Originally Posted by
Caterpillar750
Yes, you're welcome.
The V8 does take the Brompton bags. So you can interchange them. My friend who owns the V8 still uses his old Brompton bags.
The V8 is also able to handle heavy loads. He sometimes come in in one of our meetings fully loaded with lots of stuff (big volume and heavy weight). That says a lot about the bike!
I will be posting about how Bromptons go about their business. Why the cost so much. Their problems and their thrust for the future. But I'll leave that for now and let others ask questions for now. But the way Brompton does business must also be revealed because I read a lot of misconceptions around here. Most are conjectures or guesswork only based on what they see on the surface. Not really to defend Brompton, but once people see why they do what they do and how they do it, it will become clear that profit, though important, is not the reason why their bikes are expensive.
An article on the net claim the Brompton's FCB fits, but not without hindering some form of movement from the bike. I'm not sure if this info is outdated though.
Did your friend make any kind of modification or does the Brompton FCB just simply... fits? Without any major problems? That would go a long way towards me deciding on the bike.
My basic impression is they manufacture everything in England, so everything from labor to transport is going to have an added cost. Furthermore, their insistence on proprietary parts mean they have to make the parts themselves instead of using pre-made. Their warranty is decent, if unremarkable, for a high-end commuter bike.
The fact that they do not provide any form of warranty for their expensive (quality notwithstanding) add-ons is somewhat disappointing. I love my Bromptons for its sheer practicality but I'll definitely stop at just one till they provide better value. Till then I'll probably spoil my current bromps like an only child.