Thursday 3 March 2016

Special Edition Brompton Bicycles?

Brompton has released quite a few special editions of late. There has been the all black, black with a splash of colour and a blacker version of the all black. Added to the mix we now have a nickel edition and a stardust black which has sparkle bits.

They are all rather nice and have created a fair amount of excitement but I do think Brompton has missed a trick again. With so many special editions cropping up...how special are they?

I suspect that if Brompton were to offer some of the all black components for sale as after market purchases - cranks, seat posts, brake callipers, brake leavers, rims - they would actually make more money in the long run and keep existing owners happier.

Most people buy one Brompton and that is it. They are a good enough bicycle to simply upgrade the various components as and when needed or desired. Having more readily available spare parts deemed to come from a special edition would be a licence to print money, surely.  Perhaps Brompton wants to keep these special editions and their rather tasty components wholly exclusive?

3 comments:

  1. Totally agree. I think that black components could be part of the customisation when a new bike is built. I really don't get the reason not to upsell. Since all of the bikes are in the end custom made, what's the point?

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  2. Interesting reading. I was in my local shop the other day ordering my brompton and the guy was saying exactly the same thing.

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  3. This reminds me of the same issue with car accessories and upgrades. Years ago, when car radios were not fitted as standard, people preferred to buy e.g. a Sony or Pioneer rather than a radio branded by the car manufacturer. I think there is a preference out there for specialist add-ons, like Ergon grips for example, that are far superior than the bike manufacturers' offerings and which allow more individual choices to be made. John.

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