Davo

I tried turning my Flow folder into a 3 wheeler by attaching a WeeRide Co-Pilot Bike Tandem Trailer for Children. It is meant for kids but it is very solidly built so I tried it for my wife. All it needed was a longer seat post and we were good to go. First trial in the local park was successful so we took it into the hills. The trailer folds as well so it fit nicely with my folder in my city car boot. What we found is that it works fine on straight smooth tracks but is a bit unwieldly on rough tracks. Perfect for Holland but not for the Scottish Highlands. Ended up selling it and just getting another Flow folder. Good fun though.

I went to Yose for my Pro Rider Flow spare battery. I have been running it for 12 months about 4 trips per week down to 20% charge. It still works fine and I see no reduction in range or voltage yet. Yose have dimensioned drawing of all their batteries so you can check it fits before you order and their cust service is excellent. They are at https://www.yosepower.com/ and they also have an Amazon UK shop.

Another quick review update. I swapped out the 1.75" Continental Explorers for Schalbe Black Jack 1.9" tyres. These have a smoother centre tread with off-road knobs at the sides. The bike now has much less rolling resistance on tarmac and still has adequate traction in mud. I now spend a lot of time above 15mph with no help from the motor which has increased the battery range. The Suntour suspension seatpost failed by bending and is no more. I am 20kg under the maximum rider weight so it is obviously under designed. Suntour Europe admitted that they had seen similar cases but have made no move to reimburse me.

Good choice of music. The lyrics of Bob Seger's Roll Me Away are a good match as well. I did shoot some scenery from my mobile which are attached below. It was a great day that I would never have even attempted without my electric bike.

Just a quick update on how this bike performs in wintry conditions. I took it along the West Highland Way west of Inverness today in 2-3" of snow on top of ice and it performed like a dream. There was plenty of grip from the Continental Explorer tyres and the step thru frame meant it was easy to get off during the few twitchy moments I had. The only problem was that the powder snow flung up by the front tyre kept packing on the rear gears and the chain then jumped. Cleaning out the snow cured this and I am looking at maybe fitting a brush over the cassette to keep it clear. It was certainly serene gliding thru the wintry Scottish Highlands in silence with no-one for miles around. Put it on your bucket list.

ME I am 6ft1”, 110kg and ride purely for recreation around the Scottish Highlands, mostly on forestry tracks. DELIVERY The bike came double boxed with no damage. I had to tighten the battery mount screws which were rattling and tighten the rear wheel spokes to straighten the rim. MODIFICATIONS I fitted the following kit to turn it into a trail and road capable bike: 1.75” Continental Explorer tyres. Suntour SP12-NCX Mountain Road Bike Suspension Travel Seatpost 27.2 X 400mm. Narrower seat for comfort. BestFire 7L Mountain Road MTB Waterproof Rear Seat Bag. Bell and lights. Holder for my GPS phone running ViewRanger. 70mm V-brake blocks. Yose Power battery for extending range. PERFORMANCE This bike will go anywhere! The fatter tyres and suspension give a very comfortable ride, even on the roughest trails. It can plow thru mud using the lowest PAS setting to let the Explorer tyres grip. It will climb the steepest hill except you have to beware of popping wheelies at the steepest parts. Only downside is that the rear gear changer is very close to the ground so you need to keep clear of obstacles on the right side. The handlebar controller is easy to use and has buttons to switch between the 6 PAS levels. You can also go into Settings and change the wheel dia, max speed, mode (eco, normal, power), etc. I think the smaller 20” wheels give more torque which makes it very lively on take-off. Brakes are fine and the gear change is very slick. The Explorer tyres work fine on-road as well except I noticed that I tend to use PAS 4 rather than PAS 3 that I used for the stock tyres. The Explorers probably cut down on range but that is not a problem for me with my extra battery.

My last post was maybe vague. I actually bought the Yose Power battery and it works fine so I don't need any more advice. I just posted so that future searches would turn up the answer.

Just for future reference here, I bit the bullet and tried out the Yose battery in the link above. It worked fine and you can see my review on Amazon here. I am well pleased so far as it saved me £160 over an original battery and charger and I got a spare mount as well. The foto shows how I carry it on my folder. The pipe insulation stops it banging on the seat post and the yellow sponge stops the batteries from banging together. The green belt fits thru the handle on top of the bag and is a bit of belt and braces. The red bungee is probably secure enough on its own. Alternatively, I could have mounted the spare battery mount on the rack if I didn't have a rack bag. Changeover takes a couple of minutes. Take out the seat, swap the batteries and away I go. It really is a great feeling to have a second battery on board.

I have a Flow 20" folder which I have kitted out with bmx tyres and suspension seat and it is great for exploring trails in the Scottish Highlands. I love it as it goes anywhere and I will post a review soon. The stock 10.4Ah battery is a bit limited on range and I would like to carry a spare battery as a range extender. Unfortunately, the seller does not have spare batteries yet. The stock battery has a label marked: Suzhou Anshang Model No AS20161117-PRO004 Capacity 36V 10.4Ah (Sanyo Cell) The nearest equivalent I have found is by Yose Power here except that it is 4mm wider and 65mm longer but it should fit OK. My questions are: 1. Does anyone know of a source for the original stock battery or an identical replacement? 2. Electrical connections. The stock battery has 4 slots marked with ++-- and the Yose has the same. Is it safe to assume that the Yose will be safe to install on my bike? Why are there 4 slots anyway? 3. Are there other options for range extenders such as additional battery kits wired into the system? thanks in advance Dave ps There is a PR2255 battery on the Pro Rider site but that does not work with their current bike range, including my Flow.

Good call Peter. I had actually selected the Metro as well and emailed the local dealer who never bothered to reply. So instead I got a Unisex Step Through Folding Electric Bike - Pro Rider Flow for £700. Charged up in garage waiting for rain to stop but looks very nice. Also, it looks like Dillenger may have a £500 kit for my Dahon folder so I could end up fully electric very soon.

Thanks for the great advice folks. I think it is starting to look a bit iffy for the Ciao. Maybe best to sell it on and get a new ebike. Any recommendations for a similar small folder which would fit me 6'1" and 226lb and my wife at 5'7"? Leisure use only on mainly flat runs around Inverness and the Caledonian Canal with a budget of £1000 per bike.

Took me a while to work out what a BB is but attached is the foto.

Hi, I have a pair of Dahon Ciao folders (see attached pix) and I would like to convert one or both of them to pedelec. It has a very nice 8 speed Shimano hub gear which I would like to keep so I guess that means I need a front wheel kit. The space between the front forks is around 75mm and the wheels are 20" x 1.5". Has anyone else converted this bike and if so what did you use? Many thanks Dave