“Review: Brompton Electric T-Line with E-Motiq”
Chris Haslam, writing at WIRED:
The typical commuter electric bike weighs between 40 and 65 pounds. The battery, motor, and components needed to hurtle you up hills can double, or even triple, the weight of a traditional bicycle. The new Brompton Electric T Line e-Motiq weighs just 31 pounds, and that’s with its 345-Wh battery attached. Remove the battery pack and it is a diaphanous 24.6 pounds. In comparison, the original steel Brompton Electric weighed 32.4 pounds, plus an additional 6.4 pounds for the battery.
Virtually anyone who has ridden an electric bike will attest to the fun, freedom, and convenience they offer. Almost everyone who has tried to lift a electric bike up a flight of stairs or onto a roof rack will be able to recommend a good chiropractor. For those without a garage or easily accessible shed, they can often feel as portable as a motorbike, just twice as easy to steal.
Man, an electric T-Line sounds almost perfect. 24.6 pounds without the battery sounds amazing, and the 32.4 with it is about the weight of my non-electric G Line. The two big cons: the almost $8,000 price tag and the 15 MPH limit. The former is expected with the top-of-the-range offering here, but the latter is unforgivable, since they already dealt with that issue on the electric G Line, which can go the full Class I 20 MPH. That extra 5 MPH is important—it’s the difference between being able to keep up in traffic, and just getting blown out of the way.
The third big con: I found the classic Brompton 16-inch wheel models to be too twitchy for my liking. Still, it’s a pretty nice next step for Brompton electric bikes.
The Folding Brompton Electric T-Line Is a Stylish Commuter Dream
Brompton’s latest folding electric bicycle is beautiful, genuinely portable, and doesn’t quite go fast enough.