brompton

In 2013 we set a goal of adding all of our in-stock Brompton folding bikes to our website. Once they'd been added, we set a second goal: to keep the listings accurate as 1 bike is sold and another arrives. All that means that today, you can go to PerennialCycle.com and browse our in-stock Brompton selection knowing that the bikes you see are bikes we have ready for in-store pick-up or shipping to your door.

We've sorted our Brompton folding bikes models by handlebar type, so you can shop for an S-Type, M-Type, or H-Type with the right gearing for your needs and the color of your dreams. You'll also see a special section for our in-stock Ti Brompton Superlights. If you're interested in a P-Type handlebar or don't see the bike you're looking for available, call us at 612-827-8000 and we'll be happy to help you with a B-Spoke order.

As you browse through each handlebar type, you'll see a variety of different combinations of gearing and color options. From the short description for each bike you can gather quite a bit of information. As an example, a listing for an M2L in Black and Turkish Green looks like this: "M2L [Black & Turkish Green]." M is of course the handlebar type, 2 tells us it's a 2-speed, and L indicates the bike has mudguards but no rack. Black, listed first is the color of the bike's main frame. The bikes extremities are Turkish Green, the second color indicated. For a listing with only one color mentioned, the main frame and the extremities are the same color.

Clicking on the listing for an individual bike, it's possible to see more details about the bike's gearing. It might say "standard," or "12% reduced." For single speeds and 2-speeds, you'll always see "standard," as we order all of our 1- and 2-speed bikes this way. For 3-speeds, you'll see a mix of standard and lowered gearing. In the case of 6-speeds, you'll see mostly lowered gearing and a handful of bikes with standard gearing. After riding Brompton folding bikes and helping customers through hundreds of test-rides, we've come to see that -12% lowered gearing is the ideal set-up on the 6-speed for the majority of riders. As of 2013, we began ordering many of our 3-speeds with the same idea in mind. Prior to 2014, lowered (or reduced) and raised gearing incurred an extra charge. Fortunately, that's no longer the case. Now you can choose the right gearing ratio for your Brompton without worrying about an added expense.

What's the difference between lowered and standard gearing? All Brompton 6-speeds have a Brompton Wide Range (BWR) Sturmey Archer hub on the rear wheel and all come set up with the same rear sprocket set. The physical difference between bikes with standard and lowered gearing is in the front chainring attached to the crank. A 6-speed with standard gearing has a 50-tooth chainring, while a 6-speed with lowered gearing has a 44-tooth chainring. Practically speaking, that means the every gear on the bike with a 44T ring requires less effort on your part when pedaling. That means you'll climb hills more easily on a bike with reduced gearing. And, the average rider will be more likely to use the full-range (even the hardest gear) on a 6-speed bike with reduced gearing. If you're one for crunching gear ratios, you can find Brompton's chart here.

Once you've decided on a particular bike, here are the remaining details to keep in mind:

Seat Height

You can choose from one of three seatposts for your Brompton. For an inseam over 84cm/33", we suggest an extended or telescopic seatpost. The latter is best for an inseam over 90cm/35", or for taller riders wishing to minimize the height of the folded bike.

Saddle

Several options are available to select within your bike's listing, including the brightly colored Brompton Rail Saddles. If you'd like to order a saddle other than one listed here, simply add it to your shopping cart separately. If you select an alternative saddle (e.g. a Brooks saddle other than the B17 Special in Antique Brown), you may note in the comments section with your order whether or not you'd like to have the standard black Brompton Rail Saddle as well. If you choose a Brooks saddle, we recommend a rain cover for all-weather riders and the Brooks Maintenance kit or a stand-alone tin of Proofide.

Tires

We order all of our Brompton folding bikes with the company's standard Kevlar tire. It's light-weight and offers good flat protection. For an upgrade fee, we are able to send your Brompton with 1) Schwalbe Marathon tires 2) Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires 3) standard Schwalbe Kojak tires or 4) folding Schwalbe Kojak tires. Please call us at 612-827-8000 or make a note in the comments section with your order if you'd prefer we swap out the standard Kevlar tires for one of these upgrades.

Rear Suspension

Two levels of resistance are available, to suit body weight and riding style. We recommend Firm suspension for most riders, and anyone weighing over 80kg (175+ lbs) and those who value responsiveness above comfort. If you prefer a softer ride, are a lighter person or if you ride and pedal particularly smoothly, you may opt for Standard suspension.

