Electric Brompton cycles

[BillandHelen]

Been out road (park) testing the electric Brompton today. Helen hadn’t been sure if she could get on with one, used to a Dutch Kota bike, back trouble means stretching to bars can be painful. Combination of the high stem, forward movement of saddle and all was well. Handling of the smaller wheels took a bit of getting used to, along with the 3 speed hub gear with + and - which gives 6 gears!
So, early Xmas presents on order, will fit nicely into the boot of our new Elara and mean no more bike rack and lifting on and off etc. Should be great in Germany and Spain next year! Got to wait a couple of months for delivery, bikes seem to be as high in demand as Motorhomes are!!

 

[Caggsie1]

I love my brommies, yes plural, have two manual and got an electric last year just before Xmas. Love it. Hubby didn’t want one but he can’t keep up with me now.

 

[Conal]

We have one. Great bike but two improvements would make it better. There should be a “fatter” tyre option for the slightly rough cycle paths. I don’t expect it to be an off road bike but this would improve the ride. Secondly, and more importantly, they have to provide a wired or remote control for power on the handlebars. My wife is a competent but nervous rider and cannot look down and reach down to the battery when cycling, and shouldn’t have to. I think the problem here is that this electric system designed by the Williams F1 engineers had no input from a practical daily user at the design stage.

 

[Parrot Face]

Saw a guy tearing up a steep hill in Spain on a Brompton. Later discovered he'd added an electric motor to it for about £400. Was really happy with it. Might look into that for my 2 Bromptons.

 

[A S R]

I saw some chap powering his way up the hills near Durness last week. He seemed to be getting on great with his.

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[jezport]

We tried all sorts of electric bikes and ended up with dahon 20" folders. The sitting position suited both me and Sue. I have quite a bad back problem so it was hard finding comfortable bikes. Plus we needed them to fit under our bed and wanted gearing that would compensate for smaller wheels.

 

[Gaddfly]

Hi, my son works at Brompton making the frames. I will pass on all your comments.

 

[Teithwr]

I have one and have never needed to adjust the power settings when moving

 

[555 FRY]

We have 2 with the Swytch conversion, absolutely brilliant. We paid for the touring pack which enables up to 60 miles on a charge.

 

[Adrianlle]

We’ve had a pair of Nano Bromptons for about 14 years ( 6 speed with throttle Nano conversion). Can’t speak highly enough of them. Just had another 6 speed converted by Nano - this time with button control on handlebars. Really good too. Prefer it to the Electric Brompton I tried and prefer the flexibility of Nanos using power tool batteries. A 6ah one lasts a good time before charging and can keep a spare battery in bag for much longer distances. Never been defeated by a hill yet. Brilliant.

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[KMarkN]

We have 2 with the Swytch conversion, absolutely brilliant. We paid for the touring pack which enables up to 60 miles on a charge.

That's good to hear - my Swytch conversion for the Brommie is on it's way and should arrive by the end of the month! It will make it a very versatile bike I think.

 

[Riverbankannie]

We have 2 converted Bromptons and being able to keep them inside the van is a great bonus.

 

[Folkranger]

I have one and have never needed to adjust the power settings when moving

We have full size ebikes and couldn't do without the handlebar controls. We like the power off at easy stretches for exercise and increase the power progressively for hills, including canal and road bridges which can be quite steep.

 

[tigerblue]

I've just converted 3 of our standard bikes with electric Swytch Bike Kits too. 1 folding bike and 2 mountain bikes. Absolutely brilliant!

 

[Mick Kennedy]

My wife has a leccy Brompton and I have a full-size leccy bike. The Bromptons are ok for smooth roads, but anything vaguely bumpy and you're losing the fillings out of your teeth. I sigh with pleasure when we encounter the lovely cobbledy streets you find in quaint European villages, but Lisa just groans - knowing wrist-jarring, coccyx-bruising ''fun'' has just arrived. Also, as stated earlier, the lack of controls on the handle bars is a huge design failure. I wonder how many people have given themselves a fright or even fallen off their Bromptons trying to change power settings while on the move with that wobbly little front wheel? Yes, it's GREAT that they are so light and fold up so small, but unless you really need that folding ability, I'd say stay with a full-size bike every time. Much more comfy.

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[Conal]

Teithwr
As Mick Kennedy says, it’s an design issue which puts an inexperienced rider in danger. My wife has fallen off her bike trying to reach the top of the battery. In practice, she sets the power level at the lowest setting if her legs are fresh and the route is level or down hill. Often there will be a hump or rise in the gradient and then she has to stop to change to a higher level. She sometimes needs level three but does not like setting off in it because, even with the updated software, there is quite a lurch forwards. As she gets tired she needs greater assistance but has to stop to get this.
As an experienced cyclist I have no problems when riding her Brompton but can understand her problems.
When we bought the bike I rang the factory and they assured me a “fix” was in development. Unfortunately this has not materialised - maybe because they have a giant share of the market and do not need to listen to users.

 

[GWAYGWAY]

We’ve had a pair of Nano Bromptons for about 14 years ( 6 speed with throttle Nano conversion). Can’t speak highly enough of them. Just had another 6 speed converted by Nano - this time with button control on handlebars. Really good too. Prefer it to the Electric Brompton I tried and prefer the flexibility of Nanos using power tool batteries. A 6ah one lasts a good time before charging and can keep a spare battery in bag for much longer distances. Never been defeated by a hill yet. Brilliant.

I have bought a new Brompton earlier in the year and put a Nano kit onto it, a twistgrip non-sensed kit. However it has been a disaster and an expensive one at that. It is the batteries which are Bosch 36Volt 5 amp for power tools. I bought two to start as I wanted extended range, now these are £200 each, they both failed upon the second charging and the charger went to solid red light. I took them back to the supplier who changed both. The replacements did the same an I was told to sod off, So I sent them both back to Bosch.
I bought another battery form a local company and another charger to see if it was faulty. It failed also but was replaced by that company. The first two came back from Bosch after a time (lockdown) this were used and also failed as did the replacement from the tool company. The two went back to bosch and the other was used from then on ONLY on my drill which I had bought from ebay to use a battery on. The two batteries went back to Bosch and they were again replaced. I have the two still in the sealed boxes from Bosch and intend to sell these on as they are New. The bike went to Nano and they tried it out with their 4amp battery and said no problem but replaced the controller. I have the bike now and need a battery for it so bought a 16 amp Hailolong battery this works OK but is pretty large and the only place for it is on the rack which messes up the ability to fold the bike.... so far 7 battery fails all worked , giving power out but failed on the attempt to recharge them. every one. the drill works fine and charges OK. The drill has three connections with a heat sensor but the bike has only two. might be there with an uneven discharge.
The performance of the nano kit is poor and it is an absolute slug, the fastest I can go is 11mph any attempt to go faster pedalling is like the brakes coming on. I wish I had not bought the bike and not got the nano kit, this has cost an arm and a leg. £1200 for the bike £680 for the kit from nano and spent £600 on Bosch batteries and £150 for the Hailong battery, all to do 11mph and not much better than the basic bike.
Anybody want two brand new sealed box batteries???? I am a bit worried about selling them on ebay because of the chancers there saying I sent them a brick and losing the lot.

 

[Conal]

GWAYGWAY
Despite a few problems we are pleased we went for the Brompton electric version rather than an add-on.
I used my wife’s last week and was still getting assistance at 18mph, well above the stipulated maximum speed.
It it heavier than the non- electric version as, even without the easy to remove battery, there is still the hub motor, but still easily carried (by me).
It has given my wife a far greater travelling range and both Bromptons fit snugly in our motorhome garage or a car boot.