Electric Bikes - folding electric bikes (and the picycle)?

I'm wondering about the various folding bike options out there.

My local e-bike shop carries the Ecobike Vatavio, but it is currently out of stock so I haven't been able to ride it. I like, in theory, it's ability to be either a pedal assist or throttle bike, and the fact that it's a 6 gear rather than a single gear like the Ezee Quando (which I have ridden, but find too low geared for a single speed).

I also rode the IF Reach, but would prefer a bike with a throttle only option.

So I also visited another bike shop in NYC that carries the Kysmo folding bike, which while it matches up with all of the features of the Vatavio that I liked, the pedal assist option was not as smooth as the pedal assist on the Reach. Perhaps that's why the Reach is $2,750?

On the face of the Vatavio and Kysmo folder look nearly identical. Does anyone know if they are? Is the $1700 Vatavio a rebadging of a generic $900 Chinese folder or is it a distinct bike?

Finally, I'd probably be willing to forgo the folding option if the Picycle is really worth the money. Does anyone have experience with those beautiful bikes?

Thanks for any info you have on these or other folding bikes.

Have you looked at the Men's or Women's Izip Zuma? I don't know which gender you are but they have them for both. Why not build your own? It's cheaper and then you can get the kind of bike you want and add a motor. If you need help installing it, we can walk you through it. I built mine without a soldering iron. I used crimp-on connectors.

Regardless of what you get, I recommend getting either a lithium-ion battery, NIMH, NICD, or lifepo4 battery with/for the bike.

Thanks, morph. I'm specifically looking for a folding e-bike. Something I can put in a closet when its cool enough to use my regular bike to commute. I rode a bike with the bionix system built on, but was not particularly enthralled. I liked the balance of the Quando, but would prefer multi-gear and a pedal-assist option.

Oh and the picycle just makes me drool.

You could buy a Dahon foldable bike and put a motor on it. I've seen people do that. The good thing about buying a dahon and putting your own motor and battery on it is that if something should break, none of that stuff is proprietary and you could shop for the best deal. I looked at the picycle. It doesn't look like a bike that would be very easy to pedal. Something like the Dahon is made for pedaling. There are times when you might need to pedal. I think the best option is to buy a foldable bike separately and build your own and make it so that the battery pack is quick-release so it can slide off of the rack or even put the battery pack in a mid-frame bag that has velcro on it and can be taken off easily that way. I've got a mid-frame bag that has velcro. Nashbar sells mid-frame bags with velcro if you are interested in doing that.

ebikes.ca sells these 36v 8AH NICD triangle battery packs that are made specifically for putting in the mid-frame part of your bike. Then you could put that and the controller inside the bag and if you have to go somewhere just unplug it and take the bag off and carry it with you. Or if you want to fold it up, it would be easily to take off and just fold the bike up.

I converted my dahon. I used a cyclone chain drive kit which means you get to use the gears. If you plan on doing this to a folder (and using chain drive instead of a hub) I think you should buy a bike with a IGH instead of a derailer system. Much easier to deal with the addition of motor in the really short chain line of a folder that way.