Thinking of buying a second folding ebike ?

[karl62]

I bought a Rambletta a few months ago and it’s been brilliant - highly recommended as an everyday bike and occasional boot carry.

However, several issues have arisen which are making me contemplate a lighter, more compact folder as a replacement/addition:

1. I usually park my bike outside the gym 4 times a week and have been warned that some of the kids that hang around outside have their eyes on my bike and that they are handy with an angle grinder. I have a fantastic U lock and it’s secured to proper bicycle bars, but the thought that my bike might be stolen is interfering with my training. I started thinking the alternative is to have a light folder that I can trawl around the gym with me. The whoosh is really too big for that.

2. My wife has a trike and we have a decent sized boot on the car, but it’s an art getting both in the car and the struggle is putting me off local trips and driving me crazy for longer holidays. It can take half an hour just to get the bikes in the boot - I don’t want them on display, or external to the car. A smaller, lighter footprint would help a great deal.

Fortunately I don’t need to be cost conscious, but I’m also keen not to be taken in by fancy names, bling and promises. I need to be able to take the bike on cycle tracks-nothing extreme, just gravel surfaced dedicated cycle routes less than 15 miles all in. The Brompton P seems to tick all the boxes, but it’s pricey for what it is - I was actually tempted by their titanium model as it only weighs 7Kg, but then it has no motor. There is the Gocycle and Hummingbird ( weird way of folding which might make the folded size difficult.

Anyone suggested alternatives, or which is best from that bunch, or how they would go about solving my dilemma without even buying a bike ?

 

[Chainmale]

I think that lack of safe bike parking could be as big a deterrent to cycling as traffic conditions or unsuitable road layouts, you can often adjust your route to avoid a particular stretch of road or awkward junction

 

[guerney]

If demand, will and business case existed for secure paid storage of bikes in large vans/containers at key locations, watched by security guards/drivers - might that encourage more bikes use? Can't see it happening, it'd cost too much.

 

[karl62]

Could be an insurance issue - maybe ask if you can take in luggage? A bike in a bag is luggage.

He said it would be a problem agreeing to store it somewhere because of liability, but I don’t require that because it’s a big enough gym to park the folded bike near where I lift - it could easily fit in the lifting rack and essentially off the floor completely. He hesitated, but thought that it still wasnt within the rules - although my wife parks her disability scooter at all the machines and that’s a great deal larger than a folded Brompton. If it’s a no, then I might just buy the Brompton bag to put it in and I have my doubts anyone will object - or find a gym that does allow me to store the bike inside.

 

[karl62]

I think that lack of safe bike parking could be as big a deterrent to cycling as traffic conditions or unsuitable road layouts, you can often adjust your route to avoid a particular stretch of road or awkward junction

You're assuming that everyone wants more cyclists and fewer cars - I must make an admission that I’m not in that group. I cycle to the gym because it’s more convenient than driving a relatively short distance, which is terrible for modern IC vehicles.

In a strange twist, I used to walk, but the number of lunatics riding bikes-scooters/disability scooters-recklessly on the pavements around the town centre has become such a danger that I decided to abandon walking.

I think all forms of transport need to live harmoniously together and be respectful of each other and not insist that their particular choice of travel is anymore virtuous than anyone else’s.

 

[StuartsProjects]

I think all forms of transport need to live harmoniously together and be respectful of each other and not insist that their particular choice of travel is anymore virtuous than anyone else’s.

In general I would agree.

But if the planet is to survive, mankind has to realise that continued and excessive use of individuals travelling around, even on short journeys, in their own over large, expensive, metal boxes, should be considered as 'not virtuous'.

 

[karl62]

In general I would agree.

But if the planet is to survive, mankind has to realise that continued and excessive use of individuals travelling around, even on short journeys, in their own over large, expensive, metal boxes, should be considered as 'not virtuous'.

I politely disagree.

 

[cyclebuddy]

I’d looked at the D11 before buying the Rambletta, I think I was put off by some issues with wiring, faulty motors and water ingress ?

