Brompton

Engineering curiosity that became ‘the’ folding bike, beloved of upmarket commuters – and TV comedy

Other folders may be better for speed, distance, or touring. And cheaper. But the Brompton is unbeatable in two areas. First: the fold, so small you might lose it under the boardroom table. Second: the status. It’s a premium product (a new sub-8kg titanium T-line costs £4,000), a favourite of affluent commuting professionals – a trope lampooned in the BBC comedy series W1A. Nothing ventured… Folding bikes have been here before. In the early 1900s, soldiers used them for commuting around the battlefield. In the pre-supermarket 1970s, they were for shopping. Nearly all folded in half, horizontally. Simple. Clunky. Makeshift. But in 1975, Cambridge engineering graduate Andrew Ritchie became obsessed with making a better, more elegant folder. By flipping the back wheel vertically under the gracefully curved frame, hinged on…

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Cycling Plus (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 2022

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