Brompton G-Line First Look! Sea Otter 2024 

With the right bags you could go round the world on that superb machine, well done Brompton!

The folded size is bigger than the 16" Brompton, but it is still neater and more compact than most other 20" folding bikes.

..okay, now i think i‘m ready for a brompton…❤️‍🔥

Definitely need the rack with this one. It's more of a roll around than carry when folded.

To be fair, the old Bromptons also came in the same sizes done in a similar way, 3 different bar heights.

In the works, the Brompton F line! A folding fat bike with balloon tires.

Thanks for the info Russ! It's interesting that Brompton have brought this out, especially given the independent solutions for larger wheels, etc. Definitely really keen to see you review this properly, especially given your experience with the OG version. Cheers, Paul

I like it. It may not be quite as convenient as the regular Brompton for travelling/commuting, but it still folds up nice, it's more versatile and there are soooo many more wheel/tires combos available for 20" compared to 16". I want one

Niche products like this are cool as hell man. I dont need one but surely there are some people that were on the fence about buying a brompton are now over it!

It has 135 mm spacing. If someone could manufacture and aftermarket derailleur hanger a Microshift rd- m6195s super short derailleur with 11-38 cassette would fit. I read someone say they reinvented the Raleigh Twenty. It is a reasonable statement. There was a movement in the 1960’s called booty bike that preceded Brompton where suburban people put their bike in the boot of a car and drove to light traffic recreational areas. Brompton seem to be reviving that tradition with this bike. I think the demand to make it lighter will increase, along with the price. I might buy a second hand one in 15 years as a hobby bike. Although even a 15 year old model will be too expensive.

Worth noting that Alfine 8/11 share the same lowest range gear. The 11 adds to the top end speed with two extra gears beyond the 8, and one more within the 8’s other range.

This thing is definitely on my 2025 shop list.

finally the Brompton has grown up!

Conceptually really close to Dahon bikes of the past although the P8 went a step further with full suspension. Alex Moulton will laughing from the pearly gates, he was making fat wheeled 20" bikes (with suspension) back in the 1980s. I own a Dahon Dash P18 20" with normal derrailleur and cassette at the back. Love it although the small wheels have caused me to slide out of control on slippery roads more than any other bike!

Hmmm. Ive never thought i could ide one but since watching PLL for a few years the idea is starting to make sense. A folded up b8ke just sliding in the back of my Outback. No bike racks hanging off the car. Ready for urban or camp ground rides. Thanks for expanding my thoughts away from 1970s racing bikes.

Impressed with this new G line. It's the only Brompton I would ever consider buying. If it didn't cost an arm and a leg that is... 😂

Nice to see a manufacturer thinking about the preferences of their customers

I’d love to compare with my bike Friday all packa!

Looks like I finally found my Brompton!

I think the only good thing about this brompton is the folding, it is heavy to carry around if you want a 20 inch bike get a bike friday with normal component much cheaper and many options

From what I understand, the different sizes still use the same size frame, but the larger sizes come with a longer seatpost and a stem with more reach, which means you could potentailly mix/match if you've got praticularly long/short arms or legs! Also using standard hubs now is huge! Wonder how long it'll take for someone to build one up with a Rohloff 14 speed hub 😄

You've mentioned several times that Brompton is hard to work with. You'd think they'd be overjoyed to have a channel with almost 200k subs help them get the word out.

This bike is way cool but there are other folders that make better sense for plane travel which is why I’m interested in this style of bike

👏 It’s also the Brompton for people 6’ 3” and over.

Looks good and I’ll be in the market for one in the near future but would have liked 18” wheels.

What's the price??? Yup, still a Brompton

it almost looks like the rear triangle could be used on the 'regular' Brompton to add a disc brake and Alfine hub (with a 16" wheel, of course)

Russ has gcn money now

Aside from the improved comfort of 20" wheels (which might sway some), this bike doesn't make sense to me. Its bulk and weight undercut the appeal of a Brompton - light and portable, and the disc brakes + Alfine hub should have been on their other bikes years ago. For a Disc/Alfine conversion that costs about as much as a G Line, look up the Kinetics mod shop online.

This is for city folk to throw in the boot of their Volvo for a weekend in the country, riding rail trails and going to farmers markets. I predict they sell boatloads.

Thanks Russ, this was a very welcome review. Most of the reviews I have seen haven’t compared too much from a brompton owners perspective. I have wider handlebars on mine too - just so much better

I ride a Dahon mariner 8 it's been a ripper

Now that Schwalbe makes 20” g-ones, just put a pair of those on a Tern/Dahon which will be lighter, cheaper and faster. I have a 6-speed, 16” Brompton, which I love for its small fold for multi modal travelling ….it’s also actually okay on smoothish gravel, tow paths and back roads!! I’m not sure why Brompton have done this..

