Please Suggest a Folding 20" Fat E-Bike for Short Person

[Forever Blue]

Hi Guys! Please help me find an e-bike w/ these specs for a short person (5'3") :

- seat measurement in inches from the floor to the lowest the seat goes is 29 - 31", that should do it. 33" is still a little too high
- must be folding
- about 45 lbs range or less
- 18-20 mph speed
- 20" regular tires (I had to change my preference. I'd love fat tires, but that adds too much extra weight)
- preferrably priced no more than $1000-1200 range, but if more you can let me know, but I really don't want to pay more than about $1200.

FYI: I just tried the brand Ecotric & it was a little too high for me (even when I had my shoes on). It's lowest seat height is 33".

Is that impossible to find? If so, am I just stuck w/ 16" tires? Are there any 16" fat tires? Are there tire sizes between fat & regular? What bike brands have it so I can have the seat LOWERED? Any help & suggestions at all would be appreciated!

 

[PedalUma]

Yes, check the RadMini. I just built a folder. $600. It is somewhere between an electric bike and a toy for a kid. Fat Bikes are not that great unless you want to ride on the beach which is not good for a bike that you want to last. Just as a fallback position view the thread on I Found the Ancheer.

 

[sc00ter]

I should have a RadMini Step-Thru very soon. If your near Norfolk, VA your'e more than welcome to test ride mine. If not near me I can get you measurements from the 'Mini Step-Thru. The person I purchased it for is also short but I don't know her height, but I'll ask.

 

[Forever Blue]

I had to change to a regular-size tire. Fat tires just add too much weight.
Thanks a lot guys & thank you sc00ter for offering to try yours out, but I live in another state. So, re: the RadMinis, the RadMini 4 is 67lbs...yikes! Right height, but too heavy.
Re: Ancheer 20'' Wheel Folding City Commuter, that's a possibility! From reviews, someone said the battery performance drops over time died after about 10 minutes. THey also said it goes 14-15mph. I want to see more vids for this one.
I found the Fiido, which is the lightest on the market, it looks like, but $1000 seems high for what it is based on video reviews.

​

 

[harryS]

A bike with 20x2" tires will be 2" lower at the axles than a bike with 20x4" tires. That shiuld make most folders short enough. You could put 20x3" tires on your fat tire bike, and lower it about an inch.



THe Fiido D11 looks sharp to me, but a reviewer below says the battery in the seatpost prevents the user from lowering it, or the bottom hits the ground. He claims you have to be 6" tall, Another review has the saddle height at 80cm or 31.5".

Fiido D11 folding electric bike review: $999 and worth it

An inexpensive folding e-bike doesn’t have to be ugly.

www.theverge.com

There's also the Qualisports Dolphin and Volador with a similar battery, but the EBR reviews says minimum seat height is 23.5". Is Court correct?

I note you bought the Ecotric Dolphin and that's too tall, I wonder if the Ecotric STarfish is much lower. It's got the same battery as the Dolpin, which prevents lowering the seat too much, but it ought to be 2" lower. The tradeoff of the Starfish is it's got an outdated 3 speed PAS, and PAS 1 is set 12 mph.

These regular folders will be a bit weaker than your 500W Ecotric, Smaller 250W and 350W motors.

 

[Forever Blue]

A bike with 20x2" tires will be 2" lower at the axles than a bike with 20x4" tires. That shiuld make most folders short enough. You could put 20x3" tires on your fat tire bike, and lower it about an inch.

View attachment 81640

THe Fiido D11 looks sharp to me, but a reviewer below says the battery in the seatpost prevents the user from lowering it, or the bottom hits the ground. He claims you have to be 6" tall, Another review has the saddle height at 80cm or 31.5".

Fiido D11 folding electric bike review: $999 and worth it

An inexpensive folding e-bike doesn’t have to be ugly.

www.theverge.com

There's also the Qualisports Dolphin and Volador with a similar battery, but the EBR reviews says minimum seat height is 23.5". Is Court correct?

I note you bought the Ecotric Dolphin and that's too tall, I wonder if the Ecotric STarfish is much lower. It's got the same battery as the Dolpin, which prevents lowering the seat too much, but it ought to be 2" lower. The tradeoff of the Starfish is it's got an outdated 3 speed PAS, and PAS 1 is set 12 mph.

These regular folders will be a bit weaker than your 500W Ecotric, Smaller 250W and 350W motors.

harryS, thank you! I checked out that Qualisports Volador, which looks pretty good! The min seat height says 30.7" which should be good & fabulous at 36 lbs! The Dolphin's a little too heavy.
The Ecotric Starfish says 31.1" as min seat height & that should be OK, but 50.7 lbs is a little heavy. Plus since you said 12 mph, that's too slow.

