Author Topic: Are Brompton pricing themselves out of the market?  (Read 24757 times)

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Are Brompton pricing themselves out of the market?
« Reply #50 on: 22 July, 2012, 07:59:16 am »
Bromptons aren't desperately heavy as a bike, although as a piece of hand luggage you often wish they could be lighter (hint: get Eazy-wheels and don't carry it unless you really have to).  The main advantage of the Ti rear frame to me is simply that it doesn't rust, whereas the steel ones are gradually eaten away from the inside of the open tubes.

There are other aspects of the design that they could and should address before thinking about a titanium frame: the crude and expensive-to-fix rear hinge design, the head tube stretching due to lack of reinforcing rings, the soft paint, the highly variable wheelbuild, the rim tape that is too wide for the well of the rim and makes fitting some tyres impossible, the fact that no-one likes the standard gearing, the incredible faff of removing the rear wheel (why can't the chain tensioner have its own boss?) etc.  Most of this would cost pennies to address.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Are Brompton pricing themselves out of the market?
« Reply #51 on: 22 July, 2012, 04:06:21 pm »
I have never looked  :-[ but what is the warranty situation on a Brompton with regards to rust?
Is it really a bad problem  :-\

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Are Brompton pricing themselves out of the market?
« Reply #52 on: 22 July, 2012, 05:16:46 pm »
A good question.  I think they will warranty a rusted-out frame for the original owner, but I don't know if it would actually have to break first - probably, since they start rusting as soon as they leave the factory.  The problem is that the powdercoat, being melted plastic, keeps it all looking intact until - crack! - and you realise there was no metal left underneath the coating.

Main frames, being thicker and without wide open tubes, crack through fatigue rather than rust.  They tend to go at the main hinge.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Are Brompton pricing themselves out of the market?
« Reply #53 on: 25 July, 2012, 05:22:44 pm »

There are other aspects of the design that they could and should address before thinking about a titanium frame: .....the fact that no-one likes the standard gearing, ....

I spoke to the technical department at Brompton after fitting my Brommy with a Shimano rear hub and asked why they didn't offer the Shimano 8 or 11 as an option. I was told that it was because they would have to change their packaging to accommodate the wider rear end.
IMO, the only good thing about the bike is the fold.
Never knowingly under caffeinated

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Are Brompton pricing themselves out of the market?
« Reply #54 on: 25 July, 2012, 06:02:39 pm »
To be fair, the intended use of the bike (multi-mode transport) means a 3-speed, or even a singlespeed,  is good enough for most people.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Are Brompton pricing themselves out of the market?
« Reply #55 on: 25 July, 2012, 06:06:13 pm »
To be fair, the intended use of the bike (multi-mode transport) means a 3-speed, or even a singlespeed,  is good enough for most people.

That is true and perhaps why so many are to be seen in London and so few in Wolverhampton.  :)
Never knowingly under caffeinated

Re: Are Brompton pricing themselves out of the market?
« Reply #56 on: 25 July, 2012, 07:45:47 pm »
This comes back to the issue of weight. It's true that if you take e.g. the standard M type the total weight of the bike is reasonable, the problem is that in order to achieve this Brompton opt for under-built components. By the time one has added some decent grips (rather than the foam junk), ezy wheels, Brooks saddle & seat post bung the total weight has gone up a lot. If one wants to e.g. swap the crank to one with independent chainring again the weight is increasing. And then if one decides to install a 7 or 8 speed hub then after all that the bike gets very unwieldy. The frame is too heavy and needs refining, but Brompton provide the option of spending an obscene amount of money for ti parts just to get the overall frame weight within reasonable limits. OK for bankers, I guess.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Are Brompton pricing themselves out of the market?
« Reply #57 on: 25 July, 2012, 07:50:03 pm »
You don't need a Brooks though - there are plenty of good plastic saddles.  A Flite looks rather cool.   A Brooks is pretty disastrous for any bike as regards weight.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Are Brompton pricing themselves out of the market?
« Reply #58 on: 25 July, 2012, 08:04:59 pm »
I forgot to mention the right pedal. Underbuilt and essentially junk but anything more substantial would have increased the weight when Brompton ditched the plastic pedal.

Re: Are Brompton pricing themselves out of the market?
« Reply #59 on: 25 July, 2012, 08:06:53 pm »
This comes back to the issue of weight.

I set the weight at what I can lift across a railway footbridge. A bag you can get on a shoulder is a big help. I'm using an Ikea Dimpa at the moment. Somewhere along the way I bought a second hand Ti seat post so that probably helps :)

That said, I am only an occasional Brommy user. Since it threw me off last year I am very wary of it and it is now relegated to just popping into town. I have even transferred its name to a bike I trust  :)
Never knowingly under caffeinated

midpoint

  • Brompton owner - Glasgow.
Re: Are Brompton pricing themselves out of the market?
« Reply #60 on: 26 July, 2012, 06:19:08 pm »
Current waiting list is 14 weeks.

Brompton aren't targeting price-sensitive customers.