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Brompton Bicycle

Coordinates: 51°29′27″N 0°17′35″W / 51.4907°N 0.2931°W / 51.4907; -0.2931
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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Rogerzilla (talk | contribs) at 14:06, 16 July 2010 (→‎Factory additions: Eazy-wheels now available for any model, Ti seatposts replaced with aluminium for model year 2009, raw lacquer finish not currently available.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Brompton Bicycle
IndustryBicycle
Founded1976-06-03[1]
HeadquartersUnited Kingdom Brentford, Greater London, England, UK
Key people
Andrew Ritchie (Founder and Technical Director)
Will Butler-Adams (Managing Director)
ProductsFolding bicycle
Revenue£10 million[2][3]
£750,000+[3]
Number of employees
115[4][2]
Websitewww.brompton.co.uk
Four stages in folding. The final step of lowering the saddle locks the package together

Brompton Bicycle is a bicycle manufacturer based in Brentford, London, in the United Kingdom. It is notable for its folding bicycle and being the last transport manufacturer of any kind based in the capital city. It is the largest volume bicycle manufacturer in Britain,[5] the other being Pashley Cycles. Approximately 22,000 bicycles are produced by the company each year[4][6] of which 70 percent are exported.[4] The company was awarded The Queen's Award for Export in 1995.[7] In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 21 April 2010, the company was awarded two Queen's Awards for Enterprise, in the Innovation and International Trade categories.[8]

The Brompton folding bicycle and accessories are the company's core product, noted for its self-supporting compact size when stored. All available models of the folding bicycle are based on the same hinged bicycle frame and 16 inch (349 mm) wheel size. Components are added, removed, or replaced by titanium parts to form the variations. The modular design has remained fundamentally unchanged since the original patent was filed by Andrew Ritchie in 1979,[9] with small details being refined by continual improvement. Ritchie was awarded the 2009 Prince Philip Designers Prize for work on the bicycle.[10][11] In reviews of folding bicycles, the Brompton is often the winner.[12][13][14]

Folding bicycle

All Brompton folding bicycle models share the same curved frame, consisting of a hinged main tube, pivoting rear triangle, and hinged handle-bar stem. The steel sections use brazing to join the steel (instead of welding). Wheels are 349 mm rim size, carrying tyres with 16" tread diameter. The handlebars and some periphery components are aluminium.

A Brompton bicycle uses over 1,200 individual pieces, eighty-percent of which are manufactured purely for the Brompton design.

Gearing
As of 2009 the current combinations allow one-, two-, three-, or six-speed gearing options to be fitted at the factory, with an optional further factory-fitted gear reduction of around twelve percent.
Suspension
The Brompton uses a combined rear fold and suspension design. During riding, the rear triangle rests loosely on a rubber spring to provide suspension between the rear wheel and the main frame supporting the rider. The suspension block is kept in compression by the rider's weight. All Bromptons now feature a latch allowing the rider to chose between automatic parking, or keeping the bicycle rigid whilst being carried unfolded. There is no suspension for the front wheel, although the use of Titanium forks provides a small amount of spring.

The fold

The "Brompton fold" is unique to Ritchie's design, allowing the bicycle to shrink both vertically and lengthwise during folding, but keeping all of the parts attached to one another. The elements which allow the design to work are:

  • Pivoting rear triangle, allowing the length to be shortened, whilst keeping the bicycle chain in the same alignment, there is a slight curve in the main frame to allow the wheel to swing under.
  • Chain tensioner arm capable of swinging through a wide arc, in order to absorb the full length of the chain during folding without the chain coming loose. The chain ends up looped back on itself.
  • Angled handle-bar stem, on a bicycle the handle bars are at right-angles to the rest of the bicycle. Having the hinge placed at 45-degrees to the rest of the bicycle means that the handle-bars swing through ninety degrees and lay parallel with the wheels when folded
  • Main frame hinge, the fold in the centre of the bicycle allows the front wheel to be swung around and placed against the rear-wheel. As the front wheel also rotates freely for steering purposes, the front wheel remains pointing forwards even when folded.
  • Seat post combining the function of variable height adjustment and locking. When lowered during folding, the base of the post locks against the lower stop disc preventing the folded package from swinging open

The final folded package is 565×545×250 millimetres (22.2×21.5×9.8 in) and weighs between 9–12.5 kg (20–28 lb) depending on the configuration. Folding takes 10–20 seconds meaning that normally the bicycle can be pushed or cycled until the very last minute and only folded before stepping onto the train or entering a building.