Lighting

We order a percentage of our Brompton folding bikes with Shimano Hub Dynamos and the accompanying front and rear lights each year. The majority of our bikes arrive to our door with reflectors only in front and back. We are, however, happy to add a dynamo lighting system to any in-stock bike. We stock both the Shimano and the SON hub systems and a variety of dynamo lights. Note that pricing here may vary from the B-Spoke order form as factory-installed systems are offered at a lower price than the sum of the parts in our store. We do offer free labor when installing dynamo lighting or battery lights on any new Brompton. Still, for the greatest savings on a dynamo system with Brompton's stock headlights and taillights, it's best to B-spoke order your Brompton.

If you're interested in a headlight other than the B&M Lyt (standard for the Shimano hub) or the B&M Cyo (standard for the SON hub), or a taillight other than the standard Brompton dynamo rear light, you may either place your order by phone or choose "reflectors only" and add the necessary parts to your order one-by-one. You'll need to add a front dynamo wheel (Shimano or SON) and a Hub Dynamo/LED wiring loom to your order along with the lights of your choice and a Hub Dynamo/LED wire form bracket.

Should you be shopping for more powerful battery lighting in lieu of a dynamo system, you may consider pairing the Brompton rear battery light with a rechargeable front light from Light and Motion's Urban series. Simply choose "reflectors only" and add the lights of your choice to your cart separately. We'll install the Brompton rear battery light for you and include the headlight in the box with your Brompton.

Front Luggage & Accessories

Choose a front carrier block alone or opt for a bag set (a front carrier block + the bag of your choice). You will see a few options in our list not included on Brompton's B-Spoke order form. Learn more about the Carradice City Folder here. Or, view of the Carradice Stockport here.

If there are other parts and accessories (e.g. a rear rack or non-standard pedals) you'd like to add to your order, simply add them to your cart as you would with any other order at PerennialCycle.com.

Shipping

Our standard shipping charge on Brompton folding bikes is $40 per bike. Choose "folding bicycle" under other options at checkout. Check our homepage or sign up for our newsletter for information about shipping promotions throughout the year.

We'll install parts like the Front Carrier Block or Eazy Wheels for your convenience prior to shipping and include items such a Carradice Saddle Bag inside the box with your bike as space allows. For larger accessories like Brompton's B Bag, we may package your bike and the chosen accessories in separate boxes under one tracking number. If you're ordering a Brompton Travel Suitcase, we'll ship your bike inside the case in one box.

We welcome your questions by phone or email. If you're in the neighborhood, come on in for a test-ride any time.

As a follow-up to our earlier post about Brompton's new color palette, we'd like you to be the first to know that we're now accepting 2015 B-Spoke Orders. Orders placed this week will begin shipping from England the week of December 12, just in time for the holidays. Per usual, Brompton will be closed from 27 December through 2 January. Orders taken after the first of the year will resume shipping the week of January 9, 2015.

A 20% deposit is all that's required to get your B-Spoke order in the queue. What are you waiting for? Start building your dream Brompton with the newly updated Brompton Bike Builder!

Clock-wise from top left: Berry Crush, Cherry Blossom, Tempest Blue, Lime Green, Lagoon Blue

Ivory

A few weeks ago, Brompton Bicycle announced several new colors set to debut in 2015. They are: three ‘brights’: Berry Crush, Lagoon Blue, Lime Green and three ‘classics’ Ivory, Cherry Blossom, Tempest Blue. To make room for the new colors, eight existing colors will be retiring, including Yellow, Sage Green, Claret, Cobalt Blue, Desert Sand, Hot Pink, Apple Green, Arctic Blue. Black, White, Red, Orange, Racing Green and Turkish Green (and Raw Lacquer, the official un-color of Brompton worldwide) will all remain part of the line-up.

Luke just returned from Interbike, where he had the chance to see the new 2015 Brompton colors in person for the first time. Seeing the photos of all of the colors together at once (as above), we're all excited for what's to come. And while there hasn't been much word about it yet, new black components will be available with select frame colors beginning next year...

If you're interested in purchasing a Brompton in any of the colors that will be retiring this year, you can check out our in-stock Bromptons at PerennialCycle.com. For special—or B-Spoke—orders, call the shop at 612-827-8000 by October 1st. Interested in a 2015 color? Watch for details about availability right here!

Brompton's new Lagoon Blue

Brompton's new Vanilla, now to be called Ivory

Brompton's new Tempest Blue

Brompton's new Berry Crush

Ever since becoming a Brompton dealer, we have seen great value in superlight models and have always made them available to customers as a part of our Brompton inventory. You may have heard them referred to as "Titanium Bromptons," "Ti Bromptons," "Superlights" as above, or "X-Models." All of these refer to the same product — Brompton's superlight frame option. At the start of this year we received several superlight bikes in various configurations, including all three of our standard handlebar types and a variety of colors.

