# Brompton W12 Special Edition.



## Kell (27 Mar 2019)

Being launched to commemorate the opening of the new London Brompton Junction in Westfield.

Quite like the colour:

"Take a look at the Brompton W12 special edition! It will be launched to commemorate the planned opening of our new Brompton Junction London in London Westfield this April. The bike combines an exclusive colour, Matt Metallic Blue, with black componentry and Brooks Cambium saddle. It features a tessellated triangle pattern on the frame plate – inspired by the glass roof of London Westfield’s atrium. Like what you see? 
#Brompton #MyBrompton #BromptonJunction #BromptponFamily #MadeForYou #UnfoldingSoon"


----------



## steveindenmark (27 Mar 2019)

I dont see the point in releasing a "Special" bike, just for opening a shop.


----------



## Kell (27 Mar 2019)

steveindenmark said:


> I dont see the point in releasing a "Special" bike, just for opening a shop.



Didn't you buy a 9 streets?

https://www.brompton.com/bikes/spec...Social&utm_campaign=StockBikes_UK_NineStreets


----------



## Cycleops (27 Mar 2019)

Maybe they ought to bring out a '9 knives'' edition for London .
I think they bring these special editions out because they can make a bit more margin on them.
Bit hipsterish for you isn't it @Kell ?


----------



## u_i (27 Mar 2019)

What does 'W12' stand for?


----------



## alicat (27 Mar 2019)

^^^ 

Is the new shop in London W12?


----------



## Cycleops (27 Mar 2019)

alicat said:


> ^^^
> 
> Is the new shop in London W12?


Westfield is in Stratford E15 so that doesn't work. Maybe it's the shop unit number ?


----------



## alicat (27 Mar 2019)

Er no.

Westfield Stratford City is in E15.

London Westfield is in W12.


----------



## Cycleops (27 Mar 2019)

alicat said:


> Er no.
> 
> Westfield Stratford City is in E15.
> 
> London Westfield is in W12.


Is that so I'm a bit out of touch with London but I did visit Westfield in East London last time I was over. Didn't know there was one in the west too.


----------



## alicat (27 Mar 2019)

Not like you to be out of touch @cyclops! Actually the one in West London (Westfield - geddit?) was there first and when the developers opened the one in Stratford they kept part of the name.


----------



## TheDoctor (27 Mar 2019)

And there was me wondering what W handlebars might look like, and how they'd got a front mech and double chainring working.


----------



## rualexander (28 Mar 2019)

TheDoctor said:


> .....and how they'd got a front mech and double chainring working.



Well that bit is easy enough.
I have a front mech and triple chainset working fine on my Brompton.


----------



## FolderBeholder (28 Mar 2019)

For me a special edition should be more than just a unique color scheme and an upmarket saddle...apparently Im not the target market for these then. 

Piaggio is also famous for doing exactly the same thing on their Vespa scooters, also merely cosmetic. Meh.

Its certainly a nice looking color though!


----------



## mustang1 (28 Mar 2019)

FolderBeholder said:


> For me a special edition should be more than just a unique color scheme and an upmarket saddle...apparently Im not the target market for these then.
> 
> Piaggio is also famous for doing exactly the same thing on their Vespa scooters, also merely cosmetic. Meh.
> 
> Its certainly a nice looking color though!


Car companies do this a lot: some different interior exterior colour combinations and they come out with a new model mnemonic. I'm looking at you Peugeot.


----------



## Deleted member 23692 (28 Mar 2019)

Getting excited because Brompton has bought some new paint just demonstrates how boring the brand is.


----------



## Cycleops (28 Mar 2019)

Ffoeg said:


> Getting excited because Brompton has bought some new paint just demonstrates how boring the brand is.


Thats because they are a one product company so are reduced to bringing out cheesy limited editions to stimulate sales.


----------



## Kell (28 Mar 2019)

I don't disagree with any of the above.

I mean I'd still rather they concentrated on developing OEM discs...


----------



## FolderBeholder (28 Mar 2019)

mustang1 said:


> Car companies do this a lot: some different interior exterior colour combinations and they come out with a new model mnemonic. I'm looking at you Peugeot.


I live in the US....PeuWheu?


----------



## Cycleops (28 Mar 2019)

FolderBeholder said:


> I live in the US....PeuWheu?


Unless you're involved in Brexit you might not be aware .
Pronounced Per joe.


----------



## Kell (29 Mar 2019)

Not in the way they pronounce in the modern version of 'Gone in 60 seconds'

Poozho (or something akin to that).

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/e2832e2f-0eb3-4337-9463-c772fc607138


----------



## chriscross1966 (30 Mar 2019)

I think the issue Brompton has is that of market saturation. Every multimode commuter in the UK knows it is the best tool for the job, but there's only a big recruitment of them when the congestion/pollution charging schemes push people out of their cars at the city end (whichever city), and their other big market in the Far East they are the aspirational brand, so they dont have much chance to affect customer recruitment there as it is a local financial situation issue.... so they need to find more customers somehow, and they've chosen the basic strategies of ebikes and the specials. Looking around I'm aware of how big the ebike market is getting, mostly amongst older riders, and that's an important market to Brompton as the WOOPies (well off older people) might well be living in retirement flats and have the same space constraints as the Far Eastern mini-velo crowd, but they have disposable income and they appreciate buying British, the urban trendies who go for the specials once again are far more likely to resemble the Far Eastern mini-velo crowd too, disposable income, limited storage space in a city flat... the fact that Brompton are moving beyond a market they dominate is a good thing.... i own a couple of disc braked bromptons and I would love it if it was a standard option, but it would be a chunk more expensive so they'd need to keep the calipers and their current calipers are very good, yes , five years down the line you're swapping out a disc rather than a rim, but if it adds 100 to the sales price then they sell fewer bikes, if it's a 120 option they wont sell in large quantity, I'd buy one, many wouldn't and the first bikes to get it would likely be the electrics...


