Good design involves technical ability, industrial know-how, creativity, innovation, adaptability, and a generous helping of luck to pull the strands together. Getting it right the first time almost never happens. Converse came close with the Chuck Taylor All-Star, of course, first launched in 1922 and barely altered since. Then there’s the Sharpie marker pen, which hasn’t changed since 1964.
In London, in 1975, a Cambridge engineering graduate, Andrew Ritchie, came up with a ludicrous concept for a folding bike that is now sold in 47 countries and remains fundamentally unchanged since the patent was filed. This patent, number EP 0 026 800 B1, was filed in 1979 and has long since expired.
Turning 50 this year, a Brompton looks and performs unlike any other bicycle. Its one-size-fits-all uniquely practical folding mechanism and surprisingly agile handling has amassed legions of fans, from practical parents and commuters to urban hipsters and, increasingly, the affluent Asian market, which prizes utilitarian luxury and small-space transportation.
The concept, described by Ritchie as “a magic carpet you can keep in your pocket” is a bike that folds in three stages (the current world record to fold it is 5.19 seconds), with the rear wheel swinging underneath the frame using a clever hinge and suspension block, while the front wheel folds back alongside it.
Then the handlebars and seat post collapse down, locking everything into position. To stop the chain from flopping about when the bike is folded, Brompton developed a chain tensioner that keeps it taut at all times. This unique derailleur is the keystone to its success.
It’s an ingeniously compact and highly transportable cycling solution—the latest T Line titanium bike weighs 16.4 pounds (7.45 kg)—all of which are made in the UK. Located in Ealing, northwest London, the Brompton factory currently employs around 800 people and churns out 2,000 bikes a week, which are then sold in 47 countries around the world. Eighty percent of the bikes are currently exported, with Asia taking 46 percent.
On a tour of the 86,000-square-foot facility (about the size of one and a half American football fields), WIRED watched as the Brompton steel frames were hand-brazed together. This metal joining technique—requiring 18 months of in-house training, and a feature on every variety of Brompton since 1975—uses melted brass to glue the steel together, rather than melting the steel in traditional welding.