I have been commuting with a birdy since 2011. I am 6ft tall and about 80kg. I chosed the birdy because its far more sturdy than a brompton. The birdy frame has seam welding rather than spot welding. I regular ride off kerbs and pavements on my birdy. Birdy parts are also not proprietary and therefore you can pick up spares and accessories from any regular bike shop. As for the fold, I can fold my birdy in under 10 seconds with one hand. With the bolt on roller wheel accessory (must buy accessory!), I roll it into supermarkets, trains, malls etc. The Brompton is smaller when folded but takes longer to fold and that is critical when u want to dash into shops ot trains. If i had to buy a new bike, it would be another Birdy. The Birdy made my life better!
I started with a 1990 Brompton and it is still with me now more than 30 years later 👍🏽 superior foldability makes it the right choice for long distance flights plus the fact that you can add more recent Brompton upgrades to it such as the carrying block and the rear rack as well as the dynamo hub which I did in 2016 26 years after purchasing this fine folding bike . Now that’s what I call sound engineering and positive forward thinking .
I have had both Birdys and Bromptons. That includes the 9 speed but also the Rohloff version. Birdy really is a bike you could travel the world on. Amazingly durable and comfortable. Brompton do a much better job in promoting themselves on social media and in creating a community so that when you buy a Brompton you feel like you're part of a movement. On reflection I'm not that interested in being part of a movement I just want a really good and convenient bike. In contrast to the Brompton, very little is done to promote the Birdy via social media. On the Brompton which I had there was a bit too much plastic. That included the gear shifters which felt a little bit tacky. I do agree that the folding on the Brompton is a little easier. But both are pretty good and I don't I need to fold my bikes very often. Usually all that I need to do to regularly is drop down the seat and the handlebars and both models will fit easily into a small hatch. I would take the Birdy every day for it's comfort, ride quality, technical superiority including the vastly better brakes, and simply amazing durability.
It's not just a media thing: As explained in the video, the Brompton folds smaller, and it can an issue when travelling. Besides, Brompton dealerships are rare outside major cities, but Birdy dealers are close to non-existent. And these days, a Birdy costs ~2x the price of a Brompton. For those reasons, I prefer the Brompton even with its defaults/quirks although the Birdy rides better.
@@vincentdelporte when I bought my Birdy it wasn’t that expensive. I have travelled on Eurostar with it. Have been down Moselle and other places in Germany on it. It was lighter than the Brompton. However I have the a Brompton now so have to get on with it. Not getting any younger!!
@@vincentdelporte Is a brompton that cheap? where i stay it's comparable, the later Birdy City and a Brompton 6 speed. However, the backlog means i have to wait a year for a Brompton delivery even if i want to order today. Covid made many people to start cycling...
To me it all depends on the purpose of the bike. When I bought my brompton I was thinking more about the ease of use, weight, and its footprint, rather than how many gears I have and how advanced my suspension is. If I want a high-tech bike - i'd rather buy something non-foldable without any compromises on the "techniness".
very rare to see a thorough review like this for both great folders. I would have bought brompton if it had disc version. So ended up owning a 3rd gen birdy since 2016 and air traveled multiple times with birdy suitcase without fuss. a number of issues for birdy mentioned in the video have been improved in 3rd gen, such as front handlebar post lock mechanism and chainstay. but the rear plastic latch remains as an issue as I had mine snapped last year. parts are hard to find outside Asia pacific region. I ended up having to order a few spare ones online from China. Ridea and Colorplus are also two popular brands in Asia producing a lots of tailor made parts for upgrade.
Thanks for your updates on the 3rd gen Birdy. The rear plastic latch is probably a profit center for the Birdy manufacturer (we broke one as well). Brompton solved their rear latch problem long time ago, time for Birdy to fix it too.
