Review MiRider One Road

LNTDS

Just Joined
Jan 25, 2024
3
0
Reviewer: LNTDS

Purchased From: Secondhand (Facebook Marketplace)

Purchase Price: £850

Time Owned: 4 months (1200 miles)

Local Terrain: Flat / Moderate Hills


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Strengths:
Foldable (easy to get into a boot and magnets to hold bike together)
Great for commuting (45 mile distance)
Several assist levels
Simple maintance
Easily removable battery

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Weaknesses:
Difficult to lock
Hinge latch could be better
Pannier can fail spectacularly
Small wheels limit tyre choices (47-305)
Oddly the inner tubes had a lot of water within them from factory (repairs difficult unless replaced)

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Summary:

Hey all, I thought I'd post a review of the MiRider One I've used for commuting the past 4 months doing over 1200 miles (20 miles a day, around 80-100 miles a week).

Firstly, it is a fantastic bike. I love how easy it folds. Going to and from work means I can store it under the stairs and remove the battery easily. It's very enjoyable to ride even in the freezing temperatures over the past weeks in the UK and does excellently in windy conditions. I am getting the expected 45 miles in autumn but in winter the distance has halfed to nearer 25 miles. Temperature plays a huge role. The pannier is small but can fit a decent bag on top. I recommend on top of the pannier as to the sides is exposed to the elements such as large puddles.

MiRider One is a very simple bike to maintan. I use Muc-Off cleaner as the bike gets very messy down the country roads. I found guides on YouTube by MiRider for maintenance. I have changed the original generic tyres (default for early 2021 models) for the Schwable Road cruiser tyres which are now shipped by default for new MiRiders (late 2021+) and then the Schwable Marathons (the best road tyres I could find for 47-305 - awkwardly sized tyre).

The previous generic tyres appeared to have little to no puncture protection and a maximum weight of 50kg. The weight restriction on the tyre I'm sure was a recommendation for children bikes. Nevertheless it was a little concerning as the bike alone is 17kg. I have had first hand experience of a tyre puncture on the front which motivated the Schwable Road cruiser green compound (1 in 600 miles isn't bad!). Fortunately, changing tyres and replacing the inner tube was easily enough. I attempted repair kits on the inner tube but there was a lot of water within the tyre and inner tube. It was likely a bad air compressor which filled the tyre with air and water. This meant most, if not all, puncture repairs failed which was rather frustrating. The Schwable Road Cruiser tyres have more than nothing for puncture protection. I still had two punctures from a small piece of glass as well as a massive thorn which went through the tyre and entire tube puncturing twice. I chalk it up to being winter so more debris to puncture the tyres. I now have Marathons which feel immediately better due to a little weight which helps the bikes stability as well as my own piece of mind. Time will tell if I receive further punctures.

Regarding larger faults, I have been riding the bike and had it fold mid-ride. It was a very painful experience. Essentially the locking catch was loose and I thought it was "safe enough" to cycle home. I was very wrong. I now have a few large scratches on the bike with no major damage. The bike itself immediately cut all powe to the motor when folding which slows the bike down and then you drift/balance/fall whilst the bike is in two parts. Additionally, I have previously had issues with the rear braking which is dependent on the alignment of the brake pad-brake disc and rear wheel on the MiRider. I found it difficult to adjust having not used disc brakes before where I had to align the wheel. Alignment involves adjusting the rear tension nuts to make the wheel true. All the above has been minor inconveniences but I found the pannier the most frustrating. The pannier is held in with a critical screw below the seat. Over time it can become lose due to bumps and ride oscillations. The pannier screw will fall out leading to the entire pannier to "tombstone" behind the bike. What I mean by "tombstone" is it'll swing over the wheel and drag behind the bike whilst the screw, washers and mudflap fly off everywhere. The pannier is a poor design which feels like it is when, not if the pannier will fail. I'm looking into using cable ties to mitigate the issue as I've had it come lose around 5 to 10 times. I've had to repurchase a rear mudflap as it was lost.

For security I used the Superbright Gold chain lock with BikMo insurance. It seems fine but as others have said, you want to keep it in eye sight if locking somewhere public. Fortunately I can store at work which is a safe and secure place.

Overall the bike is great and I highly recommend it. The pannier is my only real complaint.

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Overall Rating (out of 10) :
9/10

Pannier design leaves a lot to be desired.
 
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