Jack is group editor across road.cc and off.road.cc, and has been writing about cycling and multisport for over a decade, arriving at F-At Digital via 220 Triathlon Magazine in 2017. He worked across all areas of road.cc including tech, news and video, also contributing to off.road.cc and eBikeTips before being named editor of road.cc in 2021, and group editor in 2025. Jack has been hooked on cycling since his student days, and currently has in his stable a Trek 1.2 for winter riding, a beloved Bickerton folding bike for getting around town, and an extra beloved custom Ridley Helium SLX for fantasising about going fast. Jack has never won a bike race, but does have a master's degree in print journalism, and two Guinness World Records for pogo sticking (it's a long story).
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I don't get why they didn't go for a rear-hub motor and singlespeed, way simpler and makes more sense. extra 250W means you shouldn't really need gears anyway?
So it looks like the electric drive is going to the front wheel? Has this been done before? One of my kids was asking the other day about designing a two-wheel drive bike, and here it is!
As an aside, I was in New York last week and was surprised by the number of cyclicsts on the roads and the number of ebikes being used by restaurants for food deliveries.
I'm *really* looking forward to being overtaken uphill (not a euphemism) by a whistling hipster on one of these...
Surely the name should be BrompTRON.
I had a go of it. It's a lot of fun. If your commute has a hill on it - you'd be whizzing up it.
Without the motor on it rode like my normal Brompton. Sure its expensive but I think its a really good improvement to the bike range.
I hope you've registered e-Brompton
According to their web site, the weight of the 2-speed version without the battery is 13.7kg. Most people will probably want the 6-speed version, which is 17.3kg total, including the battery. A standard 6-speed Brompton is 11.5 kg, so that's a 50% additional weight penalty. Also getting on for triple the price (£995 vs £2755) so unlikely to be seen doing much mixed-mode commuting, although Alan Sugar might well get one to keep in the boot of his Roller.