Here are some notes on the Sunlova electric folder I ordered on ebay. I only had the bike for a few days and then sent it back.
I ordered this as a cheap back up electric bike. General quality was good but I quickly realised that I would not be happy with this bike and so returned it. I had not realised what a fussy cyclist I had become!
I could not fault the bike for general quality at this price (£500). Parts were lower end but all still useable apart from the pedals which were too slippery. Final assembly required the fitting of the handlebars, seat post and pedals. The seat post and handlebar stem both had manual adjustments so a spanner was only needed for the pedals. I also had to align the break blocks and tweek the breaks to get an even closure. I then put the battery on overnight charge and took the bike out for an unpowered test.
I am only 5' 8" tall, but found the bike too small. The reach was short and there was no way to adjust this other than by altering the seat and handlebar height.
The bike is under geared - I could not get above 12mph on pedal power. I was spinning as fast as I felt comfortable with at this speed. The sensation was not helped by shorter than normal cranks and slippery pedals. A larger chainwheel would be needed to pedal at a reasonable speed on the flat. Perhaps the chinese like to take things easy. None of this would necessarily matter to someone who did not want to get anywere in a hurry or was happy to use the throttle extensively.
The next day I tried the bike with the electric assist. However, the pedelec mode did not work. I reported this to Sunlova who said that they would send me the parts and instructions to fix this. I did not take them up on this offer though because I had already decided to return the bike by this stage.
On throttle alone I found the motor very powerful - more than I was expecting. It zoomed up moderate hills, up to about 5%, faster than I could pedal it. Personally though I did not like using the throttle. My Giant Lafree does not have a throttle and it feels very odd not being able to pedal. It was also tiring to hold the twist throttle open for extended periods. Obviously this would not have been so much of a problem had the pedelec mode been working. The worst aspect though was the wrist pain caused by the vibration. My current bike has no suspension, but having experienced this bike I would not choose a bike with a front hub motor and 20" wheels again unless it had suspension forks. The vibration is not too bad for speeds below 12mph.
I did a 10 mile run, quite a lot of the time under power, stopping to adjust the handlebar height to try to get comfortable, but it did not work for me. I would prefer to ride a comfortable non-electric bike to this.
The Sunlova electric folder might suit someone who was short and/or wanted to potter about around 12mph. I would need something much more highly geared with suspension forks and a longer reach.
A few other observations/comments:
I have never tried a bike with a front hub motor before, other than for very quick tests. It was an interesting experience, but I found that the increased weight at the front a bit awkward. I frequently need to go up steps, over pavements, etc. and the increased weight on the front wheel made this more difficult than it is with my Lafree.
One major criticism I would have with this bike is the lack of a power on/off switch on the handlebars - completely unforgiveable in my opinion. There is a switch on the rear rack though. In addition, there was no switch to disable the pedelec mode and operate on throttle alone, should anyone want this.
There was a noticeable drag caused by the motor when freewheeling down hill. You do not get this at all with crank based electric bikes, but perhaps this always happens with hub motors. I certainly found it irritating. I get irritated by dynamos though, so maybe I am being fussy again.
The battery locks into the rear rack and there is some shock cord that goes over the battery rack. I was not sure whether this was for luggage or for firmly holding the battery in the rack. If it is for holding the battery in position, then this makes it a bit more awkward to add/remove the battery for charging. I placed the code over the battery just in case.
I am very used to internal hub gears having had a Giant Lafree for 6 years and a 3 speed Sturmey Archer based bike for many years prior to that. Possibly because of this I found the gears very clunky and greatly missed the ability to change gear when stationary. Perhaps better quality gear components provide a smoother change.
Sunlova fell over themselves with offers of help. From a support point of view they seem very good. There was no difficulty in obtaining a refund either - although I had to pay the delivery/return charges which was not unreasonable.
My experience with a front hub bike has rather put me off this type of bike. I realised that I wanted the motor to be as unobtrusive to my cycling as possible so I have ordered a new Panasonic crank driven electric bike instead. I will relegate my old Giant Lafree to being my spare bike.
