Ebike for small French bed garage? (1 Viewer)

Jun 10, 2013
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I saw this lovely looking I don't know what it was but an ebike of some sort customised, vaguely like a 50cc monkey bike, it had bullets on its rear wheel and a skull on its handlebars I straight away wanted one but then I looked at what is relatively a letter box shaped opening and garage space and thought I'd have to take the handlebars off every time I put the bike away in garage. Those of you with under French bed garage space, are we pretty much limited to folding ebikes?
 
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Jun 10, 2013
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Can those of you with collapsible bikes tell me how you get on, eg how do they feel with unassisted pedalling on the flat, are they easy to fold and stow, do they have enough gears?
 
Apr 19, 2018
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The wife and I have got a Volt Metro folding bike, each. They're not the cheapest but are still running well 3 years after buying them and they both fit in our little garage.
They're a doddle to ride and have a big range.

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596

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I have a DiBlasi great little folding motor bike ?


 
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Jun 10, 2013
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Thanks they look interesting and they're not a huge sum as ebikes go.

596 thanks but I'm only after ebicycles as I want to be allowed anywhere a normal bicycle would be.

The wife and I have got a Volt Metro folding bike, each. They're not the cheapest but are still running well 3 years after buying them and they both fit in our little garage.
They're a doddle to ride and have a big range.
 
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marc4242 have you considered the Decathlon Tilt 500 electric ...recommended to us by another Funster we have had our two bikes for 4 months and have not been disappointed ..just been doing the hills around St Jean de Luz .. very neat design with battery in frame and easy to lift. I was going to convert our folders but with such great value these Tilt 500e were the best solution , well made , and good components.(y)
 
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Not a bad price compared to most other electrics.
 
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Jun 10, 2013
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I hadn't Vanderek but thanks I am looking at reviews of the bike now and the spec. I see this in the sretricted use section of the spec:

Not suitable for stunts. Can't be ridden when folded.

Blast I was looking forward to doing J turns ...

I see that some reviews say the ride is harsh because of small wheels, how do you find the ride? I think hills are one of our main reason for wanting ebikes, as softies we're limited to flattish terrain at the moment. We were in Arromanche yesterday and saw 2 people whizzing up a hill on full-size ebikes and 2 more whizzing down a hill on folders.

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Ridgeway

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Most will be 20" wheel models unless you look at something like a Brompton.

Overall they are a very good compromise between space saving vs on road ride ability. The only real compromises are stability and to some extent efficiency but that's vs full sized wheel bikes which won't fit in your MoHo.

We had a 20" Kudos Secret that we just sold, used it for 4yrs and it served it's time well covering about 1,500km during vacations and a bit of local stuff that my wife used it for. Only now gone for a full sized bike as we (read my wife...) tows a trailer almost permanently and needed a better quality bike and motor, it's already done 1500km in less than 18 months.

Small wheeled bikes are very competent at taking you over many KM's and over many types of terrain, just get used to them and don't think you're Danny MacAskill
 
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Jun 10, 2013
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Ideally I'd like to move to a van with a big vertical garage but folder bikes are a much more economical bet. I think I'll get a test drive of some for both of us. I didn't realise there was difference in stability between folders and full size. Why does your wife pull a trailer with the bike?
 

Ridgeway

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Why does your wife pull a trailer with the bike?

She takes 2 dogs in it each day to get from the house to the forest.

PS: re the stability being lower on smaller wheeled bikes, the huge benefit is that they are more nimble and great at getting around small, tight roads and inside cities.

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Jun 10, 2013
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That sounds really good thanks and I'll look forward to both of us trying ebikes out including seeing how small they close up. Guess I ought to try seeing how I get on putting 20kg items through the small garage door too.
 

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