Best Folding Electric Bikes
Luke Bauer Jun 4, 2023 2:13 PM
There is a good reason why electric folding bikes are becoming increasingly commonplace in urban areas, including on city streets, trains, and buses, as well as in office buildings and campgrounds. The ease of having a bike that can be folded up like an origami and stored under your desk or in a confined location is difficult to top. In addition, they can facilitate a quicker and less tiring commute as well as shopping trips.
OVERVIEW
More and more bicycle manufacturers are developing the pinnacle of all possible mini-commuter machines. When searching for a compact bike that is suitable for days spent traveling via multiple modes of transportation, storing in an apartment, or packing into an RV, consider the following features.
Vtuvia Electric Bike 20 Inch 4.0 Fat Tire Folding Adult Electric Bicycle with 750w Motor, 48v 13Ah Removable Lithium Battery Shimano 7-Speed Gear Beach Snow Hunting Ebikes for Adults, White, SF20
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ECOTRIC Electric Bike 500W Folding Ebike 20" Fat Tire Foldable Electric Bicycle 48V 13AH Lithium Removable Battery Beach Snow Mountain E-Bike Commute Ebike for Adults Shimano 7-Speed
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VIVI Folding Electric Bike, 350W/500W Electric Mountain Bike, 26'' Ebike, 20MPH Electric Bike for Adults with 36V/48V Removable Battery, Up to 50 Miles, Shimano 21 Speed, Full Suspension
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VIVI Electric Bike for Adults, 350W/500W Folding Electric Mountain Bike, 26'' Ebike, 20MPH Adult Electric Bicycle with 36V/48V Removable Battery, Up to 50 Miles, Shimano 21 Speed, Full Suspension
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EUY Folding Electric Bike for Adults,48V 12.8AH Removable Samsung Cells Battery, 750W Motor 30MPH EBikes, 20" Fat Tire Electric Mountain Beach Snow Bicycle,Shimano 7-Speed,Dual Shock Absorber
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VIVI Electric Bike, 26" Electric Bike for Adults, Folding Electric Mountain 350W Motor, Professional 21 Speed Gears with Removable Lithium-Ion Battery, 20MPH Speed, Up to 50 Miles
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Electric Bike,14'' Folding Ebike for Adults and Teens with 48V 18Ah/20Ah Removable Battery 500W/400W Motor, Electric Road Bike for Urban Commuting with Suspension Fork 21MPH 48 Miles Min Bikes
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ENGWE 750W Folding Electric Bike for Adults 20" 4.0 Fat Tire Mountain Beach Snow Bicycles Aluminum Electric Scooter 7 Speed Gear E-Bike with Detachable Lithium Battery 48V 13AH Up to 28MPH (Black)
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Aostirmotor Folding Electric Bike 20 inch Fat Tire Electric Bicycle with 500W Motor 36V 13AH Removable Lithium Battery,ebike for Adults
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Gyroor Folding Electric Bike for Adults Teens, 450W eBike with 18.6MPH up to 25 Miles Adult Electric Bicycles 14in Tire, Disc and Electronic Brake Mini Bike
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- Prime
Folding Electric Bike for Adults, 500W/400W Motor 48V18AH/20AH Removable Battery City Commuter Ebike,21MPH 60 Miles, 14" Super Light and Mini Adult Electric Bicycles with Back Seat,Full Suspension
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MALISA Electric Bike, Customize Folding ebikes for Adults, Foldable Electric Bicycle, Long Range Bicicleta electrica para adultos, 20” Motorized Bike for Men/Women (Black)
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Last update on 2023-06-04 / Affiliate links / Images, Product Titles, and Product Highlights from Amazon Product Advertising API
What’s Hot: Max Power
E-bike riders frequently hold the belief that power is king, and that absolute power is king absolutely, whether they are racing up the steepest hill on their commute or trying to keep up with the flow of traffic in the city. Higher torque ratings and bigger batteries are flowing into more cheap bikes. This is not due to a decrease in the cost of batteries but rather to newer generations of controller boards that are more reasonably priced. These bicycles, which are equipped with hub motors of the second generation, are able to operate at lower temperatures while maintaining their power.
What You Need to Know About Motors
Most folding electric bicycles are powered by hub motors. When compared to mid-drive motor installations, hub motors offer folding e-bikes three primary benefits that mid-drive motors cannot (usually used on traditional, non-folders). The fact that hub motors are so compact and don't require any additional space on the bike is one of their primary selling points. Hub motors give bicycle manufacturers more design options because they may be installed in either the front or the back wheel. Keep in mind that the characteristics of a bicycle's handling could be altered by the front hub motors. Last but not least, the price of hub motors is lower than that of mid-drive systems.
Watt’s Enough?
Most of the bikes on this list are powered by 250- and 350-watt motors, though most of the motors also have a higher peak wattage rating they can hit for a brief period. But watts alone don’t tell a motor’s story. Torque is also critical, as it tells you how much “oomph” a motor provides. A motor with higher torque feels more powerful and accelerates more quickly than a motor with less torque. But the more powerful a motor is, the more energy it uses.