Not that I've ever seen, heard or read. The known issues with Fiido's D11/21 are slipping seat-post and loose wheel spokes - both easy adjustments - and on a batch of 185 (mine included) where battery caps became loose - a warranty claim.

If you're inclined towards a Brompton, there's the 6-speed LitePro version of the Brompton. By adding a Woosh or Swytch electric kit, that might be a lower cost way of achieving a very similar end result at lower cost? They make it in some pretty funky colours too.

 

[karl62]

Not that I've ever seen, heard or read. The known issues with Fiido's D11/21 are slipping seat-post and loose wheel spokes - both easy adjustments - and on a batch of 185 (mine included) where battery caps became loose - a warranty claim.

If you're inclined towards a Brompton, there's the 6-speed LitePro version of the Brompton. By adding a Woosh or Swytch electric kit, that might be a lower cost way of achieving a very similar end result at lower cost? They make it in some pretty funky colours too.
View attachment 49368

That’s a fake Brompton then ? I wouldn’t buy one as I’ve seen enough fake products to know you aren’t getting the quality of the original, but, pays yer money and all that. There are a plentitude of British Companies palming off cheaper Chinese products as “British Made” and this is in the same mould. Business’s like Whoosh clearly state what they are doing and Fido make no secret of their Origin - time will reveal whether all things are equal in quality. The poster here who owns a 20 year old Brompton is testament to how well the real thing is made.

 

[Ocsid]

Re the Brompton's use of such small wheels, as an owner I would say it copes remarkably well, actually IMO giving a nicer ride than our 20" wheeled Dawes Kingpin. I take it on gravel tracks, but only of the better type and it is "doable".
You need to watch for ruts and big stones and the tyre running pressure being so high is a noticeable riding feature.
I suspect its seemingly long wheel base, that small diameter wheels can offer but are rarely met with just a single hinged folding bike, is a big factor in its ride refinement.
My Brompton, a 6 speeder is not an e-bike, and deliberately so on several counts. Its use is for rides of quite short distances, and those not with killer climbs, but dominating everything is my requirement to have carrying "portability", the whole essence in my case of having a folder. Weight, weight and weight with humping it about, getting on public transport etc. Add to that I did not want the cost of an electrical version, or its drive control system technology. I have a 26" crank drive e-bike for where I "need" an e-bike. I do come to this as a very long term cyclist, now into my eighties.

 

[karl62]

Re the Brompton's use of such small wheels, as an owner I would say it copes remarkably well, actually IMO giving a nicer ride than our 20" wheeled Dawes Kingpin. I take it on gravel tracks, but only of the better type and it is "doable".
You need to watch for ruts and big stones and the tyre running pressure being so high is a noticeable riding feature.
I suspect its seemingly long wheel base, that small diameter wheels can offer but are rarely met with just a single hinged folding bike, is a big factor in its ride refinement.
My Brompton, a 6 speeder is not an e-bike, and deliberately so on several counts. Its use is for rides of quite short distances, and those not with killer climbs, but dominating everything is my requirement to have carrying "portability", the whole essence in my case of having a folder. Weight, weight and weight with humping it about, getting on public transport etc. Add to that I did not want the cost of an electrical version, or its drive control system technology. I have a 26" crank drive e-bike for where I "need" an e-bike. I do come to this as a very long term cyclist, now into my eighties.

I’ve come to the same conclusion. The problem here is that the advantage of an e.bike is used for going to the gym. After a couple of bouts of Covid I was in quite a state with my breathing and heart. In the really hot weather we had I was struggling to get to the gym without suffering palpitations and asthmatic attacks- and after lifting weights coming back was a slow nightmare. I could of course just take the car, but modern cars tend to carbon up and the short journeys have a tendency to flat batteries. The electric bike was a boon, but now the problem of theft has really made it useless.

For trips away with my wife I hardly use the motor except on the odd hill, or headwind so it’s possible that a conventional Brompton would be the solution, but my preference is to enjoy the benefits of electric. In many ways I’ve discovered the Achilles heel of electric bikes - they are too heavy for true portability and too attractive for thieves. It may well mean getting a basic, cheap, no frills unpowered bike to ride to the gym as it’s still more efficient than walking and buying the Titanium Brompton for car journeys. However, I think without the motor I’d be dis-inclined to continue cycling.