Nice! I wish it were cheaper but I’m interested.

Absolute brilliant, about time they made a bike better suited to the Gravel Roads of New Zealand. Now I have to decide between a G-Line and a Kyoot 20” bikes for my Offroad Camper. 🤔

I own the Tern Link D7i with 20' (7 shift internal gear) and it also feels much more stable than my 16' Brompton . The tern also handles gravel roads much much better. It is also much cheaper and has simila specs albeit it's not as fancy as a Brompton. I'd rather be interested in the electric Version. Unfortunately a big let down is, that the front carrier for Electric is a different one and you probably can't reuse the existing bags :-( ... And there's also a big design flaw for the rear carrier: From the photos I saw, the rear carrier is way too short to be able to carry regular rear bags ("heel strike" incoming), the Tern also does the job in this category. And for the Bio Bike version Brompton doesnt offer a hub dynamo for light (yet). Whenever I should opt to consider the electric version, with the Ahooga Max there's already a strong competitor on the market ... For my short distance commute ride, nothing beats the 16' Bio Brommie ...

Waiting for a Titanium or Carbon version, but one day it will be mine, oh yes. For my Euro motorhome (replacing a full size gravel bike) and my Canadian car (avoiding need for roof racks on jaunts).

If they made this first, Brompton wouldn't be the Brompton we know today.

Regular brompton kept trying to kill me, now I know I need to weight down the front

Finally a Brompton I want to be seen on, those 16" wheels just look ridiculous (not talking about performance)

I have some regular Bromptons but when I go into the forest I use my Rotwild. I guess this Brompton is for people who want to to rely on only one bike and for them it seems to be a good choice.

Very interesting. I have both an Alfine 11 Brompton and a 12 speed P line. I agree that the original bike will be better for community but this one will likely be better for touring. I think the question though is whether a non folding bike would be better but for getting into a car or RV this one is better. The 8 speed alfine is a good hub but the 11 speed is better. I change the oil yearly; has this one got an oil change port or is it sealed? Thanks again

If it was a bit lighter this would the perfect back packing style bike for those national park sections where bikes aren’t allowed. Really cool. Wonder if it will be available in carbon or aluminum.

Looks amazing... very tempted.

Man, I wish I saw this last month...

I’ve looked at one of these and can’t make my mind up, so I need help. We travel a lot by van, but we also fly to different destinations, would a g line be too big? We almost bought a p line and a t line last month, but thought we would hold out for a new Ltd edition, but wasn’t expecting the g line. We currently have many bikes, but no folding bikes yet!

It's 20 inch wheels.. how much smaller can they make them compared to a 16 inch?

From quite a whiile of commuting, my two cents are that the only folders you can put overhead in a train are the good old DAHONS, because they have a stem-handlebar that folds INSIDE the folded bike like a sandwich. Something you could still fit on pretty much any other standard folding bike. And that's one more weakness in the Bromptons - precisely their only real boast, the folding size. I've done countless commutes by train with my old Dawes Jack 2010 (it was the Dahon manufacturer for Europe) and flipping it overhead knowing for a fact i wouldnt squeeze any fragile bit, levers, derailleur, etc., WAS the greatest help. Pity it isnt so even on this new near 3000 euro bike.

Hi 👋 what is the max rider weight for this one ?

Just bought a c-line. How much bigger are the pedals on the g-line compared to the stock c-line pedals? The back of my foot keeps hitting the roller wheels in the back, so I’m wondering the bigger pedals would take care of that

I want the GT model... G Titanium. When's that model hitting the market?

i wondering where that 14kg weight came from. by eye it far more small than regular bike or any full size 29 mtb.

and then customize it with upgraded hubs for even more feel like a road or mountain bike (with that hub noise lol)

The reason this bike was developed was because Brompton realised people were using them to aride around the world on. They are being used for ultra distance rides like the Transcontinental Race. I have ridden my 16 inch Brompton across Bulgaria on farm and forest tracks. The G1 is aimed at those who want to a bit more adventurous in their riding. But still have a compact bike. I think this could outsell the 16 inch bikes. But is now getting into Tern, Bike Friday and Dahon territory. Bromptons are much more expensive though.

its the one!

Having had a Brompton for me and Terns for my kids, really glad to see Brompton get in the 20" wheel game. I lived in Paris, France and the Brompton was favorable to the Tern. Here in the US, the larger wheels on the Tern made them more versatile. But the Terns are not Brompton's, the Brompton is so much more. Agree with @TheYohtube - could go around the world.

I'd be interested for a side by side comparison with the Vello Rocky or Gravel bikes... I think you've ridden those Russ.... thoughts?

