Product Showcase

We are now accepting pre-orders for the Brompton Black Edition 2015.

Announced today, Brompton's new Black Edition 2015 collection features Brompton folding bikes with all black key components for the first time. The arrival of the limited edition —just 5,000 Black Edition bikes will ship to dealers worldwide this spring— comes with much anticipation after years of interest in the possibility of an all-black Brompton. Brompton Black Edition bikes are only available in select customizable options, based around five main frame colors: Black, White, Lime Green, Berry Crush and Lagoon Blue. We've ordered a great group of S2L, S6L, M2L, M6L, and H6L bikes for you to choose from. And, as per usual, we are happy to help you personalize the bike of your choice prior to shipping or riding home. See the complete selection of bikes available for shipment beginning April 2015 here.

Customize your Black Edition bike spec at Perennial Cycle:

• HANDLEBARS: H, M, S Types
• GEARING: All bikes shipped from Brompton with 2 and 6 speed standard ratio drivetrains. We have developed a custom black anodized Brompton chainring and guard in-house to allow you to change your order to match your preferred gearing choice, including 7% reduced on all 2-speeds and 12% reduced on all 6-speeds. This option is available for just $60 with the purchase of a new bike and as a spare part for $99.97 at PerennialCycle.com. For information about Brompton's gear ranges and ratios, click here.
• VERSION: All Black Editions will be assembled at the Brompton factory with Brompton's Black L-version mudguards. If you'd like to add a Brompton or Nitto rack to your bike prior to shipping to your door (or taking it home for our local customers), we're happy to make that happen. When ordering online, simply select the rack of your choice under the "rear luggage" option, or choose none to stick with mudguards only.
• COLORS: Frame extremities including the stem riser, rear triangle, and front fork are black on all Black Edition bikes. Mainframe options are Black*, White*, Berry Crush, Lime Green and Lagoon Blue. As with standard Brompton orders, *Black and White frames are surcharge free colors. Base prices for each bike available for pre-order are listed at PerennialCycle.com. There is no surcharge on Black Edition bikes, all are priced at standard 2015 pricing.
• SEATPOST: choice is available as usual – standard, extended and telescopic all in black, of course! We have ordered bikes with both standard and telescopic seatposts to accommodate riders of all heights and offer the most compact fold. If you'd prefer an extended post, please contact us.
• SADDLES: All Brompton Black Edition bikes come with a standard Brompton rail saddle with special edition black rails. If you'd like to add a Brooks saddle to your order, we recommend the Black B17 Special for men or the Black Team Pro S Special for women. Both feature hand-pounded copper rivets and saddle bag loops. Several saddle choices are offered in each bike listing. If you don't find the saddle you'd like in the drop-down menu, simply add it to your cart as a separate item.
• LIGHTING: Black Edition bikes are assembled with reflectors only, but as the bikes all include standard Brompton front wheels with silver rims and spokes, we can easily change out the front wheel to help you upgrade the bike of your choice to dynamo lighting. We are offering 3 packages with Black Edition bikes:
  • Brompton's standard Shimano set-up with a B&M Lyt in front and a Brompton light in rear
  • Brompton's standard SON set-up with a B&M Cyo in front and a Brompton light in rear.
  • A special SON XS Black Edition dynamo package including a SON XS front wheel with a black and silver SON XS for Brompton hub — built with silver straight-pull spokes by expert SON wheelbuilders, a Black anodized Edelux II headlight, and a black SON taillight, installed for $675.00.
• QUESTIONS? For more information, please call 612-827-8000.

Black Edition components:

The following components are supplied in black as part of the Brompton Black Edition bike:

• Handlebars
• Headset
• Crankset
• Pedals
• Seatpost
• Saddle rails (Brompton standard rail saddle)
• Pentaclip
• Fenders
• Hinge clamps
• Brake levers
• Brake calipers

Carradice of Nelson bike bags have long been the standard among randonnuer riders around the globe. Being 100% reliable and intensely durable are essential features in that cycling arena. Carradice has proven itself to be one of the most dependable brands through the test of time (and very hard use).

Perennial Cycle has been importing Carradice from England for nearly 20 years and were the first in North America to import the Brompton specific Carrradice City Folder (see a 2008 Shopcast post HERE). When Carradice introduced the Stockport City Folder for Bromptons (including S bar types) we were quick to bring them across the pond and introduce them to North America.

