Brompton’s new folding ebike is ludicrously light but unbelievably expensive

Iconic foldable bike makers Brompton has this week lifted the lid on its lightest ever electric bike. This easy-to-carry ebike is the Brompton Electric P Line, which won’t be a struggle to lug around thanks to its featherweight titanium frame. In fact, the Brompton bike weighs just 12.7kg or 15.6 kg with the battery pack fitted.

That all sounds impressive, but if you want the convenience of having a portable ebike it’s going to cost you.

Prices for the Brompton Electric P Line begin from £3,695 – that’s almost £900 more than the cheapest Brompton electric bike and over four times more expensive than the standard pedal-powered Brompton. Ouch!

Speaking to Coach Mag, Brompton CEO Will Butler-Adams explained why they were releasing an ebike with such a high price tag.

The Brompton boss said: “What we’re trying to do is make something that’s useful and that as many people as possible can use.

“It’s not expensive for the sake of being expensive – it delivers a different experience.

“We spent ages developing the electric drive [on the first Electric C Line] and refining it to get the most efficient, light, useful drive, but the reality is it’s still heavy and for some customers, it’s too heavy.”

If your budget is able to push out to the Electric P Line’s price tag then you’ll get plenty of cool features.

You’ll get a bike that features a compact Superlight 4-speed gearing system, a top speed of 15.5mph and a range of between 20 to 45 miles an hour.

Brompton says charging the battery is as easy as topping up the amount of juice on your phone.

You can plug the bike’s detachable 300wh lithium-ion battery pack (which weighs 2.9kg) into the mains.

This will take four hours to fully charge, but if you purchase the Brompton SuperFast Charger this will reduce your charge time to just £200.

In terms of the actual riding experience, the Brompton Electric P Line is powered by a compact 250-kWh hub motor which does the hard work for you.

Three levels of pedal assist are available and a sensor in the bottom bracket knows exactly when to kick this in.

To help with running your Brompton bike, you can also download the Brompton Electric app onto your Android or iOS device.

Fit this to the bars and you’ll not only be able to charge your phone but also manage things like power and range.

Each bike also comes with a seven-year registered frame warranty and a three-year electric system warranty.

Brompton offers free delivery on orders online, plus if you want to spread out the cost of your Electric P Line Klarna monthly payments are available.

You can also take advantage of the Cycle Scheme promotion to help reduce the price of your new electric bike for your work commute from between 26 percent and 40 percent.

It’s also worth noting that for £80 more you can add the Roller Frame which is a little wheeled contraption that helps you move the bike around when it’s folded up.