Long ago, we built a lightweight Brompton, wrote up the saga in A to B 7, and went on to sell hundreds of extra magazines. We’re still producing photocopies today, which told us something, and maybe Brompton took notice too – there seemed to be interest in reducing the weight of the bike.With hindsight, we did rather well; our fully-equipped 3-speed Brompton tipping the scales at a shade under 10.5kg (23lb), including a front luggage block, mudguards, rear LED and even toe- clips.

Almost seven years later, Brompton has produced its own lightweight machine. It’s more expensive, and a 2- speed rather than a 3-, but the new S2L-X weighs only 9.7kg (21lb), making it one of the lightest folding bikes in current production, and certainly the lightest Brompton ever produced. If you find the Brompton heavy to carry, this may be the machine for you, but are you willing to pay £965? For Brompton, we doubt whether the opinions of creaky old fogies like us are of any importance, because this chic, hi-tech bike will be aimed at younger people (all the brochure models are under 30), with particular emphasis on young women.

…Brompton needs to attract the sort of people who wouldn’t be seen dead on a Brompton…

Will this lighter, but very much more expensive, bike really appeal to a whole new generation of 20-something professionals? We think Brompton is right to aim for this group, because – if you haven’t noticed – the demographic of cyclists is becoming more and more decrepit. If the folding bike market is to survive and grow, Brompton needs to attract the sort of people who wouldn’t be seen dead on a Brompton. It’s a tall order.

The S2L-X

To the untutored eye, the S2L-X is a conventional folding bike.The only unusual bits are straight handlebars, and an odd paint job: Flamingo Pink according to Brompton, but anyone with experience of school dinners in the 1960s and 70s will recognise ‘school blancmange’. Look more closely, and there are other differences: the decal is a designer job, the saddle is sportier, the front forks and rear frame are made of titanium and the bike has narrow Schwalbe Stelvio tyres and a 2-speed derailleur. Look very closely indeed, and you may spot the titanium mudguard stays, new brake levers and alloy headset.There’s lots of technology here, but it only really becomes apparent when you pick the bike up, because it weighs 9.7kg, against 11-12.6kg for the normal bikes.

…other traffic will already be braking, putting the nifty shifter back up front…

Jump on, and the feel low and very rigid.The lack of gears doesn’t seem to be a hindrance, because what the bike loses in ratios, it gains in rigidity – the straight bars being much less flexible than the old ‘violin case’ design. By fitting the standard 2-speed derailleur with 12- and 16-tooth sprockets (in place of 13- and 15- tooth), Brompton has given the S2L two well chosen ratios of 56″ and 74″, which one might equate as ‘starting gear’ and ‘riding gear’.With gears like these, you won’t climb any mega-gradients or spin along at 20mph, but the bike copes with hills of up to 10% and – thanks to the lighter rotating bits and single slick gear change – it accelerates well, easily outpacing more cumbersome bikes up to 14mph.Thereafter, the lack of gears begins to tell, but in most city conditions, the other traffic will already be braking for the next traffic lights, putting the nippy shifter back up front. Remember too, that a simple 2-speed derailleur is more efficient than a hub gear.The result is a machine that really demands to be ridden hard and responds well.

…the derailleur slips easily and slickly between the two gears…

We were a little disappointed with the Schwalbe Stelvio tyres when they came out – not because they were slower or heavier than the cutting edge products, but because they were less sturdy without being notably faster or lighter.We questioned whether a weaker tyre was worth fitting for such a small gain. Brompton has clearly decided that it is, claiming a weight saving of 140g (presumably with lighter Schwalbe tubes as well) over the standard Brompton tyres.We didn’t find quite such a big differential, but we’d agree that the Stelvio is the lightest tyre available, albeit by a narrow margin. Brompton makes two cautionary points: avoid using a bottle dynamo, which is liable to shred the sidewalls, and keep the tyre pressures above 85psi or heavier riders will risk ‘pinch punctures’. Otherwise, these tyres are fast, reasonably comfortable (only fatties will need the full 120psi), and light. Aided by the low riding position, 80/100psi in the tyres, and a nice warm spring day, we recorded an excellent 15.4mph roll down speed – one of the fastest runs we’ve seen with 16-inch tyres.We only had time for a few runs, so this figure won’t be very precise, but it’s worth bearing in mind that all three of the folding bikes reviewed in this issue were tested together, so comparisons are certainly valid.

The derailleur slips easily and slickly between the two gears, which are further apart than the standard Brompton 6-speed, but closer – and thus smoother changing – than the Highpath Engineering conversion. Incidentally, anyone intending to take an angle grinder to their new titanium frame in order to fit the Highpath wide ratio cogs will be wasting their time.The 2-speed has a special 9-splined hub which is incompatible with anything else.That’s a shame, because we think some users would prefer a slightly lower first gear, even at the expense of a bigger jump between the two ratios.

