At the moment this is purely hypothetical, but if I get the job I've applied for then I'll be looking at a mixture of folding bike and bus travel to get to work. I'd hope to spend less than £1000, though ongoing maintenance costs will also figure into that.
The route from home to the bus stop is around 2 miles and mainly downhill. The ascent on the way home stretches just over half a mile but with what I'd call a medium gradient. In the past (with conventional bikes) it's never been the gradient of the slope that has got me, just the length of the hill! My old full-size e-bike generally handled the slope comfortably on its lowest level of assist in conjunction with good gear technique.
I currently favour the idea of a non-electric folding bike for such a short ride, but a folding e-bike would be useful in the event that the first bus doesn't turn up. If that happened then I'd face an extra 5 miles or so with extra slopes (one in particular on the way home being "steep" by anyone's standards!).
So, does anyone have any suggestions for a reliable folding e-bike for a regular (i.e. 5 days out of 7) 4 mile daily round trip (with relatively mild ascents on the way home) which would also handle the occasional extra 10 mile round trip in emergencies? The bus services I'm looking at are non-peak so I don't think a "compact" or "micro" folding bike is really necessary, but - having said that - the majority of my journey to work will be on buses so I need a bike which folds down pretty well. Weight is less of an issue as I won't have to carry it far (and not up and down stairs). After all my bad experiences with my full-size e-bike, I'm also keen to avoid folding e-bikes with mid motors.
The only rear hub folding e-bike I've found so far that seems to match my needs is Decathlon's B'Twin Tilt 500 (which I now notice has gone up in price by almost £50 since so-called "Brexit Day"!).
www.decathlon.co.uk
Many thanks!
The route from home to the bus stop is around 2 miles and mainly downhill. The ascent on the way home stretches just over half a mile but with what I'd call a medium gradient. In the past (with conventional bikes) it's never been the gradient of the slope that has got me, just the length of the hill! My old full-size e-bike generally handled the slope comfortably on its lowest level of assist in conjunction with good gear technique.
I currently favour the idea of a non-electric folding bike for such a short ride, but a folding e-bike would be useful in the event that the first bus doesn't turn up. If that happened then I'd face an extra 5 miles or so with extra slopes (one in particular on the way home being "steep" by anyone's standards!).
So, does anyone have any suggestions for a reliable folding e-bike for a regular (i.e. 5 days out of 7) 4 mile daily round trip (with relatively mild ascents on the way home) which would also handle the occasional extra 10 mile round trip in emergencies? The bus services I'm looking at are non-peak so I don't think a "compact" or "micro" folding bike is really necessary, but - having said that - the majority of my journey to work will be on buses so I need a bike which folds down pretty well. Weight is less of an issue as I won't have to carry it far (and not up and down stairs). After all my bad experiences with my full-size e-bike, I'm also keen to avoid folding e-bikes with mid motors.
The only rear hub folding e-bike I've found so far that seems to match my needs is Decathlon's B'Twin Tilt 500 (which I now notice has gone up in price by almost £50 since so-called "Brexit Day"!).
COMPACT / FOLDING BIKE - Tilt 500 Folding Electric Bike - Black
£749.99 - COMPACT / FOLDING BIKE - Tilt 500 Folding Electric Bike - Black - BTWIN
www.decathlon.co.uk
Many thanks!
