Any recommendations for a lightweight folding electric bike to take cruising?

[magentawave]

After sailing from Santa Barbara to San Diego recently I have decided that a lightweight folding electric bike could be ideal to have on a cruising sailboat. I would use it to get supplies, explore, and get to the beach with my surf sup.

So, does anyone have any recommendations for reliable brands or ones to stay away from?

Thanks

[Lost Horizons]

Heard good things about this one, but no first hand experience: https://www.ridecarbo.com/

[Minggat]

I have electric stand up scooters. They go into the stores with me. My anti theft plan give me much more peace of mind. They also fold up smaller, and can go on busses, unless you get a cranky bus driver. Only had one, which just gave me a warning.


I used Goped gas powered scooters in Mexico. Bus once stopped for us, the driver got out and opened the storage compartment below for the Gopeds. Such a non-issue.


I love the electric scooters so much more than the gas powered.

[magentawave]

Originally Posted by Lost Horizons

Heard good things about this one, but no first hand experience: https://www.ridecarbo.com/

Thanks, but it's crazy how expensive some of these little folding ebikes are.

I have more digging to do but this is a possibility: http://tinyurl.com/twn9vbf

The challenge is figuring out how to add easy to install and remove racks to carry stuff and be able to transport an 8-6+- surf sup.

[magentawave]

Originally Posted by Minggat

I have electric stand up scooters. They go into the stores with me. My anti theft plan give me much more peace of mind. They also fold up smaller, and can go on busses, unless you get a cranky bus driver. Only had one, which just gave me a warning.

I used Goped gas powered scooters in Mexico. Bus once stopped for us, the driver got out and opened the storage compartment below for the Gopeds. Such a non-issue.

I love the electric scooters so much more than the gas powered.

I think I need something a little more bike-ish than a scooter to be able to carry stuff and take my surf sup, though. Right?

[a64pilot]

What’s wrong with pedaling a bike? The electrics are going to add quite a bit of weight, a hub motor and a battery large enough to do much has to be 8lbs at least.
Just me, but I doubt a stack of flashlight batteries in a seat post is going to provide a lot of power.
Either go pure electric or pedal. Not that I’ve ridden every electric bike, but those that I have pedal like crap without electric assist.

[Smokeys Kitchen]

You might send a PM to Kenomac on this forum. He has extensive experience w/ bikes (former racer I believe) and he and his wife carry 2 on their boat. I don't think either are electric, but they do know good bikes.

[IWOJones]

Try:

https://www.brompton.com/bikes/brompton-electric

A light weight foldable electric bike

[Scubableu]

Originally Posted by magentawave

After sailing from Santa Barbara to San Diego recently I have decided that a lightweight folding electric bike could be ideal to have on a cruising sailboat. I would use it to get supplies, explore, and get to the beach with my surf sup.

So, does anyone have any recommendations for reliable brands or ones to stay away from?

Thanks

Wish these were not so expensive. Light, foldable, even off road (abit) https://cycleboard.com/

[Volkeno]

I have a Sondors Fold X which is a fat tire folding bike. It weighs 70 pounds so it’s not small or light, although it is a lot of fun.
I also have a Carbo which folds up very small and since it’s made of carbon fiber, it weighs 12kg which is about 30 pounds. I bought the fully loaded version with fenders and a rack and I got the single speed version with a belt instead of a chain. If you are riding a lot of hills the chain with the seven speed cassette is probably a better choice, but since it has four assist levels, you can just adjust that to help with hills. The Carbo is pretty easy to pedal with the motor off as well and they sell different seat posts with different amounts of batteries or none. I usually pedal about 10mph because of the 20 inch tires and single speed, but with gears you can pedal faster. The motor will go 20mph.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by magentawave

After sailing from Santa Barbara to San Diego recently I have decided that a lightweight folding electric bike could be ideal to have on a cruising sailboat. I would use it to get supplies, explore, and get to the beach with my surf sup.

So, does anyone have any recommendations for reliable brands or ones to stay away from?

