Short distance folding ebike to put in the boot of my EV

[Jon Matthews]

Hi everyone,

I am doing a lot of mileage in my Hyundai Kona Electric for work. I work in the EV charging industry as a Senior Project Manager so have lots of clients to see all over the country. I have an Orbea Wild FS as my main ebike but would like to take one travelling with me in the car. The Kona Electric has a small boot like the Golf or A3. I want a cheap folding ebike that I can fit in the boot and park and ride to the customers I visit. Any suggestions would be gratefully received, thank you.

 

[Jon Matthews]

I simply drilled and bolted a plank of wood to the rear rack, and secured the battery mount through that. Covered it with waterproof rucksack covers - two in fact - because they're not terribly waterproof when exposed to hours of heavy rain.

Thank you, that would be a good solution. I've never fitted a rear rack, can you get one that clamps to the chain stays?

 

[guerney]

Thank you, that would be a good solution. I've never fitted a rear rack, can you get one that clamps to the chain stays?

My bike already had a rear rack - Dahons are quite good in that regard. Maybe Halfords will have a suitable rack for that bike? If not, there are many on Amazon which clamp to various parts:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amarine-Made-Capacity-Aluminum-Adjustable/dp/B082TS1RWB/

 

[guerney]

You can install or strap a bag battery to the rack but you can't strap a rack battery to the seat post. This is a 48V 10AH bag battery (2kgs) for my TSDZ2 and BBS01ET, the connectors are normally inside the bag:

Does the battery bag contain a battery cell pack only, or a battery with a rack boltable mount?

Do you sell downtube batteries in isolation, or do they have to be bought as part of a kit?

 

[Woosh]

Does the battery bag contain a battery cell pack only, or a battery with a rack boltable mount?

The bags have hard shells with clips. You don't have to strap it but I would strap it in, belt and braces. The pack is not boltable but the hard shell may be drilled and bolted.

Do you sell downtube batteries in isolation, or do they have to be bought as part of a kit?

I will supply batteries to trade but am not ready yet.

 

[guerney]

The bags have hard shells with clips.

Do you sell batteries with this mount?

 

[guerney]

I will supply batteries to trade but am not ready yet.

What? Not to us punters?

 

[guerney]

the main issue with other folding bikes than the Brompton is how and where to attach the battery.

My original intention was to use thick aluminium sheet as a battery platform for the rear rack, but pallet wood seems to be fine: light, rot-proof, poisonous and perfect.

 

[Woosh]

Do you sell batteries with this mount?

I have something similar but there are a few variations with different output connectors: 4 pins, 5 pins or 6 pins.

 

[guerney]

I have something similar but there are a few variations with different output connectors: 4 pins, 5 pins or 6 pins.

Yes I did see those on your website, was wondering if you had variants - I'm the market for the type of mount I posted, for my second battery, which must be compatible with the present one, for those very looong journeys between AirBnBs...

 

[Woosh]

My original intention was to use thick aluminium sheet as a battery platform for the rear rack, but pallet wood seems to be fine: light, rot-proof, poisonous and perfect.

we supply the kits with cablesets made to fit so you only have a minimum of excess wires. That reduces the risk of electrical faults. That's why I can only offer kits for typical setups where there is enough volume. The only time I entertained a customer's request to install an HL downtube battery on her rack, The fitting was flimsy so one day it shifted, cut off her power, she ended pushing her bike home. The following day, she asked for a refund. Needless to say that I will not want a repeat.

 

[guerney]

I'm also struggling to find a decent conversion kit

There do seem to be a lot of UK based sellers of kits, they crop up here saying they have stock sometimes... but they're hard to find using Google. I was in a huge hurry (shortly before Brexit)(for goodness sake's don't mention Brexit!) when I was looking, and didn't look beyond the first page of Google... Small businesses are undergunned online, they generally can't get to Page 1 for the most lucrative "Organic" search results. There are likely a lot of good UK sellers of kits with stock out there.

 

[guerney]

we supply the kits with cablesets made to fit so you only have a minimum of excess wires. That reduces the risk of electrical faults. That's why I can only offer kits for typical setups where there is enough volume. The only time I entertained a customer's request to install an HL downtube battery on her rack, The fitting was flimsy so one day it shifted, cut off her power, she ended pushing her bike home. The following day, she asked for a refund. Needless to say that I will not want a repeat.

I remember that, and don't envy your experience. Some customer fittings can be very dodgy, but surely by and large, most manage to install their kits without too many refund requests? Why not offer rack + battery combos? Or is there too much variation of rack+battery designs?

 

[Woosh]

I remember that, and don't envy your experience. Some customer fittings can be very dodgy, but surely by and large, most manage to install their kits without too many refund requests? Why not offer rack + battery combos? Or is there too much variation of rack+battery designs?

Most customers sail right through the job. A few need clarifications so although it's a bit harder selling kits compared to bikes but on the other hand, picking parts for a kits and pack them up take only a few minutes so overall, it's not a bad business. It's just that we don't have much time and space.

 

[sjpt]

Thanks Stuart, I was hoping someone would respond. My last experience of rim brakes was in 1976 and maybe things are better now. I seem to remember centre pull were the best, but most these days are side pull. My first bike had rod operated brakes, front wheel only but that would have been made in the 1950's.

Most rim brakes now are V-brakes. They are pulled from one side, but with a totally different pull mechanism than the old side pulls. V-brakes are much better than centre pulls. Very effective, and easy to adjust as well.

 

[guerney]

After I trued my wheels, V-brakes were good. But stopping downhill 174kg (trailer+cargo+me+bike) of total weight causes the brake pads to slip, no matter how much I tighten them. Will probably need a new V-brake set (if I can find them), once these wear away.





Stopping the extra weight downhill is also wearing away my rims rather quickly, so I'll need new ones in a couple of months probably... which will mean buying new wheels again, because rims for my bike by themselves are not available for 20" 1.75" tyres. There are many 20" rims on AliExpress which say they're ok for 1.75", but I don't think they are, judging by the measurements quoted.

 

[guerney]

The good news is that a fully enclosed (as yet unbuilt or designed) bicycle cabin with bicycle weighing 174kg minus my bodyweight, is something which a Bafang 250W bbs01b @15A can power up steep hills.

This doesn't mention weight of bike, and isn't fully enclosed:

Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com

 

[guerney]

A small update regarding my V-brakes, I consulted with my Dahon folding bike experts CH White... after discussing the non-possibility of converting my Helios to disc brakes, they suggested I apply oil to the brake pad securing thread, to facilitate a tighter fit. Kindof obvious Hope it works.

 

[guerney]

Most customers sail right through the job. A few need clarifications so although it's a bit harder selling kits compared to bikes but on the other hand, picking parts for a kits and pack them up take only a few minutes so overall, it's not a bad business. It's just that we don't have much time and space.

Surely now is the moment for big bang expansion, if there's not enough time and space? Pandemic, wars, cost of living crisis... Until the horsemen of the acrapalypse turn up, it should be ever increasing fantastic prospects for ebike makers.

I could have got skin in the game last year, but no time nor space here either.