Who's it for? Not having seen it person but viewing videos like this, maybe someone who wants a gravel bike but needs it to fold it up into the safety of a locked car in certain places? Maybe a ferry to some place remote with poor to no roads. It's pricey and heavy for someone only needing last mile commute - but they have that segment covered.

Now need to find a review from a person on the taller side of life. :-)

My one kept wanting to wheelie from a standing start.

I’d never buy a 16 inch bike but would consider a 20.

I'd still rather a Brompton from kinetics in Glasgow Scotland. Much better options and folds smaller than it

Tire clearance?

I like the concept of a stabler and more supple Brompton for weekend recreation or touring. I just don't think the high cost, heavy weight, and narrow gear range are optimal for that kind of riding. I currently schlep a Tern Exlipse X22 with 26 inch wheels onto transit for weekend adventures, and the G-Line would definitely be easier for that part of the journey. But I simply would not be able to get the new beefy Brompton up some of the hills I climb.

Love it.

I don't like the Alu forks, you'd have to soft pedal to change gears with the Alfine rear hub, which has reliability issues and needs perfect wire alignment, unlikely as they are persisting with the plastic rear derailleur, and with it's fairly basic disc brakes you should still be able to descend a Col, but at 36 pounds weight it would be hard to ascend one, hence the fittings to turn it into an expensive E bike. Not for me.

Looks posh. Maybe it could use two coggs at the back. The only thing that worries me , for offroad, are those loose, low hanging cables

What are the folded dimensions? Wondering if it'll fit on the passenger seat of my tiny sports car as easily as my 16" Brompton does.

I have my Brompton because it folds up so small and it's so easy to carry. This model loses that benefit. But I think a whole lot of people are going to buy a whole lot of these! It's a different bike for a different market.

I'd love one but it's not really in my price bracket

Could you test it drafting in a group ride with cycling kit on please?

The Clamps n Stem catch r T Line parts.

The way those rear cables just hang down around and below the frame looks incredibly ugly, but some velcro I guess would do it as long as you loosen it when you fold the bike again.

I want to see it tested in hilly terrain similar to where I live. Luckily I can afford the electric version which is £1k more expensive.

A birdy may be a better buy or any of the clones of 20” would be the same and throw some billy bonkers on them

Don’t like that it is so much heavier. Also would have liked fatter 16” wheels to maintain the portability. Lots of cities have cobbled streets which usually have little to no traffic, fatter tyres would have helped with this while maintaining commutability eg using your Brompton for city sightseeing as well as commuting

I really want to like this but it’s heavier than the Bike Friday All-Packa, has far fewer gears, more proprietary parts and costs more. Having a hard time understanding why someone would chose this over the Bike Friday.

Now you are in Spain， how about using centímetros and gramos? 😊

the target buyer for this is probably those who wanted to buy a folding bike but can't get past the tiny child bike size wheels... me, im keeping my old single speed circus bike

That's what she said. (am I the first one to say that?)

I don't know, it's kind of getting away from the Brompton's Bromptoness, and is trying to compete with all those other 20" folding bikes with not as much to differentiate it. Kind of like one guitar company updating their classic design to appeal to fans of the other guitar companies classic design, but things just get muddy.

I assembled a knock-off 20" Titanium Brommie with Shimano Nexus 2 years ago. It weighed 13 kg but I am sure it could go down more if I swapped certain parts. I definitely enjoyed the rides with the mentioned features of stability and better rides over rougher terrain. Glad that Brompton is pushing out the G line, which I am sure there will be a certain demand.

Should have kept the 16” wheel size, but allow the frame to accept wide 2” tires.

Prefer Moulten (for looks)or BikeFriday(for speed), still OVERpriced... Thanks.

G is for Gravel (?)

Everything about it would be great for me but it’s way way way too expensive. I’m in the US

The g line falls in the hel7x bucket

People have been modding their bikes to aloud chunkier tires so they were letting that money escape, a belted version would be neat though.

Defeats the purpose

Tyres are far too big, if they kept the same width as the 16'' inch wheels the overall width when folded would have been the same.

I knew that was you. I've seen you in Girona. I hope you are enjoying your visit.

nice but for the price they need to throw in a front suspension , lol

The Pline 12 speed is the best Brompton ever. This is to far the other way.

You're right. Stupidly expensive and I doubt it'd last with my 105kg onboard. I had both my Brompton wheels rebuilt in less than 2 years and the finish was less durable than I hoped.

Too expensive too heavy, I’d rather have a 16 inch with gravel wheels and better brakes

$3,400

transportability was key for me when I purchased my brompton. I’ve been wanted a gravel brompton ever since.. however, this is not it. TOO big, TOO heavy... doesn’t fit my little car standup anymore...

Way too expensive for what it is. I think Brompton are just testing the water with this concept bike; I seriously doubt it will ever go into production.

Not only it is big but too heavy.

No front suspension is disappointing.