Over the last few months we’ve been working to find the best e-bike setup for a folding bicycle and we may have found it! Folding bikes are an excellent choice for those who need to use public transport as a leg of their commute or who have limited space in which to store a bike either in the home or at work.
The Bike
The bike in question is an XDS City Pro. It’s a well equipped and well priced folding bike that’s absolutely ideal for shorter commute distances. When in action, its generously sized wheelbase is comfortable enough for a larger framed rider yet it is still able to fold down to a manageable size for stowage on peak hour public transit services. Furthermore, the smaller 20″ wheels make this bike extremely agile around town which is likely where this bike will see most of its action.
The City Pro’s componentry is of excellent spec for this price point with a SRAM X4 8 Speed rear dearilleur and a pair of Tektro V Brakes for reliable stopping. Pair that with a lightweight alloy frame and XDS’s comfortable finishing kit and you’ve got a seriously capable bike at an excellent price point of $550.
The Electric Conversion
To make this already great bike an even more versatile e-bike, we’ve fitted it with a Solarbike 20″ rear-drive swift kit. It features a street-legal 250 Watt rear hub motor and a Panasonic 36v 9Ah ‘Frog’ Battery specifically designed for use on folding bikes. The rear-drive configuration affords the high torque motor extra traction which is sure to make the steering performance more predictable. Furthermore, the seatpost mounted battery retains the functionality of the City Pro’s folding mechanism.
Performance
The e-bike conversion kit from Solarbike provides the XDS City Pro with great all round performance. The 250 Watt motor should give a top speed of between 25 and 30 km/h with the smaller 20″ wheels allowing for great acceleration and hill-climbing ability. Meanwhile, the 9Ah battery should give ranges of up to 35 km/h with light to moderate pedaling making this e-bike ideal for inner city commuting. Perhaps most importantly, with its snappy handling and great acceleration, the electric City Pro is great fun to ride!
Pricing and Availability
Currently we’ve got one electric XDS City Pro setup and ready for a test ride in our store down in Fremantle. Alternatively, the bikes can be ordered in and setup within 7 working days.
The Electric City Pro is competitively priced at $1750.
Finally, if you’ve got an existing folding bike that you wish to have converted, Solarbike conversions start at $1150 Installed.
