First ebike, 5'8 suburban/city streets

[Ian S]

My main reasoning is I'm going to be taking this bike on transit half the time and during commute hours the bike racks are pretty much full all the time.

After getting back for work, I will probably use it for small errands around town.
Not going to be taking it offroad (besides the sand bike path between cities but I don't think that really counts) nor cross country.

I know they are going to be shorter/smaller wheels but I would think the electric motor will more then make up for the difference.

I've heard the stability goes down to an extent, but is it a lot?

Is there a major drawback to a folding bike that I'm missing?

What I've been looking at.

1)Tern Link d8 w/ Bionx kit - $2,149.00
http://www.nycewheels.com

Tern has a pretty good reputation making bikes in general and similarly, bionx for kits.
This comes with a custom battery & rack that holds the battery

2)E-JOE Epik $1,349
http://electricbikereview.com/e-joe/epik-lite/

I saw the review that was put up here and it was rather favorable.
It has all the major features I'm looking for but for half the price

2)Dahon MuP8 w/ Bionx kit - $2,550
http://www.nycewheels.com

I was originally looking at this bike by itself, and then found this bike kit which got my brain thinking about the possibilities. I saw that the tern was ~$400 cheaper and I really liked the idea of having the battery in the back.

Still, if it's worth the extra money I would spend it but honestly I don't know if the extra(?) build quality of Dahon is worth it.

If there is any other brands or considerations I should take into account.

thanks,
Ian

 

[Admin]

Good roundup Ian! The folding ebikes are definitely less stable than a full sized but you get a torque and climbing advantage given the smaller wheel diameter. I like the e-Joe folding Epik bikes given the price, suspension option and mid-frame battery but Tern and Dahon are also great. One other option you could explore (that does not fold) is the Twn:exp from IZIP. It's solid feeling and a bit more stable but still smallish and easy to mount. Easy Motion has some good small/folding bikes including the Neo Volt which uses a mid-battery but still has a rear rack for carrying stuff.