Folded Brompton on a public bus

Models

Models are named using a code containing two letters either side of a number to describe the handle bar type, number of gears and factory attached fixtures. An optional suffix is appended to show the inclusion of titanium upgrades. As an example, the model code of "M3R" refers to classic "M" handle bars, "3" gear speeds using an internal hub and an "R" for having a rear rack. The same model, but making use of titanium where possible would be "M3R-X".

Handlebar style Gearing choice Fixtures[f 1] Superlight upgrade
S sporty 1 single speed E minimal; no mudguards, no pump -X optional lighter titanium forks, triangle and sundries
2 two speed derailleur
M traditional[f 1] L mudguards
3 three speed internal hub
P dual height R rear rack
6 internal hub and derailleur
  1. ^ a b Until 2007, all Brompton bicycles had "M"-style handle bars, with the fixtures being "C" (no mudguards), "L" (mudguards) or "T" (rear rack and dynamo lighting). These roughly map to the present "E", "L" and "R" models. Only "3" or "5" (later "6") gears were offered, and this was written after the type. A late 1990s "T5" would be similar to a present "M6R", while a "C3" would be close to the present "M3E". The old marketing terms were Companion, Lightweight and Touring.

Factory additions

Different colour folded Brompton Bicycles in New York. Half retain their supplied stock saddle.

All models may have the wheels on the corners of the rack replaced with larger eazy wheels, to aid pushing when folded and to give greater heel clearance than the stock rollers. All models can choose to have no lights, lighting powered from battery, or two variants of front wheel hub dynamo.[t 1] Seat posts can be swapped between standard length, extended or telescopic for tall riders (each with an aluminium equivalent). Bicycles are offered in black or red matt colours as standard, with the optional selection of further colours. Titanium areas are left unpainted, in their natural titanium colour. The standard Brompton saddle can be substituted by a Brooks B17 Special leather saddle ladies' or men's versions. Non-titanium models have braze-on fittings for holding the supplied Zefal HP compact high-pressure bicycle pump.

All models may have the front luggage block fitted to carry cargo, this is fitted to the main frame (rather than to the forks or handle bars) to avoid interference with the steering. The hub dynamo option uses a special narrow-width SON XS hub dynamo fitted at the centre the front-wheel and manufactured by Schmidt Maschinenbau.

A full superlight variant uses titanium to save weight, combined with lighter wheel components. The option replaces the rear triangle, front forks, seat post and other smaller parts. The main frame structure remains steel. This upgrade represents the largest cost increase of any upgrade, and reduces some variants to below ten kilograms in weight. The titanium rear triangle has no provision for mounting a pump, and a pump is not supplied with titanium models, saving approximately 75g.

Tyres can be swapped at any point between kevlar based Brompton green or lighter, faster Schwalbe Kojak.[t 2] Aftermarket tyres include the Schwalbe Marathon Plus, a heavy but very puncture-resistant model.

  1. ^ Until 2009, bottle shaped tyre dynamo were used as the standard permanent lighting solution. New bicycles have a choice between Brompton-specific Shinamo or SON XS hub dynamos.
  2. ^ Whilst no longer factory fitted, Brompton bicycles originally used Raleigh Record tyres and continued to do so on the lower end model until the 2000s.

Accessories

A small saddle bag can be fitted behind the saddle for the Brompton cover and any tools or spares.

