Ordering a Brompton options
 

My SO and I are leaving the US in early Oct for our Paris trip.

Can we order our custom Brompton online and pick up at a store in Paris? I know it takes 7-8 weeks for the ordering process which is just in time during our trip. Do we pay in USD or Euro? Would it be easier just to get a stock Brompton now and lug it over? Only downside is we can't custom order, and clevercycles/nycewheels doesn't have the S6R that we want.

I would suggest to get any Brompton now; so you folks can familiarize yourselves.
Check with BFold in New York City also; they may have it. Straight bars, 6 speed
with a rack shouldn't be that hard to find. What other option(s) were you looking
for; titanium, black edition, etc.?

Perhaps You would be better served by going thru The Brompton Company Site, getting a link to their Parisian dealers and asking them..

Using a credit card the currency exchange is calculated...

get a VAT rebate form at the selling shop, get it stamped as you leave the EU,
to mail back for the VAT Tax Rebate. since you are exporting the bike outside the EU.


Oregon does not charge sales tax.. NYC has state and city sales taxes.. so calculate that into your cost comparisons..

Can you do a Layover in London, then maybe use their shop in the city, and omit shipping time delays..







...

That's only true for in person sales. Mail order should be tax free.

NYCEWheels seems to have a good inventory of S6Ls - FWIW, they changed/installed the fender/rack to convert an M6L to the M6R I wanted while I waited in store. Also consider the X-roller mod too (which I think they carry).

Keep in mind that, in most instances in the USA, a state/county/city sales or use tax is owed by the purchaser. Whether the seller collects and remits the tax to the taxing authority usually has no bearing on whether the purchaser owes the tax. In Oklahoma, the "use" tax on out-of-state mail-order or on-line purchases is reported and paid with the purchaser's annual income tax return. :)

-HANK RYAN-
Norman, Oklahoma USA

If you purchase a new Brompton (or any other new bicycle) in Europe, make sure you are aware of any differences between the warranty on the European bike and the warranty on the USA bike. ;)

-HANK RYAN-
Norman, Oklahoma USA

Interesting if you order from their online website they charge $50 for modifying existing stock like adding racks. But, they said ordering over the phone they waive it.

They have 10% discount for accessories while ordering. Any suggestion on cases? Hard or soft? Seem some people were successful gate checking the Brompton. Seems YMMV type especially with more airlines penny pinching and cost cutting.

Yeah, it's a people thing I guess... when I was shopping, my guy seemed to get more and more lax with the discounts and small freebies as we chatted, he got to know me, and know he had a sale.

I haven't cracked the air travel thing with a bike yet. If I'm coughing up for flights, my wife is likely with me, and she's not a serious rider - don't think she'll appreciate me disappearing for rides. We like the bike sharing programs in major cities though - enough to do some local sight-seeing, cheap, and low hassle/worry.

I'm also an ultra-light/ultra-compact self-supported tourer on the Brompton (via train/bus/ferry/car), so an air travel case would ruin that... what do you do with the case while touring? I also prefer one-way touring vs looping/doubling back to retrieve a stored travel case. When and if I start doing air travel bike tours, I'm going to dumpster dive for recycle cardboard boxes, cut/make my own sub-62" bike boxes with packing tape and newspaper padding, and toss it all back in recycle at the destination....repeat for each leg. If I had to buy a travel case though, I suppose I'd go for protective hard case like the B&W - probikekit seems selling them for $200 (but no experience).

The Brompton Mafia guys carry-on with Southwest Airlines - they are very lenient. Not sure I want to chance that out of JFK and international carry-on sizing tends to be even stricter. I won't trust it to a Gorilla handler without boxing.

I think you mentioned touring somewhere so for dealer accessories, my favorites are Ergon GP2 (or 3 with S bars) grips, -12% gearing, X-Roller, nylon zip cover, T-bag w/block, ABUS bordo 6000 combo lock, and internal frame tool kit. But check prices, you probably still do better online, than 10% dealer disc.

