Electric Brompton Impressions

The Electric Brompton has certainly caused quite a stir since it was announced. There has been rumours of this happening for ages but the reality is now here and Brompton are even taking pre-orders.

In a first for my humble blog, one of my Brompton colleagues and all round good egg, Simon S has written a rather superb review of the Electric Brompton. If you have not gone for a test ride yourself, Simon's review certainly gives food for thought. All the words and photos below are his. Many thanks to Simon for a quite excellent review. Enjoy.

It was a long time coming, but the Electric Brompton is finally here, and last week I got to try one during a Cambridge demo day. What was it like? Is it the future?

To give you some background, I own three Bromptons and love gadgets. Last winter, I converted one of my Bromptons to electric to learn about what makes a great e-bike and this review is written based on this experience. The opinions in this review are my own and I am not associated with Brompton Bicycle in any way.

What does the Electric Brompton look like?

Well pretty much like the standard bicycle, albeit with some slightly strange front luggage.

The approach Brompton took has the battery in a detachable front bag and a motor embedded in the front wheel. It is pretty conventional and there are already a number of similar pre-existing conversion kits on the market. It is a proven approach that works well and still allows the bike to fold. The 2-speed version of the bike was quoted as being 13.9kg with the battery pack weighing 2.7kg. The battery pack detaches for easier carrying, and whilst you notice the extra weight it is not excessive. The one time you will notice the extra weight of the motor is when folding and bringing the front wheel round to hook it in position.

What differentiates the “official” Brompton approach is the attention to detail. There is no clutter around the handlebars and all the wiring is neat. The battery clips on and off with a new connector block system and a well placed release latch. Controls are simple and the application of power seamless. Front forks are subtly modified and strengthened to mount the motor. There is a connector to easily disconnect the power supply to the front wheel to repair a puncture. A torque sensor is fitted which is part of an advanced control system for the application of power.

It should be noted that these changes do mean that the frame is subtly different and the electric system cannot be retrofitted to a normal bike, but this lack of backwards compatibility is worth it for the benefits the bespoke nature of the frame brings.

How does it ride?

This is the big question. Without electrical assistance it rides just like a normal Brompton with a heavy front bag. Same gears, levers, handlebars, seat. You select one of three levels of assistance on the battery pack itself, and the motor then assists your cycling when you pedal. The level of assistance is set while stationary and the rest is left to the bike. 

The motor itself has gears and a freewheel inside it. In use, it gives off a high-pitched hum that is actually quite nice as it tells you the motor is working and gives you reassurance. However, the noise is a bit of a giveaway if you are thinking of using your electric Brompton to burn off MAMILs at the traffic lights.

When setting off from stationary, the bike has to detect the effort the rider is applying to start the motor assistance, and this is done with a torque sensor in the bottom bracket. It is a legal requirement that the motor may only assist while you are pedalling, and this is the reason for fitting a torque sensor. But even the best torque sensor needs a bit of movement on the cranks to detect the rider’s effort, which means that when pushing off and starting to ride, the motor assist lags a big. Brompton’s technical staff say they are working out how to minimise this, and it would be great if they could get this even better as, whilst not a problem on the flat, you do notice this lag on hill starts.

Another legal requirement is that e-bike assistance is limited to 25 kph or 15.5mph. When cycling between 15 and 16mph you can hear the motor cut out, and you are left pedalling a conventional bike. This transition is smooth, and being able to hear if the motor is working is really useful as you can judge your speed accordingly. It is especially useful as, unlike on most electric bike control systems, there is no speedo. During my test ride, I was using a Suunto GPS watch to check my speed and the 2-speed version I was using seemed really well matched to cruising at a power assisted 15mph. I suspect that the 6-speed would spend more time going a bit faster unassisted, but remember that you are also putting in more effort to do this.

The test ride was in Cambridge, which is not renowned for its hills, but a short cycle alongside the guided busway brought me to the Addenbrookes guided busway bridge. This is quite steep and some cyclists need to get off and push their bikes over it. On this impromptu test the Electric Brompton flew over it with minimal effort from the rider. Yes, you could hear the motor working harder, but it took it all in its stride. This gave me a lot of confidence that it could manage gradients and deliver on its promise of power assistance.

There is a 300 watt-hour battery, which Brompton say is good for at least 25 miles and up to 50 miles in eco mode. Some other unofficial Brompton conversions use 36V cordless drill batteries, which only give between 6 and 12 miles, which is just not enough real world range. Range anxiety (the fear of running out of juice) is a genuine concern when running any electric vehicle. The battery size that Brompton have used is sensible, allowing you to do a 10-mile each way commute with confidence.

So who is it for?