Carradice Originals City Folder, Stockport City Folder and the new Harris Tweed Edition City Folder

This past fall Carradice introduced their Harris Tweed bags and we fell in love with the look that tweed added to an already iconic design. Now Carradice has added a Harris Tweed City Folder and Perennial Cycle purchased the first production run (obviously we’re a bit excited about this bag). The Harris Tweed bags add tweed flaps onto the waterproof cotton duck, so the bags are just as weatherproof as the non-tweed models.
Here are some pictures of the Tweed City Folder:

This post was updated November 8, 2018 by Luke

It's no secret that we're big fans of using Dynamo hubs to power lights. The idea of being my very own utility power station makes me smile almost as much as knowing that my lights will ALWAYS be ready for me when I'm headed out on the road. We also have a variety of products that use the same Dynamo hub energy to charge a mix of USB devices. Your dynamo hub can charge lights, an external battery, a GPS unit or your smartphone during rides. Touring cyclists can charge USB devices on the road. In order to do this you need a  front wheel with a dynamo hub and a charging device.

Dynamo powered USB charging options:

IQ2 LUXOS U HEADLIGHT: This is a very technically advanced product in that it's a very powerful light that comes out of the box with a USB port for charging devices. If you're looking for a high power dynamo light AND the ability to charge USB devices, this unit is what you're after. Up to 90 lux of light (floodlight) with a lithium battery cache that charges while riding and powers the floodlight, standlight and USB port. The Luxos U uses the cache battery for overvoltage protection. A great feature being that you'll have expensive devices plugged into it.

USB-WERK: Busch & Müller's USB-Werk uses dynamo power to charge USB devices. Like the Luxos U, the USB-Werk has a small buffer cache battery to safely charge your iPhone, Android phone, MP3 player, GPS or other USB devices at any speed. The USB-Werk can be used as a stand alone item that is connected to your dynamo hub, or (more commonly) it can be wired along with your dynamo light.

Cinq5 Plug III: The Plug III is a USB charger and a 1-1/8" topcap for your threadless stem. It would be difficult to integrate a charger any more eloquently. It is a bit bulkier than a typical top cap, but there's a USB port! The PAT II technology used in converting the dynamo energy into a current that your device can pull from does an awesome job of allowing your device to charge even at slow speeds. I have used this device a lot (most often with an iPhone SE) and have found it to be very reliable. It successfuly charges my phone even when I'm running map aps and have bluetooth running. The Plug III is a lovely and very reliable charger. I'd recommend it whatever your needs are.

Sinewave Revolution: The Revolution is Sinewave's USB charging unit. Sinewave manages the power flow to your device without utilizing a cache battery. It's the lightest option that we've seen and without a battery in the mix, it could potentially run indefinitely.

Cing5 Smart Battery Pack II: lThis is not a charger, but it's worth adding to the page. We have found that some phones or devices struggle to get a steady flow of power to them for charging. Sometimes a device seems to lock onto a stream of power before the flow of power is at it's peak. In this situation the hub is pushing a higher amperage of power than the phone is letting in. I don't have that problem, but a friend of mine is sometimes challenged to charge his phone on the road. To get a steady charge he needs to get the bike up to speed, let the charger build up a cache of power and then plug in the phone so that it locks onto a higher amperage. With the Smart Battery Pack II in the middle, this problem is solved. You can simply charge the battery and later use the charged battery to charge the device, or you can use the battery as a buffer by having it plugged into your dynamo charger and your USB device at the same time. Another reason you might need the Smart Pack is that your device requires higher than .5 amps to charge it. No dynamo device is going to push more than .5 amps, so potentially you need to charge the battery and later charge the device with the battery. An iPad would be an example of something needing more than .5 amps.

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If you are starting from nothing, we'd be hard pressed to recommend anything other than the Luxos U as the light is very high quality (and high powered) and the USB plug is wired to be on your handlebars along with the light's control button. If you already have a dynamo light, or want something different from the Luxos U (the Luxos U seemed a bit large for my Brompton folding bike), then the Busch & Müller USB-Werk,  The Plug III or the Sinewave Revolution; are excellent options for keeping your smartphone or other USB device powered up. We are the midwest's largest dynamo specialist with a large assortment of dynamo hubs, wheels, lights and accessories in stock. We also understand the importance of getting these systems setup properly and we have the expertise to do that very well. Give us a call or stop in if you have questions about getting a dynamo setup for your commuter or to get setup for an around the world tour. Here's a link to view our Dynamo related items at the shop: Dynamo Category

NOTES: Dynamo hubs have limited power output and thus cannot charge all USB rechargeable units. If your device needs 1 amp or more, then you will need to use your dynamo power to charge the Smart Power Pack II which in turn can be used to power your iPad. iPads are known to require more than 1 amp to charge and thus cannot be charged off of dynamo power. The output of these dynamo USB ports is .5amps which is actually the same as a USB port on a PC. The reality is that if your screen is off, charging will occur, but very, very slowly so in reality it's best not to consider it a working option.