Good luck.

https://store.bikefriday.com/product...ksqc7eoccuehu4 Thinking about use that to convert the hard case into a trailer. Alternatively, a soft case that can be folded down easily.

Isn't the Abus bordo 6000 lock notorious in EU for being ez to break? Guess it is still better than a cable lock.

Yes, I did see your thread on the travel case/trailer, and have seen/considered the idea in the past as well. It certainly is one viable solution, but wouldn't work for how I like to bike tour due to the additional carry weight/bulk, time to fold/unfold, and even ride/handling/maneuverability (unsprung weight, multi-track wheels, overall length). The only soft case that wouldn't significantly impair my ultra-light/-compact status (I self-supported tour out of the single T-Bag with a BPW [before food/water] of ~14 lbs) is the IKEA Dimpa bag, but you'd still need to virtually build a cardboard box around the inside anyway... and I think that's also the case for most soft case bags.

I am admitted extreme on the ultra- portability/compactness thing, both here and in the touring sub-forum, but it opens up some really neat options with my entire rig like: baby-strolling through museums, hiking 1/4 mile into the woods for stealth camping, climbing a 30-story staircase, and occupying only a single train/bus/car seat. CLICKY

Yes, I've seen videos of folks cutting the bordo and it seems to me that you generally need a 3 foot bolt cutter (or angle grinder of course) - I accept that risk for the compactness and that there's an ideal spot for it on the Brompton that does not impact the fold. Course, folding and wheeling inside is usually the answer in more worrisome spots. Hehe, as another example, I even use a vintage-style hairnet helmet because it folds tiny, and can be clipped to the bike, also without impairing folded size :o.

Buy your bike before you leave. Whatever tax you might pay in NYC would be more than negated by the difference in the dollar/euro exchange rate. You can get a refund on the VAT you would spend on the bike in Paris, but you have to collect it at the airport before you leave, and the line is verrrry long, (or so it was when I tried to get my refund) so you had better arrive very early if you want it back. After 45 minutes in line, I gave up, and walked away.

Too bad you aren't coming to Japan for your holiday. Most larger bike shops have a large stock of Brompton models. Between a weak yen, and not having to pay consumption tax, you can get a decent deal here. And you don't have to get a tax refund at the airport, just show your passport at the shop and the tax won't be charged.

Flying with a folding bike is no different than flying with an extra suitcase. I advise you to get a case which does not say something like "bicycle transport case", or which has an image of a bicycle on the outside, as many airlines charge extra when you check in a bicycle. When they ask what is in the case, I always say "camera equipment", to avoid the extra fees.

It's worth your time to read the specific sections of the online "contract of carriage" for the airline you will be flying. I noticed quite a few airlines do now accept folding bicycles (no additional charge) as long as you meet their usual size (62"), weight (50lbs), and protective packing requirements (usually boxed or hardcase). IMHO, the benefit of an honest disclosure of contents might be the airline's full insurance coverage ($5k?) of the bike, should it be damaged in transit.

I was in japan for 3 weeks last year and yen was even weaker. Was fun. Hoping to come back maybe before or after the olympics and ride around the countryside instead of the cities.

then get the Bordo granit 6500..

The other issue about buying abroad is declaring what you bought when you return. In Canada it is $800 after seven days away. I have no idea about the US. Of course it is your choice to declare or not but to minimize hassles, you may want to declare.

Sorry if it's been answered but why can't you custom order in the US? I know when I ordered my bike, my five week wait turn into 13 weeks and I missed the summer months that counted.

After your trip can you post your experiences? It will be interesting to hear how you made out.

custom ordering takes 7-8weeks maybe longer, and won't make it before we leave on the trip.

found the French dealer email address yet?

I'm going to just get it in the US. Just means I can't pick the color options I want. Don't want to hassle with lines for VAT rebate and possible longer than 8week waiting time.