 

[guerney]

Brompton's titanium line models weigh less than 8kg, therefore Woosh kit converted with a small battery = about 13kg? Best ask @Woosh how much his kits weigh exactly - there may be lighter options, or lighter conversion kits.

Woosh hub kits | Electric Bike Conversion Kits from Woosh

Woosh range of hub kits with choice of front or rear hub motors. Convert your bike into an electric bike.

wooshbikes.co.uk

 

[Woosh]

From December, we'll have the 36V 10AH bag battery in stock.
You can have the kit with this 1.2kg battery, good for about 30 miles from a full charge.
The kit adds in total about 2.8kgs-3kgs to the bike, making the Brompton one of the lightest e-bikes around.
Here are some photos for you reference:
10S2P size: 170mm*72mm*76mm
The extension cable in the picture is not needed for the Brompton kit.

 

[cyclebuddy]

There are a plentitude of British Companies palming off cheaper Chinese products as “British Made” and this is in the same mould.

I don't think Litepro are pretending to be anything other than Chinese. They make a range of bikes and accessories, of which this Brompton "copy" is just one: It has a couple of changes/improvements (note the wheels don't clash as they do on a Brompton) while being half the price.

This guy has done a number of videos about his Litepro Brompton buying experience and goes on to add an electric Swytch kit, that video linked at the end of this one. It's an interesting alternative to the original.

 

[karl62]

Thats

From December, we'll have the 36V 10AH bag battery in stock.
You can have the kit with this 1.2kg battery, good for about 30 miles from a full charge.
The kit adds in total about 2.8kgs-3kgs to the bike, making the Brompton one of the lightest e-bikes around.
Here are some photos for you reference:
10S2P size: 170mm*72mm*76mm
The extension cable in the picture is not needed for the Brompton kit.

Thats light. what is involved in fitting these kits ? Do you build the motor into the wheel or is it a straight swap out ? will it come with the throttle like the Rambletta?

 

[Woosh]

it's pedelec only,

what is involved in fitting these kits ?

Fit the pedal sensor and the LCD, attach the wheel and the bag, connect up. It should take about 30 minutes.
there is no throttle on the Brompton kit because we can't fit the brake sensors and keep the cables tidy.

 

[karl62]

it's pedelec only,

Fit the pedal sensor and the LCD, attach the wheel and the bag, connect up. It should take about 30 minutes.
there is no throttle on the Brompton kit because we can't fit the brake sensors and keep the cables tidy.

Cheers. I really do like that throttle though Could it be supplied for ‘off road’ use

 

[karl62]

I don't think Litepro are pretending to be anything other than Chinese. They make a range of bikes and accessories, of which this Brompton "copy" is just one: It has a couple of changes/improvements (note the wheels don't clash as they do on a Brompton) while being half the price.

This guy has done a number of videos about his Litepro Brompton buying experience and goes on to add an electric Swytch kit, that video linked at the end of this one. It's an interesting alternative to the original.

Its that use of the Brompton name which Is just bad.

 

[StuartsProjects]

Brompton's titanium line models weigh less than 8kg, therefore Woosh kit converted with a small battery = about 13kg?

13kg ?

Titanium Brompton == 7.45kg + Whoosh kit makes it 10.25kg to 10.45kg.

I think the newer Swytch kit, with the smaller battery could be a good bit under 10kg perhaps ?

 

[karl62]

13kg ?

Titanium Brompton == 7.45kg + Whoosh kit makes it 10.25kg to 10.45kg.

I think the newer Swytch kit, with the smaller battery could be a good bit under 10kg perhaps ?

There must still be a problem getting hold of those T versions because EBay has several going for well over the manufacturers price.

 

[StuartsProjects]

There must still be a problem getting hold of those T versions because EBay has several going for well over the manufacturers price.

There is no doubt a certain status factor, to having one.

Also, there will no doubt be a good range of those earning a lot who commute into the city in London, where the extra expense is not much of an issue.