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because if it had felt the same as a 16-inch bike, there’d be no point in it.”
When considering the design, the fundamental DNA of a Brompton had to remain, keeping the tri-fold which has become so synonymous with the British brand. However it still had to be distinct. “It had to have its own personality,” adds Carleysmith. “And
it did.”
“It felt different. It felt capable.” In short, the concept of the G Line is “one bike to do it all”, but Brompton has not moved far away from what has made it a success so far.
“It’s the most capable Brompton yet, with the ability to deliver on all sorts of surfaces, with the feel of a full-size bike,” explains Carleysmith. “Yet it transforms into a compact package that stores and
travels easily.
“The company has not changed its focus, but it has broadened its view,” says Carleysmith. “We started as urban and [were] seen as a commuting
tool for London. We’re now about 84% export so most of our products are going overseas and I think 40% of them are in Asia. “People aren’t just commuting in those markets, they’re using them as leisure bikes.
The hidden work
The first hurdle for any new Brompton is ‘does it fold?’ which the designers resolved with 2D jigs, bits of cardboard and simple CAD sketches. After that, it was geometry. “We started with a blank sheet of paper,” says Carleysmith. “We didn’t look at the existing bike, particularly, but we did look at full size bikes. “We built some quite specialised prototype rigs which were fully rideable and completely adjustable and went
through every aspect of the geometry, adjusting it, going too far, bringing it back, ending up with something that we wanted.
“So [for example] we made a bike that was so stable and boring that it stopped being fun. It didn’t feel like a Brompton. So we tuned it back to something we thought was fun. “As it’s one frame size, it then had to work with different
parts to still feel good whether you’re 5’2” or 6’5”.” Gearing up for mass production also took lots of effort with the brand planning to have a manufacturing capacity of between 15,000 and 20,000 a year. “It’s always harder than you think it’s going to be,” says Carleysmith.
“The mainframe has a bigger bend to wrap around the bigger wheels. On the surface it looks the same as the current bike, but actually we had to bring in new production methods.
“Production is a series of processes, you change one thing here, then all the downstream processes have to change.” As an example, Brompton had to purchase a number of new auto brazing machines, each taking a year to build and costing several hundred thousand pounds each. “The product is the tip of the iceberg,” says Carleysmith. “Under the water is a huge amount of hardware, equipment, testing and validation.”
The Electric G Line
Alongside the launch of the G Line, Brompton has also debuted the Electric G Line. It sees an all-new electric system, and features new advanced software and hardware for optimal performance, self-diagnostics and latest features available through future software updates. There is also a completely fresh 250-watt rear-hub motor with three levels of assistant which was put through its paces on a 24/7 durability rig, with 20+ motors going through a combined mileage of more than one million kilometres. “The first generation [system] launched for us seven years ago so this was a big, big programme,” explains Carleysmith.
www.bikebiz.com October 2024 | 33
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