Braking feels odd, despite the bike being fitted with familiar dual-pivot callipers.The new Brompton levers obviously impart a different feel, as do the Jagwire cables.We’ve found these super-slick elsewhere, but the cables seemed stretched on this bike, giving a sticky response, particularly at the rear. There’s no fundamental reason why such good cables should bind, so we assume everything will be sorted for production.

Folding, Adjustment & Accessories

We won’t say much about folding, because the procedure is the same as a traditional Brompton, but once you’ve folded it, 9.7kg is obviously easier to carry than 12kg. Most people find a standard Brompton hard on the arms when crossing a railway bridge or marching between Underground platforms, but this bike is noticeably easier.The same applies when popping up and down stairs – you find yourself doing things with the S2L that you found ways of avoiding with other folding bikes. Folded size is a little larger than previous Bromptons because the comfy new Vitesse saddle is longer.With the saddle right down, we made a cube of 92.3 litres (3.3 cu ft), but the package gets bigger if you put the saddle at the top of its post and/or adjust it backwards, which lengthens the folded package and increases the volume to 105 litres (3.7 cu ft) or even more.To put that in perspective, it’s still 33% smaller than the Mezzo…

Is the bike really going to appeal to the iPod generation? We haven’t seen Tempest Blue or Kew Green (a nice local touch for a West London factory), but Flamingo Pink only seems to hit the spot under the right lighting conditions. In bright natural light, the matt finish and subdued hues can look washed out and lacklustre, but in the right sort of artificial light, the bike really sparkles. More generally, the combination of grey titanium, blue titanium (the seat pillar is treated to reduce scuffing), various shades of silver and shocking pastel pink may or may not appeal.

Once out of the showroom, those with smaller hands should be able to find a comfortable riding position. At long last, Brompton has come round to providing brake levers which are adjustable for reach, but with these handlebars, the levers have to be positioned vertically to prevent a clash with the front wheel when folding, or the front luggage when riding.

As mentioned elsewhere, luggage does pose a few problems. Brompton uses a standard frame-mounted carrier block which takes three sizes of luggage.These clear the standard handlebars (and the new P-type bars), but tend to restrict the brake cables on the S-type and if over- filled, could foul the handlebars. In practice, the standard Brompton Pannier and folding basket do fit, although it would be wise not to over-fill either. Playing safe, Brompton has introduced a new lower bag (and special low frame) called the S-bag. Produced by Dutch company Radical Design, the S-bag weighs 1.1kg – a little heavier than the Pannier, but lighter than the humungous Touring bag.The S- bag overflows with fashionable zips, pockets, ‘beam me up Scotty’ communicator holsters and all the other accoutrements of modern living. If you don’t hold with such style-things you’re probably the wrong person to be riding the S2L-X anyway. Naturally, the more fashionable youngsters loved the S-bag.

…We’ve seen lighter bikes, but none of them were practical commuters…

Like all new Bromptons, the S2L has a longer frame, so if you’re used to the old model, you’ll find a welcome centimetre or two of extra length here.The Pentaclip fixing also allows the saddle to go a little higher than the old fitting: up to a maximum of 97cm, which should make life easier for those who would consider themselves just too tall for a standard Brompton seat pillar. On the other hand, the handlebars are fixed at a relatively low 92cm (9cm lower than standard).We found that almost everyone who knew and liked the conventional Brompton said they preferred the old handlebars. On the other hand, there may be thousands of others who have rejected the conventional Brompton on the same grounds.They’re the people this bike needs to appeal to.

Conclusion

We’ve seen lighter bikes, but none of them were practical day-to-day commuters, which the S2L certainly is. Sub-10kg bikes don’t generally come with mudguards or luggage carriers, and in most respects this is a conventional Brompton, capable of doing just about anything a conventional Brompton will do. Once you’ve taken a deep breath and paid for it, titanium should last for many years without corroding or failing. Our only concern is with the surface treatment on the seat pillar, which seemed to show signs of mild scuffing after a week or two of fairly intense use.

Competition? The Dahon Helios SL is both lighter, and at £800, cheaper, but it’s hardly equipped for a daily commute, and we’ve heard a few grumbles about spoke problems. Dahon also produces the little Presto Lite, which is claimed to weigh 8.9kg, even in 3-speed form.We can’t verify this because we haven’t tried the bike, but at £570 (currently discounted to £520 or less), it’s a lot cheaper than the S2L.

Competition comes from within the Brompton stable too.We suspect many will opt for the M2L-X, which is £92 cheaper, almost as light, and with the advantage (for some) of more conventional upright handlebars.We’re very, very tempted.

Specification – Brompton S2L-X

Price – £965
Weight – 9.7kg (21lbs) .
Gears – Brompton 2-speed derailleur . Ratios 56″ and 74″ .
Folded Size – W27.2cm L58cm H58.5cm .
Folded Volume – 92.3 litres (3.26 cu ft)
Manufacturer – Brompton Bicycle tel 020 8232 8484

A to B 47 – April 2005