ebikes which weigh 20kg+, although they would usually have a larger capacity battery and a slightly more powerful motor.


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## Deleted member 23692 (30 Jul 2017)

Apart from the way it folds it's no better than what QVC are flogging for £900... and their's is lighter too!

http://www.qvcuk.com/Cyclotricity-Wallet-250W-8Ah-Folding-eBike-with-Lights.product.508237.html

It's a lot for what is essentially a basic off-the-shelf hub motor conversion of a standard bike.


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## Cycleops (30 Jul 2017)

The high price is sure to try and make up for their slump in profits due to a move to a new factory and the cost of the collaboration with Williams. Apparently most of their input was for the a torque sensing system which applies more power as hills get steeper.
Essentially they are still a one product company.
I wonder what will happen when their patent runs out?


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## chriscross1966 (30 Jul 2017)

I had a go at the Ride London stand they had. Its brilliant. It's got all the Brompton fold advantages and the electric assist is very well done to allow for differing requirements. In three or four years time, when I buy my next bike, it will be an electric Brompton...


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## chriscross1966 (30 Jul 2017)

Ffoeg said:


> Apart from the way it folds it's no better than what QVC are flogging for £900... and their's is lighter too!
> 
> http://www.qvcuk.com/Cyclotricity-Wallet-250W-8Ah-Folding-eBike-with-Lights.product.508237.html
> 
> It's a lot for what is essentially a basic off-the-shelf hub motor conversion of a standard bike.



Good luck with the product support on that


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## chriscross1966 (30 Jul 2017)

srw said:


> Here's the email announcement, with a link to a longer promotional video and more details at https://www.brompton.com/Brompton-electric?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Find out more&utm_campaign=Launch 4: Charge, unfold, GO&utm_term=Find out more
> 
> http://email.brompton.com/q/1f1copJKesYs0DE3WOLiTmQ/wv
> 
> ...


Upgrade would be very involved, new front frame, wiring in the crank torque sensor etc, so unlikely. There's a lot more engineering gone into it than say the Nano, not knocking the Nano, it's a brilliantly realised system, but the Brompton system is designed into the bike from the ground up, not bolted on top of an existing bike


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## srw (30 Jul 2017)

velovoice said:


> who this e-Brompton is _for_


If you go by the video, people who live in flats in Brighton (or perhaps somewhere else on the south coast) - because they have to cope with _hills_. Either that, or people who ride to meetings and don't want to arrive sweaty. Which counts me out - I just ride more slowly.

I'm not interested in an e-bike, but clearly thousands are. The Low Countries, despite being pancake flat, are full of them. Add portability, and I suspect they've got a very healthy market to go for.


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## srw (31 Jul 2017)

A bit more colour in this article:

www.bikeradar.com/commuting/news/article/brompton-electric-price-specs-details-50485/

The competition appears to be a technically inferior product weighing and costing rather more.


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## Pale Rider (31 Jul 2017)

srw said:


> A bit more colour in this article:
> 
> www.bikeradar.com/commuting/news/article/brompton-electric-price-specs-details-50485/
> 
> The competition appears to be a technically inferior product weighing and costing rather more.



The most direct competitor is the Brompton Nano kit, almost an identical design, which can be had for under £2,000 fitted to a new Brommie, making it cheaper.

The Tern bike in the article is a 20" Bosch crank drive, which is a different beast.

Going back to the Nano, it has a Chinese motor.

Interesting the bloke from Brompton in the article was working hard to convince us his German motor is superior.

Impossible to judge reliability until some time has elapsed, but the problem Brompton may have is the cheaper Chinese motor performs just as well on a road test.

My experience of Chinese hub motors is they are reliable, so it's a big ask for someone to pay an extra £700 to get an as yet unproven German motor.

http://www.nanoelectricbikes.co.uk/


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## srw (31 Jul 2017)

Pale Rider said:


> The most direct competitor is the Brompton Nano kit, almost an identical design, which can be had for under £2,000 fitted to a new Brommie, making it cheaper.
> 
> The Tern bike in the article is a 20" Bosch crank drive, which is a different beast.
> 
> ...


A fairer, like-for-like comparison (Basic M2L bike plus Nano Bike's bigger battery plus bag plus lighting plus fitting) comes it at more like £2,150 than £1,900. And you get no warranty on the bike and a one-year warranty on the electrics and a 2kg weight penalty. Brompton are offering a two-year warranty on the electrics and their usual (5-year?) warranty on the bike.

My best guess is that Nano will be churning out dozens at most of their kits a year. Brompton will be looking to sell hundreds. Yes, the Brompton branded option is rather more expensive than the Nano one, but I rather suspect that Brompton know their market quite well - they are increasingly a lifestyle brand rather than a bike brand.


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## chriscross1966 (1 Aug 2017)

srw said:


> A fairer, like-for-like comparison (Basic M2L bike plus Nano Bike's bigger battery plus bag plus lighting plus fitting) comes it at more like £2,150 than £1,900. And you get no warranty on the bike and a one-year warranty on the electrics and a 2kg weight penalty. Brompton are offering a two-year warranty on the electrics and their usual (5-year?) warranty on the bike.
> 
> My best guess is that Nano will be churning out dozens at most of their kits a year. Brompton will be looking to sell hundreds. Yes, the Brompton branded option is rather more expensive than the Nano one, but I rather suspect that Brompton know their market quite well - they are increasingly a lifestyle brand rather than a bike brand.



Brompton will be looking for thousands per year, adn the Nano, whilst brilliant, is basically a (very) well engineered product knocked up in a shed, the Brompton one feels like it was all designed together (had a go at RL).


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