MORE NOTES: Good quality dynamo hubs have an output of 6 volts/3 watts of power. These are the huge majority of dynamo hubs in use, BUT there are some 1.5 or 2.4 watt hubs that are made. These are quite low quality and will not work with any of the USB charging units. No worries if you have purchased your dynamo hub from a reputable bike shop, but if you're an Alibaba or eBay troller you'll need to be aware... *The reason I believe my dynamo system is inferior to my friend's is that I use a hub designed to small wheels (SONdelux), though my bike has 700c wheels. These hubs have a little less rolling resistance, but in theory you would need to be going faster to get full power out of them. He uses the SON 28, which is designed for the 700c wheel, which is what his bike has.

NEW IN THE SHOP: An alternative rear rack option for Brompton folding bicycles made by Nitto Japan. Specializing in original designs ranging from handlebars to stems and seat posts, Nitto is known best for their hand-made, fillet-brazed tubular chromoly steel bike racks. Nitto racks are nickel-plated for extra durability with a lovely silver satin finish. The Nitto BM-R3 for Brompton folding bikes is no exception. The BM-R3 is a lovely rack to look at, and we know it will hold up to years of use.

We've fit the Nitto Rack for Brompton bikes onto all versions of Bromptons:

-For the fender-less Brompton (E version) the included hardware will mount up the rack perfectly.

-For the Brompton with fenders and no rear rack (L version) you can mount the rack with the optional bolt and washer kit (keeping your existing fender).

-If you are getting the Nitto Rack to replace your existing Brompton rack (R version) the included hardware is perfect and you will be able keep the R version fender.

Note: If you are buying a fender specifically to use with the Nitto Rack, you have 2 options:

- the R fender  works very well as long as you plan to keep the rack on the bike at all times (this fender requires the rack for support)

the L Fender along with a Stay set  is a great option that allows the versatility of being able to be used with or without the rack

One of the big benefits of a rack on a Brompton is that the folded bike sits on 4 points instead of 3, making for a much more stable and smoother rolling package. While the Nitto rack comes with casters, adding Brompton Eazy Wheels make it possible to effortlessly roll the folded bike. This is as true for the Nitto rack as it is for the Brompton rack.

The Eazy Wheel kit for the Brompton rack are not the same as what you'll need to mount Eazy Wheels to the Nitto rack for Brompton. To simplify things, we have put together the kits necessary to add Eazy Wheels to a Nitto Rack no matter your current set up. See them HERE.

The Brompton Rack Sack works nicely with the Nitto rack, though other racktop bags will also work well. A shop favorite is the Arkel Tailrider, as the velcro mounting straps are quick and secure and the bag is loaded with nice features. The Banjo Brothers Rack Top Bag also fits nicely. Keep in mind that when you have a racktop bag attached to the rack, you will not be able to flip the rear wheel under the the bike to put the bike in kickstand-mode.

A Few Details:

• Nitto has not produced a bracket for a reflector or light. The bracket that we sell as an optional add-on is produced here in Minneapolis for Perennial Cycle. This bracket is not sold as a separate item, but is an option when buying the rack. It will work with the Brompton reflector, battery light or a dynamo light.
• We like using the Highland Fat (and flat) adjustable bungee with the Nitto. Fits nicely on the rack, but can be removed if you want to keep things minimal.
• The Nitto rack, like the Brompton rack, does not increase the folded package dimensions so packing the bike away in your B & W hard case, or your Brompton B-Bag will not be hindered by adding the rack.

If you're wondering why the caster wheels are offset to the drive side (this is true of the Nitto Rack and the Brompton Rack) it's because the FOLDED Brompton is weighted to the drive side. The off-set wheels provide additional stability to the folded Brompton.

While a hand-made rack from Japan is not an inexpensive option, Nitto has proven itself a very good value in the market of premium bicycle racks. The versatility and high-quality construction make this rack a sure recommendation at Perennial Cycle.

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