Is there a bike that can solve the problem of theft? A bike that you can take inside wherever we go, even grocery trips? Is there a bike can safely cut through city streets with speed and agility? Is there a bike that can pass by the condo concierge, the train conductor, and be stored under your desk at work? For many, this would be the dream city bike! But, what if we could ask even more questions? Could the same bike be transported on a plane? Could it gallery-hop in Paris or tour the bicycle highways of Holland? Well, there is such a bike. And, it’s a Brompton! It’s as close to perfect as perfect gets. So, let’s explore all the reasons why a Brompton might be perfect for you!
1. Theft Prevention
Nothing breaks our heart more than when someone decides to become a city cyclist, only to have their bike stolen. This is tragic. For many, a test ride reveals that cycling in the city feels safe, that cycling is faster, and that cycling is fun! And then your bike gets stolen. You fatefully consign yourself back to old transit methods and just feel stuck. But, what if there was a way to combine the confidence of security with the pleasure of a joyful commute? Well, the principal design of a folding bike is that it has an indoor life and an outdoor life. Indoors, a Brompton resolves all your concerns about theft. Outdoors, a Brompton unfolds a whole world of exploration. This makes a Brompton categorically different from all other bikes. That’s because all other bikes are designed for outdoor life. Unfortunately, this also means being locked outside.
Of course, other bikes fold up too, but the advantage of a Brompton is that it folds to just three cubic feet. Brands like Dahon or Tern fold up close to nine cubic feet. That means a Brompton is not only easy to carry up the stairs into the office, but it takes up a tiny amount of space when it’s all folded up. So, if you were designing the ultimate city bike it would be made for the great outdoors and the great indoors. And, a Brompton does that. Anything else is just asking to be stolen.
2. Indoor Mobility: It’s a Shopping Cart!
We’ve seen how a Brompton has an indoor life and an outdoor life, and how this differs from all other bicycles out there. But, a Brompton goes much, much further. After all, there are three kinds of indoor life that the Brompton can serve. The first is when the bike is indoors and in motion. The second is when your indoors and the bike is motionless. The third is when the indoors is in motion, like a plane or a train. (We’ll tackle this a bit later). At work, your Brompton is stored under your desk or in a cubby. But, on your ride back home chances are good that you’ll need to grab some groceries. Whereas at work the Brompton is parked, in the grocery store the Brompton is in motion, accompanying you from aisle to aisle. And, this needs to feel easy.
We’ve noted that a Brompton folds to a mere three cubic feet. That makes it far less bulky to lift than folded bikes twice the size. But, who wants to lift a bike from aisle to aisle when you’re already holding a grocery basket? This is where a Brompton takes the great indoors seriously; it rolls just like a suitcase. But, what if we told you that the Brompton actually becomes a grocery cart as it rolls? That’s right. If you watch the video above, you can see how a Brompton basket turns the Brompton’s rolling mode into a literal grocery cart. Other folding bikes require constant carrying, and regular bikes aren’t even allowed inside. This wide range of use makes Brompton the smartest city bike out there.
3. Small Wheels are Better
But, now it’s time to move out of the great indoors and into the great outdoors. In this case, the city. A Brompton rides better in the city than nearly all bikes because it was explicitly designed for the city. In contrast, nearly all bikes sold in North America are designed for recreation. A recreational ride is very different than your daily commute to work. On a recreational ride you’ll wear sports clothes. When you ride to work you’ll wear your work clothes. On a recreational ride you’ll ride on purpose for several hours. When you ride to work you’re riding the fastest line within a distance that is generally too close to drive and too far too walk. On a recreational ride you’re usually trying to get outside of the city. When you ride to work, you’re definitively inside the city.
If anyone has ever told you that a larger wheel is more efficient than a small wheel, this requires context. Yes, a larger wheel is faster on a recreational ride. But, in the city it’s quite the opposite. In the city, a larger wheel is slower because it takes time to accelerate. And, by the time you accelerate to top speed you’ve stopped for another red light. Unlike a recreational ride, city biking is constituted by disruptions and interruptions. Thus, a bike with natural acceleration is the ticket to efficiency. It’s simple math! For each pedal stroke on a smaller wheel, there are significantly more wheel revolutions. The other great thing about a small wheel? It’s natural agility. A smaller is wheel better for dodging potholes, and it’s stronger too. Bigger wheels belong outside the city; smaller wheels belong inside.
4. Condo Friendly
Here in Toronto, we have a city where 50% of the population lives in condos or apartment buildings. Many of these people move to a condo to experience a lifestyle that usually minimizes automobile use and maximizes walking/cycling. But, as we discuss in this post, the developers building these condos aren’t in tune with their customers. Consider parking a regular sized bike in your condo. Despite being marketed as secure, 30% of all bicycle thefts in Toronto are happening in condo locker rooms. And, by placing the bicycle parking in deep subterranean parking levels, the developers just create more barriers. Who wants to spiral up five levels of parking garage before they see sunlight? No thank you!