I had a Brompton, then sold and bought a Birdy - then I had the whim to get rid of it and buy another Brompton. I wish I'd kept the Birdy. The Brompton is cute but the Birdy is great up hills and I used to keep up with people on conventional bikes up hills and on flat. The things you wish you had not done! NOT sold the Birdy
Wow -impressive presentation - extremely thorough -after all these years i feel like i finally and truly understand what i would be choosing if i bought a BROMPTON - this video is definitely a service to the community -THANK YOU!
Thanks for taking the time to put this great review together. Your combination of expertise and miles traveled is a great help to this of us contemplating a folding bike.
An option with Bromptons is to fit MTB handlebars. If you want an M-type, take an S-type and fit a MTB riser bar. You can add 1-2 inches to the width of the bar without compromising the fold or ability to fit into a bag. A M-type with MTB bars would give it a more aggressive riding position, but you end up with much stiffer bars that can take more accessories/lights.
I live next to the birdy factory, and I have been enjoying my birdy GT it's a great bike. I do agree with the points brought up in the video. For ease of travel the birdy is a bit more chunky.
I am surprised the Birdy came out so far ahead in ride quality. It is its ride quality that impresses me most with my Brompton. While I have not ridden the Birdy, ever, I find the Brompton more comfortable in the riding than my expensive full-size Scott Electric. It may be because the Brommie fits me very well... I was careful to choose the 'H' handlebar for more upright riding position, a better view around, and no pain in the neck. These things really count when you are 74.
Hi @Effyleven, always nice to hear from you. Our comparison grid results are based on a “Touring” scenario (60-100Km/day + luggage for a multi-week trip) For shorter trips, the ride quality difference between the two would have less of an impact, but on longer rides, the Birdy’s front suspension, adjustable stem, better gearing and brakes definitely make for a more comfortable experience. At the end however, we still transitioned to Brompton. We feel the advantage provided by its smaller fold and robustness is worth it, even if this meant cycling slightly shorter days.
@@2Bikes4Adventure Thanks for your response. I have done a little cycle camping.. just a few days, but I wish it had been longer. However, I have to admit, for that trip I used the electric in order to cope with the hills of the Isle of Wight and keep up with my son.. which I did, almost too well, apparently! Thanks again.. Happy cycling to you both, and please continue to keep us so well informed.
I have ridden both bikes extensively. The Birdy is the clear winner in ride quality. I don't think the Birdy looks better but you know what they say about beauty
@@sophocles1198 I wonder, do you think it is the riding position that is better on the Birdy, or the fact that it is a full-suspension bike? Both? I do appreciate that slightly larger wheels than the Brompton would also smooth the ride to a degree. Thanks in advance.
@@effyleven My impression is that the biggest difference is in the wheel size. I am sure riding position and suspension also favor the Birdy, but it is hard for me quantify.
You have made a remarkable video. I have never considered a folding bike. However you ladies have made them your long term friends. I will keep an eye out for these bikes. thank you
In 2004 I set out to cycle to India from England. I had a superb mountain bike that I used in Europe and Asia for 14 years. But due to airlines changing the rules I replaced it with a Giant folding bike. I only travel with a bike now, not on a bike, but I've visited 7 South American countries, Mexico Nepal ad 4 European countries with it. I miss my mountain bike so much!
Nice video:) as an owner of a 2019 S6L Brompton I can’t complain. Awesome bike. Using it like 4hrs a day for almost two years, I haven’t had any problems at all. I’m surprised since this is my first folding bike after having a few road bikes and mountain bikes.
I absolutely love the Bike Friday for touring. They sell Samsonite travel cases that convert into trailers you can tow with the bike, which gives tons of storage and eliminates the problem of having to stash the travel case somewhere. It's perfect for me. A bit pricey but highly recommend it. Still, it is difficult to beat the Brompton fold if you are doing lots of inter-modal travel.
