One of the best ways to move around a city is by riding a bike. By using a bike for daily commuting not only will you spend less energy than by walking, but you’ll also be able to reduce your carbon footprint as well as save some money on public transportation costs. Now, when looking for a bike for riding around town, you’ll want a bike that’s suitable for riding in an urban environment. We’re of course talking about city bikes. Unlike mountain bikes and BMX bikes which not only are designed for off-road cycling but also tend to have high maintenance costs, city bikes are specifically designed for riding on paved roads and asphalt surfaces, which makes them perfectly suitable to efficiently get you from point A to point B in urban areas, all while also requiring very minimal maintenance. This brings us to the Brompton A Line Folding Bike.
The Brompton A Line is a robust folding bike designed specifically for city riding with a one-size-fits-all spec that integrates an original 3-part fold, a stylish handmade Gloss White steel frame equipped with Genuine Brompton bike parts that are designed to be very durable, a natural sit-up saddle that makes it very comfortable to ride along with a riser handlebar, and three easy-to-use hub gears that come accurately tuned for riding it through the city, as well as fittings compatibility that allow you to add your own bicycle parts as you get accustomed to riding this bike.
With a super-durable steel frame, an extremely versatile 3-part folding design that makes it easy to store away, and three hub gears that are specifically tuned for cycling in urban areas with asphalt pavement, not only is this sleek folding bike designed to be ready-to-ride by anyone, but most importantly, it is absolutely perfect for city riding.
Now, let’s have a slightly more detailed look at all of its specifications, talk a little more about each of its bike parts and unique components, and see exactly what this folding city bike has to offer you on the long run.
DESIGN & SPECS
Starting with the bike’s size, the Brompton A Line comes at a standard size for a city bike, while also being reasonably lightweight, as it only weighs 25.35 lbs. (11.49 kg). Despite it somewhat lightweight, note that the bike is still fairly sturdy to be able to withstand your typical everyday city riding.
Now, the main thing that makes this city bike so unique is its original 3-part fold design, which ultimately makes the bike very easy to store away once its fully folded.
When it is completely folded, the Brompton A Line will measure just 25.3 inches long by 23 tall by just 10.6′ inches wide, meaning that it barely take up any space when you’re looking to store it.
Thanks to that, you can easily fit it just about anywhere, whether that’s a small little corner that you have available at home or at the office, or even under your desk.
On top of its ingenious foldable design, this folding city bike also features an extremely durable build, as its main body consists of a stylish handmade Gloss White steel frame that specifically comes equipped with Genuine Brompton bike parts that are designed to be super-durable for city riding in order to ensure that users can keep this bike on the road for the longest time possible, especially in comparison to other brands of city bikes.
To be a little more specific, the bike’s handmade Gloss White steel frame utilizes a precision-drawn and heat-treated steel tubing main frame that’s integrated with hand brazing and selected auto-brazed joints, along with a hand-brazed cold-formed micro-alloy steel tubing rear frame for its back-side.
At the front-side of the bike’s steel frame there’s also a steel brazed fork that makes the Brompton A Line quite stable to ride on city pavements as well as to go over and down from sidewalks.
Now, since this city bike is specifically designed with a one-size-fits-all spec in order to make it suitable for being ready-to-ride within urban environments by anyone, it also comes with a couple of components that are mainly focused on a user’s comfort.
The first of those components would be its natural sit-up A Line Saddle, which makes it very comfortable to ride. The bike’s saddle also comes equipped with an integrated carrying handle that allows users to more easily carry the bike around by hand when looking to store it away.
The bike’s saddle comes installed in a Brompton Extended Chromoly steel tube seatpost that’s designed to be suitable for a maximum inside leg 35″/89cm, which is safely locked in place by a composite seat clamp and rear frame clip, with both of those coming coated with a stylish matt black finish. The bike’s sit-up saddle can be set to three (x3) different seat post options (Standard, Extended, and Telescopic), allowing it to be adjusted for riders ranging from 4’7 tall all the way to 6’8 tall (140 cm to 203 cm).
Its other component that’s focused on a user’s comfort is its riser A Line handlebar, which is very comfortable to hold, as it comes equipped with high-quality push-on rubber grips on both handles.
For its gears, this city bike comes equipped with a Brompton 3 Speed Shifter that integrates a total of three (x3) easy-to-use hub gears that come accurately tuned for riding it through the city. The bike’s three hub gears are sealed within the middle part of the rear wheel to keep them protected from water, grit and impact, which helps to ensure a minimum maintenance.
Moving on to the bike’s drive system, know that the Brompton A Line utilizes a Brompton 3 Speed Drivetrain System that has a 177% range, working based on a 6061 forged aluminium crank chainset that’s equipped with a 44T chainring and integrated chainguard.
For its pedals, the bike comes equipped with non-folding composite pedals that very well secured by a square taper bottom bracket. The bike’s pedals are quite durable and very stable, and even come installed with pedal-reflectors. The bike’s frame also comes equipped with front and rear reflectors at the front- and back-sides of its steel frame that provide users with a 360º lighting-presence system.
For the bike’s rear-wheel, we have a double-wall rim, 28 spoke, Brompton Standard ratio 3 speed internal gear hub, 13 tooth sprocket wheel.
For its front-wheel, we have a double wall rim, 28 spoke wheel that’s laced to a Brompton front hub. Both of the bike’s tires consist of 349 x 35C puncture resistant Schwalbe Marathon Racer tires, while their internal tubes consist of Schrader valves, which are of very high-quality, mind you.
Finally, for the bike’s brakes, we have a set of high-end Brompton A Line calipers brakes.
Last but not least, and as mentioned earlier, we’d once again like to note that this folding city bike also supports fittings compatibility, which allow you to add your own bicycle parts to it as you get accustomed to riding this bike.
With that said, note that while this city bike does not come with fenders (i.e. wheel coverings) included for its wheels, you can still find some available (sold separately) at Brompton Bicycles’ website, as well as some other upgrade parts for the bike.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Brompton A Line is a robust folding bike designed specifically for city riding with a one-size-fits-all spec that integrates an original 3-part fold, a stylish handmade Gloss White steel frame equipped with Genuine Brompton bike parts that are designed to be very durable, a natural sit-up saddle that makes it very comfortable to ride along with a riser handlebar, and three easy-to-use hub gears that come accurately tuned for riding it through the city, as well as fittings compatibility that allow you to add your own bicycle parts as you get accustomed to riding this bike.
All in all, this sleek and gorgeous folding bike is designed to bring anyone living in a city a super-versatile city bike that’s ultra-portable, built-to-last, and also comfortable and easy-to-ride right from the start.
If you’re interested in buying it, know that each bike is priced at $1,150. You can order yours online right now, directly from Brompton Bicycle’s official shopping page.
