Origamist
Legendary Member
That's one of the strange things about the Brompton: There's not a single component on it that would shine out in terms of extraordinaire quality or brand or such - it is all pretty average. But the stuff does it's job flawlessly, simply works and lasts as well. And the components are relatively light as well - overall a good compromise in my eyes though nothing to pose around with to impress other people.
The Birdy has at some places higher ranked components (the supernova lights i.e.) - on the other hand: over here in Germany the cheapest Birdy model, the City with an 8-speed Shimano Nexus costs 2.400€. If you fit it out with a rack (to make it rollable) and a pump you end up at 2.600€ and a weight of ~13kg (true or not).
The most comparable Brompton would probably be the M6RD - 6-speed with rack and dynamolights, even using the same dynamo hub. You end up with 1800€ and a specified weight of 12,5 kg. So the Brompton is 800€ cheaper. A lot of money to spend for upgrades... You can even get closer to the Nexus Birdy if you opt for the single speed version of the same Brompton (1512€ list price) and let i.e. Juliane Neuss implement a Nexus 8-speed hub for I think about 400€. So you'll end up with 1900€ (or 700€ less) for a more or less similar speced bike with a worse front light and rim brakes instead of disk brakes. An typically Bromptons are recognizably more expensive in Germany than in the uk, so in the uk the price difference may even be higher.
Never had issues with the Brompton derailleur and neither with other stock parts apart from a broken blade once. In way more over ten years of using Bromptons, mostly every day. Some cheap parts go to the bin directly like the handlebar grips or the cheapish Kenda tubes, but that's about it.
The Birdy has been the start of R/M as a company but for years now it has degraded to play a tiny side role - they are focussing on cargo bikes and expensive electric bikes, so not much development on the Birdy and nothing to be expected in the future. In opposite: They have trimmed down the portfolio, gotten rid of the cheaper "world birdy" and only three variants of the normal one left in stock with the former Birdy speed being degraded to Birdy touring and the former touring version being vanished from the product palette. I'd think it is fair to assume they don't sell many and I barely see one on the streets as well (in total opposite to Bromptons).
So for third party companies the Birdy is not a very attractive item while the Brompton is. It has become a bit of a fashion item over the last years and many of the tuning parts are dedicated more to add bling than quality if you ask me. There is a huge and growing market for this stuff and for some years now it is no longer limited to Asia. Brompton themselves have been busy scaling up production and sales and getting a foot in the door of electric bikes with the Brompton electric but they would be fools if they would not jump onto that train sooner or later, the more as they have created it themselves with the recent positioning of the brand. But they would have to care for quality - many of the aftermarket parts are limited in usability or quality and this would be a dangerous route for Brompton. Still I think the offerings are less the result from the Brompton being bad quality but from the desire of people for individualization and the willingness to spend serious money for this.
As a side note: When looking at offers of used Bromptons in the uk they often seem to be very punished and neglected bikes. I've never seen Bromptons in such a bad state other than in the uk. Maybe we Germans are more anal regarding proper maintenance.However: A lot of the issues (and even more frame issues) with the Brompton I've only heard of in British forums and I wonder why. I do not think it is only the sheer amount of Bromptons that is higher in the uk and I do not think that the Brits ride so much more - it must be something else. Since invention of the MK4 in 2004 I've barely heard of any frame issue on a Brompton in Germany apart from the old (and solved) problem of rear frames rusting through. When there were other issues (like i.e. on the seat tube) - rarely enough - they clearly were a result of neglected maintenance (in this case ignoring a worn seat post sleeve for a very long time). In the UK on the other hand there seem to be a considerable amount of issues and I do hesitate to believe that it's just the weather causing it.
A Rohloff Birdy with a carrier with rolls costs a whopping 3.900€ over here. For that amount of money I'assume you would be able to build a Rohloff Brompton, too, including disk brakes, by using parts of Ben Cooper or Vostok on a bare frame.
Still, clearly the Birdy is more comfy to ride and easier in terms of adjustablity, that's for sure.
In the UK Birdys are often discounted between 10% and 20% which means the price difference between a broadly comparable Brompton is not as hefty. I've also negotiated a complimentary rack before, but it depends on your bartering skills. Getting a deal on a Brompton, well...that's a tougher ask.
The issue with the Brompton pusher/derailleur is the flop and heaviness of the shift, a couple of cut down spokes either side of the bolt help support it and make a difference to the precision of the shift.
Ha! Yes, the most common cause of failures in the seat post area are caused by a worn sleeve and then compensatory over-tightening of the QR. That was not the cause of failure on my 2003 Brompton, I promise. I'll also have you know that my bikes are always pristine, I clean them with an EU flag ...😉
R&M have definitely diversified their portfolio in recent years and like you I question their commitment to folding bikes post 2025, I hope I am proved wrong as customers need choice and Brompton needs competition.
If I had to choose between a customised Brompton Rohloff with discs and an off-the-peg Birdy Rohloff (currently on sale for less than £3K) I'd go with the Brompton, even though it would cost me more...
Fairly priced, but not a total bargain (and being being a typical Steve Parry conversion it has V-brakes instead of disk brakes). There clearly are a lot of interesting folders in the market and if you buy used you do not have to spend a lot of money, the more if you look off the beaten track like you did with the Tikit. The downside is that you often have to buy blindly as less popular bikes cannot be test ridden anywhere (so there's a bit of risk involved) and knowledge about less popular models including regarding their weaknesses and strength is often hard to find (as are accessories sometimes).
Possibly a bit of an effort to get one to the UK buy hey!