We purchase most of our folding bicycles on the 2nd hand market (we had 11 of them at one point (Montague, Dahon, Birdy, Brompton,…)). Unfortunately, BikeFriday owners seem to keep them instead of re-selling them, unfortunately for us. Maybe one day we will be lucky (n+2)
This is a good point. I understand that the Bike Friday was designed specifically with this sort of travel-touring in mind, and while not as easily folded might be a better tourer than either of these.
I tried an early bird and was impressed by the ride and gear choice but chose a Brompton because I love the design, it folds well and has a cult following. Alas the steering is quite twitchy when making signals and feels slow in comparison.
Great review, thanks. After using my Brompton for about 7 years, 25 airline flights with the Brompton and touring the Camino De Santiago in October 2019 my preference is the Brompton.
Hi, So how did your Brompton do on the Camino ? Did you use the road that people walk or you used different road ? And were you able to bring the bike as carry on or you have to check it ? Thanks !
I wanted a BIRDY becos of the speed and wheel size. I ride more than needing to fold. Birdy fold is decent enough to roll and commute in train when necessary. Consider to share the rolling ability with on both bikes. Maybe with and without ezywheels attachment.
Hummingbird is the world lightest foldable bike , Brompton has the world best and most compact fold , birdy bike the best off road foldable bike , bike friday the best touring foldable bike , I chose dahon mariner d8 that is good to nothing of these but make all of these pretty well , much cheaper , good build quality and unatractive to thieves so I can lock my bike like a normal bike and don t have to carry with me allways and drink my beers relaxed
I couldn't agree more. The Brompton wins hands-down for a commuter bike or city bike for sombody living in an apartment or boat. They are ideal for the first and last mile of a train commute. The ride is 'acceptable', but can never compare to larger-wheel bikes. Personally, I find them really tiresome after about 8 miles. The Birdy has better range and comfort, but future parts availability is a concern. For a longer ride, the Birdy will win. In an ideal world, one would own both. But for pure engineering brilliance, folding size, and convenience, if you live in a city, the Brompton can never be beaten.
Thanks for the video, I ride a Birdy, a mark 1 24 speed, I find it super comfortable and with a basket on the front it slows down the steering which makes it feel like a full sized bike, I weigh 95kg, and am 6 feet tall, as for my wife's bromton, I just don't fit, it feels skittish and just not very good up hills. as for the Birdy, you can fit junior BMX tires which make it far better off road. Thanks.I suppose it's horses for courses. Ps parts that wear out on the Birdy can at least come off the shelf instead of being bespoke items.
I love my Moultons ❤️ This design comparison is intriguing and very relevant for bikes designed to travel. My bikes would lose on folding to either Brompton or Birdy, but in my experience the Moultons win over many conventional frames for carrying capacity, ride comfort and fun 👍
This is a great comparison video. Myself and my wife share a mk4 Brompton and a mk2 Birdy. I prefer the Birdy to ride as it's so much more comfortable, but there's no doubt the Brompton wins the folding game. I like them both as fantastic pieces of engineering. My favourite thing to do with them is throw them in the boot of the car along with my son's bike, and drive somewhere nice to ride. No bike racks, no car seat folding, just a quick pack and go.
Thanks again for sharing; interesting and informative as always. Brompton "M bar brace'" is a useful addition to increase real estate at the cost of a little extra weight. Take care
Great review, well balanced. I have a Brompton P6R, I know the P type bars are no more and those bars may look odd but having dual height bars is great if your back aches a bit, just like drop bars on my old 70s racer from that point of view.
I glad to see some Korean letters in your small video showing Brompton bike. As a Korean Brampton owner, I am happy to see you had toured with Brompton in Korea!
South Korea has one of the best long distance bike trail system we have seen. Hope to return once things get back to normal in the world. You can see a summary of our trip on the 4 Rivers trail here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-C9ZUwmaU0rM.html
When I travel and want to bring a bike, a Brompton M6R has been my choice for the last six years. I just bought a M6L for my wife and daughter to use. When we ride together, we mostly use them to explore cities(just NYC and Philly so far because of COVID) so the intermodal compatibility of the Brompton is very important to us. Also, I’ve never been stopped from bringing my Brompton into any shop, restaurant or hotel during my travels. I doubt I’ll ever try the Birdy because I’m invested in the Brompton now, but I don’t see the Birdy suiting my purposes as well. Thanks for the video though.
