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Electric Brompton Buyer’s Guide

The A to B Brompton Buyer’s Guide covers the four key Brompton power-assist conversion kits and Brompton own electric bike. If you’re not interested in a power-assisted Brompton, or any kind of folding e-bike, we have unfortunately had to drop our Buyer’s Guide because there are now so many bikes using a relatively small number of systems, that choosing four or five was getting a bit silly. There’s still a full list of prices and stockists in our comprehensive Electric Bike Price Guide.

Individual entries below include links to our comprehensive road-tests, some still available on real paper, or as downloadable and storable PDFs for 99p or £1.29 per issue depending on the age.

A to B Buyer’s Guide – Top Ten Electric Brompton bikes

1. Cytronex C1

Price: From £1,145 (kit only) Rating: 5/5  Verdict: “Exquisitely designed…”

electric-cytronex-brompton

Cytronex-Brompton

Are we serious? Is a small company in Winchester really turning out the best power-assist system currently available for the Brompton? It’s a subjective thing, and Bromptons get used for all sorts of purposes, but taking into account weight, price, efficiency and user-friendliness, this really is a cracking option, and well worth putting on anyone’s short-list.
For years, Cytronex made a very practical power-assist kit based on the Tongxin motor, still used in the Nano-Brompton. But MD Mark Searles was quietly developing something much more sophisticated, and the C1 was finally launched in 2017 to some acclaim. Before long there was a Brompton variant too. It’s not the cheapest kit-based solution, but nowhere near the most expensive, and it’s probably the most sophisticated, in fact better than many factory-built electric bikes. We have just tried the special C1 T-Type Brompton kit, which is custom-made to fit the new all-titanium Brommie. The complete package, with 198Wh battery, weighs only 11.7kg, which is breathtakingly good… We’ll keep you guessing about the range. Sorry! Well, the digital magazine only costs £1.29.
We have road-tests of the early C1 in A to B 118, fitted to a Brompton in A to B 127 and A to B 132, and to the T-Type Brompton in A to B 136

2. Nano-Brompton 2.1

Price: From £820 (kit only)  Rating: 5/5   Verdict: “Now a touch old-tech, but great value…”

A to B Buyer's Guide top recommendation, Nano-Brompton

Nano-Brompton

For three years after its inception in 2007, the Nano was one of our top recommendations, but it later moved down to a 4-star rating following persistent feedback of battery issues and other quality control problems. For 2012, the Nano returned as Nano 2.0, which has proved lighter, slicker, and more reliable, and was later revised as the 2.1 and back to 5 stars with us. The key change was to Ping batteries, with a promise of a revolutionary fixed price battery repair scheme once outside the 12-month guarantee period, although Nano soon decided it made more sense to source batteries in Europe, and now primarily sells little 144Wh Bosch garden tool batteries. The Nano 2.0 and later variants have the control electronics positioned low down near the front pannier block rather than high up on the handlebars. This looks clumsy if you ride without a front pannier, but you’re unlikely to, because the pannier holds the battery…

Gross weight (including the separate pannier-mounted battery) is a reasonable 15.8 to 18.5kg, and you only have to carry 12.5-14.5kg in one hand. The wide range comes down to the Brompton model used and the size of the battery. The motor is whisper quiet, a capable hill-climber, and managed to go 45 miles on a charge, but this was our first test of a prototype fitted with a large battery and a motor designed for a 26-inch wheel. so it was geared for less than 10mph on a Brompton wheel. That’s a very good way of getting extra mileage! Expect 15-30 miles with a more typical battery and a 15mph top speed.
Early battery issues now seem to be sorted, and there isn’t a great deal else to worry about, although motors occasionally fail. Thanks to Euro-chicanary, most manufacturers have stopped fitting twistgrip throttles, but they are still legal with a pedal movement sensor and Nano offers a twistgrip or thumb-lever as an option. Do take our advice and pay a modest £30 extra for the thumb-lever or twistgrip versions (the nice Nano people can show you how this works). We didn’t like the automatic control one bit, as with most of the cheaper types.

