E-Folding Bike Suggestions?
 

Can you recommend a folding electric bike? It is so hard to use a normal bike in my city because i have to climb most of the time.

with climbing you mean carrying the bike up stairs ?
kinda difficult with an ebike as they weigh 45 plus lbs

there are some cheapos around, or look at Terns with Bosch mid drive for 3400 dlr or lower priced units for 2000 with bafang mid motors ...

Dahon is working on an interesting version but its months away
i will get an add on drive next week but need to try it out before i have an opinion

thor

Brompton just came out with their electric folding bike. But sadly, it is only available in the UK right now. Not sure where you are located, but that is my dream e-folding bike.

The Velo Mini is kind of intriguing at 29 pounds, but the top speed is limited to 14 mph. Here is a review. https://electricbikereview.com/velomini/plus/ I have no hands on experience but it caught my eye.

We have a pair of Magnum Premium folders....48 volts but also avail in 36 (less $, lower weight) and like them quite well.

We’ve achieved as many as 50 miles range on a charge. Ive been supremely impressed by the range for the 13.4 ah batteries. They come in both lo-step and hi-step versions...we have one of each.

We chose the 48v version since it comes with cast wheels (v. spokes....ebikes tend to be a little rough on spokes) and a throttle AND 6 level pedal assist. Theyre are portly at 60 lbs. inc. battery. Performance (I weigh 215) is quite good. Snappy in fact.

Perhaps try a traditional folding bike fitted with a Pendix kit?
The Pendix does not add that much to the total weight and appears a neat solution. Range is a bit limited and pricing varies on your location.

I'm keen to try one on a Brompton. Alas Pendix are not available in Australia :(

I picked up a Tern elink D7i, it’s got great tires, Bafang motor good for about 30 miles, 7 speed IGH. My RT commute is 24 so it’s perfect for me. Weighs 48 lbs but I’m in an elevator building so I’m not worrying about the weight. I lost patience waiting for the eBrompton to get released stateside. Loving the Tern for now :)

Best of luck whatever you decide.

Folding bikes and e-bikes are not the "perfect match". Electric adds weight. Folding bikes like to be picked up a lot. Still we can work through these things.

I feel I have a good one (and good value) lined up which I am exploring a bit more now. PM me for details if you are interested.

Bike Friday has an optional Front Wheel Motor,, Tern has a special Bosch Mid drive framed folder. they showed at the Trade Exhibitions..

Another e-bike option option
 

Hey, perhaps you can sign up for one of these bimoz - world’s lightest and smartest e-bike drive | Indiegogo.
Then you/we can start a new thread about delayed delivery promises.

Great idea, we can complain about it for two years! Or you could buy a mid-drive already on the market...

naw, I'd rather have something more to live for and hope I can get before I kick the bucket:bang:

I had a look at some e-bikes on one of the major turkish online shops but didn't recognise the brands for e-bikes so its pretty much having to sort out which has the best components for the money. There are Decathlon stores in Turkey but their e-bikes don't seem very good currently according to the user reviews.

Elektrikli Bisiklet Fiyatlar? | Elektrikli Bisiklet Markalar?

Loving my Tern eLink D7i. It’s a good price point, mid-drive, and makes my 24 mile RT commute pleasurable. Folds under my desk. Total game changer. YMMV

maybe tell us more about your needs. Why a folder? As others have mentioned most of us use folders to be able to fold them and lift or carry them, and if this is important to you you are looking for a light folding e-bike. You could get a TI bike with a friction drive in that case. I am looking at friction drive myself for weight reasons.

If money is important look into buying a kit and install on a bike you own or choose. I installed a front hub motor on a steel detatchable bike from the 70`s some years ago. I plan to redo it and put the battery in a front bag instead of under the rear rack where it is now. After doing that the bike can be split into two totally separate pieces (using a cable splitter for the wire to the coaster brake IGH). That way it is smaller and lighter to lift in and out of cars and busses but of course you are dealing with two pieces.

Electric bikes are still in the phase of early maturity - which means whatever electric bike you buy today will be legacy in a couple of years as newer developments are happening rapidly. The mainstream with electric bikes are currently the non-folders as they are the bigger market. Nevertheless there are decent bikes available that you can buy today - unfortunately they are expensive. The more if we talk about folders. Basically you can buy a very good bike from one of the well known brands for a steep price (>2000€ when talking about a folder) but still with limitations i.e. regarding range or weight or jump to the other end of the market and buy a cheap one (<1000€) which will almost certainly be way below standards in almost every aspect and may make you looking for something better already after a very short while. Or you retrofit an electric motor to an existing bike which may be a good compromise for the next couple of years plus you can upgrade over time (but may lack integration). What's appropriate depends on your needs and budget.
Personally I'd avoid the cheap clunkers that are available - I've not seen a single one that was appealing to me and looked well thought or made as a bike. The pricier ones are typically better integrated and work well, however they typically are expensive, proprietary closed systems and often kind of a dead end in terms of upgradability. Therefore many of them seem possibly not to be a good investment in the long run (looking at a timeframe of maybe ten years). And, as there's loads of money to earn in an easy way, at the moment a lot of new brands are entering the emerging market, many of them cheaply made, massively overpriced for what they offer and w/o any clue about what makes a proper bike. But they have huge marketing and a lot of bling-bling, making them look good on paper...

As others have said weight is a massive issue, especially with a folder. Electrification will add 3-8 kgs to the weight of the bike, depending on the kind of motor and the size of the battery. And even 3kgs is massive when it comes to carrying the bike... From my experience with various folders anything up to 10kg is very easy to carry, 12kg is fine, 14,5 is possible but clearly the upper end of what I am willing to carry (and I avoid it already whenever it is possible). Unfortunately most electric folders are way beyond that. What a pity.

So there is no easy answer here and definitively not w/o knowing your usage scenario.

The vello may potentially be an interesting bike in many aspects when it comes to the market - but atm it is impossible to tell how well it really works and obviously not if it may fit your needs.

The Brompton electric looks kind of interesting but clearly it will be even less of a one-size-fits-all bike than the unmortorized Brompton.

From what you've said until now I'd probably consider retrofitting a 20" folder with either a front-motor or (regarding the hilly area) a Bafang mid-motor. At least if you can do it yourself and are willing to dive into the topic (which can be complex in the detail to a degree).

At the risk of incurring the wrath of the Tern haters that sometimes frequent this forum, I love the Tern Vektron. Best electric bike I've ever ridden. It's pricy, but the Bosch system and frame geometry, components, etc. all fantastic.

Ahooga looks like an interesting electric folding bike.

Ahooga Bike | We Dissolve Obstacles To Happy Cities