Hi,

I am new to this forum and also a bike commuting noob. I am considering commuting to work at least 2 days a week to begin with (12 mi each way) and slowly add more days as I get more comfortable riding. I have been reading about Bromptons recently and went over to the local LBS to test one out recently. I really liked the quality of the bike, but curious if any of you use it as a regular commuter bike (if multi mode transport was not involved)

Cheers,
Noob in austin

My wife does. 6 speed Brommy. But her route is much shorter than yours. She loves the front basket/bag. She folds and locks it to her office desk when at work using a little combo cable lock. Takes it on the bus/train when shopping. Its worth every penny IMO.

you might also want to post this in the folding bike forum. There are a lot of brompton riders over there. I"m sure a few of them commute.

If we move I may need a folder to get to the train, so multimode. I like the singlespeed Dahon with coaster brake. 24lbs, no cables, under $500. I see lots of people commuting on folders, although I don't think they're Bromptons. It seems like Dahon and Bike Friday are most popular in the city.

I'm lucky to have space at work for a full size bike. But I would totally ride a folder all the way, if that was the only way I could bike to work.

Thanks all for the feedback. I will post on the folding forum as well. I am going to go check out the Dahons this weekend. The BFs are nice, but a tad on the expensive side. Comparable to the bromptons at the lower end I suppose...I am excited about getting on the bike more and commuting to work. Don't see a lot of that in Austin, at least up north, but it's picking up for sure. I envy some of the other posters here that live in cities with a lot more bike friendly infrastructure..

I used to do a 20 mile (round-trip) commute on it, when I changed offices to one that was 35-40 miles round trip, i upgraded to a road bike. The Brompton is wonderful, but it is much more exhausting to ride than a light road bike....if you want to go fast, be prepared to get really sore, if you want to maintain a steady heart rate and level of effort, be prepared to go really slow.

If you are concerned about efficiency, the kind that lets you do long distances everyday at a good speed, I'd say go for a road bike.

I think if your situation is such that a folder makes owning and commuting with a bike easier, then a Brompton (or other folder) is a very workable solution.

A coworker of mine who is car free has a Brompton and he likes it. He normally commutes with his Cross Check though because there's bike parking in the basement of our office building. The ability to fold isn't a big plus on his particular commute.

He has taken the Brompton on some trips with him. He checked it with his luggage and that worked well. However, I'm not sure he's really gotten the use out of it that he thought he would.

My Bike Friday is my normal commuter, but maybe one day in 10 I'll take my 3 spd Brompton in. There's normally not too much difference on my 17 mile RT commute (maybe 5 minutes), although if it's windy (as it has been here a lot), the additional gears on the Friday are useful. But if I'm planning on running errands at lunch while I'm downtown, the Brompton is a little more convenient since I can fold it and take it inside places if I want.