I own a Birdy and also drove a Brompton for a couple of times. If the Birdy beats the Brompton 19-9 in ride quality (it does), then the Brompton beats the Birdy 20-5 at foldability. Folding the Birdy is a pain in the a..., no comparison to the Brompton. The same holds for carrying the folded Birdy in Buses (nearly impossible) or trains (only if not full), that's what you have a folding bike for primarily, so you're missing TRANSPORTABILITY or FOLDING SIZE (not putting it in a suitcase dissasembled), here the Brompton beats the Birdy again 20-5.
I have an airnimal rhino which is very poor at folding, but extremely good to ride, in particular when the going gets rough. I prefer to spend hours enjoying riding and some minutes being frustrated at the fold, rather than spending a few seconds feeling smug folding, but spending hours on an awful ride and having to dodge every little bump.
I too have both..i had multiple bromptons at one point.. But I never liked the way it rode.. I've since bought a birdy and love it.. I've not touched my brompton ever since. Long bars, hydraulic brakes dual suspension..i can ride it anywhere, unlike a brompton
@@26realmc It depends, if flat and just city biking with public transport in mind, Brompton. On more challenging terrain and don't need to fold, Birdy.
My favourite folding bike is an older (70s) single speed folding bike with coaster brake. All standard bike parts nothing can break and cheap in maintainance :)
If you use your folding bike a lot, I would buy the birdy. The screw of the luggage holder just broke (maybe I didn't obey the 10kg limit 😭) The 16 inch wheels makes it high maintenance. But the weekest part are the brakes, they are quite week on 16 inch. Sometimes dangerous...
As a foldable bicycle i prefer brompton more. You can push the bike when its folding not lifting it up. Take it to the grocery shop and use it as a stroller. Very usefull.
Спасибо! Люблю когда в видео присутствует не только обзор, но и весомый опыт катания. Сейчас я развиваю идею перемещения на велосипеде вверх по реке и обратного сплава и рыбалки на лодке. Дорогое конечно это удовольствие. Мой товарищ на днях купил себе автомобиль по цене птички. Все равно я буду развивать идею "байкрафтинга". Дороги у нас правда оставляют желать лучшего:много ямок и неровностей, нередко встречаются гравийные покрытия где ямок и разных камней еще больше. Думаю бромптон в этом плане мне мало подходит, но велосипед интересный за свою уникальность. Отдельное спасибо комментаторам! Поисковая система выдает одинаковые результаты и найти новую модель велосипеда для изучения превращается в проблему. Ваш опыт очень ценен! Привет из России)
Canadian roads have potholes as well once spring season arrives, so it can be difficult for Bromptons at times. Good luck with your plan for a cycling/boating RU-vid channel!
As a new Brompton owner-to-be(expect on 2021 Feb.), and after in deep research, I totally agree with your points. Thank you for your useful vides so far.
Brompton is build for European commuters, compact in trains, fast to unfold on stations. The Birdy is build for leisure, ride by car to a location and ride a cople of clicks... You see very few Birdy''s in the Netherlands ( best bike country in the world).
Birdy would be my first choice after watching this video. I did test ride a Brompton at a local bike shop. I wasn't impressed. Can't find a Birdy to test ride in my city. As long as I can throw it in the back of my Scion XB, the "perfect folding" feature of the Brompton isn't that important to me. I go for performance and ride. BIRDY is cute and looks incredibly strong.
Great bike indeed. One of our first folding bikes was a Montague Paratrooper/Hummer 26”. It was used to tour France and Cuba (where it did attract some attention). Solid but the larger wheels make the folded package more awkward in multi-modal scenarios.