For 2013, we also added a third bike to our demo lineup: an S2L-X that was later transformed into an even lighter S2E-X when Luke travelled to England for the Brompton World Championship. Several of you have test-ridden our new demo and all agree: the S2 is a very zippy Brommie! With more and more Brompton riders gaining interest in Brompton racing, Superlight Bromptons are more popular than ever. Of course when it's not race day, one of the superlight's main advantages is not in riding it but in the moments you need to carry it. Going up a flight of stairs or through the airport with your Brompton in tow is all that much easier with a superlight bike.

But just what makes a Brompton Superlight so very super? And just how light is it? You'll find the answers to those questions and more below.

The following components on a Brompton Superlight or "X" model differ from a standard Steel Brompton. These changes combined contribute to a weight savings of 1.63 pounds (.74 kg) on any given Brompton.

1 - Aluminum Headset

2 - Xtra-Light Front Hub (not only lighter than Brompton's standard front hub, this is a sealed cartridge bearing hub, a big step up from their standard cup and cone hub) built into the front wheel, along with butted spokes for additional weight savings***

3 - Titanium Front Fork

4 - Titanium Front Mudguard Stays

5 - Titanium Rear Frame

6 - Titanium Rear Mudguard Stays

7 - No pump is supplied with a Superlight bike

What parts of a 2013 superlight bike are steel?

Two key parts: the Main Frame including the stem riser (both painted) and the seatpost.

Why Titanium?

While not as stiff as steel, titanium is equally strong and weighs about 50% less, all of which adds up to mean that Titanium has the highest strength-to-weight ration of any metal. Brompton has long seen its advantages, as has our favorite touring rack manufacturer, Tubus.

Titanium has excellent resistance to corrosion; it won't rust. This makes it a great choice for all-weather riders and those who bike in areas where roads are salted in the cold months.

Because of its corrosion resistance, titanium doesn't need to be painted — and, we might add, the silvery-grey color of the raw metal is very attractive.

As a West London-based manufacturer, Brompton has one more thing in coming with the metal we call "Ti" for short: both have English roots! Titanium was first discovered in Cornwall, in South West England, in 1791 by William Gregor.

Is it possible to B-Spoke order a Superlight Bike?

While it is usually possible to B-Spoke (custom-) order a Superlight Brompton, as of September 2, 2013, Brompton is not taking any new orders for Superlight bikes. (Should that change, we'll post an update here.) Many of our stock-superlights have already gone out the door, but we still have Brompton Superlights available for purchase. You can see a selection of our in-stock Superlight Bromptons here. Except where noted, all of the bikes listed on our website are in-stock and ready to ship to your door. Each has a front wheel built with the Brompton Xtra-Light Front Hub.

I have a standard, steel Brompton. What else might save weight?

Standard reflectors and battery lights are lighter than a dynamo lighting system

Single-speeds, 2-speeds, and 3-speeds will be lighter than 6-speeds

E-Version bikes without mudguards will be slightly lighter than L-Version bikes

E-Version and L-Version bikes will be lighter than R-Version bikes fitted with a rear rack

Standard or Extended Seatposts are lighter than a Telescopic Seatpost

Brompton Kevlar tires and Schwalbe Kojaks save weight over Schwalbe Marathon tires

The S Type is lighter than the M, H, or P Type

Standard rollers marginally save weight over Eazy Wheels

Saddles, in order of lightest to heaviest: B Saddle < B17 S Special < B17 Special

Some Brompton owners choose to retro-fit superlight parts, like the Xtra Light Front Wheel, to an all-steel Brompton

Carry only the necessities in your Brompton luggage

Ride your Brompton every day!

If you're interested in purchasing (or simply test riding) a Ti-Brompton, stop in any time or order online now. We ship Brompton bikes on a regular basis to U.S.-based Brompton enthusiasts and Brompton fans abroad. Shipping in the continental USA is just $35-40. International shipping quotes are available upon request.

***Since the publication of this post, Brompton has had some stocking issues with the Superlight front hub. As a result, not every Ti bike will ship with a Superlight front hub. To compensate, Brompton (and we at Perennial Cycle) has reduced the price of all bikes that ship without a Superlight front hub. These bikes will still feature butted spokes in their wheel builds but will use the standard Brompton front hub, unless a dynamo hub is fitted. If you are interested in ordering a specific in-stock Brompton and are curious about what type of front hub it features, please call us at 612-827-8000.