When fitted with a front luggage block, a choice of folding basket, large touring pannier or two variants of bicycle-messenger style flip-over bag can be attached to the bicycle. These bags internally share a common design of lugguage frame, which can also be used separately.

History

The core design has proved to be very close to the optimum; the folded package being restricted roughly to the size of the wheels used, plus a small overhead. As such, design improvements have generally been subtle and introduced in such a manner as that they can be retrofitted on earlier production models of the bicycle.

Classic handlebar and rear rack, vs S handlebar and no rack
Rear rack
Redesigned in the 1990s using cast aluminium
Five-speed hubs
until discontinuation after the close of Sturmey Archer in 2000
Handlebar stem hinge
switched to a jig-brazed system
SRAM hub
rear triangle changes to suit SRAM hub after the close of Sturmey Archer
Derailleur
Allowing 6-speed (2×3 evenly spaced gears)
Main tube hinge
In 2003, the introduction of a new machined hinge on main tube increased the wheel-base by five centimeters.[citation needed]
Handle-bar clip
reinforced wire clip providing increasing gripping to secure the handle-bar stem when folded down.
Handlebars
Two alternative handlebar designs; the original handlebar redesignated as the 'M' type.
Titanium parts
saving approximately 1 kilogram combined
Dual action calliper brakes
later fitted as standard to both the front and back wheels
Rear triangle clip
Allowing the rear-triangle to be clamped, to prevent automatic folding when the bicycle is lifted whilst unfolded. For example, when being carried up steps.
Wide range hub
Brompton Wide-Range (BWR) hub with a wider gear ratio spacing, more suited to the Brompton's smaller wheel size
Non-folding pedal
new right-hand non-folding pedal designed to increase robustness and balance the folding pedal.

Customisation

Further modifications are provided by some Brompton dealers or skilled individuals, the most prominent examples being:

Rear hub
Alternative hubs all tend to be wider than the narrow Brompton forks allow, necessitating extensive stretching and modification work
  • Shimano Nexus seven- or eight-speed hubs.
  • Fourteen-speed Rohloff Speedhub.
  • Sturmey-Archer XRF8 eight-speed hubs.
  • Vintage Sturmey-Archer medium or close-ratio internals, which can be screwed straight into the OEM hub shell
Rear axle
Derailleur gears either in addition to, or instead of the standard internal hub gearing
Bottom bracket
  • Schlumpf Mountain Drive: Fitting a Schlumpf Mountain Drive to the bottom bracket to give a selectable 250% reduction,[15] thereby doubling the number of gears available to two-, four-, six-, or twelve-speeds
  • Additional front derailleur chain-rings as from on a mountain bike
  • Oversize, or elliptical ("egg") rings giving higher possible top-speeds for extremely fit riders
Front wheel hub
  • Electric motor, combined with a battery bank attached to either the rear rack, or stored in the front pannier
  • Pantour suspension hub
  • Dynamo hubs. Brompton now offer a narrow-width SON XS or alternatively a Shimano dynamo hub as standard factory supplied upgrades
Luggage
  • Custom-made luggage using the Brompton luggage frame
  • Rear luggage attached to the seat-post
Contact points
  • Leather or other handlebar grips; replacements need to be approximately 95-100mm wide compared to 130mm for other bicycles
  • Upgraded saddles - Brompton offer a branded Brooks B17, but any saddle can be fitted if the Brompton "Pentaclip" adapter is used

Replacements

Brompton owners and designers with suitable engineering expertise regularly try to improve the design, although there is limited scope to do so as any additions attached are likely to compromise either the final folded size, carried weight or folding action.

