Best folding ebike under $1500 which can hold a 270 lb person?

step07726

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Looking for a reliable, good rated folding under $1500 which can hold a 270 lb person?
 
I bought a TUDKE 5800 off ebay. I weigh 235. It's only 350W but it came 90% assembled, full suspension. I had to get a longer seat stem. It's 26"
 
Vtuvia SF20 or the SK20. 2- Great bikes with 750w 48 v 13 a batteries. Solid and will hold up to 350lb person. Very good distance if 40+ miles with pedal asst. 28 with no pedal asst.
 
Those Vtuvias are sold under several names on Amazon or Ebay. I just got an SK off ebay called a WTVA. (750W, 13AH) They are well made. With the wheel off the ground mine says it's turning at 33 mph using the throttle only. I weigh 260 and it seems to tolerate the weight. Not many miles yet, today I'm installing tire liners and Armor-Dilloz sealant. Being old, I don't hurry. I just Slog along at my own pace.
 
I should mention that this WTVA bike I have is not a 750W bike. It is a 500W. I haven't taken out the controller for a look, but the specs call it a 20A. I changed the parameter for current limits to 16 (from 12) to take advantage of its "750" watt rated motor, then rode it. With the display monitoring current it never exceeded 12. 12A at 48V = 576W, an appropriate limit for a 500W motor. The parameter change is ignored by the controller which is apparently hard wired for 12A, and is probably a 15A controller.
These sellers have the morals of alley cats. Just know that false claims are made about these bikes.
It did accelerate well to 25.4 mph and was still increasing slowly a couple tenths at a time, after a measured 120 yards. Not really bad since I weigh over 260 pounds. But not a 750, either.
 
I have 25 miles on the WTVA folder now, and want to give credit where it is due. While the bike is 500W, it really does have all the power I need and I am a large, ape-like rider. With me on it it has a real top speed of 28.6 mph (throttle only) and the 13AH battery is capable of pretty good range. A lighter rider would probably hit 30.
I keep a log of rides, voltages and recharging. I opened up the controller plate and took a look, it claims it is a 35A...(more lies)
I doubt the motor lead is 12 gauge wires which would be needed to handle 20A and stay cool, so 12 amps is just how it rolls.
Today I was trying to drain off what was left of the current charge so I made laps around some open, flat roads for a couple miles at full throttle.
Even as the battery was reaching the end it still hit 25 mph with ease. This was after 5 rides, a total of 24 miles logged. I mix it up out riding, sometimes pedaling along at 10 or 11, mostly pretending to pedal and cruising at about 17. The indicator was flashing one square under power, recovering to two after a few seconds of coasting. (It has six bars total)
There is a 1/3 mile grade on a bike trail here, and it pulls it happily never falling below 15 mph.
The bike itself is quiet, no rattles or grinding noises. After some re-working of the brakes they are about perfect. It has a sort of cruise control, too.
You can choose a trip meter, current, volts, or elapsed time on the display with stabs at the M button.
There is a pulsing whine from the hub gears, but I guess that is normal. ?
All in all, for 1299 you could do worse than these Vtuvia (WTVA) bikes.
 
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I painted the rear fender gloss black to better match the Lectric XP front fender I put on it. The one it came with was tragic.
The bag is from Amazon, a Mariso. I've also used some spiral wrap on that mess up front- they put the derailleur cable on the wrong side for neatness and I'm too lazy to switch it since it works. ;)
The mirrors were $22 for both on Amazon, too. They are really important for me. I hate getting run over by lunatics.
That little black and white thing is my Boston Terrier, Roxanne.
 
Rad just knocked $200 from their Mini and Mini step-thru models, through Aug 31st - they've been on delayed delivery for some time, so I'm guessing they got a huge shipment and are preparing to release a new model.

For $1,299 I'd be all over one of these if I didn't already have a MiniST. Love it. Rated for 275 lbs but have read several reports of 300-lb range people riding them. Hopefully that helps get them below 300. ;)
 
Rad just knocked $200 from their Mini and Mini step-thru models, through Aug 31st - they've been on delayed delivery for some time, so I'm guessing they got a huge shipment and are preparing to release a new model.

For $1,299 I'd be all over one of these if I didn't already have a MiniST. Love it. Rated for 275 lbs but have read several reports of 300-lb range people riding them. Hopefully that helps get them below 300. ;)
They have already announced new models with very little improvements and huge increase in prices.
 
