Brompton has built its millionth folding bike at its factory in Greenford, London, 47 years after the iconic folder was invented in 1975.
To celebrate the landmark moment in the British brand’s history, the millionth Brompton has been given a special design treatment inspired by one of its original models, the ‘Mark One’, with a red main frame, silver parts, and a unique ‘million’ decal, ID plate, and aluminium touchpoints.
(Image credit: Brompton)
The bike has also been signed by founder and inventor Andrew Ritchie and current CEO Will Butler-Adams.
From its build in London, the bike will head off on a global tour of 16 cities with the aim of getting thousands of the "Brompton community" to ride it over the course of a year.
Brompton says the tour will form part of its All Together Different campaign, an initiative "aimed at celebrating the different ways the Brompton bike fits into our lives, the community that uses the bike and a collective belief that cities have a different future – greener, more connected, more active – a future powered by bikes."
Brompton inventor Andrew Ritchie with the millionth bike
(Image credit: Brompton)
At each stop on the millionth bike’s tour, Brompton will host a ride-out event on the millionth bike alongside city-specific discussions on shaping cities for the better.
“This is a magic moment in Brompton’s history, and we want to celebrate it with the people that made it happen,” said Will Butler-Adams, Brompton CEO.
“Since the first bike in 1975, a Brompton has always been built to be ridden, and the millionth is no different. Instead of putting it on display somewhere, we want it flying down the Mall in London, across Orchard Road in Singapore, along the Seine in Paris, exploring and moving through cities as it’s always meant to.”
“There’s nobody better to do this than our community who have an open invite to ride the bike as we take it around the world. Alongside riding, this tour will celebrate our long-standing belief that when you embrace differences together, the possibilities are endless – from getting more people to swap fossil fuel powered transport for cycling, to building products that last decades not years, we want to continue to inspire new ways of doing things. We’re bringing this to life with events, talks and shared stories. Our community, friends and neighbours are all invited to celebrate with us in being All Together Different.”
Details of the tour will be released at: www.brompton.com/onemillion and you can follow the bike’s progress and get involved by following @bromptonbicycle #BromptonOneMillion.
The millionth build follows significant developments for the company in recent years, including the launch of the T Line, its first full titanium model, and the Electric P Line, its lightest electric bike to date, alongside the announcement of the build of a new purpose-built factory in Ashford, Kent in 2028.
Simon Smythe is a hugely experienced cycling tech writer, who has been writing for Cycling Weekly since 2003. Until recently he was our senior tech writer. In his cycling career Simon has mostly focused on time trialling with a national medal, a few open wins and his club's 30-mile record in his palmares. These days he spends most of his time testing road bikes, or on a tandem doing the school run with his younger son.
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