Timpo, thank you as well! I'll watch those vids tomorrow. The Lectric unfortunately is out...too heavy at 63 lbs I think I saw.

 

[Forever Blue]

Timpo, thanks for the suggestion, but oh no, sure don't want to build my own. I need it to work right & my safety is riding on this. I don't know squat about building bikes & sure don't want to hurt myself because something's not right. OK, so watched more of the vids you showed. Re: the Sonders, I like the look, but too heavy. Re: Energie Cycles Excursion 2.0, I'll see about that one. Re: the Vilano, I've bookmarked 1 model & will keep in mind. Thanks again!

If you OR anyone has more suggestions, I'll keep checking back here.

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[Marci jo]

Gonna watch to see what you find. I'm searching for a small bike but some of these folders weigh a ton, 60-70 lbs and sometimes that's without the battery. Almost impossible to lift that into a vehicle.
Gocycle is mid thirty lbs but it's out of your price range.

 

[creativepart]

I have the Blix Vika+ and it meets all of your requirements except the 45 lbs weight. It weighs about 52 pounds. It's been a great bike and I've had it over a year and put 800 trouble free miles on it.

Vika+ Flex Folding eBike

The Vika+ Flex by Blix is a foldable electric bicycle with pedal assist and a throttle. It conveniently folds for smart storage at home, work, the bus, subway, train, RV, boat etc. Fully equipped with fenders, rack, front and rear LED lights.

blixbike.com

 

[creativepart]

He said, "But if more tell me". So, I did.

 

[Forever Blue]

Once I narrow it down, I plan to post them here to see what everyone thinks! I wish there was no COVID (I know, as we all wish). I'd like to go to an E-Bike EXPO to really see up close & try them out, but events like that are canceled!
Thanks creativepart. Yes, I've ran across Blix. It's pricier & a heavier than I'd like, but I'll see.
Marci jo, OK & if you find something good, please don't hesitate to post again!

 

[Marci jo]

Forever Blue, another thought regarding getting the seat lower. You can add what’s called a “dropper seat post”. It allows you to drop the seat a few inches for example when coming to a stop. Then after starting up you can raise to normal position.

 

[Forever Blue]

WE GOT THEM! I had some bike shops to visit & we were going to go to 1 or 2 of them today just to look around. There were several I wanted to see, especially a certain bike that came in 4 different shades of blue alone that I found out about yesterday when looking online. I really loved the look & the specs were good, including minimum seat height, which had to be right. When we went in that store today, we both instantly loved that one. It's like they were waiting there in the shop for us to come along. They were more that we had planned on paying. Online would have been $1615 each, but he sold us both for $3K. We got the...Motiv in the model called The "Stash". Fiance' got matte black & had the fenders, rack, & headlights removed. The guy gave us a different seat because they're not comfortable...small & hard. I got the color aqua, but in person, it's a beautiful glossy teal & I got the rack removed. Here it is: https://www.motivelectricbikes.com/collections/all/products/the-stash?variant=36963355204 & here's the video about it. You HAVE to see it in person because seeing it online doesn't do it justice:

If anyone's interested, the other brands we were interested in seeing when we visited the shop(s) were (& I still hadn't gone through the entire list of bike brands from this site)):
Jupiter Discovery X7
Cyrusher XF590 City
Fiido D11
QualiSports Volador
Dahon
Eahora X-6 E-PAS
Go Power
Micargi Seco
Nakto Vilano ATOM
Neez Micro
Oyama CX E8D Series II

 

[Forever Blue]

Forever Blue, another thought regarding getting the seat lower. You can add what’s called a “dropper seat post”. It allows you to drop the seat a few inches for example when coming to a stop. Then after starting up you can raise to normal position.

Thanks for the suggestion. I might use it for the new bike we just got OR at least a suspension type. I do watn to get different pedals...bigger & w/ an extender.

 

[Marci jo]

Congrats on your new ebikes!
Lovin' all those blue colors.
Many great miles & smiles to your both.

 

[harryS]

Nice bike. WHen problems come up, you'll be glad you had a shop to take care of them. You're also saving your fiance's back with the lighter bikes.

 

[Forever Blue]

Thanks a lot Marci jo & harryS! We had to get MUC more comfortable seats & I got bigger pedals.

 

[yatin324]

Go for this fat tire 20" folding OX from NAKTO

 

[Forever Blue]

yatin324, thanks for the suggestion, I do like the price of it & have heard of the brand! But, do you happen to know how reliable & the overall quality of it is? We've had huge frustrations & hassles the whole last year w/ lemon bikes & sure don't want to endure more. The type of bike we like that we see THE MOST positive reviews about is the brand Rad Power Bikes.

 

[vincent]

I think rad is good, but heavy

i like my espin nesta but also heavy