----------



## Pale Rider (31 Mar 2019)

Shovelling the bike into Halfords is an interesting one from a marketing point of view.

The brand is diminished - Halfords offered me £100 off without being asked - and while it's good to see shops with 10 bikes in stock, the bespoke appeal is also diminished.

The high second hand value of Bromptons will also take a knock, further diminishing the overall appeal of the brand.

Brompton must be aware of this, so they've obviously decided to swap some brand cachet for the increase in sales numbers that Halfords will bring.


----------



## FolderBeholder (31 Mar 2019)

In my opinion, Brompton needs to come out of their very narrow niche, and offer some other folding designs aimed at different riding (a ‘la Bike Friday and even Moulton) if they wish to survive, let alone flourish. They clearly consider themselves an urban, commuting bicycle company but should start re-thinking that and become more of a folding bicycle company. Of course to that, they would leverage their good reputation and craftsman manufacturing.

The bike market has evolved dramatically since the birth of Brompton....they havent evolved to keep up.

Thats not to say anyone would expect the same fold, etc. as the “Brompton” offers, but for different purposes say a small, folding gravelbike wouldnt need to fold as small or as quickly as one made to carry onto public transportation. 

But I’m not running Brompton so my ideas are just that...my ideas.


----------



## Cycleops (31 Mar 2019)

Their R&D dept must be smaller than their washroom. While other folding bike companies come out with new designs all the time Brompton stick with the same old same old.
I think the problem is they are not a bike company but a facilitator of urban transport and having thought they have invented the perfect solution are content to find new markets rather than innovate.


----------



## Blue Hills (31 Mar 2019)

Cycleops said:


> While other folding bike companies come out with new designs all the time Brompton stick with the same old same old..



Not all bad cycleops - the brommie is the result of years of shed tinkering pre launch I think.

I have one and love it.

I also have a Dahon folding sports bike - love that in its own mad way but I fear the spec was changed so often even dahon doesn't know quite what I am riding.

As for "special edition", must admit I haven't delved into it but I wouldn't touch any product with that label on it.

brommie

https://www.cyclechat.net/media/brommie.10611/

also been to same spot on the dahon but I'd rate my chances of getting back on the brommie more


----------



## u_i (31 Mar 2019)

Blue Hills said:


> the brommie is the result of years of shed tinkering pre launch I think.
> 
> I have one and love it.



It is a marvel of thought and engineering design. When you try to improve it here or there, for your own purposes, you find it hard because so much thought and optimization went into it that usually you first spoil this or that because you did not realize that designers were 2-3 steps ahead of you. At times I just go and admire and caress it, not because it is pretty - it is usually all cover in mud - but because I find it a monument of thought.

Other bikes may have one or two good things but their rest is average rushed into production. Dahon or Bike Friday are junk in comparison, as far as my book is concerned. They are usually good on absolute scale, but a comparison to Brompton's design devastates them. OK, I said it.


----------



## FolderBeholder (1 Apr 2019)

u_i said:


> It is a marvel of thought and engineering design. When you try to improve it here or there, for your own purposes, you find it hard because so much thought and optimization went into it that usually you first spoil this or that because you did not realize that designers were 2-3 steps ahead of you. At times I just go and admire and caress it, not because it is pretty - it is usually all cover in mud - but because I find it a monument of thought.
> 
> Other bikes may have one or two good things but their rest is average rushed into production. Dahon or Bike Friday are junk in comparison, as far as my book is concerned. They are usually good on absolute scale, but a comparison to Brompton's design devastates them. OK, I said it.


Brompton is a “one trick pony”, it’s a good trick. A compelling one. 
But the “special editions” dont expand their repertoire and that is something they need to do.


----------



## 12boy (1 Apr 2019)

I like mine very much but there are a few things I would see as improvements...... a QR on the brakes so as to be able to install wheel with an inflated tire, a stem that would take a threadless stem, more easily replaced rear hinge bushings, a 3 speed shifter instead of just a two, perhaps room for slightly wider tires and a switch to chromo insteadvof hi-ten. I would probably consider buying a new one with those improvements before a trick paint job and new decals/name badge. The basic design is excellent.


----------



## u_i (1 Apr 2019)

I think that once you go down the route of unique optimized parts you are faced with the issue of supplying a narrow market. It becomes very hard to offer a variety of options, that again involve custom parts for an even more narrow market, at an affordable price. After all you can see how much unique aftermarket parts for Brompton or other folders cost. I do not think that the manufacturers of such parts particularly want to gauge the market - their prices simply reflect the costs of small volume manufacturing.


----------



## 12boy (1 Apr 2019)

The aftermarket products are indeed expensive. The things I mentioned would be the new standard...widening the rear triangle, using chro-moly instead of high ten and having pop-in, pre reamed bushings for example are ver large changes in an already well designed machine.


----------



## u_i (2 Apr 2019)

Understood, but different customers might pull in different directions even for the base model. As an example I do not care what steel it is made of as long as it rides fine. (Maybe chromoly does not increase costs, or bushings - I have no idea.) A wider triangle would increase folded size and already now Brompton only tightly fits into airline limits for oversize luggage. You mentioned quick release brakes and sure they might be convenient, but as a make it or break it issue I would not give it a blink of an eye, etc. 

Is it that I want no nothing? Not true. I would like a wider gear range without compromising size. You might say that to solve the gear range I should start with Bike Friday. However, it is so much easier to add gear range to Brompton than to make a Brompton out of Bike Friday when tying to remove its limitations. It goes back to Brompton.


----------

