Having just got one of those new T6 models and put almost 900 miles on the clock I can say I am a fan. Which other bike causes you to have so many rewarding encounters with people? (Answer is of course *any* machine that takes you interesting places). I have found myself in conversations about Alex Moulton and Alec Issogonis whilst waiting in a Post Office queue! And people never cease to be amazed at the fifteen-second fold.
There was a time in which I read the mainstream bike press and laughed at anything that wasn’t a proper bike. At the time I had a crappy Raleigh 'Mountain Bike'...
A Puch with a sort of mixte frame augmented with a couple of thin top tubes put an end to my prejudices. The Puch was nicked by some junkie looking to fund their next fix in Brixton. That taught me the hard lesson about bike security. Being poor I walked everywhere until my Mum took pity on me and donated her German small-wheeled bike to the cause. It didn’t so much fold as came apart into two halves. I neglected it, rode it up Welsh hills and kept it in a cupboard under the stairs. I had more important things to do with my life than play with bikes. I did lock it up well though! Late one night on my way up a small English hill I managed to snap the bottom bracket shell OFF the frame. And that was the end of that. The next machine was a 1991 Muddy Fox that I fiddled with and toured Europe on for four months. 
Lights
I have had some problems with my rear standlight. It is a little intermittent sometimes, varying in brightness when stopped. All the fiddling in the world doesn’t seem to make it better. I have already had a warranty replacement once for this problem. It would be rally nice to have High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights. One could couple a nice hub dynamo (like the one made by SON for instance) and use it to trickle charge a battery located in the nice little space just forward of the seat tube. This wouldn’t be amazing solution for lots of night riding however as I fear the HID lights need more current that *any* bike dynamo generates.
Weight
My plan for lights has one problem. Weight. I really love my T6 as the rear rack can take big boxes with ease. But when I have to carry it and a bag full of shopping, one in each hand up to the second floor I really resent it. I haven’t really made things any easier for myself as I use an extra long seatpost and a Brooks Champion Flyer. It gives the right position and comfort but is a heavy solution. Most of the modified Bromptons I have seen on the web have been interested in saving weight. I can’t help thinking that fabricating the whole shebang out of Titanium is a good idea (Well done Len)
Luggage
While you’re at it with the Ti, the front luggage sub-frame could do to made out of it, or at least something rust-proof like stainless steel. I have a touring pannier, cheaply made at expensive prices by Carradice. For what the front bag cost I would have thought it would be Super-C quality. I was quite a disappointment coming from a world of Ortlieb panniers to find the Brompton system wasn’t waterproof at all. Maybe I need the very bright cover. Or why don’t Carradice/Brompton make the bags out of Cotton Duck?
Other stuff that is crap about the Brompton is the frame coating. I have had the main frame re-sprayed under warranty because the paint was coming off. On the rear triangle the hook rubs the paint away. One solution might be a harder coating like Chrome or Titanium Nitride. Or you could see it as another good reason to make the whole thing out of the wonder metal!
LWb, November 2002.
Ring your bell for Adults riding bikes with ETRTO less than 451, with special vigour if 349 and the cycle in question is made in Brentford... LWb, October 2003