At first glance, spending over £2500 on an electrically powered folding bike which is effectively limited to 15.5 miles an hour doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. On the forums there seems to be a kneejerk reaction, with many people saying “how much?” or “what’s the point?”, but this does not consider the bigger picture. Let’s think about commuting for a moment, as this is not the fun sort of cycling - it is getting to work on time, day in and day out, come rain, shine or wind. Generally commuting is tolerable in spring and autumn, but in summer you arrive all sweaty and in winter cold and knackered from the headwind. The biggest revelation when running my electric bike was how it changed my attitude to commuting. No longer is a headwind an issue, no longer do you arrive sweaty at the height of summer, journeys are more consistent and the whole experience pleasant – all year round.

The other insight comes from my daughter, who has started riding my Electric Brompton because it allows her to keep up with her brother on family cycle rides. Where two people want to ride together and one of them is not as much of a “keen” cyclist as the other, then I can see that the combination of one conventional and one electric bike would work well.

In summary

If you commute by bike, then an electric bike will transform your journey. Yes, it does cost twice as much as a normal Brompton but it is worth it when you consider what you would save on train / tube / bus fares or even running a car. It is an all-year-round solution.

The Electric Brompton’s mainstream appeal is limited not by the capabilities of the bike, but by the law which imposes a speed limit on assistance. 15.5mph is just not quite fast enough for fun cycling. This is especially true in the UK where cycling is seen more as a sport rather than as a means of transport.

After the release of a number of limited editions featuring only superficial changes such as different colours, with no tangible improvements or refinements, Brompton have now improved the bike and made it relevant. This shows the bike and the brand have a future. 

London to almost Felpham

On the evening of 1st September I set off for another nocturnal adventure to Felpham, near Bognor Regis. At least that was what was planned. The reality proved to be somewhat different.

I was - for reasons that I will not go into - pretty sure that I would have to take my Orange Brompton rather than my Condor road bike but I ended up taking my road bike after all.

The meeting point was the South Bank and before I got there I decided to take a few photos of the area around St Paul's and the Millennium Bridge.

When I arrived I was soon joined by Dr John and Geoff. Soon there after lots of other participants started to filter in, some familiar faces and some new.

Out ride leader was Adam, who has done so on a few previous rides. After the safety talk we busied ourselves with the task of getting ready for the off as close to midnight as humanly possible.

We set off just after the allotted hour into a changeable night as far as the weather was concerned. It was one of those in-between sort of nights where one didn't really know whether to put more layers on or wear less.

The progressed well and we reached Clapham Common where on previous sojourns we had seen - and heard - several people chanting Hare Krishna, a couple having a heated argument and several rabid dogs trying to half kill each other.

As always, when required to we stopped and regrouped as and when required. At one such spot we stopped at a 24-hour petrol station that happened to have a Marks and Spencer food section and more importantly, still open. Now despite the fact that we were stopping at 'The Cabin' a location famed for  its cuisine, I decided to buy a BLT sandwich while the opportunity arose.

At about 03:30 in the a.m. we arrived at The Cabin and I decided to stay outside with a few other participants who had brought their own tuck. The early morning proved to be quite chilly at times and I decided to put on a light rain jacket until we got going again and I warmed up.

As we departed from The Cabin dawn was trying to put in an appearance but was not quite there. The initial miles were as predicted chilly and I was glad of the extra layer.

The countryside at this time of the morning is always quite stunning and as we stopped to regroup you could see beams of light making fingers through the trees.

Not too far from Arundel our route took us on what can only be described as cyclocross. Now I had been on this route before when Simon - the founder of this fine group of cyclists - took us there on a previous London to Felpham.  Some participants were wary of this and wanted to take to the road, even though this would mean ascending Bury Hill - which is very busy with traffic and not the best of surfaces.  Thankfully the scenic route was the only route on option.

We had to negotiate several stiles and hold bike aloft while going through. There was a great deal of teamwork involved and everyone got through quite happily. It has been a long time since I used the Countryside Code but I feel that it was needed here.

The next stage in proceedings involved traversing a wooden suspension-type bridge. The version that I will recall to the Orangettes at home, is that it spanned a chasm the like of which no-one has ever seen before...because everyone who crossed it previously was too scared to look!

The views were stunning and another bridge that spanned the the river Arun - I think.

Once on the bridge we waited for the rest of the group to assemble while the rest of us took photos, foraged for blackberries and generally had a chit-chat.

At Arundel, not too far from the train station of the same name it was approaching 09:00. The ride had taken a little longer than expected to reach this point and I had less than a minute to decide whether to head for Arundel station and get the train back to London or continue for the remaining 9 or so mile and get the train from Bognor Regis even later. I opted for Arundel and knowing that I only had minutes to spare I told the TECs that I was bailing and cycled hard to try and get my train.

I only just made it and once aboard fired off a text to Geoff and Dr John as I they had set off when I was still deciding on what to do. The train was packed and when it reached Gatwick it was like a rush hour tube! Getting off at Clapham Junction I made it to another connecting train, getting home in pretty good time.

In all I cycled 60 miles and despite not completing the entire ride I thoroughly enjoyed it.  There is only one more of this type of ride left this year which will be to Brighton at the start of October. I already look forward to it!