FREEBIRD1

Anyone own one of these? I see they are being marketed quite a bit. Some of them look like they have some pretty capable power systems as well. I'm talking the 14" wheelbase models like the Jetson Bolt Pro and Gyroor C-3 models, I see some higher end stuff as well. Seems like it would open a whole new realm of portability being able to fit 2 of them in a compact car. I ride bikes a lot and have not seen many of them out on the trail, they look interesting.

veganbikes

We have a bunch of those at the shop, people tend to dump them with us when they figure out how much it will be to fix and the manufacturer isn't going to help. I guess it would be a thing one could use if they didn't put gas in their tank and needed a little scooter thing to get one that could fit in the car and be easily disposed of. Or would be great in a traveling circus.

FREEBIRD1

This DaHon model with the mid drive looks like a quality unit, the little ones in the sub $600 range, are probably a roll-of-the-dice to get a good one.

cat0020

I ordered a small ebike for my mother-in-law last month through Alibaba.
MIL is 78 y-o, 4' 8" tall, weighing less than 100 lb.; likely will not be pedaling much while riding; mainly just want to get her outside and be able to move about without walking.
Maybe occasional trips to the local grocery store (2 mi. away) on it with capacity to carry some groceries home.
Shaft drive, single speed, regen, low standover & seat height, short crankarms, I think MIL will get some use out of it.

FREEBIRD1

That looks like a pretty nice design, suspension and shaft drive, looks like a standard size battery as well. Will be interesting on how it performs.

cat0020

I think for American market, the tiny ebikes are tough sell.
Most folks in traffic consider regular sized bicycles as toys, don't belong on public roads to begin with; smaller folding bikes with 20" wheels are generally not considered to be performance worthy.
Tiny sized folding bikes 16" or 14" wheels are even more rare, mostly city dwellers, living in tight spaces in high-rise buildings with limited spaces.
Took me years of commuting in NYC on a Bike Friday Tikit to realize the benefit of tiny bikes when compared to regular sized bicycles.
I hope tiny bikes become more popular in America, but gas prices would likely need to be $6/gal. before that would occur.

FREEBIRD1

They are intriguing, I have all types of bicycles, never had one of these. From some of the vids, the performance is impressive, and they have strong frames that look like they would hold up. I have to walk from plant to plant at work and this would come in handy. They're sold out all over the net, and some are starting to mod them already so they may be starting to become popular. I also like the idea of being able to have one in the trunk to do some exploring any time.

veganbikes

Never heard of that motor but it likely to be slightly better than whatever junk from Alibaba and his 40 theives though I would go Tern if you really need folding. Tern is David Hon's Son and Former Wife taking what they learned and improving, they use quality Bosch drives or lower quality Bafang mid-drives which are at least easier to get parts and get service for not as easy as Bosch but certainly not terrible and you get a 10 year warranty on the Tern parts (5+5 if you sign up for Tern Care). I think Dahon these days has sort of fell quality wise a little they used to make some really nice stuff and now Tern has taken that torch and is burning bright.

Calsun

I saw many such bikes in use in China where they could be taken inside for security and where the streets tend to be in better shape than in the USA. Not many gas stations there so being able to plug-in a bike to recharge the battery is a big advantage. Small folding bikes have long been popular for use by boaters.

A potential problem is having the rider sitting lower and being less visible to motorists and more likely to get hit by some careless motorist, and with cell phones it seems like most motorists in the USA are clueles and careless when they are focused on their cell phones. Worse than being under the influence of drugs and few people even bother to go hands free when driving. A bike flag may help with visibility but in general city streets in the USA are very dangerous for bicyclists.

cat0020

My wife is 4'10", rides regular road bike, recumbent & MTB with me since 2006.
I got her a little tiny e-bike from Alibaba to try it out.
400w motor, 54.6v, 1100wh battery with max 60A.
14" wheels, chain-less, shaft-drivent, disc brake & drivetrain electric regeneration.
30km/h throttle cutoff for electric motor, PAS you can go faster but with single speed, you will be spinning your legs at high rpm.
Advertised 70-300km operating range, depending on usage & rider weight.
I had to change out the 170mm crankarms to 152mm to accommodate my wife, also makes it easier pedal at high rpm, with smaller pedaling circle.
With my wife & myself (as a passenger), total near 320 lb.; the tiny e-bike can still get speed up to 15 mph with decent pep with throttle operation.
With our limited storage space in NYC, these tiny e-bikes make sense, smaller size to move among motorized vehicle traffic & smaller target to get hit.
I figure the small stature of the bike would be less intimidating for wife.



Size comparison with my e-mtb with 27.5" wheels:

2old

It should be powerful with a 60 amp controller and 52V battery (3,000 w the way some measure). You should de-restrict it and blow the doors off some other ebikes.