The Nano isn’t quite the discount option it once was, but it’s a reasonable price for a straightforward power kit with a good track-record. The 12-month battery guarantee is looking on the low side these days too, but overall it’s a good little machine, so it stays near the top of our electric bike wish list.
A nice option is factory fitting of the kit for an extra £100… well worth it for the electrically or mechanically challenged.
The Nano kit can be fitted to any bike for a hundred quid less than the Brompton version.

A folding electric bike that still outclasses all but Brompton’s own by a substantial margin.
Full review of the Nano-Brompton. We have also published two follow-up tests (see back issues), a full review of the Nano-Brompton 2.0, and the 2017 spec bike is reviewed in A to B 117

3. ARCC-Brompton

Price: From £1,799 (factory-fitted kit)  Rating: 4/5   Verdict: “Hard to fault, but not quite in Cytronex territory…”

An interesting outfit, and an interesting product, if a bit expensive. It’s all good quality stuff, and mostly well engineered, but with a few tedious little niggles like the lack of a light on the control unit and some slightly tricky ergonomics. We said in our test that it feels a bit like a Sunday morning toy rather than a serious tool for commuters, and that sums it up quite well. ARCC has close links with Moulton and is best known for its Moulton kit, which perhaps fits with the enthusiast side of things.
Weight-wise, we’re at the mercy of the particular model chosen by the manufacturers and they tend to choose one with lots of gears and extras, presumably to massage the journalistic ego. Our test bike weighed 17.7kg complete with Bosch 6Ah (216Wh) battery, but ARCC had chosen a 6-speed with an extended steel steat-pillar, so that’s a bit pessimistic. With the tiny 2Ah battery and a lighter bike, you might see 15.6kg, but we found the little battery had a range of barely 7 miles. The 216Wh gives 20 miles, which is OK, but not exactly in Cytronex territory.
The full review of the ARCC-Brompton is in A to B 129.

4. Brompton Electric

Price: From £2,995 (complete bike)  Rating: 3/5  Verdict: “A disturbing number of teething troubles.”

brompton-electric-folder

Brompton Electric

The factory-made electric Brompton was under development for years, possibly a decade. The problem with that sort of gestation is that the public either lose interest, or the bike ends up featuring a pile of ten-year-old technologies and no-one wants it either way. Both of these things have happened here to some extent, and the development road was to run for another few months after the launch, with a variety of issues surfacing.
What you get is a 2-speed or 6-speed Brompton with crank-mounted torque sensor and Brompton’s own front wheel motor. Weight is from around 17kg (our 6-spd test-bike weighed 17.3kg), but that includes the battery pannier, which weighs 2.9kg, so like the Nano, you should never need to carry the whole lot in one hand – a big advantage.
Very briefly, with bad news first, Brompton’s motor is noisy by modern standards (yes, it would have been OK a decade ago), there are still a variety of software and hardware bugs (dirt on the bag connector is behind most issues), it only comes with one size of battery (unlike the Nano above), and most seriously, you cannot fit a standard Brompton front pannier to the bike, or use the electric front pannier(s) with a normal Brompton… as you can on the Nano, of course. Not the end of the world, but it leaves you with only two options: an impossibly tiny luggage space as standard, or a reasonably capacious bag for an extra £130.
Reliability issues do still occurr unfortunately. There have been motor failures, control-system failures, and for some people just don’t like the pedal torque-sensing system. It’s sensitive to different pedalling styles, so makesure you have a proper ride before buying one.
Early failures like overheating seem to have passed, but there are still some daft practical issues. You can’t easily change power or light settings on the move, because the battery top ‘dashboard’ is too far away, and who decided to make it impossible to fit a normal bag? Were they mad?
The good news is that the electronics are fundamentally well sorted now, as should be with Williams F1 involved, it’s covered by Brompton’s dealer network and warranties (unlike aftermarket options like the Nano and Cytronex), the lights are excellent, power output is good and reasonably controllable (don’t try reaching for the control buttons on the move though), and the price is acceptable.
The bike looks and feels like a product that will last. Not a world-beating design like the original Brompton, but a good solid performer if they can remove all the final niggles. It edged ahead of the Nano in late 2018, but has dropped back since. The choice really depends on your views about bags, cost (Nano can convert your own bike, for example) and warranties.

