Which electric bike shall I buy?

[soulstyledevon]

Apart from the Brompton has anyone got a folding electric bike they can recommend. As I an Caliless at the moment I would like a couple of folding bikes to put in the boot of our car when towing our folding camper.

I have never really got on with folding bikes preferring a full size frame but thought electric may be a better option when away.

Im not a fan of folding.
I can recommend these Cube Compacts.
Really great bikes for the money.
Infact, so impressed. Bought a second.

 

[altvic]

Apart from the Brompton has anyone got a folding electric bike they can recommend. As I an Caliless at the moment I would like a couple of folding bikes to put in the boot of our car when towing our folding camper.

I have never really got on with folding bikes preferring a full size frame but thought electric may be a better option when away.

I have a Volt. Light weight and battery assistance is up to 100 miles. Easy to cycle without any assistance on flat and slight incline. Folds easily.

 

[Corradobrit]

I've chosen as Tern Vektron S10 as my ebike companion for the Cali. Can be folded in 10secs and with the pedals removed fits under the rear shelf with a few cm to spare. The biggest disadvantage is the weight. At about 48lbs its no lightweight, but they are built like a tank and have top shelf components and best-in-class Bosch motors.

 

[vmaxkiddy]

Apart from the Brompton has anyone got a folding electric bike they can recommend. As I an Caliless at the moment I would like a couple of folding bikes to put in the boot of our car when towing our folding camper.

I have never really got on with folding bikes preferring a full size frame but thought electric may be a better option when away.

I’ve had a G2 version for 6 or 7 years now, brilliant machine.

Gocycle GX | GXi

Designed to be folded in less than 10 seconds, the all new Gocycle GX is the perfect ebike for urban commuting.

gocycle.com

 

[Trevor Brown]

Has anyone any experience of the Riese & Muller Tinker with a California? I'm thinking about the possibilities of storing in Living Area, as well as any other useful observations re possible purchase.

 

[Lightning]

Has anyone any experience of the Riese & Muller Tinker with a California? I'm thinking about the possibilities of storing in Living Area, as well as any other useful observations re possible purchase.

I considered this, it looks like a great bike, but it doesn’t fold, only the handlebars fold down. I don’t think you could keep it inside the living area while using it as a living area, which you can with a Brompton.

 

[Lightning]

 

[Polomint]

Advice please. I have an electric mountain bike, can I charge it from 3 pin socket beside sink when on hook up?

 

[GrannyJen]

Advice please. I have an electric mountain bike, can I charge it from 3 pin socket beside sink when on hook up?

Yes.

I charge my E Bike of that socket.

 

[Polomint]

Thanks Granny Jen. I will have to remember the key to unlock the battery, or it will be a tight fit, me hubby and the Trek

 

[GrannyJen]

Thanks Granny Jen. I will have to remember the key to unlock the battery, or it will be a tight fit, me hubby and the Trek

How long is your charging cable? My charger sits on the front passenger seat and the cable goes out of the window and the bike charged with battery in situ.

 

[Lightning]

I am sitting here watching my Brompton battery charge through the factory inverter, drawing 18A according to the control panel, not hooked up to external power and with the engine switched off, it’s also dark outside so there is no solar input. That is over 4kW from the factory inverter.

 

[Joker 1299]

I am sitting here watching my Brompton battery charge through the factory inverter, drawing 18A according to the control panel, not hooked up to external power and with the engine switched off, it’s also dark outside so there is no solar input. That is over 4kW from the factory inverter.

Isn’t that like watching paint dry?

 

[Lightning]

Isn’t that like watching paint dry?

Not yet as I’m a bit concerned it might catch fire as the factory inverter is supposedly only able to deliver 250W I think.

 

[Polomint]

I will have to try it but I think the cable will be about 2 foot short going through window, it might work through side door ? But if it’s cold/wet that won’t be an option. Any thoughts on the use of a small extension lead?

 

[westfalia]

I am sitting here watching my Brompton battery charge through the factory inverter, drawing 18A according to the control panel, not hooked up to external power and with the engine switched off, it’s also dark outside so there is no solar input. That is over 4kW from the factory inverter.

Put a few slices of bread around it.
4kw should make some nice toast.

 

[Lightning]

Put a few slices of bread around it.
4kw should make some nice toast.

It didn’t get hot and finished charging ok. This is brilliant as it means in the sunshine I can top up the batteries with solar and don’t need to run the engine.
In the past it has tripped when the leisure battery voltage drops below about 12V, so I usually run the engine while charging the bike, this didn’t happen today as they were fully charged up by a long drive previously.

 

[Lightning]

I will have to try it but I think the cable will be about 2 foot short going through window, it might work through side door ? But if it’s cold/wet that won’t be an option. Any thoughts on the use of a small extension lead?

An extension lead won’t affect it. If you can use a hook up I would do this, only try the inverter if you need to.

 

[GrannyJen]

I will have to try it but I think the cable will be about 2 foot short going through window, it might work through side door ? But if it’s cold/wet that won’t be an option. Any thoughts on the use of a small extension lead?

No problems. You will have no significant voltage decay and given the transformer is inputting 240v and going down to 38V is should be fine.

 

[Lightning]

I am sitting here watching my Brompton battery charge through the factory inverter, drawing 18A according to the control panel, not hooked up to external power and with the engine switched off, it’s also dark outside so there is no solar input. That is over 4kW from the factory inverter.

Having thought about this some more, the 18A displayed on the control panel is being measured off the leisure battery which is at 12V, so the total power used by the charging system is actually 216W, not 4kW, which makes much more sense and explains why nothing caught fire or tripped. Anyway it shows that it’s possible to charge some ebikes without hook up.

 

[Polomint]

Luckily we are usually at a site with electric hook up, have 2 days in Scotland booked in September without but hopefully the long drive up from Sussex will enable me to give the bike a little boost from the leisure batteries. Has anyone come up with a way to keep the battery warm and dry on a bike rack?
Thanks in anticipation

 

[westfalia]

Having thought about this some more, the 18A displayed on the control panel is being measured off the leisure battery which is at 12V, so the total power used by the charging system is actually 216W, not 4kW, which makes much more sense and explains why nothing caught fire or tripped. Anyway it shows that it’s possible to charge some ebikes without hook up.

So, i think toast is out of the question, probably better that way

 

[Lightning]

Luckily we are usually at a site with electric hook up, have 2 days in Scotland booked in September without but hopefully the long drive up from Sussex will enable me to give the bike a little boost from the leisure batteries. Has anyone come up with a way to keep the battery warm and dry on a bike rack?
Thanks in anticipation

Why can you not remove the battery from the bike to charge it?

 

[GrannyJen]

Luckily we are usually at a site with electric hook up, have 2 days in Scotland booked in September without but hopefully the long drive up from Sussex will enable me to give the bike a little boost from the leisure batteries. Has anyone come up with a way to keep the battery warm and dry on a bike rack?
Thanks in anticipation

I don't travel with the batteries on the bike. partly it's just extra weight to lift on to the rack and partly they are protected from damage travelling inside, normally wrapped up in my bedding.

 

[Polomint]

Do you cover the terminals where battery connect to bike frame for cold/ water ingress?
Lightning- as per earlier post, just have to remember key, don’t normally disconnect battery at home.