Great overview. I wish Brompton would make a 20" model with some key component upgrades. I'd sacrifice a bit of the folding compactness for the ride benefits.
Appearance is subjective and should not be included in the assessment. Indeed without the “Appearance “ category, the Brompton would have won. Can’t help but feel that the assessor included it to tip the scales favouring the Birdy
Very interesting if very arbitrary scoring. I have a brompton, I would really like to get a birdy. Given my much abused high mileage brompton needs replacing it would be a real shot in the dark to go for a birdy rather than go for something that is proven in my hands. Your last statement captured it all, horses for courses, having said that I have ridden over100 miles on my brompton without issue.
The strength of one bike is the other’s weakness (ex.: the size of the fold, comfort on longer ride,…). Availability and purchase price could be a big factor too. Despite the arbitrary scoring, we hope this video help somewhat in your decision making process. Good luck.
I own Chile ‘ s only birdy. It a fantastic bike .As a bike shop owner , I own many bikes , but the birdy is a special one for me . The only problem is buying rims and tires. i could find tires in Europe , but not the 18” rims.
18” wheel/tire are rare indeed. Finding a replacement while touring could be a serious show stopper. PS We cycled from Santiago Airport to downtown bus station with our Brompton a few years back. Hope to return to Chile for a longer stay one day.
@@2Bikes4Adventure wow a bike ride from Santiago airport it s just insane! Highway traffic is a serius jam and if you ride thru local street.. Some aventure in a no no zone jejejej
We didn’t take the highway. We cycled north from the airport than turned south-east through small streets (we stopped for a Completo Hotdog at a street stall). We finally reached and followed the Mapocho river bike path and, eventually, followed Av. Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins to the bus station (we needed to go to San Antonio that evening). You can see part of that journey in the first 30 sec of this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O4Tjv7hRcx0.html
I'm not really interested in folding bikes as I switched to kick bikers a year ago. Nonetheless I love watching your videos on the subject because they are so well done! Keep up the good work!
I actually looked this both of these when I was looking for a folding bike to take to the beach and places. I need one that weights very little...as I am only 86lbs. I was also short on money so only looking at used ones. Both weight about the same. I lean towards the Brompton mainly because I have a Mini Cooper and two kids, so that leaves little room for a bike....so yes. Also I found a used old M6L that ended up less than $300 so I made my decision. The bike needs some tuning, wash, new chain for sure but I still can't afford it. I have taken it out alot...biking for hours with no issue. I guess I like the look because it does look like an older vintage bike which I really like. While the Birdy looks modern and cool. My son would pick the Birdy for sure. I do not tour so just the Brompton is fine for short traveling or biking to work, post office, church.....I also love the front block.....I just need to get a bag now.
Sounds like you made the right choice with your new bike. As far as bags go, most of our Brompton bags were bought 2nd hand. We will shortly do a video on DIY front bags for Brompton.
I have a proper full suspension 29er trail bike and bought a Brompton recently. I really like it for long distance city rides (100km+). I've used it on gravel paths as well but I have been careful with my lines, not going too fast and it was decent- have not experienced a puncture yet. I guess a Birdy will be somewhere between these two bikes that I own.
Hi John. The Birdy’s 30mm front suspension travel will be significantly smaller than your full suspension bike. With the proper tyre, it could make a good gravel bike though.
9/20 is imho a fail, which does injustice to the Brompton. The 19/20 must imply the Birdy's ride is second only to a Honda Goldwing. Methinks this result therefore is pretty biased to give the Birdy the winning score. As in: French car mags comparing French and non-French cars. And as appearance is a matter of taste, the option is given to see the Brompton as the best one if 1 point more or less can be decisive.