A hub motor.
Regardless of torque and watts, most folding e-bikes cut off pedaling assistance at 20mph, which puts them into the Class 1 category. Generally, that limit is in place for safety on bike paths, and because some places restrict what’s street-legal without special registrations or permits. Class 3 e-bikes cut off assistance at about 28mph.
A top speed of 20 miles per hour is probably sufficient for your needs on a foldable electric bike. Reaching the speed limit of 28 miles per hour would necessitate a more powerful motor and larger battery, both of which would increase the bike's size and complexity.
What you really need to know about batteries is their watt-hour capacity (Wh). This one is easy: the greater the number, the more energy the battery retains, and the farther you can go between charges.
Wheel Size
A significant consideration when shopping for an electric folding bike is wheel size because it dictates how small the bike can fold down—or for what kind of terrain it’s built to conquer.
Most folding e-bikes use a 20-inch wheel, meaning they can pack down to a fairly compact size and will fit into a car trunk or can be carried onto a train. If you want an even smaller folded package, look for a bike with 16-inch wheels.Even though they fold up, the wheels on some e-bikes are standard size. Because the larger wheels can more easily glide over uneven pavement, this results in a more comfortable ride. A bike with larger wheels loses some of the portability of a standard folding bike, but it provides a more conventional riding experience.
How We Selected These Folding Electric Bikes
Our staff of discerning equipment editors has tested and approved each bike on this list. We’ve tested and reviewed many of them ourselves, and for the ones we haven’t personally tried, we relied on user evaluations and our years of expertise with other similar models. We ranked each model based on how well it catered to various cyclists' needs across a wide range of criteria, including features, folded size, range, power, value, and aesthetics.
How we picked these bikes
Pick almost any of the e-bike specific bike manufacturers nowadays, and it’s likely they’ll have at least one folding bike in their product lineup. Folders are one of the most sought after types of e-bike on the market right now, but with so many options, how do you suss out which one is right for you? We’re here to help with that.
Many of the bikes on this list we’ve tested and know intimately well, but there are others we’ve included based on their reputation and because so many of our readers tell us they love them. The bikes we’ve tested are put through a number of gauntlets including a brake test, hill test, range test and several other assessments. Our team of experts then puts their heads together to decide which bikes belong on this list.
We evaluated folding e-bikes based on a few key criteria, mainly:
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Value: Value is often high on the mind of anyone shopping for a folding e-bike. Most of the bikes on this list cost less than $2,000, a price point we consider entry-level or budget-priced. So, what are you getting for your money? Does the bike feel solid and well put together, or is it a little cheap? Does it come with extras and quality components?
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Range and speed: How far you can ride your e-bike and how fast is usually the first question anyone has about an e-bike, so naturally it weighs heavy on any of our best lists. But there’s more to a good e-bike than raw range and power. We want to make sure the motor is safe and the speed matches the bike’s design and primary user group.
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How well does it fold?: Making a metal (or carbon fiber) bicycle fold is actually a pretty tough task. For all intents and purposes, you’re taking a bike frame — something that needs to be tough and rigid — and breaking it in half. So the folding mechanism needs to be burly and secure. On top of that, it also needs to be functional and easy to use.
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Components and extras: As we mentioned above, bikes in this category are typically on the less expensive end of the spectrum (barring a few exceptions). But inexpensive doesn’t have to mean you sacrifice quality. Does the bike still come with good componentry and extras like racks, lights and fenders?
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Does the bike make sense?: On some bikes, it seems like a manufacturer made it fold more for novelty than function. It’s hard to blame companies for doing this, especially since folding e-bikes are so in vogue right now, but those bikes don’t belong on our best list. If a bike folds, we want to make sure it folds for a purpose.
We’re not going to pretend this is an exhaustive list of the best folding e-bikes, especially considering there are so many different types of folders and so many creative uses for them. But these are our recommendations based on testing, expert opinion and a little crowdsourced insight from consumers like you. Know of a bike you think should be on this list? Let us know, we’ve always got an eye out for the next hot e-bike.
IN CONCLUSION
It's important that your electric foldable bike serves your purposes.
The appeal of a collapsible bicycle may not be immediately apparent. Some people want them because of the extra space they provide, others want them because of how well they perform as mode of transportation, and still others like them because of how unusual they look.
If you're in the market for a folding bike, it's important to give some serious consideration to your intended use before making a purchase. There are specialized subsets of folding e-bikes, just like there are in other areas of the cycling community. When you need to bring your e-bike up the stairs, you don't want it to be too heavy, but a lightweight commuter model won't do well in the dirt. Check out a few different options until you find the perfect bike for you. As an additional consideration, give some serious thought to whether or not a folding bike is the best option for you. Keep in mind that you may be sacrificing comfort in exchange for portability if you go for a folding bike. After all that consideration, though, if you're still on the hunt for a foldable electric bike with some serious chops, you've found one.
If you're interested in learning more about e-bikes in general, we've got some fantastic reviews that delve deeply into just about every subset of e-bikes. We also have a beginner's guide on e-bikes if you're unfamiliar with them.