This really should have been the king of the electric folders, but it’s a bit of a lemon.
We have two reviews of the Brompton Electric – a very detailed early test in A to B 117 from August 2017, and a follow-up looking at the production version (hopefully the definitive version!) in A to B 122 in November 2018

5. Swytch-Brompton

Price: From £1,250 (kit only)   Rating: 2/5   Verdict: “A lot of money for a pretty low-tech affair…”

Yes, a bit pricey at £1,250, but the Swytch kits are half price if you are willing to pay upfront before they’ve been shipped or even MADE. Surely one would be a fool to do that? And a fool to pay £1,250? Also true. That price has no basis in the real world, but what brilliant marketing… Price aside, this thing works tolerably well, but you are carrying a big 2kg battery around on the handlebars, which is not the smartest move on a small-wheeled bike. The whole kit weighs 3kg, so expect your finished e-Brompton to weigh 15kg to 18kg according to model. Range came out at 13.6 miles. That’s pretty good and reasonably efficient, but you have to carry a 180Wh battery around on your handlebars to see that sort of mileage.

Our Swytch-Brompton road test is in A to B 120

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Legislation

Electric Bike Legislation (UK)

electric-bike-legislationThis page is brought to you by A to B Magazine.
Note: Our legal pages refer to the UK only. Elsewhere, electric bike law varies widely between countries, and even between individual states in the USA, Canada and Australia. If in doubt, always check local regulations.

Electric bicycles are unique machines legislatively, being the only powered vehicles to be treated in exactly the same way as pedal cycles. This means you can ride one while disqualified from driving a car, motorcycle or moped, and you will not be subject to laws aimed specifically at motor vehicle drivers, such as drink-drive legislation. You must, of course, adhere to the rules of the road, and like any other cyclist, you can be prosecuted for riding without lights, riding dangerously, or riding while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. There are, in addition, a few key legislative requirements:

Electric Bike Legislative Requirements

  1. The rider must be aged at least 14
  2. The electric bike must not be capable of exceeding 25kph (15.6mph) while under power
    Note: Like any other cyclist, you can ride as fast as you like when the motor is not providing assistance, but you must still obey traffic laws. In practise, power usually fades away quite gradually as speed increases, so a bike that tops out at 15mph with a heavy rider, may give useful assistance at 18mph or above with a light one. In practise, you are very unlikely to be prosecuted for anything other than a wild and reckless infringement of the rules.
  3. The electric bike must not weigh in excess of 40kg for a bicycle, or 60kg for a tricycle
    This might have been withdrawn, but who cares? You’re not going to want to ride a bike or trike that heavy anyway
  4. The continuous rated power of the motor must not exceed 250 watts
    Note: This is the European limit, which the UK signed up to in 2002. The older 1983 UK legislation says 200 watts for bicycles and 250 watts for tandems and tricycles, and this remained in force until very recently, and is still sometimes mentioned. In any event, the whole thing is a technicality, because a measurement of ‘continuous rated power’ is like measuring a piece of wiggly string. You will only get into trouble if your machine has a clearly accessible manufacturer’s plate saying something like ‘500 watt Turbo’ on it.
  5. The motor alone cannot be used to propel the bicycle, so power can only be brought in while the rider is pedaling
    Note: The bicycle MUST be fitted with pedals, but don’t worry too much about the requirement to use them. The 1983 legislation made no distinction between pedaling or not pedaling while under power, although the newer 2002 European legislation does. From 2016, European law was fully ratified in the UK (yes, just in time for Brexit!), but manufacturers are still able to get type approval for ‘twist-n-go’ models, and bikes bought up to 2016 (plus ‘old stock’ bought afterwards), remain legal under ‘grandfather rights’. What this means in practise is DON’T WORRY. (a) Policemen have better things to do, (b) electric bikes are not registered, so no-one can easily prove how old it is, and (c) post-Brexit, all European legislation will (eventually) be reformulated into UK law, with a strong case for going back to the old regs. With so many loopholes, prosecution sounds like a waste of police and court time.
  6. If you want a motorcycle-style twistgrip throttle, either through illness, or you just want one and feel more comfortable doing things properly, you are quite entitled to apply for type approval yourself. This costs £55, and it’s a relatively meaningless bit of red tape, but the result is a fully registered road-legal ‘Twist & Go EAPC’. If you have something like a heart or lung issue, this can very usefully power you home when pedalling gets a bit hard. You can find a few details here: http://tinyurl.com/ycl3zz4l  The regs for Twist & Gos are apparently not very onerous, but we don’t know what they are.