They have already announced new models with very little improvements and huge increase in prices.
Yes, the only real improvement in the Rover 6 seems to be the hydraulic brakes. Regearing the hub motor probably adds torque, but they're marketing it like an engineering miracle breakthrough. I think one video seemed to show that motor assist has been locked to 20mph; no more tweaking to higher speeds, and dual displays seems silly - more stuff to break and have to look at. Bigger and single-purpose buttons are probably an improvement, except that it looks like two buttons need to be pressed to toggle between trip and total odometers. Clock and timer added, which is a good thing. No improvement at all to either motor power, battery voltage or most-importantly, battery capacity.

And oh, the display no longer includes a USB charging port; that's another $50 for a giant inline stupid dongle, apparently. All for just $300 more. It does have a slightly-longer wheelbase, so probably more stable and comfortable to ride, and it does look somewhat better.

I bet the Rover 6 gets potential customers thinking harder about "I'd better make sure I know what else is out there as well, if I have to spend two thousand dollars."
 
Yes, the only real improvement in the Rover 6 seems to be the hydraulic brakes. Regearing the hub motor probably adds torque, but they're marketing it like an engineering miracle breakthrough. I think one video seemed to show that motor assist has been locked to 20mph; no more tweaking to higher speeds, and dual displays seems silly - more stuff to break and have to look at. Bigger and single-purpose buttons are probably an improvement, except that it looks like two buttons need to be pressed to toggle between trip and total odometers. Clock and timer added, which is a good thing. No improvement at all to either motor power, battery voltage or most-importantly, battery capacity.

And oh, the display no longer includes a USB charging port; that's another $50 for a giant inline stupid dongle, apparently. All for just $300 more. It does have a slightly-longer wheelbase, so probably more stable and comfortable to ride, and it does look somewhat better.

I bet the Rover 6 gets potential customers thinking harder about "I'd better make sure I know what else is out there as well, if I have to spend two thousand dollars."
I agree with what you have said.
 
Vtuvia SF20 or the SK20. 2- Great bikes with 750w 48 v 13 a batteries. Solid and will hold up to 350lb person. Very good distance if 40+ miles with pedal asst. 28 with no pedal asst.
aebikestore.com has a great deal on Vtuvia SF20 Ebikes now. Buy2save$100
 
I have 25 miles on the WTVA folder now, and want to give credit where it is due. While the bike is 500W, it really does have all the power I need and I am a large, ape-like rider. With me on it it has a real top speed of 28.6 mph (throttle only) and the 13AH battery is capable of pretty good range. A lighter rider would probably hit 30.
I keep a log of rides, voltages and recharging. I opened up the controller plate and took a look, it claims it is a 35A...(more lies)
I doubt the motor lead is 12 gauge wires which would be needed to handle 20A and stay cool, so 12 amps is just how it rolls.
Today I was trying to drain off what was left of the current charge so I made laps around some open, flat roads for a couple miles at full throttle.
Even as the battery was reaching the end it still hit 25 mph with ease. This was after 5 rides, a total of 24 miles logged. I mix it up out riding, sometimes pedaling along at 10 or 11, mostly pretending to pedal and cruising at about 17. The indicator was flashing one square under power, recovering to two after a few seconds of coasting. (It has six bars total)
There is a 1/3 mile grade on a bike trail here, and it pulls it happily never falling below 15 mph.
The bike itself is quiet, no rattles or grinding noises. After some re-working of the brakes they are about perfect. It has a sort of cruise control, too.
You can choose a trip meter, current, volts, or elapsed time on the display with stabs at the M button.
There is a pulsing whine from the hub gears, but I guess that is normal. ?
All in all, for 1299 you could do worse than these Vtuvia (WTVA) bikes.
Sounds like a good buy. If available on Amazon I would buy there as you would have a better chance to get help if there was failure soon after getting it. Also Amazon on some products offers additional warranty for a reasonable price you can opt to buy, a good idea to me.
 
I have a hundred miles on the Vtuvia (WTVA) now, still works fine. It always gets at least 24 miles before the battery bars drop to one. It has hit 32 mph on flat ground now, (on a fresh battery charge.)
It has also developed a little vibration, nothing bad or even bothersome, but it is there.
When I get to it I think I'll pull the cover off the hub and put a little grease on the gears. I haven't been riding it much, but not because of the bike.
I'm happy to say I haven't had any flats, which plagued a motorbike I built some years ago.
 
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