The Fold 1 can accommodate a variety of riders from 4’9” to six’5”, and at 5’11”, it appeared well-suited to me. Our tester Kaleigh (5’4”) discovered the bike comfy, with room for shorter riders, whereas Matthew (6’5”) felt usually good, although he would have most well-liked extra leg extension.
When evaluating the Fold 1 to its rivals, every had its strengths and weaknesses, however I discovered the Fold 1 to be firmly among the many most comfy of the bunch. As is frequent with folding e-bikes, its attain was on the longer aspect, however its total geometry and using place felt pure, whereas others appeared awkwardly small or extra stretched out (for me).
The bike appeared to have an edge in dealing with as nicely. With a shorter collapsible stem that felt much less versatile than most, cornering felt crisp and managed. The bike’s 20×3” fats tires offered a steadiness of stability and agility that felt energized and enjoyable whereas providing the flexibleness to journey on each paved and unpaved surfaces.
I discovered the consumer interface to be easy and simple to function, due to its fundamental show, 5 help ranges, and throttle lever. If I’m being choosy, I’d have most well-liked a twist throttle, however that’s one other one of many many elective equipment that prospects can decide up and swap out both at buy or down the highway.
The bike contains fundamental equipment like fenders and lights, however it’s suitable with a modest collection of extras. For consolation, homeowners can improve to a double spring saddle or add a suspension seatpost. For passengers, a seat pad, footpegs, wheel guards, and handrails could be added. Lastly, entrance and rear baskets will help to include/transport cargo.
By way of folding, the bike usually met our expectations, although its folding mechanism was not all the time clean. Collapsing the bike to its folded state was easy and efficient due to the comparatively normal central hinge and folding stem. When reconnecting the body halves, nonetheless, getting the latch to line up correctly required a number of tries.
To be clear, the mechanism functioned successfully – and extra importantly, felt safe. We observed no body flex, so the Fold 1 felt robust and secure. With this in thoughts, it’s attainable that our points have been a one-off situation, so we can’t think about this a real flaw of the bike.
Contemplating that the Velotric T1 ST features a torque sensor and is priced solely $100 greater than the Fold 1, I hope to see the latter embrace one sooner or later as nicely. That is, nonetheless, a wishlist merchandise – and I believe the Fold 1 gives wonderful worth as-is.
Finally, I discovered little to critique concerning the Fold 1; it felt enjoyable and simple to make use of, with the general really feel of a costlier e-bike.