  • SP. In the United Kingdom, builder Steve Parry specialises in producing a range of customised bicycles designated SP, which are based on the Brompton and use many Brompton components. Typically, these machines might combine a seven-speed derailleur or the 14-speed Rohloff Speedhub, V-brakes, carbon fibre seat post and a suspension handlebar system, although the exact specifications will often be agreed with the purchaser prior to building.
  • "Brekki" recumbent upgrade kit. A collection of add-ons offered by a German bicycle to convert a basic Brompton in a recumbent bicycle design and the cost of a larger folded package and heavier weight.[16]
  • Ultimate Folding Bicycle. An on-going development involving wholesale replacement of virtually all original Brompton frame components with titanium or lightweight versions. The result is a sub 8-kilogram bicycle with a Brompton fold and luggage compatibility.[17]
  • "Nano Brompton" - an upgrade to convert a basic Brompton to an electric bike by adding a powerful electric front hub motor to the Brompton, the motor adds some 2 kg to the overall bikes weight.[18]
  • "Brompton E-Freedom" - an upgrade to convert a basic Brompton to an electric bike by adding a powerful electric front hub motor to the Brompton, with nano-technology batteries, the whole kit (incl motor, battery, controller & throttle adds only 3.2 kg to the overall bikes weight.[19]

Criticism

  • Replacements for the 16 x 1 3/8" tires are less common than for wider tires.
  • Many parts are custom made, which may bring delays and extra costs for repairs from other than authorized dealers
  • The bike may be less suited to long rides as most models have restricted gears.
  • Brompton manufacture the basic frame in one size only. Riders requiring a bottom bracket to saddle top height of more than 715mm/28" can select an extended seatpost to give a maximum saddle height of 775mm/30.5" (slightly more is possible with a Pentaclip adapter). There is also a telescopic seatpost option which gives greater height still and does not compromise the size of the folded package, although it adds substantial weight.
  • The handlebar height is not adjustable, although the 'P' type handlebar offers two hand positions at different heights and adventurous owners could also try swapping the stem, e.g. an "M" for an "S" type.

Company

Brompton frame parts at the factory in Kew

In 1976 Andrew Ritchie founded the company, named after the Brompton Oratory,[2] a landmark visible from his bedroom workshop where the first prototypes were built. At the time he was working as a gardener. Ritchie obtained backing from friends and sought to license the design, but after five years began manufacturing the bicycle design himself. Production ground to a halt in 1982 after which Ritchie continued to explore possibilities for continued manufacturing whilst undertaking other jobs.

Finally in 1986, again with backing from friends and former customers, enough was raised to resume production on a larger scale. With a bank loan underwritten by Julian Vereker (founder of Naim Audio), production was restarted in a railway arch in Brentford. By early 1988, mass-production Brompton bicycles were once again in circulation.

In March 2009, Brompton Bicycle achieved a record monthly turnover of just under £1 million; the employees were rewarded with fish and chips.[20] In the same month, the company stated that it was hoping to continue a 25% rate of growth.[21]

Clones and licensing issues

Neobike

In 1992, Brompton started an agreement with the Taiwanese-based company Eurotai and its subsidary Neobike to allow the manufacture of a licensed copy for distribution in Eastern Asia; a market not already served by Brompton directly.[22][23] The licensing deal lasted approximately ten years until 2002. At this point in time, five senior Neobike employees had just been convicted and jailed for stealing trade secrets from Dahon and Ritchie stated that the contract was "under review".[24]

Originally Dahon had been working towards a licensing deal with Brompton Bicycle Limited, but the Dahon employees working on the deal left Dahon and started up Neobike instead with the agreement negotiated.[25]

Following the expiry of the Brompton patent,[26] Neobike started to import its Scoop One and Astra Flex V3 models into Europe.[27] A court case was held at the Groningen civil court in the Netherlands on 24 May 2006, which ruled that the industrial design of the Brompton folding bicycle was protected by copyright. Additionally, the Neobike manual included direct copies of drawings found in the Brompton user manual.[28]

