BNIB (Brand New In Box) Brompton C Line Utility (i.e. 3 Speed) | House Red *IN STOCK*

Classic 3-speed Brompton in Classic House Red color. Never gets out of style.

At The Bike Snob, we are huge advocates of the 3 Speed Brompton over the 6 Speed because of how simple, low maintenance, and less fiddly they are compared to the latter. What do we mean by fiddly? You see, the 6 Speed Brompton doesn't go from speed 1 to 6 in a single shifter. Instead, there are two shifters; one of the left of the handlebar, and another on the right. On the left you'll see "–"and "+", while on the right you'll see "1", "2", and "3". So how do the 6 speeds work or add up? It goes like this, and I would like you to imagine:

Speed 1: Set the left shifter to "–", and the right shifter to "1"
Speed 2: Flick the left shifter to "+", and leave the right shifter alone
Speed 3: Flick the left shifter back to "–", and the right shifter to "2"
Speed 4: Flick the left shifter to "+", and leave the right shifter alone
Speed 5: Flick the left shifter back to "–", and the right shifter to "3"
Speed 6: Flick the left shifter to "+", and leave the right shifter alone

Notice that Speed 3 and Speed 5 requires fiddling both shifters, i.e. you'll need both hands at work. In contrast, the three speed Brompton works simply like how you would expect:

Speed 1: Set the shifter to "1"
Speed 2: Set the shifter to "2"
Speed 3: Set the shifter to "3"

Clean and simple. Without much fiddling.

Unfortunately, Brompton killed the 3 Speed in 2023. Why did they do it? We think it's due to commercial reasons. In his 2022 book, Brompton CEO Will Butler-Adams identified that "people like to have more gears on their bikes; if there is a five-speed and a three-speed version, the five-speed will sell better." More gears give a psychologically better feeling for the uninitiated buyer, hence the six speed outsold the three. Capitalising on this, Brompton produced more of what customers wanted and shifted its focus to the 6 Speed, but it may not always be better. Like it or not, that's how capitalism and consumerism works. More isn’t always better, whether you’re talking gears in a bike or megapixels in a camera because there are tradeoffs. In our opinion, the 3 Speed remains the ideal and optimum choice for discerning Brompton owners.

This is probably the last batch of three speed Bromptons in the market that we can get hold of, so hurry! Grab now while available!