Asia rides Britain's Brompton bikes to success

Butler-Adams insists the fiercely British company will not cave in to pressure to cut costs by moving production overseas, or lowering its standards.

I hope the clowns responsible for the Boeing Dreamliner fiasco are reading this.

Good for GB!!

zichi:

" Design and product before profit. "

Well yes, but without profit, no production at all. It is a balance. Many modern liberals tend to forget that.

Can not afford it. Will keep my Mamachari.

Those bikes look uncomfortable.　I wouldn't buy one, especially at the price they want.

Serrano: Agreed ! They do look uncomfortable to ride. . . . ..................................But this is ingenious, bc in Britain commuters are able to take their bikes on board trains . ......................... so it's a darned PRACTICAL, COST EFFECTICE, and USER FRIENDLY way to get around town, for things like getting to work.

I do sometimes see fold-able bikes in Kansai trains.. Saving money on bus and train fair soon adds up... riding a nice bike sure beats a momma chari...

@Serrano

My friend has one and he let me use it for a day. Actually, it is a very stable, ergonomic and extremely comfortable and well-balanced bike. The problem is the price tag! At almost 2grand a pop, I'll wait until I hit the lottery big time before buying one, but if I had the cash, I would buy one and I can put it in my back pack, oh, heck yeah!

It looks to me this Company copied the Bike Friday model which is made in Oregon. They are handy but not to good for any long distance riding...

they are assembled to order in the firm’s sprawling west London factory.

What does that even mean?

They look sturdy, but heavy.

Bessie's, that's English mate. It means when they have an order they make the bike and that their factory in West London is spread out a bit. The articles language is more elegant though.

The bikes made of steel, its definitely sturdy. 9-12.5 kilos according to their website, lighter than your average chari.

Bromptons fold down to a very compact size and have a reputation for durability and very high resale value.

Folders are great for multi-modal commuting - you can ride the bike to the station, bring the bike on the train, ride to the office and store the bike under your desk.

When I first moved here, I bought a folding bike that was a bit less expensive but better geared and have since taken it with me on trains and the Shinkansen to explore many areas of Japan. I have ridden it up and over mountains and up to 100 km and 60kph (downhill), so dont agree that it cant be used for longer rides I`d say that it was definitely one of the best investments I have ever made.

IMO tourists should look into the possibility of renting/buying a folding bike as they allow the sightseer to greatly expand their range and to make the most of their time when traveling.

owenfinn; with distances like that, I am sure the guys at tokyocycle dot com would love to hear from you...

It looks to me this Company copied the Bike Friday model which is made in Oregon. They are handy but not to good for any long distance riding...

The US "Bike Friday" is what you would expect from the US in terms of size - it is much bigger when folded - a suitcase rather than a briefcase, which makes it useless for a commuter. As for the distances, they are commuter bikes, so no one is going to do the Tour de France on one. However, they are incredibly efficient for their size, and not far behind normal bikes (see owenfinn's comment) - its light frame means that less effort is required to move the frame, especially going uphill.