lightweight folding e-Bike (to carry on flights of stairs)

[Floorfilla]

Hi all,

I have been doing several searches across the forum before posting, but I do apologise if the question has been treated already.

I am in the process of purchasing a folding e-bike for a short commute (5 miles) across London that has to match some strict criteria.

Budget is £1200 max using a £1000 cyclescheme.co.uk voucher.

I have been commuting by bike with no problem as I am still young and relatively fit.

However I would need something that would facilitate my commute in order to not arrive sweaty and having to always take a quick shower/change clothes before work.

I do live in a block of flats and although we have a bike shed, there have been reports of youngsters trespassing in the night and some have been stolen. Therefore I would like a folding frame that I can keep in my hallway.

I am 5"9 and I am 11 stones.

The criteria are the followings:

1) My building does not have a lift and I live on the 3rd floor. This means 3 flights of stairs where I have to carry the bike down and then up on a daily basis.

I do need something that is light that is not going to kill my joints, therefore between the 15kg/19kg maximum.

2) I need to cover a small distance (5 miles) but I am in a process of changing my job and would like to keep the possibility of commuting longer distances open (up to 15 miles). Or to diminish the time spent on the tube by commuting partially on bike and partially on tube/train if necessary.

Therefore I am not really interested in the speed and the roads are overall flats (I live in zone 2 quite central in London) so I don't need excessive power.

After consulting several threads here, I have come to conclusion that the models that would suit my needs are:

1) Kudos K16: the lightest with 15 kgs. Also the cheaptest. Also here 16" wheels.

2) Kudos Secret: 19kg (on the limit). 20" and potentially better and more stable for longer commute.

3) Woosh Gallego: 18kg with battery, enough power and distance, and extremely compact for storing. Only unsure about the 16" wheels for longer distances.
[do not seem available for cyclescheme]

4) A2B Kuo2+: 19.8kg the heaviest but with the same pros of the Kudo.

I am really keen for one of the Kudos.

One one side the K16 has a perfect weight, on the other the Secret has mudguard and 20" with would make a big difference for commute.


I really appreciate any help you can give me.

 

[rich c]

It helps all the American members if you post in Imperial and Metric. I can take the kg times 2 for a rough weight, but no idea what a stone is in pounds. Remember that you can put the battery in a back pack so you don't have that weight out on your arms.

 

[Floorfilla]

Remember that you can put the battery in a back pack so you don't have that weight out on your arms.

That's actually an incredibly good point which I haven't though.

Between those bikes which would you recommend? Especially between K16 and Secret?

In metric my height is 175 cm and my weight is 70kg

 

[rich c]

Sorry, have no experience with any folding bikes. The tall steerer and small tires has never had any appeal to me.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

I had a British Airnimal Black Rhino folding bike from 2007 until a few weeks ago when I gave up my dream of converting it to an ebike (converted it into a deposit for a dream ebike instead).

Despite really enjoying the Airnimal experience, I was always envious of my friend's ever-so-easy to fold Brompton - an apparently ideal bike for London commuting but, I suspect, rather dear in its new ebike configuration. The Brompton Electric’s design allows it to be folded down to a portable package in less than a minute - surely more significant than road speed given your design brief.

Of the Kudos ebikes, I’d be tempted by the Secret with its larger wheels, but I wonder whether the K16 is a quicker folder. If you post some photos other forum members are sure to comment, especially about the merits of rear (Kudos Secret) versus front (Kudos K16) hub motors.

I realise it’s a matter of personal perception: the Kudos K16 looks like a kiddy bike to me. I’d still choose the K16 if it proved better suited to taking onto the Tube or lugging up and down stairs.

 

[ebikemom]

I still think "light ebike" is an oxymoron ... Light as compared to what? As compared to other ebikes, maybe, but an ebike won't be light as compared to other non-electric bikes. They are heavy, heavier, or heaviest ...

A more doable solution if there isn't something that is light enough, in your judgment, could be to use the bike shed and get an insurance policy. Or, to have a long-term goal of moving to a lower level flat ... and then you could choose a bike based on the riding experience.

And, alas, as an American forum, most of us live in a country that rejected going metric back in the early 70's and remains in the dark ages on metric weights and measures... meanwhile, we don't have "stone" in our vocabulary either (except something to build a chimney out of or skip across a pond) ... but hopefully we aren't deficient in too many other ways!!!

 

[WilliamT]

I have a folding bike that I occasionally use to commute to work attached to a trailer. I wanted to build an electric folding bike so I started with an aluminum folding bike w/ 20 inch wheels and put a mid-drive BBS02 kit on it. The only requirements I was looking for were disc brakes, fenders, and a rack. I usually fit a 17ah battery in the rear trunk bag but a Luna also sells a 3 lb 6ah battery that will give you 15-20 mile range. The bike weights about 29 lbs and the kit around 10 lbs. So with the small battery, the total weight is around 42 lb.

Luna is having a summer sale right now selling the BBS02 kit for $399. The battery goes for about $300 but may be out of stock right now.

To be honest, your going to sweat if you do any pedaling even if its light. You just don't feel it until you stop because of the wind.

If you don't want to sweat, you should consider an electric scooter. They are light enough to carry up stairs an most have a 15 mile range.

 

[Dewey]

Raleigh Stow-e-way http://www.fullycharged.com/raleigh-stow-e-way-ebike same weight as the Kuo but Transx is a German brand.
Cytronex kit on a Dahon would be over your budget but lighter at 16kg