Zwift’s latest update includes a new frame from London-based Brompton, and it’s sure to turn some heads! The first Brompton in game, the P Line, will feature in an upcoming Virtual Brompton World Championship series (watch Zwift Insider for a post with details). Here’s what it looks like IRL:
Brompton sells several models: an A, C, G, P, and T Line. The P line is a lighter, performance-oriented 4-speed titanium and steel build.
We’ll all be riding the P Line during the Virtual World Champs events, but you can purchase it to keep today. To do so, you’ll need to be updated to game version 1.101+. You’ll also need to be at level 10+ with 600,000 Drops to spend! Here’s how it’s described in the Drop Shop:
“Ride a British icon. The folding bike hand built in London since 1975. Portable, foldable, unstoppable. Probably not aerodynamical… but mega fun to ride!”
See our master list of all frames in Zwift >
It’s rated just 1 star for aero and weight, so we didn’t expect this frame to be anything close to a fast contender. Still, since the 4-star system isn’t the most granular of performance measurements, we ran this frame through our precise tests to measure performance at nerd-level detail. Let’s dive in!
Note: test results below are from a 75kg, 183cm rider holding 300W steady using the Brompton P Line wheels on the un-upgraded version of the frame.
Aero (Flat/Rolling) Performance
The P Line isn’t a terribly aero bike, and that’s reflected in its performance in our flat tests. It turned in a time 7.8 seconds slower than our baseline Zwift Carbon bike.
That makes it the third-slowest bike on Zwift, approximately on par with the Zwift Safety Bike.
Climb Performance
The Brompton’s climbing performance is, comparatively, much worse than its aero performance. Which seems a bit unfair, given this is the P Line with its lightened frame and a stated weight of only 21.8lb! That puts it just 20 seconds behind the Buffalo Fahrrad (which weighs around 50 lbs IRL, but is much lighter on Zwift) in a full climb up Alpe du Zwift.
It also means it’s the second-worst climbing road bike in Zwift (not counting gravel or MTB), with a time 96.5 seconds behind our baseline Zwift Carbon bike.
Upgrading the Brompton P Line
Like all frames in Zwift, your Brompton can be upgraded in five stages. It is grouped with entry-level road bikes, so only the first three stages yield performance improvements. The Brompton P Line’s upgrade stages are as follows:
- Ride 100km, pay 25,000 Drops for an aero upgrade
- Ride 130km, pay 50,000 Drops for a weight reduction
- Ride 160km, pay 75,000 Drops for a drivetrain efficiency improvement
- Ride 190km, pay 100,000 Drops to enable a 5% Drops bonus when riding this bike
- Ride 220km, pay 150,000 Drops to enable a 5% XP bonus when riding this bike
You can expect a fully-upgraded (level 3+) Brompton P Line to be approximately 28 seconds faster on a flat hour and 36 seconds faster on an hour-long climb vs the “stock” Brompton P Line.
Upgrading the Brompton P Line
Like Zwift’s mountain bike frames, the Brompton P Line can use only one wheelset in game, aptly named the “Brompton P Line.” So you won’t be able to upgrade the bike’s wheels for improved overall performance.
Conclusions
The Brompton P Line isn’t going to set any speed records on Zwift, but it sure will turn heads. With Bromptons being popular among commuting Brits, I predict we’ll see lots of IRL Brompton owners buying this bike as a fun addition to their Zwift garage, for use in non-competitive, easier efforts.
A Note About Colorways
Notably, Zwift has included two different colorways with your Brompton P Line purchase. (I’m not sure this has ever been done in the past.) You have the standard one-color look, which includes a color slider. Then you have a funky custom paintjob that includes the Tour de France logo on the top tube. See both below:
Questions or Comments?
What do you think of this new addition from Brompton? Share below…
Important note: this post contains speed test results for Zwift frames or wheels. These results may change over time, and a bike's performance relative to others may also change. We don't always revise posts when performance rankings change, but we do keep current, master versions of our speed test results which are always available. See the frame charts, wheel charts, and Tron vs Top Performers for current performance data.
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