Brompton T Line
£3,950, brompton.com
Brompton’s new T Line looks like a Brompton and folds like a Brompton, yet according to the manufacturer could not be further from the Bromptons that have come before it.
‘The only thing that has been carried over from our classic model is the brake system,’ says the company’s chief design and engineering officer, Will Carleysmith. ‘Everything else has been finessed, pared back and upgraded. We have gone over the entire bike looking for every gram we can find to save on weight.’
In total, says Carleysmith, 150 parts have been altered to create the T Line, which at 7.45kg is around 2kg lighter than Brompton’s P Line and 4kg lighter than its C Line bikes. The spec list has helped – even the inner tubes are Tubolito’s lightest-in-class 34g Tubo tubes – but the main savings are in the new frame. It’s made from titanium, in conjunction with Sheffield ti specialist CW Fletcher, and Brompton says this is the main reason a T Line frame is 37% lighter than its steel equivalent.
The svelte, all-new frame is appropriately finished off with new carbon forks, carbon cranks and a carbon saddle. Even the bike’s long, distinctive seatpost is carbon, although the brand says it has steel reinforcement so it can achieve a 110kg rider weight limit while being robust enough for the typical rigours of a daily commute. The new T Line may be lighter than many race bikes, but it’s still a Brompton, after all.