Why 2024 may be the year of the Brompton

"The humble bicycle is such a mighty tool for living a sustainable lifestyle."

The new Brompton display at Curbside Cycle in Toronto/ Lloyd Alter

The publicist asked if I was interested in interviewing Juliet Scott-Croxford, President of Brompton Bicycles North America, about their campaign to make 2024 "the year of the bike." I usually ignore PR pitches for this site, but the Brompton is not just a bicycle; it is a meditation on the role of bikes in cities, on multimodal transport, and on quality vs price. I also noted that I no longer had a big platform and was just a little Substack now, and she responded, "we'd love to get in front of your impressive Substack audience." Since I agree you are an impressive audience, how could I say no?

Juliet Scott-Croxford is impressive, too, as are Brompton bikes. Invented by Andrew Ritchie in 1975, who described it as “a magic carpet for the city,” it took until 1987 for him to get the backing he needed to put them into production; potential investors thought the bike was too expensive and the market too small. They still make them by hand in London and have sold over a million bikes.

Brompton tells a good sustainability story; it is a Certified B Corporation with a comprehensive sustainability plan that includes all those things being banned in the USA, like concerns about equality, diversity and inclusion. They have an unimpressive commitment to reaching net zero by 2050 (Really? I think Shell Oil promises that! Scott-Croxford promises they are trying to speed it up. ), but the real sustainability story is the product itself- how it's made and what it does. 

It's built to be repaired and to last a long time.

"We design our bikes so parts can be replaced and repaired-making sure people can access those parts through our website and dealers. Our extensive 'how to' guides, alongside Brompton trained mechanics around the world, means Brompton bikes are on the road for longer."

This is critical. I have a Strida folding bike with broken handlebars hanging on the wall in my garage. I knew two Strida dealers who left the business because they couldn't fix the bikes. The Strida has a unique design that folds faster and costs a lot less than a Brompton, but I have given up on it because of the repair woes. With the Brompton, Scott-Croxford says, "the bikes can be counted on to last for over 25 years or longer."

Bikes for sustainable cities

I have long touted the benefits of bikes and active travel, quoting a study written during the pandemic:

"Active travel has attributes of social distancing that are likely to be desirable for some time. It could help to cut back transportation energy use, CO2 emissions and air pollution while improving population health. Therefore, locking in, investing in and promoting active travel should be a cornerstone of sustainability strategies, policies and planning to meet our very challenging sustainable development goals that are unlikely to be met without significant mode shift to sustainable transport."

Scott-Croxford says it in fewer words: "The humble bicycle is such a mighty tool for living a sustainable lifestyle." I have noted that sixty percent of trips in North America are under 6 miles; other research Scott-Croxford quotes found that 50% of trips are under three miles, both easily accomplished on a bike, replacing car trips. But some people have longer commutes; the beauty of a Brompton is that it can be multi-modal.

What a folding bicycle does that's different.

Scott-Croxford is an example of this; she rides it to the train station, folds it up (regular bikes are not allowed on trains in rush hour), unfolds it at the other end, and rides to the office. She takes it on planes; it fits in the overhead storage. (The rules have apparently changed since my fight with Air Canada). The folding bike solves the famous "last mile problem" at both ends of the trip. 

But there is another big Brompton Benefit. Bikes are booming in cities; Scott-Croxford notes that cities with over 5 million people have seen a 25% increase in biking activity since 2019. This is something to cheer about; it is healthy, low-carbon transportation with the lowest infrastructure costs.

I am trying to go to the bank and there’s no place to park my bike!

However, bike storage is a problem; finding a rack, ring or a post to lock the bike is often impossible. In the UK, 20% of commuters in Great Britain cite a lack of storage facilities at the office as being a barrier to cycling to work. 

Then there is the guy with the battery-powered angle grinder and a dramatic increase in bike thefts; a bike is stolen every 30 seconds in the USA, and it's one of the main reasons people give up urban cycling. 

Bromptons can fit in a locker; many are designed specifically for them. The bike also folds small enough to store it under your desk. Back home, you can easily store it in a closet in your apartment instead of relying on sketchy bike rooms in the parking garage. 

If 2024 is not the year of the bike, it might well be the year of the Brompton. Scott-Croxford is investing more heavily in the US, opening shops in New York and Washington, beefing up the online channels, and working with dealers. But they are also working with the community and cities:

"We're now really focusing on this notion of like, what does it really mean to activate a city? And what are the partnerships that you build? And how do you work with the community in that city? And how do we connect with the Brompton community to kind of help share what we're doing and advocate for more people getting more people on bikes?"

e-bike with the battery in the bag

A few years ago, I hung up my folding bike and switched to a full-sized e-bike, which I worry about every time I park it. Brompton has this covered, too, offering an e-bike version with the battery in a bag which you throw into the carrier. They also have a fabulously expensive titanium bike that weighs just 7.45 kg (16.42 pounds), which is incredibly light; my Gazelle weighs four times that. 

How much is that Brompton in the window, the one with the Brooks leather seat.

I used to think Bromptons were artisanal, handmade, lovely, but expensive, starting at Curbside in Toronto at C$2380. (The C-line starts at $1550 in the USA) But like everything in life, you get what you pay for. I suspect that if, fifteen years ago, I had bought a Brompton instead of a Strida, I would still be riding it. I often look at Heather and Piers' travel website, Bromptoning, and think about how much fun it would be to travel with a dependable folding bike that can stand up to the rigors of the trip.

Also, if it is going to be your main mode of transportation in the city and replacing a car or a transit pass, then the cost is a little less intimidating; At Toronto’s ridiculous monthly transit pass costs, the bike pays for itself in 15 months.

More importantly, this bike solves many problems with urban cycling, especially if there was a rollout of secure storage. It already solves the last mile/kilometer problem but also addresses the last foot/meter problem, going from your closet to your desk. With more people living in apartments, we need this flexibility and security. 

It's over a decade old, but I always go back to Taras Grescoe's tweet for the ages about how our cities should be designed around 21st-century communications and 19th-century transport (He’s from Montreal, translation: subways, streetcars, bikes). The Brompton does all of these modes; it may be 50 years old, but its time has come. Last words to Juliet Scott-Croxford:

"It's not just about the bike; it is so much about creating a movement to create happier, healthier cities and, you know, building that community of like-minded humans that think in the same way that you and I do around, you know, making the world a better cleaner, more human-centric place."