2009 Brompton: €700 costs €40 a year in transport
A 2009 Brompton for 700 euros costs €40 a year in transport if it lasts 20 years. The calculation that defends its price and theft, the problem it doesn't solve.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The €700 Brompton that costs €40 a year in transport
April 2014. Someone buys a Brompton folding bike in 2009 for 700 euros —the cheapest in the catalogue— and sparks a public inquiry. Twelve years later, the balance sheet remains: one pedal, two punctures, and a latch that works like the first day. The interesting question isn't whether the bike is pretty. It's whether 700 euros for a folding bike is a rip-off or one of the best urban transport options available in Spain.
The short answer: it depends on how many times you fold it.
What a Brompton really costs per year
The calculation is rough, which is why it's convincing. If annual transport costs €190 and the machine lasts twenty years, the real cost drops to €40 per year. No commuter pass, no gasoline, no parking. The depreciation of a folding bike isn't measured in the shop's till, it's measured in the times you avoid paying for another ticket.
There's a usage pattern that confirms the number. A user from Madrid, 1.82 meters tall with an extended seatpost, lives 30 kilometers from work and combines bike, commuter train, and metro: over 5,000 kilometers in three years and eight daily folds between home, station, office, and back. Zero serious breakdowns. Two sets of tires at 20 euros, one set of sprockets at 15, and a chain.
The real wear and tear on a folding bike used daily isn't in the frame. It's in the consumables.
The dimensions that fit it under an office desk
Folded, it measures 585 x 545 x 270 millimeters and weighs between 9 and 13 kilos depending on the model —11 kilos in the specific case analyzed—. With those figures, it fits under an office desk or between bus seats. The comparison with direct rivals isn't subtle: a Monty F18 measures 75 x 66 x 38 centimeters and weighs 12.64 kilos. The difference in volume isn't aesthetic, it's logistical.
The mechanical trick that makes it possible is elegant and old: the seatpost goes through the frame and locks the rear wheel. A single gesture serves two functions. The design, patented over thirty years ago, is now in the public domain, inviting anyone to copy it without paying a license fee.
Dahon, Ossby, or Decathlon: when it's not worth paying for a Brompton
The defense of the price isn't unanimous. Some argue that for under 400 euros, there are machines that do the job: a 400-euro Dahon Vybe can withstand two years of daily use at 15 kilometers, with mud, rain, and continuous folding, and no play develops. Ossby models start at 300 euros for the three-estimulante ilegal version. Large retailers' bikes come from Poland or Taiwan and are reasonably priced.
The uncomfortable consensus: a Brompton is justified for more than three uses per week. Below that, the extra cost is paid in vanity. The most repeated comparison is with the Mac: expensive, closed ecosystem, with a loyal customer base, and bought before the price increase.
What isn't up for debate is the used market. Some warn that a second-hand folding bike with no history might hide a broken hinge, and that the secret to any folding bike —whether 300 or 1,500 euros— is to avoid going over curbs roughly.
The problem no folding bike solves
The numbers add up. The mechanics hold up. The point where the calculation gets stuck is elsewhere: theft. An expensive folding bike can't be left on the street, can't go into a communal bike room, and doesn't sleep in an unsecured garage. The recommendation is to always carry it with you, take it upstairs to your home, or bring it into the office.
That reduces the radius of action to places where you're allowed to bring it. And there, each city decides. In Barcelona, the metro allows it folded at any time, the bus only when folded, and the train has its own policy.
With these numbers, the bike should sell itself. The brake isn't the price. It's the door that closes on the other side.
Key Data
April 2014. Someone buys a Brompton folding bike in 2009 for 700 euros —the cheapest in the catalogue— and sparks a public inquiry. Twelve years later, the balance sheet remains: one pedal, two punctures, and a latch that works like the first day. The interesting question isn't whether the bike is pretty. It's whether 700 euros for a folding bike is a rip-off or one of the best urban transport options available in Spain.
The short answer: it depends on how many times you fold it.
What a Brompton really costs per year
The calculation is rough, which is why it's convincing. If annual transport costs €190 and the machine lasts twenty years, the real cost drops to €40 per year. No commuter pass, no gasoline, no parking. The depreciation of a folding bike isn't measured in the shop's till, it's measured in the times you avoid paying for another ticket.
There's a usage pattern that confirms the number. A user from Madrid, 1.82 meters tall with an extended seatpost, lives 30 kilometers from work and combines bike, commuter train, and metro: over 5,000 kilometers in three years and eight daily folds between home, station, office, and back. Zero serious breakdowns. Two sets of tires at 20 euros, one set of sprockets at 15, and a chain.
The real wear and tear on a folding bike used daily isn't in the frame. It's in the consumables.
The dimensions that fit it under an office desk
Folded, it measures 585 x 545 x 270 millimeters and weighs between 9 and 13 kilos depending on the model —11 kilos in the specific case analyzed—. With those figures, it fits under an office desk or between bus seats. The comparison with direct rivals isn't subtle: a Monty F18 measures 75 x 66 x 38 centimeters and weighs 12.64 kilos. The difference in volume isn't aesthetic, it's logistical.
The mechanical trick that makes it possible is elegant and old: the seatpost goes through the frame and locks the rear wheel. A single gesture serves two functions. The design, patented over thirty years ago, is now in the public domain, inviting anyone to copy it without paying a license fee.
Dahon, Ossby, or Decathlon: when it's not worth paying for a Brompton
The defense of the price isn't unanimous. Some argue that for under 400 euros, there are machines that do the job: a 400-euro Dahon Vybe can withstand two years of daily use at 15 kilometers, with mud, rain, and continuous folding, and no play develops. Ossby models start at 300 euros for the three-estimulante ilegal version. Large retailers' bikes come from Poland or Taiwan and are reasonably priced.
The uncomfortable consensus: a Brompton is justified for more than three uses per week. Below that, the extra cost is paid in vanity. The most repeated comparison is with the Mac: expensive, closed ecosystem, with a loyal customer base, and bought before the price increase.
What isn't up for debate is the used market. Some warn that a second-hand folding bike with no history might hide a broken hinge, and that the secret to any folding bike —whether 300 or 1,500 euros— is to avoid going over curbs roughly.
The problem no folding bike solves
The numbers add up. The mechanics hold up. The point where the calculation gets stuck is elsewhere: theft. An expensive folding bike can't be left on the street, can't go into a communal bike room, and doesn't sleep in an unsecured garage. The recommendation is to always carry it with you, take it upstairs to your home, or bring it into the office.
That reduces the radius of action to places where you're allowed to bring it. And there, each city decides. In Barcelona, the metro allows it folded at any time, the bus only when folded, and the train has its own policy.
With these numbers, the bike should sell itself. The brake isn't the price. It's the door that closes on the other side.
Key Data
- Price in 2009: 700 euros (cheapest model).
- Dimensions folded: 585 x 545 x 270 millimeters.
- Weight: 9 to 13 kilos depending on model.
- 5,000 kilometers in three years with eight daily folds.
- Annual transport cost: €190; €40 per year if the bike lasts 20 years.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (108 replies).
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