If you want to know which is truly more popular, just look at how many clones are built for it. I own a clone, it's far cheaper to purchase, and it's not very much different from the original, as I have already gone on multiple bikepacking trips via air travel without even carrying spare parts. I did switch to solid tires which are not as grippy, but I'm not riding hard or fast, so I'm extremely happy about not having to carry tire maintenance/repair tools. That said, I haven't actually cycled very far away from civilisation, so I can always get a ride back into town to get things fixed if I had to, but other than my very 1st trip, I have not had any mechanical damage to my bike requiring me to make repairs, so I almost don't carry anything more than a small bike multitool, zip ties, chain oil and gorilla tape.
After watching your Brompton bike travel video I searched about Brompton bike price in my working county my heart bursts 😢 triple the price of my salary
Seems there should be an “appearance folded” category. Other than portability it seems one of the purposes of a folding bike is so you can take it anywhere so it will not be in the elements or STOLEN. As some hotels would not let you take the Birdy to your room it would get a zero in that category. The Brompton is a thing of beauty when it is folded and a mechanical engineering masterpiece.
I didn’t hear any reference to height and weight capacities of these two brands. At 6’5” and 255lbs, there is only one choice. Also, most reviews of a few years ago, described the Birdy ride as more akin to a road bike in performance. I can’t comment on that claim as I am unable to ride the Brompton. Brompton is hands down the more compact of the two in their assembled form and that to me, is enough to make it the more popular choice for the vast majority of folder fans.
To sum up, if you need to fold the bikes often, choose Brompton, otherwise choose Birdy... The problem is... Why would I buy a birdy if I cared so much about the quality of long rides and didn't need to fold my bike?
Another way to put it: If you value more the ride than the fold: Birdy. If you value more the fold than the ride: Brompton. If you value more your wallet, get something else.
The Brompton ride is perfect for a city: better acceleration off the line than a conventional bike and more nimble. So a “clown bike ride” can be useful sometimes.
As a road cyclist who also did some mtb racing, I can tell you that my Brompton ride quality is excellent. You get used to the steering pretty quickly and I’ve had my Brompton at over 40mph on a downhill without any problems.
I just wonder how the bikes will compare in the last scenario in this video, to ride ver pebble surface)) I manage it with my no name 20 inch folding bike, it was quite difficult and very shaky but later I changed the saddle and now it's much better...not sure about Brompton with its 16 inches lol
I find a bit odd that you compare availability of old parts. This would be interesting only to existing owners or when buying second hand some old bikes. I'm interested in buying new, so a comparison between the latest models would be interesting. If you ever decide to sell your old bikes, and upgrade to the latest models, a new video would be very interesting.
A manufacturer willingness to support older versions (be it a bicycle or a mobile phone) is a good indication of the kind of support you should expect for the new purchase you make today. As soon as we put our hand on a new Birdy, be assured we will publish a video about it 😊
Very nice comparison. I used to have birdy and I figure out it was really not very fast to fold and I had problem to quickly response in the train when I was about to miss the train. I want to buy golding ebike and been confuse between cube fold sport with Bosch motor and brompton ebike. What do you think of cube fold ebike ?
@@2Bikes4Adventure I am a newbie, which Dahon model I should buy, not a mountain bike, but sometimes when one point to the other, need to riding on a mud road or a bit rough, thanks for advice
Through the years, many Dahon models have come and gone. Some, however, like the SPEED and the MARINER continue to be sold in stores decades after their initial release. The SPEED is made of steel so it may be more robust than the MARINER (which is made of aluminium). So, if your roads are quite rough, the SPEED is the way to go. Furthermore, it often comes with wider tires than the MARINER.
@@2Bikes4Adventure I have a Vitesse, which is a variant of the speed series. It's a good bike, I changed the cassette for a 9 speed 12-36 and it works flawless
@@2Bikes4Adventure that is an awesome price! I have been hunting for one on German ebay, cheapest price for the first generation was like 460, many others (still talking about the oldest design) are offered for 600 and more, one costs 1800 which is crazy. I got one for 500€ with 21 gears. Well I'm still waiting for it, I hope it'll be fine
