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Why I ride a Brompton, and why you should too.

I bought my Brompton in 1996 from Condor Cycles in London for £450.

First off, I was impressed by all the things that everyone who owns a Brompton will tell you.. the smooth ride, nippy steering angles in city traffic, the ease of stowing it safely, or taking it on public transport when the weather's foul or you get a puncture etc etc... However, what has really impressed me about the Brompton, and forced me to write this uncharacteristically fanatical web page, is the company that makes it.

My first direct experience of Brompton Ltd. was in Spring 1998, the first time I had any problem with my bike that neither I nor Condor could fix. I could have sent the bike off, but the problem was so trivial that it seemed a shame to loose my bike for a week just to fix the cracked rubber rim that holds the seat post braced into the frame. I got on the tube and went to the Brompton factory (I think it was in West Brompton at the time), through the factory gates and rang the bell.

They were obviously not used to Brompton users just popping in on the off chance that they could get a repair, but they were extremely friendly, and I was given tea and biscuits while a smiling engineer took my bike into the workshop. I managed to get a peek into the Aladdin's cave of the factory floor. Hundreds of glittering new Bromptons in various states of assembly lined the walls, and the shelves were packed with boxes of shiny new brakes, saddles and other treasures.

Twenty minutes later, the engineer reappeared, riding my Brompton and grinning widely. He winked and said, "I put on a few extras, enjoy."

I could hardly believe it. I'd come in with a slightly cracked rubber ring in the seat post. He'd replaced the brakes, the saddle, the dynamo, the gear cabling and the hand holds, all with the newest models. He'd realigned the spokes, pumped up the tyres and given it an all round tightening up and oiling. "I ride one too", He said, "Aren't they wonderful?".

I rode away on what felt like (and partly was) a new bike.

Since 1997, I've had very little trouble with the bike that I couldn't fix myself. I've learned the joys of bicycle maintenance for the first time with my Brompton, and have taken great delight in customising it (handy little roller blade wheels on the luggage rack so it glides along when folded) and keeping it gleaming and up to date.

In fact, that's another great thing about Brompton Ltd. engineering practices. Rather than forcing their customers to buy a new bike just to get fancy new features, all the ingenious little design tweaks they make are totally backwards-compatible. They manufacture nearly all of their own parts, and so when some really tasty new dual pivot brakes came out, I was able to buy them (a real bargain at £12) and follow the simple instructions that came in the box to install them on my 6.5 year old Brompton with no problems.

Three weeks ago, a terrible thing happened. I was riding up High Holborn from the City when suddenly one of my pedals brushed the ground. I couldn't work out what was going on. The bike did feel strange, and the steering had felt a bit odd for a few days, but I checked it and re-checked it and couldn't find the problem. As I started up the hill to Holborn the bike just gave way, it sank underneath me and both feet hit the floor. Then I finally noticed, the frame had split just behind the front forks, and had torn nearly in half.

I was distraught. Thankfully she had let me down gently, just as I got to the safety of the pavement, but I was so upset that my lovely bike on which I had lavished years of attention and love had finally died on me.

On the sad walk home, I decided to phone Condor, just on the off chance that they might be able to repair it, or at least offer me some sympathy.

I spoke to Grant, the store manager. I told him mournfully about what had happened and that the bike, being nearly 7 years old was surely destined for the scrap heap. "No. It's covered by guarantee". He said. "Brompton give a lifetime warranty to the frames on all their bikes. Bring it in, we'll have it sent out tomorrow, and you can have a courtesy bike while you're waiting for it to come back". I nearly cried.

Three weeks later (yesterday) I got my bike back from Brompton. New front frame, new joints, new handlebars, new seat post, new chain, new gear and brake cabling, complete reconditioning, cleaned, oiled, pumped up and beautiful. It rides like the day I bought it again. And all this, after nearly 7 years of hard use during which I must have covered over 15,000 miles. Totally unbelievable

So, I gave flowers and a nice bottle of Riocha to Grant at Condor, but since I didn't know who at Brompton had done such a great job with my bike, I decided to write this page of propaganda, and to devote myself to spreading the good word. That's why you're reading this. Now go to Condor Cycles and buy a Brompton.

Two days later, after prowling around in a constant state of immanent violence, I spotted some young children (10-15) trying to do wheelies on my brompton outside Islington police station. I retrieved the bike. It had a huge hole in the frame where the kids had hacked the lock off with a chisel. Unbelievable.

I returned the bike to brompton who did an excellent job of repairing it (although this time it cost me £150) and have since begun using an extremely heavy, hardcore D-lock. I always wince when I see Brompton owners locking thier bikes up with crappy, cheap locks. The days when stolen bromptons were difficult to sell are gone. I regularly see bromptons for sale in Brick Lane market on Sundays - a sure sign that the market for stolen bikes is picking up. I strongly recommend carrying the bike everywhere with you. That's what it's good for.

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