To fold, or not to fold
I've decided that Brompton's small-wheeled wonder is the perfect bike for me. Sometimes.
You’ve probably seen them, the commuters, expertly folding or unfolding their Bromptons. Wheeling them along the station platform. Tucking them into the train’s luggage rack.
The transformation from mode of transport to compact cube of hinged parts is magical to behold. In fact, a ‘magic carpet for the city’ was what engineer Andrew Ritchie had in mind when, in 1975, he set about inventing a bike that could be taken anywhere.
It was a long road from Ritchie’s flat overlooking the Brompton Oratory to the company’s current West London factory. For a long while, he hand-built every single bike in a small workshop, while banks and bike companies rejected his investment proposals. And then, in 1987, Julian Vereker, a Brompton customer, offered him backing. An angel investor riding to the rescue on a folding bicycle.