ebike for hills.

[squiffy]

Hello all, we (my wife & I) are looking for a couple of foldable ebikes and are, of course, overwhelmed by the choice.

We don't care about how fast it will go, nor do we care about throttle-only performance (we want to peddle), but we do care about making light work of hills. We will be carrying them in the back of our motorhome and want to have a nice, leisurely experience exploring local areas in the UK and Europe as we are no spring chickens.

Problem with most reviews is that everyone seems obsessed with raw throttle power (I thought throttles were illegal?).

So my question is - could anyone recommend an up-to-£1k-ish-but-could-go-a-bit-over foldable UK legal ebike whos selling point is its great at assisting up hills? Personal experiences rate higher than youtube influencer videos...

My shortlist is a long as your arm but made with very little references to the features we want (fido d4s, ewenge c20pro, ado af20, wooshbikes rambletta, ......)

Thank you all (and I will continue to read existing posts on this site, it's where I got the wooshbikes and fido bikes from).

 

[guerney]

BBS01B

Do you happen to sell the 36V BBS01B kits without battery? I've already got a battery, to use with two bikes (but not at the same time).

 

[Bogmonster666]

I've regularly seen a person with a 20 inch dahon sized ebike folder in FirstBus busses on my route. I have certainly taken my tern non-ebike folder on the bus.

 

[guerney]

If my bike was ever refused, I'd simply wait for the next bus or call a cab.

The only bike I've ever seen refused carriage was a 26" wheeled non-folding MTB. It was a loud argument. Someimes I wonder if I should carry my GoPro everywhere, when disguised as a pedestrian.

 

[Woosh]

Do you happen to sell the 36V BBS01B kits without battery? I've already got a battery, to use with two bikes (but not at the same time).

yes, but only to customers who need to outfit a second bike using the battery we supplied and to installers because of product liability.

 

[guerney]

yes, but only to customers who need to outfit a second bike using the battery we supplied and to installers because of product liability.

 

[Laffin ebike]

I've got a Halfords Crosscity folding E-bike, it's ace, it'll tackle most hills, folds up quite compact and will do between 14 to 21 miles on a charge dependent on terrain.

 

[Bogmonster666]

No direct experience with electric folder. Not an answer to your question really and a bit of a curve ball. A kit on a non-ebike? Tbh, I think much depends on what sort of hills you want to get up but a mid drive with appropriate gearing will get you up anything.

For example, a TSDZ2 kit with 42r chainring and an 11-28t cassette on a 20 inch folder would power you up almost any hill. It will be compromised on top speed as at 60 rpm on the pedals you would be doing a sedate 12.6mph, rising to ~15 mph @70 rpm. A better option is probably a rear geared hub coupled with a mid-drive motor but spendy and would need some research on gear ratios

Obviously you would need to find a suitable bike and have the time, skills and desire to tinker. With a new Dahon donor bike and the whoosh tsdz2 battery bag kit you would be a little over your price point.

I know I have answered a different question to what you asked, but if I was going down the folder route, I would be heading in this direction...

I have a friend who is considerably over 6 foot and was 17.5 stone, although a bit lighter at the moment, who owns a Falcon Crest folder and loves it. I have not seen or ridden the bike mind you.

I do have a non-ebike folder with v brakes and whilst I have found v brakes satisfactory on a bigger bike, I have not found then ok on 20 inch wheels. Just another consideration...

For an off the peg bike, I would lean towards the Rambeletta (although I have not ridden that either). Whoosh have good CS and don't skimp on things like low quality battery cells.

C