Brompton folding bikes are all about choice, they are some standard models but the main way people buy them is fully custom.

What follows are some suggestions on what I’d go for.

P6R (Loop touring bars, 6 gears & rear rack)

I think this is the bike that has it all for me, it’s the fully featured Brompton with a rack for parked stability and real rolling when folded. It has the multi-position handlebars for all-day comfort and 6 well-spaced gears to cover a variety of terrain. I’d go all steel with pump.

The diagram above shows the various handlebar choices (but not the H-type) notice that the stems are also different? As a utility bike the classic M-bars with the optional cross-bar brace are best. Also M-bars make adding backup battery lights a little easier. If you have a longer commute or ever plan a tour then I’d still say the multi-position P-bars would be more comfortable.

Let’s call them Tourin’ Brompton & Haulin’ Brompton respectively.

New colours

Take your pick, that’s the beauty of buying a custom bike. New and very noticeable is Hot Pink (It is the perfect match for the Ortlieb pink).

If you go for the clear lacquer, you’ll get to see some of the finest brazing in the bike industry.

You can of course go for a Turkish-green mainframe with red extremities if you like.

SON dynohub plus Cyo LED by B&M

Why not have real lighting? The rear light is a Spanninga also driven by the hub dynamo.

Lowered Gearing

It’s worked for me on my 2002 vintage T6, I think I’ll keep with it. But I don’t ride fast, I haul stuff, standard gearing might work better for you.

Saddle choices
The standard saddle having a hand grip underneath might make the bike, in some situations, easier to deal with. The rails on this new saddle seem to replace the ‘saddle adapter pin’ of years past, allowing a more forward or rearward position if needed. For looks and touring comfort the Brooks option is there in both men’s and women’s shapes.

Bags

It’d be nice to always have dry stuff, even in 3 hours of driving rain. The ‘O-bag’ looks awfully like the Ortlieb Downtown with added rear pockets and those pockets can be substituted with an Ortlieb water bottle cages. I’d say one of the Ortlieb laptop sleeves would fit in the bag nicely too.

For Tourin’ Brompton the right bags for a long trip would be the ‘T-bag’ plus the rear rack-top bag. The T-Bag comes with a very cute water bottle holder as well as a super-bright inner lining.

For most people the smaller ‘S-bag’ would be fine, it’ll carry enough stuff for your work day and being smaller is a lot easier to handle off the bike, but not waterproof like the O-bag.

Schwalbe Marathon tyres
They’ve done it for me on the T6, sure-footed and long lasting. Could I be persuaded to upgrade to Marathon Pluses? Maybe after I’ve worn down the tyres that came with the bike.

Seatpost choices

I’d get one in the 60mm longer because of the way my legs are.

I’d ditch the steel for the lighter aluminium seatpost if I could get this part without the titanium fork & rear triangle.

One question I have been asked recently is long seat pillar versus telescopic seat pillar. I feel that the long pillar is the most ‘Brompton-like’ solution, it works well with the Pentaclip micro-adjust head at one end and the flared head at the other. If you opt for the telescopic you find the 2 quick releases, the one for  the main seatpost and the one for it’s top section are very close together; it’s easy to select the wrong one. On the other hand having this extra ability to reduce the size of the ‘folding package’ would be useful in squeezing the bike into small places.

Slip cover in saddlebag

For going places with the bike where the bike’s not meant to go. And on trams.

EZY wheels
Helps with the rolling when folded. Also clears my heels better when riding.

Interested?

Drop in and test ride our demo Brompton in the shop…