I just read https://road.cc/content/news/brompton-optimistic-post-tax-losses-double-317569 (from https://www.reddit.com/r/Brompton/comments/1q81rh3/brompton\_financial\_results/) and and I’m surprised by the number of sales of the new G model: "the G Line accounted for around nine per cent of the brand’s total sales last year (6,707 bikes in total)"
As an owner of a G, I think it’s a fantastic bike to have sold so few units. The price is obviously the main reason, but it’s still surprising.
by drobles
8 Comments
It’s expensive and strictly worse as a commuting bike when you have mixed modes of transport.
Great bike, but totally confused about what problem the G model solves.
Why look at the total number rather than the nine percent? Brompton is a low-volume niche manufacturer, the total never going to be that big. Given the price, and given the use case of the classic Brompton, nine percent seems like a very reasonable share.
I would’ve bought one if it was £500 cheaper
$3600 for a rigid mtb on 20in wheels is hard to justify even if it is able to fold up easily
It’s 2x the price of a very solid minivelo build. It’s worse for multimodal commuters and people who bring their bikes in with them when they get to their destination than a standard model, which also has nearly 50 years of development and refinement. So who does it work for? Someone who wants a gravel/adventure bike with a hub gear but lives in a small flat?
It’s a cool bike and I think it’s a mega design, but it needs to be more affordable and needs time to develop an audience and be refined. It was never going to be an instant smash hit and fly off the shelves.
my 26″ rigid MTB does 90% of all the things that the G-Line is capable of, except that it was only $50 used with around $200 new and used parts retrofitted, and lighter, cheaper, easier to take care than a G-Line. for all the city duties like coffee shop, hangouts,office etc, I have my P-Line for that.
so unless someone desperately has one-bike-only policy at home / country, it is really hard to justify spending so much for so little benefits.
I own a G line and it’s overpriced, no way to sugarcoat it.
I look at 9% and see the glass half full. Brompton is a freaking legend of bicycle engineering whose design is unchanged for decades. They just started selling G-line. Most people who want a folder don’t need a folding trail bike. I think that line is doing great sales, myself.