On Sunday, Brompton released this first teaser video of the (very well kept secret) Brompton Electric bike. Here’s our first thoughts, after this short but sweet glimpse – and maybe a sneaky play at the factory a few weeks ago!

It looks just like.. a Brompton

As you can see – this isn’t a completely new bike, and to the untrained eye it looks like a Brompton with a front bag. Whilst those hoping for some brand new eye candy might be disappointed, we think most people will be happy and relieved. People buying one still want a Brompton – just one with a bit of kick.

Carry-away battery

The neat looking battery fits into a bracket similar to the carrier block. Fitting (and we expect removing it too) looks pretty quick and easy. From an insurance point of view, this is great as you won’t be tempted to leave the battery with the bike if you do have to leave it unattended for a bit. If you’re on a train, you can take the battery to your seat if you do need to leave it in the luggage rack.

We wonder whether there’s room for anything else in bag, but time will tell, and we expect that products will be available that hold the battery and provide extra storage on the front – whether by Brompton or third party products.

Front wheel drive

The power comes from a front hub motor rather than mid-drive. It does make sense to provide power where the extra weight of the battery is, which will also help maintain traction. It will be interesting to see what the weight price is.

Summary

Our observations will very soon be redundant, as more qualified reviewers get their hands on a Brompton Electric for the first time and analyse the hell out off it, but we think the Brompton Electric is going to live up to our high expectations people have and offer a folding e-bike that is well up to whatever you throw at.

We look forward to getting our hands on one for a proper blast around Chester, and insuring our first one with our Brompton insurance. In the meantime, we’ll keep riding the old-fashioned way.