The Brompton Bicycle Limited v Rijwielbedrijf Vincent Van Ellen BV ruling held that there was creative flexibility in the design for a bicycle beyond those choices made purely for functional reasons; in the Brompton case this included the M-style handlebars, curved main frame tube and the cable-placement.[28] Each of these were noted to be distinctive design decisions that another manufacturer could change without compromising the ability to create a functional folding bicycle. Such a level of perceived similarity was therefore likely to cause "confusion in the market" under the Dutch copyright law, Article 13. Neobike did not choose to appeal and Brompton Bicycle was granted the right to have all of the imported bicycles destroyed and an injunction against future imports by Neobike.[28]

Merc

An unlicensed Brompton clone made by the Taiwanese manufacturer Grace Gallant[29] was imported in the UK under the name "Merc" (model "FL-BP01-03"). It was sold for less than half the cost of a Brompton.[30] It has an aluminium alloy main frame (rather than steel) but is no lighter in weight. Components also differ in quality, although the same 3-speed hub is used. The Merc is not available anymore in the United Kingdom owing to copyright litigation by Brompton, but is still being made in Taiwan by Grace Gallant. In June 2010, Brompton gained a further injunction in Spain against Grace Gallant importing or distributing copies of the Brompton under the "Oxford" bicycle name. The case on decided on the basis that Grace Gallant predecessors had not returned all Brompton Ltd's drawing and toolings upon the termination of the early Eurotai/Neobike franchise agreement.[31]

