Help me Obi Wan...

[Just-Roy]

Hi there, and I thank anyone who has the time and effort to help guide me in the right direction for an ebike. I will admit I’m not the most knowledgeable when it comes to all of this, so I would appreciate any and all help I can get.

I must first give backstory, a year ago I purchased an Ecoteric fat tire folding eBike off of amazon and that was nothing but problems after the first ride was fantastic. I’ll spare details but would say to avoid them at all costs. The sad part was I fell in love with the idea of a folding fat tire bike from that first ride, which actually was smooth and made me want another. The summer was ending by the time I finished dealing with their horrible customer support and fighting with them and amazon so here I go again.

I have been searching Google and came across this website and liked how detailed things were, and right now I’m torn between two. The E-Lux Sierra and the SONDORS fold XS.

I mainly will be riding around a city, with some trail riding and maybe once in a great while some grassy areas. I love the folding aspect for storage and travel which is why I am more inclined to look at these rather than a regular fat tire bike.

Any help would be appreciated. I don’t love the idea of waiting for the SONDORS as they are saying they might not ship until July, and do love that the E-Lux supposedly comes mostly assembled, so I don’t know what to do. Or is there a new dark horse that I am missing out on? Ideally I would like to stay under $2k but know that sometimes you gotta spend money on good products once instead of buying cheaper things early.

SONDORS Fold XS Review

Price: $1699 | Model Year: 2020 | The Fold XS is a powerful and capable fat tire folding Ebike from SONDORS, coming in two eye-catching colors and covered by a one-year comprehensive warranty Highly satisfying to ride thanks to the powerful 750 watt hub motor and excellent cadence sensor tuning...

electricbikereview.com

E-Lux Sierra Sport Review

Price: $1995 | Model Year: 2019 | A folding fat tire electric bike with paint-matched aluminum alloy fenders, the bike is available in many beautiful colors and comes with a rear rack, integrated backlight, and a front suspension fork Full sized USB type A charging ports on the display panel and...

electricbikereview.com

 

[byunbee]

Can't comment on the folding fat tire bikes as I've never ridden one. But there are so many choices out there. Have you tried non folding ebikes? If you live near a local bike shop (LBS) and they carry some, I recommend test riding different bikes before making a purchase. If you go trail riding, you may even want to test ride a eMTB. But if space is an issue or you live in an upstairs apartment, weight will be a factor.

I was reading up on the new Specialized Vado SL that weighs something like 32 lbs which is half of what normal ebikes weigh. You may want to check it out...wait no...once you start exploring your taste and corresponding budget will go up non-stop...

 

[Just-Roy]

I don’t know what that means. The main reason for the folding is space. That way I can easily store it at home (condo) or put it in my trunk if I wanted. Any trail riding would be fairly minimal as well with the bulk of it being around town either in the street or on the sidewalks in some areas.

With Covid going on, I am avoiding local stores unless I have to. I am high risk thanks to cancer so I am trying to do as much no contact research as possible

 

[byunbee]

I don’t know what that means. The main reason for the folding is space. That way I can easily store it at home (condo) or put it in my trunk if I wanted. Any trail riding would be fairly minimal as well with the bulk of it being around town either in the street or on the sidewalks in some areas.

With Covid going on, I am avoiding local stores unless I have to. I am high risk thanks to cancer so I am trying to do as much no contact research as possible

Ok. I was just making some humor. Sorry it wasn't obvious. I've heard Sondors makes good ebikes and they are well known. I've personally never heard of E-Lux. If it were me, 2 months wait for a better quality bike is worth it than having buyer's remorse which you seem to already had your share of.

 

[Just-Roy]

I just checked the price of the Specialized Vado SL you mentioned and waaaaaaay too rich for my blood. I do appreciate the help though. Just don’t know what I should do.

 

[byunbee]

You might alway want to check out crazylenny. He's probably the biggest online retailer and often has good discounts. Below is a link to one of their demo sales with low mileage. It's a folding bike but not fat tire.
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

 

[Just-Roy]

I'd give up on the folding before I gave up on fat tire. I settled for a non fat tire bike to end last summer with and the difference is noticeable. That is one heck of a deal however! I don't love refurbished/secondary sales though, I always worry something is wrong with it.

 

[byunbee]

Easymotion is a well established brand. Given that most ebike have around 1 yr warranty, I doubt something will go wrong within that period. I ride a used Haibike and have no issues and even if something crops up, I can get it fixed at my LBS and still come out ahead due to the savings. But it's your decision and you have to do what's going to make you feel comfortable.

 

[harryS]

Why not a Radmini if you're set on a fat tire bike and mail order?

 

[Just-Roy]

Why not a Radmini if you're set on a fat tire bike and mail order?

They and Admotor remind me of Ecoteric with the style of bike they have. Plus I like the internal battery rather than the large external pack.

 

[Just-Roy]

And mail order unfortunately is a necessity. All the places by me do not carry electric fat tire. I’ve called and checked. They have regular mountain bike electric but that’s it.

 

[Browneye]

RadPower has a good reputation. Lots of happy customers, not too many sad ones.

Bear in mind these things are heavy, so even folded it's like picking up a case of apples. Which makes it difficult to lift over a trunk apron or into a storage bay or compartment. If'n I had a boat or an airplane then folder for sure.
And the little tiny wheels are not everyone's cup of tea either, but surely some happy campers.

If I had my heart set on a fat-tire folder the Mini would be high on my list.

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

 

[rich c]

Check inventory first. With high demand and low inventory, your decision may already be figured out for you based on who has bikes to sell if you want to ride this summer.

 

[Just-Roy]

RadPower has a good reputation. Lots of happy customers, not too many sad ones.

Bear in mind these things are heavy, so even folded it's like picking up a case of apples. Which makes it difficult to lift over a trunk apron or into a storage bay or compartment. If'n I had a boat or an airplane then folder for sure.
And the little tiny wheels are not everyone's cup of tea either, but surely some happy campers.

If I had my heart set on a fat-tire folder the Mini would be high on my list.

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

I know they’re heavy and can manage lifting it into a car, my old car last summer was smaller than the current car so I not only had weight against me, I had to fit the damn thing in without being smushed.

The only thing I don’t love about that one is the hand shifter. The two I had listed had the thumb throttle which seemed like it would be less “jerky” for lack of a better way to put it. The aforementioned bike I purchased/returned had the grip throttle and I didn’t love it.

It does bring up a good point in the review of cables being less likely to be pinched since they’re not internal but then I also worry about loose cables while riding.