Is this the hottest bike this year? Brompton's new Palace collab

Folding bike brand Brompton is busting out its best disco moves for its latest new machine – a collab with streetwear brand Palace that it says is bound to be "one of the hottest drops of the season".

The Palace x Brompton C-Line 2 Speed Low Bar features a glow stick yellow paint job with a disco silver fade, reflective silver features and Palace skateboard branding.

The machine is a limited edition, and "designed to reflect modern, urban street culture", says the bumpf.

There's little doubt that this is a folder that will stand out in the commuter crowd – though whether fellow travellers on the 6.52 to Liverpool Street will be awake enough to notice remains to be seen.

Of course, this isn't just a bike for folding up and taking on a train, as the publicity shots showing somebody clambering over coastal rocks, clutching a fully unfolded Palace x Brompton, handily demonstrate.

“Palace Skateboards are as iconic as they come," said Brompton in a statement. "We know them for cutting edge design, and pushing the limits of what’s possible with product and storytelling, so it was a no brainer to collaborate."

It added: "Seeing their unique lens on our product, and world of two wheels, has brought a new kind of energy to our iconic folding bike."

Palace, which has outlets in London, New York, Tokyo and Seoul, has a long history of collabs. In cycling it has teamed with Rapha, most recently to create EF Education-EasyPost's black switch-out kit for the Giro d'Italia and the Women's Giro d'Italia. But it has also worked with household names including Wedgewood, McDonalds, Umbro and Barbour.

Brompton, too, is always straining to stay interesting and to retain its position as a market leader when it comes to folding bikes in the UK and around the world. It's range features the 'Classic' C-Line bikes, plus P-Line and T-Line machines that both feature titanium; and there are electric models too. 

Last year the London based company secured a £19 million investment from the British Growth Fund and promised to use it to be more ambitious. It announced in January that it is now a registered B-corp, operating at high social and environmental standards.

CEO Will Butler-Adams promised developments that would be "off-the-freaking chart cool" in 2024 when he spoke to Cycling Weekly earlier in the year. We will assume the Palace collab falls under that remit, but it sounds like there's more to come.

The bike will be available from Palace on May 10, and Brompton a week later on May 17.