See also

References

  1. ^ "#01261512: Brompton Bicycle Limited". WebCheck. Companies House. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
  2. ^ a b c Wood, Zoe (2009-11-09). "Brompton Bicycle: crafted for cult appeal". The Guardian (Financial). p. 28. Retrieved 2009-11-22. Sales are up more than 25% this year ... all 115 staff
  3. ^ a b Kochan, Nick (2008-09-30). "The Brompton comes of age". The Spectator. Retrieved 2009-03-21. Brompton sells some 20,000 bikes a year ... turns over £8 million and makes a profit of £750,000. ... believes it can increase the rate of annual growth – already 25 per cent
  4. ^ a b c Young, Mark (2009-01-23). "Bucking the trend". The Manufacturer. Retrieved 2009-03-17. The 95 staff at its factory in Brentford makes 22,000 bikes a year and exports 70 per cent of them
  5. ^ Laurance, Ben (2005-08-07). "The bicycle that turned into folding money". The Observer. Retrieved 2009-03-17. Ritchie controls and runs Brompton Bicycle, one of only two volume manufacturers still making bikes in Britain.
  6. ^ Schubert, John (2004-06). "The Brompton road test" (PDF). Adventure Cyclist. Cyclesense. Retrieved 2009-03-17. Brompton's ten thousand units per year makes it one of the two largest English bicycle factories remaining. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "This year's winners of the Queen's Awards". The Independent. 1995-04-21. Retrieved 2009-03-17. Queen's Award for Export Achievement 1995 ... Brompton Bicycle Ltd
  8. ^ "Another great year for the Queen's Awards for Enterprise". News Distribution Service. Central Office of Information. 2010-04-21. Retrieved 2010-04-23. from enterprising small businesses with as few as three employees to household names such as ... bicycle manufacturer Brompton Bicycle Ltd.
  9. ^ "EP19790302096: Folding Bicycle". 1979-03-10. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
  10. ^ "Brompton bike creator wins UK's longest-running design award". The Independent. 16 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-20. Andrew Ritchie was named the winner of the 50th Prince Philip Design Award
  11. ^ "Royal award for fold-up bike man". BBC News Online. 2009-10-16. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  12. ^ "Brompton Bicycle". Avon Valley Cyclery. Retrieved 2009-03-17. The Brompton folding bicycle is for many the bench mark by which other folding bikes are judged.
  13. ^ "Folding Bikes A Buyers' Guide Compiled by 'A to B' magazine". A to B magazine. The Folding Society. Retrieved 2009-03-17. Still the best compact folder on the market
  14. ^ Tempest, Matthew (2002-12-04). "The Brompton Folding Bicycle". The Guardian. Overall score? 9/10 - only because perfection is not achievable on this earth.
  15. ^ "Mountain Drive". Schlumpf. Retrieved 2009-03-17. gears down 2,5 x
  16. ^ http://www.junik-hpv.de/html/brompton_liegerad.htm
  17. ^ http://www.ufbusa.com/
  18. ^ http://www.electricwheel.co.uk/nano_brompton.html
  19. ^ http://www.freedomebikes.com
  20. ^ Guthrie, Jonathan (2009-04-09). "Five success stories for recessionary times". Financial Times. Retrieved 2009-04-16. Brompton achieved record monthly sales just shy of £1m in March. The factory celebrated with fish and chips all round. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ Jablonski, Renita (2009-03-24). "What will gear up U.K. manufacturing?". Marketplace. American Public Media. Retrieved 2009-04-16. Emerson Roberts is Brompton's Marketing Manager. He says ... "The plan this year is to grow sales by 25 percent."
  22. ^ "Neobike Internaitonal Co., Ltd". ttnet.net. Retrieved 2009-04-16. Neobike was established in 1992, at the same time it cooperated in technology with Brompton Bicycle Limited in England, and started manufacturing Brompton folding bikes in Taiwan.
  23. ^ Somers, Stein (2005-02-12). "Where can I find out more?". The Brompton Folding Bicycle FAQ. Retrieved 2009-04-16. The far east of the globe will be interested in Neobike International Co. Ltd. who make a cheaper and less complete Brompton under license for the Asian market.
  24. ^ "Folding bike copyists to be jailed". Bike Biz. 2002-04-10. Retrieved 2009-04-16. Three of the five guilty defendants are former Dahon employees ... Neobike holds the licence to manufacture and market Brompton folding bikes in the Far East ... Brompton inventor Andrew Ritchie told Bikebiz.co.uk this deal was "under review"
  25. ^ Scharf, Steven M. (2002-08-15). "Neobike". Folding Bicycle Information. Retrieved 2009-04-16. talking to Joshua Hon (son of the founder of DaHon) ... Neobike was started by individuals who were employed by DaHon, and who were sent to the U.K. to negotiate a licensing deal with Brompton. DaHon was going to manufacture the Brompton under license. Instead, these employees negotiated a licensing deal for themselves with Brompton, and started Neobike.
  26. ^ Ritchie, Andrew William (1981-04-15). "EP0026800: Folding bicycle[[Category:Articles containing explicitly cited English-language text]] / Zusammenklappbares Fahrrad[[Category:Articles containing German-language text]] / Bicyclette pliante[[Category:Articles containing French-language text]]". European Patent Office. Retrieved 2009-11-22. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  27. ^ "Rechter verbiedt namaak-Bromptons[[Category:Articles containing Dutch-language text]]". Laatste nieuws. Fiets Gigant. Retrieved 2009-11-22. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  28. ^ a b c "1.9 Brompton Bicycle Limited v Rijwielbedrijf Vincent Van Ellen BV (Groningen civil court, 24 May 2006, 73818 / HA ZA 04-673)". National Unregistered Design Rights Copyright. Bird & Bird. 2006-12-07. Retrieved 2009-04-16. when taken as a whole, is a creation that is not exclusively determined by functional elements, and for which a degree of design freedom exists. It therefore benefited from copyright protection. In reaching its decision, the court was influenced particularly by the curved tube, u-shape handlebars and free hanging cables of the Brompton bike ... within the meaning of Article 13 of the Dutch Copyright Law.
  29. ^ http://www.flamingobike.com
  30. ^ Buyers Guide to Folding Bicycles Merc
  31. ^ Norman, Jason (2010-06-23). "Brompton Wins IP Case". Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. Retrieved 2010-07-13. won a ruling that states Taiwan manufacturer Grace Gallant has infringed ... involved the "Oxford" bicycle (model "FL-BP01-07") was handed down at Commercial Court No. 5 in Madrid, Spain ... Eurotai and its subsidiary, Neobike, did not return all the tooling ... ordered an injunction of the importation, distribution and sales
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