The rules used to apply to bicycles and tricycles, but four-wheeled quads are allowed now too, but it’s hard to see why anyone would bother. The electric bike rules are not very onerous in themselves, but be warned: if you are successfully prosecuted for breaking any one of them you will no longer be covered by the exemptions that apply to electric bicycles, but bear in mind that in three of the five above, the court would have to decide which law actually applied.

In theory, anyone riding an electric bicycle at, for example, 18mph, could be prosecuted for riding a moped without a helmet, insurance, vehicle excise duty, MoT certificate, etc, etc. If caught riding while under-age or disqualified from driving, you would effectively by driving without a license, a serious offence. In practise, prosecutions are extremely rare, as the police really aren’t interested, but it’s worth knowing the rules.

Some electric bikes look very similar to mopeds or scooters, with fairings and motorcycle-style suspension. These machines are perfectly legal, provided they have pedals and obey all the rules above. The problem with riding one is that very few policemen will be aware of this loophole in the legislation, and you are liable to be stopped and cross-examined on a regular basis, unless you take to wearing a motorcycle helmet. In general, ‘bicycle’ styling is a good idea!

Public Transport

Ah, tricky one. Trains first: if you’ve tried looking this up you’ll have spotted that the 2017 Conditions of Carriage say that “Motorcycles, Motorscooters and Mopeds” are banned, but the cycling regs say “Motorcycles cannot be carried on any services”. Years ago British Rail banned mopeds from its trains, and adjusted the wording of the National Conditions of Carriage to the effect that ‘mopeds and motorised bicycles’ were banned, although this wording was subsequently changed. What this really referred to was bicycles fitted with small petrol motors, but when electric bikes came in, some people naturally assumed it meant electric motors – it almost certainly didn’t.

After railway privatisation, some of the more clued-up railway companies did put clauses into their own rules saying electric bikes were banned, but the others don’t seem to have clarified things by saying they were welcome!

Our judgement is that electric bikes are not banned from the railways, unless specifically mentioned by an individual train operator. In the eyes of the law, electric bikes are bicycles, and they go anywhere a bicycle is allowed to go. But as with so many railway things, it comes down to the judgement of an individual employee who might or might not have read the old Conditions of Carriage and remembered the Motorised Bicycle clause.

The good news is that there have been very few cases of people having problems on the railways. If you intend to carry an electric bike by train, just go ahead, but be discreet. It makes sesnse to carry the battery separately, so you can at least show that it’s been deactivated, which will probably satisfy a busy guard. Check my link for more details.

Buses are another whole minefield. As far as we know, electric bikes have never been mentioned in bus or coach bylaws, but buses don’t generally carry bikes anyway. We have carried a fully-folded and covered Nano-Brompton by bus several times without issue, but then the driver had no idea what it was!

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