E-bike Advice

[Stoooo]

Good E-vening e-bikers!!

I’m looking to buy an electric bike for commuting to work & am leaning towards a folding bike to give me greater flexibility.
I’d be interested to hear anyone’s folding e-bike experiences or any general advice when it comes to electric bikes. I’m not planning to cycle off road but the bike needs to stand up to a 25 mile round commute on country roads and being able to stick it in the boot of the car or carry it on public transport occasionally would be useful.

Any advice gratefully received

Many Thanks
Stuart

 

[cyclebuddy]

Several members here use folding e-bikes of all types for many reasons.

I have a Fiido D11 for my commute, which is 8 miles of cycling each way (town, city, and country roads) using trains in-between. It has a 417Wh battery which can do 25-30 miles, but I wouldn't want to on a smaller-wheeled folding bike (mine being 20" wheels, which also fits in a car boot relatively easily). A larger wheeled bike would cope /ride better on such a long commute, but few trains allow larger bikes on trains in rush-hour, and squeezing into a car may be an issue too.

Many folding e-bikes also have smaller batteries that may struggle with that distance, unless you carry a spare or can re-charge the battery at work (assuming 12.5 miles each way).

How much you have to spend also has a big impact on what you can buy; folding e-bikes range from about £600 to £3500+.

 

[saneagle]

Good E-vening e-bikers!!

I’m looking to buy an electric bike for commuting to work & am leaning towards a folding bike to give me greater flexibility.
I’d be interested to hear anyone’s folding e-bike experiences or any general advice when it comes to electric bikes. I’m not planning to cycle off road but the bike needs to stand up to a 25 mile round commute on country roads and being able to stick it in the boot of the car or carry it on public transport occasionally would be useful.

Any advice gratefully received

Many Thanks
Stuart

For anything over 8 miles each way, you really need a bike with big wheels. We all want a bike that does everything, but there are not many that can do it. It would be a shame to compromise your ride every day for the sake of occasional needs for a folding bike. It would work the other way round, where you use a folding bike every day for a short distance with a car doing the main bit and occasionally need to do a long distance.

 

[Stoooo]

Several members here use folding e-bikes of all types for many reasons.

I have a Fiido D11 for my commute, which is 8 miles of cycling each way (town, city, and country roads) using trains in-between. It has a 417Wh battery which can do 25-30 miles, but I wouldn't want to on a smaller-wheeled folding bike (mine being 20" wheels, which also fits in a car boot relatively easily). A larger wheeled bike would cope /ride better on such a long commute, but few trains allow larger bikes on trains in rush-hour, and squeezing into a car may be an issue too.

Many folding e-bikes also have smaller batteries that may struggle with that distance, unless you carry a spare or can re-charge the battery at work (assuming 12.5 miles each way).

How much you have to spend also has a big impact on what you can buy; folding e-bikes range from about £600 to £3500+.

Thanks Cyclebuddy. Ideally under £2k but happy to spend in the region of that and there’s a few sales on at the mo. I quite like the look of Hygge bikes and wheel size was one of the things I was worried about. I’ve ruled out the nippy 16” wheels bikes but realise I need to go no bigger than 20” if it’s going to be portable. Another bike that I’ve read good reviews for is the wisper 806

thanks
Stoooo

 

[Stoooo]

For anything over 8 miles each way, you really need a bike with big wheels. We all want a bike that does everything, but there are not many that can do it. It would be a shame to compromise your ride every day for the sake of occasional needs for a folding bike. It would work the other way round, where you use a folding bike every day for a short distance with a car doing the main bit and occasionally need to do a long distance.

Yeah, thanks Saneagle. I’m probably being unrealistic. having not cycled in years, a folding bike would give me the option of taking a lift occasionally or using public transport for part of the journey but I might ultimately be better placed building up my fitness and investing in a hybrid electric bike. Any idea what budget I’d be looking at for a decent / middle of the range hybrid e-bike?
Thanks
Stoooo

 

[cyclebuddy]

If you go the foldable e-bike route, consider the weight... manhandling up stairs, onto trains etc. My Fiido D11 weighs 17.5kg, which is about my personal limit for chucking around stations and into car boots.

You can't go wrong with either Wisper or Woosh for folders or a full-sized e-bike: Both participate here and have earned a solid reputation for looking after their customers.

 

[Az.]

Any idea what budget I’d be looking at for a decent / middle of the range hybrid e-bike?

Depends what you mean by decent and if you prefer to buy or convert a bike. Second hand or new?
I would say you can look at £600-£1500 with decent (IMO) bikes starting around £1000.
There is a good chance Amazon will have Shiano bikes on offer again on Black Friday for £400-£500.

 

[detec52]

I ride a cheap folding ebike it will cover 24 miles no problem it's been a great bike and didn't cost a fortune and its 5 years old.

 

[jimriley]

I have no problem with 16" Brompton wheels on paths and trails, often towpaths while I go from boat to retrieve car, sometimes 10 or 15 miles.
I was lucky enough to have bought a 6 speed hub Brompton, cheap, a good few years back, now upgraded with a woosh kit.
It's a rock solid machine compared the Bickerton aka bendybike, that would not have coped well with being electrified.

 

[Stoooo]

I ride a cheap folding ebike it will cover 24 miles no problem it's been a great bike and didn't cost a fortune and its 5 years old.

Oooh sounds like it’s more than earned it’s keep

what bike did you go for if you don’t mind me asking ?

thanks

 

[Stoooo]

Depends what you mean by decent and if you prefer to buy or convert a bike. Second hand or new?
I would say you can look at £600-£1500 with decent (IMO) bikes starting around £1000.
There is a good chance Amazon will have Shiano bikes on offer again on Black Friday for £400-£500.

Thanks Az

 

[matthewslack]

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[matthewslack]

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