Thanks

How about an electric skateboard? Wear a daypack for stuff and just carry your surf board in the normal fashion. You can find decent ones for less than $400 and they won't take up much space on your boat.

[zstine]

For ~$200 you can buy a conversion kit ( https://www.amazon.com/AW-Electric-B...3756681&sr=8-7 ), which definitely makes sense if you already have folding bikes. Add $100 for a battery and you can bolt on for $300. Even if you don't have bikes, There's a lot available for $200 with racks ( https://www.amazon.com/Xspec-Folding...3756963&sr=8-5 ). So a few hours of assembly and you have your ebike for $500ish.

[Puget Dan]

Yes this Rad folding e-bike is off and on road bike with tough tires. Works really well. It is also on sale for black Friday. Not light at 60lbs.
https://www.radpowerbikes.com/produc...18180033675360

[wrwakefield]

Magenta,

Ben at Panbo wrote a few articles re: electric bikes he was trying out for his use when boating.

He wrote at least one follow-up article re: folding electrics as well. [linked in article above...]

In case that is of interest.

Cheers! Bill

[magentawave]

Guys, I'm considering this one on Amazon for $599: http://tinyurl.com/twn9vbf
43 pounds. Aluminum alloy. Folded: 29.5 x 13.8 x 25.6

I'm going to hit up a local bike store that carries folding electric bikes and try one that has the little 16" wheels. I keep thinking of a circus character (or was it an animal in a circus) when I see those little wheels so hopefully riding one won't be ridiculous!

Originally Posted by a64pilot

What’s wrong with pedaling a bike? The electrics are going to add quite a bit of weight, a hub motor and a battery large enough to do much has to be 8lbs at least.
Just me, but I doubt a stack of flashlight batteries in a seat post is going to provide a lot of power.
Either go pure electric or pedal. Not that I’ve ridden every electric bike, but those that I have pedal like crap without electric assist.

I'm not a kid so the only thing "wrong" with pedaling would be the energy expended that I would rather use for surfing. I've been seeing a lot of surfers using these and they are amazingly powerful and do quite well going up hills even. Surfers in San Clemente use them to get to Trestles so they can ride right up to the beach instead of dealing with traffic in their car and having to park far away from the beach.

Originally Posted by Smokeys Kitchen

You might send a PM to Kenomac on this forum. He has extensive experience w/ bikes (former racer I believe) and he and his wife carry 2 on their boat. I don't think either are electric, but they do know good bikes.

I used to ride a full-suspension $4000.00 Specialized 29er mountain bike so I know "good bikes" too which is one of my concerns about this silly looking thing with 16" tires. I will contact him, though. Thank you.

Originally Posted by IWOJones

Try:

https://www.brompton.com/bikes/brompton-electric

A light weight foldable electric bike

Originally Posted by Scubableu

Wish these were not so expensive. Light, foldable, even off road (abit) https://cycleboard.com/

Both are ridiculously expensive, but thanks. I'm considering this one for $599. http://tinyurl.com/twn9vbf

Originally Posted by joelhemington

How about an electric skateboard? Wear a daypack for stuff and just carry your surf board in the normal fashion. You can find decent ones for less than $400 and they won't take up much space on your boat.

It's a surf sup so it's longer, thicker and wider than a shortboard so I'm going to need a rack of some kind to carry it. (I'm 200 pounds and my favorite go-to surf sup at the moment is 8-6 x 29" x 4" thick. It's very light but still kind of a beast compared to a shortboard.)

Originally Posted by zstine

For ~$200 you can buy a conversion kit ( https://www.amazon.com/AW-Electric-B...3756681&sr=8-7 ), which definitely makes sense if you already have folding bikes. Add $100 for a battery and you can bolt on for $300. Even if you don't have bikes, There's a lot available for $200 with racks ( https://www.amazon.com/Xspec-Folding...3756963&sr=8-5 ). So a few hours of assembly and you have your ebike for $500ish.

Good idea and that would make sense if I already had a folding bike.