Originally Posted by
Bonzo Banana
I also prefer the simplicity and compactness of the standard Brompton.
Well, the compactness is exactly identical with the Brompton Electric. The simplicity not so much, but that's obvious. In comparison to the existing aftermarket solutions it looks much cleaner (less cables, no boxes for electronics, no panels and switches on the bars, etc.). So the two points that you mention are pretty perfect if you ask me.
Still it is a bit of a disappointment. It delivers basically no advantage over the existing solutions (at least none that I could regocnize) apart from having a torque sensor, is massively more expensive, heavy, offers limited choice of colors, handlebar-type and battery-size and locks you in to a proprietary battery-system. You cannot use the existing range of Brompton-bags. On first sight it is basically a me-too-product , a bit better integrated (was to be expected from a factory solution) but with a hell of a lot limitiations in comparison to the aftermarket-solutions that have been available for 10 years. After five years of development (just counting the last iteration since the reset the eBrompton development back to zero in 2012) none of the promises regarding light weight and advanced KERS-technology have become reality but a product that smaller third-party-vendors have been selling for years and years already for a cheaper price and ready for retrofit. Not really what I was not only hoping for but expecting.