In Ontario, regular sized bicycles are not allowed on subways or commuter trains during rush hour. But, folding bikes are. The same makes sense in a condo. The great thing about a Brompton is that your concierge won’t care if you’re bringing up a folding bike. For this reason, condo owners are one Pedaal’s biggest demographics. After all, a Brompton is made for condo dwellers. Not only does a Brompton provide instant access to your life downtown, it is made for storing in smaller spaces. You definitely can’t say that about a regular bike.
5. Airplanes & Coat Checks
As seen, workplaces, condos and transit systems take no issue with your Brompton. But, neither do restaurants, galleries, or even nightclubs. On a trip to Paris once, we once coat-checked our Bromptons at the Louvre, stored our Bromptons under numerous cafe tables at breakfast, lunch and dinner, and even checked it at a nightclub, much to the bouncers bemusement. Of course, all of this was preceded by the ease of taking a Brompton onto a flight, then the train to Gare du Nord, and then a subway and short ride to the hotel. Seamless!
This is what makes the Brompton so amazing. Besides being a bike that can go anywhere indoors or outdoors, it can also hop on a plane and explore a new city. We remember a trip to New York where we literally rode our bikes to the airport on the Toronto Islands, folded the bikes, packed them into a padded travel bag, and then checked them in for the flight. (On larger airplanes you can actually carry your Brompton on). After a short train to Penn Station, we had a memorable weekend riding around New York. On another trip – this time to Holland – we spent a week riding between cities on the bicycle highways of Holland. When it rained we hopped on the train, and each night the bikes were safely stored in a hotel room.
6. Multimodal
This ability to travel with a Brompton is something a regular bike cannot compete with. Travelling with a regular bike requires professional disassembly and reassembly, and costly trips to the oversize baggage area. But, even for every day life this practicality comes in handy. Let’s say you rode to work in the morning only for it to rain on the ride home. No problem! Call an Uber, take the transit, and fold up your bike. Even when you don’t want to ride, a Brompton is the best bike for that too.
This multimodality is tied to the origin story of the Brompton bike. The original Brompton design was for train commuters who needed something to connect the “last mile” between home and train station, the train station and work, and folded for the train journey in-between. But, Brompton owners have pushed this multimodality to new limits, including Tom Lutz, whose multimodal trip between New Jersey and Manhattan involves a Brompton and a rowboat. No other bike quite folds up the great indoors or unfolds the great outdoors. That’s why we’re convinced that if there’s one bike everybody should have, it’s a Brompton.
7. Quality
You know when companies say their products can last a lifetime and it’s just not true? Not Brompton. In a world where most bike companies are an office in Southern California with third-party factories in China, a Brompton is completely made in the UK to obsessive engineering practices. Proof of this obsessive engineering is the backwards compatibility of a Brompton bike. Backwards compatibility means that any previous model year of Brompton can be repaired with current model year parts. After all, a bike only lasts as long as the parts are available. These parts are also of the highest quality, which explains why Brompton’s are famously low-maintenance.
8. It’s a Community!
We can’t think of any bike that creates a community quite like a Brompton. Maybe Brompton owners feel a unique connection to the eccentric business that obsessively crafts their bike. After all, Brompton is a wildly unusual company. Maybe it has less to do with the company itself, and more like stumbling onto a welcoming tribe who have the world’s best kept secret. Or, maybe it’s not that either. Maybe it’s just all the fun you can have with your friends on this little bike. Here in Toronto, the Brompton Meetup Group is often found at Pedaal before they head off to wine country on the Go Train, explore cultural heritage, or attend evening moon ceremonies accompanied by poetry. The Brompton Meetup even recently hosted the Brompton CEO for a group ride! (That’s her under the Pedaal tent in the white cap).
Of course, you’re not at all obliged to join the Brompton community if you own a Brompton. But, you might find it nice when a Brompton owner across the intersection waves at you. That will happen all the time. Hey, sometimes a simple wave is all the community you need! The best things is that it always brightens your day.
In Summary
Whether the great outdoors or the great indoors a Brompton is the ultimate city bike. Whether the indoors is a moving train or plane, a grocery store, a coat check or office cubby, there really isn’t anywhere you can’t take a Brompton. In the great outdoors, a Brompton is more efficient in the city and can unfold your world outside of the city. Consider Janet-Joy Wilson, who rode from New York to Toronto on the Erie Canal using her Brompton. Or, our friends at Bromptoning who have taken their bikes on a flurry of epic adventures. One of the biggest reasons people buy a Brompton is to avoid theft. But, it answers far more questions than that. With a Brompton, your grocery trip and your Parisian vacation is seamlessly opened-up. Whether indoors or outdoors, there’s no better bike than a Brompton.
Need help choosing which Brompton is right for you? Learn about the various lines of Brompton bikes here. Have a question? Give us a call or an email. Even better, learn more by booking an in-store or remote sales appointment here!
