The titanium retro-fit made a subtle but real difference to the handling. It’s not just a matter of lightness or even speed. The Brommie now feels somehow both stiffer yet more fluid, with better damping and precision. The steering is finer; overall the liveliness is retained but everything feels more refined.
However, for my purposes, removing the rear rack was a mistake; not only is a rack practical, the parked bike is more stable when sitting on four points instead of three (mine was blown over by a wind gust when the seatpost/saddle was fully up). I had the stiffener safety brace fitted to my handlebars; the previous owner is 6ft 2in and not light; I’m average height and weigh about 145 lbs.
The first time I carried the folded Brommie onto a bus, in Denver, Colorado, the bus driver stared and stared, then stood up and bowed silently. Quite right too. I left the bus in Colorado Springs, turned around and rode back to Denver, some 80 miles distant. Test flight. This was during the Brommie’s previous incarnation, as a somewhat heavier 3-speed. Average elevation about 6,000ft. I filled up with water and bananas at the gas stations and bombed along, assisted by a hurricane of a tailwind. Lots of stares from puzzled travellers. Some smiles too, of the condescending sort: little wheels, tiny goddamn bicycle – “You gonna be alright man, like need a ride or anything?”

The Brompton is immensely clever. It is much, much more than a folding bicycle. Not unlike Moultons it compels us to re-examine our understanding of the bicycle, of what we need and why. It also enables me to realise how over-specialized racing bikes are, though I love my old French 12-speed. The contrast and interplay between these two very different machines deepens my appreciation of both bikes to the detriment of neither; a mutual enhancement. The Brompton is quitessentially, cantankerously English: an iconoclast, a defier of traditional forms, a persistent contrarian that is appearing everywhere. And it is a superb town bicycle.

Figure out what you need and buy the best Brompton you can. I haven’t regretted it.