Folding lightweight multi-terrain e-bike for under £1000? Am I hoping for too much for my money?

[NoEyedDear]

Hi guys,

I've had a good look at some of the posts on here which have been really useful in helping me decide the sort of bike I want, but the problem is there are so many out there and as they're not cheap I don't want to make an expensive mistake. I work quite a way from home so want to drive part way to work, and cycle the rest - route is mostly tarmac, but with a some gravel/dirt bridleway. Can anyone recommend any reputable suppliers and/or brands that fit the following spec?

Lightweight. I'm 5'6 female and less than 10st - not many muscles!
Folds up small enough to get in the back of a 4dr hatchback.
You can ride it in the rain - some of the bikes I've seen on Amazon say not waterproof, which I think is bizarre!
Can ride on road, bridle way such as gravel path, and dirt track (not much of this though) - I guess small wheels will be uncomfortable?
Some suspension might be nice although I expect that would be too pricey.
Easy to get parts e.g. replacement battery.
You can just use pedal power.
You can attach a panier.
Battery is not steal-able when bike is parked in public.
Less than £1000, ideally no more than £800.

Am I hoping for too much for my money?

Also is it better to buy a good brand second hand, or an cheaper/unbranded bike brand new?

Thanks for your help!

 

[sjpt]

I'd certainly look at the Rambletta (https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?rambletta)
Not that light, and it does only have 20" wheels which you may not like.

Second hand can be a gamble, especially the battery. Often people say how great it is that the bike is a couple of years old and has been hardly used; but if the battery has been ignored over that time it could be almost dead, and battery replacement is expensive. That said, we got a second hand Raleigh Motus about 2 1/2 years ago and it has been fine.

 

[NoEyedDear]

Thanks for that, I guess isn't too heavy for an e-bike? I guess any wheels bigger than 20" won't fit in the car, so maybe this is the compromise.

Is the Rambletta good for gravel tracks etc?

Are Woosh bikes good for repairs/parts if things go wrong?

 

[sjpt]

Thanks for that, I guess isn't too heavy for an e-bike? I guess any wheels bigger than 20" won't fit in the car, so maybe this is the compromise.

Is the Rambletta good for gravel tracks etc?

Are Woosh bikes good for repairs/parts if things go wrong?

I think anything at that sort of price will have some compromise.

Woosh have a very good reputation if things go wrong. They don't have local dealers, but typically get things sorted in a couple of days where many 'respectable' retailers can drag things out for weeks. It helps if you can do simple things yourself they'll talk you through, then if there are issues they can send out a spare part almost at once.

I've only dealt with them for a conversion kit so can't speak personally for their bikes, but if you search around this forum you'll find quite a bit of good comments.

I know they have had availability issues (as have almost all ebike suppliers), but it looks as if they won't be too delayed. Give them a call and they'll tell you about suitability and availability; they don't need to push a sale of an unsuitable bike.

 

[Sanjuro]

Take a look on ebay, I managed to get a 2nd hand kudos secret for £120 normally priced 800, the steering and the brakes were dodgy, that's all. I saw one going for £200 last week the seller had no battery keys though.

 

[NoEyedDear]

Thanks for the advice. The other half's a motorbike mechanic so I guess he should be able to find his way around simple repairs and maintenance on an e-bike. I'm teetering towards Woosh, and then veering back towards eBay! It's the budget.... although the Woosh seems to have everything I need.

 

[PP100]

I have a Rambletta. You can ride on flat hard paths in the forest but not recommended for off road or very bumpy ground (eg mountain bike type terrain).
Main thing is while foldable to some extent, it (like most e bikes ) will be very heavy and quite cumbersome - it doesn't hold closed when folded (a bungee cord might help) so lifting it in and out of your car wont be something you will want to do too often , though you will as said, have to compromise due to your needs and budget.
For me the folding option is just a nice extra, (I don't drive car) but as a city bike , it's a good ride , in my opinion. You can ride it without power if you really have to, but due to the weight , it's a slower ride (specially with a full panier) . Just use the lowest setting to conserve battery power but makes a difference to the speed.
I got a chance last year to visit Whoosh to take a look first before ordering, but that wont be possible now as their shop is closed to visitors.
For aftersales , I would choose Whoosh over an anonymous ebay seller any day.

 

[Blox]

There is only one mountain bike folding frame to achieve ISO4210 certification, which is the ChangeBike. I wouldn’t ride the others on a gravel path let alone off road.
It’s not electric though! Conversion is not straight forward but is doable and involves some compromise to the convenience of a folding bike but it will still fold fully and you end up with a proper bike that can be used properly off road and has the proper strength, integrity and full sized 27.5 wheels with the addition of a rear hub conversion.

 

[Woosh]

If you convert a folding bike, we have the hub kits with G30 battery (10S3P, 10.5AH small bottle) at the moment. The main benefit of the G30 compared to the HL batteries is smaller size, weight saving and ease of installation. You can drill a 6mm hole anywhere on the battery base to suit your water bottle bushes.
https://wooshbikes.co.uk/cart/#/product/uid-264-xf08c-g30/xf08c-rear-hub-kit-with-g30-105ah-battery
the Change bikes are good folding bikes but pricey.

 

[Blox]

If you convert a folding bike, we have the hub kits with G30 battery (10S3P, 10.5AH small bottle) at the moment. The main benefit of the G30 compared to the HL batteries is smaller size, weight saving and ease of installation. You can drill a 6mm hole anywhere on the battery base to suit your water bottle bushes.
https://wooshbikes.co.uk/cart/#/product/uid-264-xf08c-g30/xf08c-rear-hub-kit-with-g30-105ah-battery
the Change bikes are good folding bikes but pricey.

I really liked the Whoosh kits and that’s what what would have been my first choice and what I would have bought but sadly my choice of kit weren’t in stock and because of the time restrictions I had on completing the conversions I had to find an alternative . I also wanted the larger battery for range, a smaller battery probably wouldn’t have helped any way as the cradle is the limiting factor because of how the bike folds.
I didn’t buy the Change Bikes with the intention of a conversion, that idea came later!
I bought them after extensive research of the folding bike market, I decided I wanted a proper bike that folded and could be ridden off road, rather than a folding bike. Folding so we can get two bikes in the boot of the car.
I agree they are pricey considering the level of fitted group set and components but you are essentially paying the premium for the quality and strength of the frame. If I was starting again I’d probably just buy the Change Bike frame and build it up myself choosing custom components as I used to do with my cross country race bikes in the 80s & 90s.