Electric Bikes - Newbie looking for folding Elec. Bike Options.

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Tim Wieneke
05-08-09, 09:10 PM
Hey Folks,
Excellent forum here. I'm an independent insurance adjuster in the Chicago area. Basically what this means is that I don't have a regular commute and have to go to loss sites that could be anywhere. Trying to be a little more environmentally friendly and I've figured out I can basically do this thing from all public trans and be within a couple miles at the most of any loss site. I need something that will fold down to take on one of the train routes into the city, and need an electric on it as I can change/shower at the clients building and need to not smell like a yak when I show up.

All my google searches seem to keep pointing me to montague folders which seem to run about $2400 bucks. :twitchy: :twitchy: :twitchy: There's got to be some other options out there.... Can someone at least point me in the right direction? Very much appreciated.

Tim

El Duderino X
05-08-09, 09:38 PM
Hi Tim,

I ride a folding ebike, a 2007 Dahon Cadenza with the BionX PL350 kit, which has been an excellent ride so far. Of course the purpose for my ebike folder was more storage oriented. Except for situations where a bus with a bike rack is availabe it wouldn't be super transit friendly (thinking trains or small ferries like the Seabus in Vancouver). A local bike shop, JV Bike, has done some interesting things with Dahon's smaller folders that I think you might find interesting. Here's the link: http://www.jvbike.com/elbikes.htm
http://www.jvbike.com/bikes/Dahon_BionX.htm
http://www.jvbike.com/bikes/Dahon_Crystalyte.htm
Hopefully you'll see something inspirational. Just keep in mind that a good folder with a good kit will cost close to $2000 give or take a couple hundred bucks or so.

Good luck!
bdi121
05-09-09, 04:27 AM
I recently bought a folding bike with a view to adding an electric motor later but decide against it .The bike is quite heavy to lug around in a folded state . Don't want an extra battery weight to carry around.

That's my personal experience. You may have different idea.

I own a full size electric bike and have been using it daily for more than a year until I got my folding bike.

ecowheelz
05-09-09, 11:56 AM
Check out this brand new Li-Ion folding bike from IZIP:


This is a new 2009 model that should be available within the next week. IZIP also makes a lower cost SLA folding ebike here:


If you're looking for a low cost option, the Via Mezza (formerly EzGo) is very popular. But it's heavier than their newer model and the battery will last about 1/3 the time. Plus, it doesn't have gears like the upper end model - only one speed.