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At the time of this review, Evelo was producing two folding electric bicycles. I reviewed the lighter, more affordable, Evelo Quest One in 2017. It offered an efficient 250 watt geared hub motor and single speed drivetrain with a Gates belt drive. The Evelo Quest Max moves from the 41 lb footprint of the One, up to 50.9 lbs, while bringing a lot more power and a wide range of gearing. It still has the clean, quiet, durable, belt drive system with CDX center-track retention features, along with lights, fenders and a rear rack… but the rear light is not integrated. That means you’ll have to turn it on and off each time you activate the bike, and it requires independent AA batteries vs. running off of the main ebike battery. Either one of these folding ebikes would be great for people who travel with RV’s, boats, or private planes. The Quest Max will climb easier because of the 350 watt mid-motor and gearing, but might be difficult to lift without removing the seat post and possibly the 4.1 lb battery. Perhaps you’re someone with a shorter inseam, and just want a bike that can be mounted and controlled easily? The smaller 20″ wheelset brings the frame down, the motor and battery are both mounted low and centered here, and the stand-over height is just 23 inches. However, the folding joint at the middle of the frame can be a source of bumped and bruised knees and inner legs because it bulges out a bit. Without suspension, the Quest Max feels relatively stiff and stable, the fatter 2.15″ tires provide some comfort, along with the padded grips and upgraded saddle. I noticed that the seat post is thicker than average at 31.8 mm in diameter and the stem base is longer than that of the Evelo Quest One. Perhaps you’re a taller, heavier rider? This bike is capable of handling people with long legs because it comes with two seat post lengths. I fully extended the shorter 460 mm post and it worked great for my ~31″ inseam, but the 580 mm option is always there for people who need it, and want to maximize leg extension when pedaling.
Driving this bike is one of my favorite new mid-drive motors. It’s called the 350 watt Bafang Max Drive, and it’s very smooth and quiet. Capable of producing up to 95 Newton meters of torque, it should have no problem with hills, as long as you shift the gearing to a lower climbing ration. This mid-motor does not offer shift detection like some of the fancier Bosch hardware, but you don’t really need that with a continuously variable transmission. Inside the rear-mounted NuVinci N380 are metal orbs that change the rolling speed of the casing relative to the axle. The casing is connected to the spokes and wheel, while the axle remains fixed. The benefits are smooth, seamless shifting, without any jumps… you get 380 degrees of freedom, but it adds to the price and weight of the bike. Shifting is pretty simple, just twist the half-grip Nfiniti C8 on the right portion of the handlebar and watch as the infographic changes from a person climbing to a parson on flatter terrain. Evelo chose a very large 70 tooth chainring for this bike in order to offset the faster rotation speed of the small 20″ wheels. This way, pedal strokes feel natural and slow vs. super fast. During my test ride, I shifted through different gearing ratios and found that in order to reach the top assisted speed of 20 mph, I had to shift to a lower gear. When using the higher gears, the motor would spin quickly and produce a higher pitched whine while only reaching ~10 mph. This is perfect for climbing, and it all makes me appreciate how versatile a mid-motor can be compared to the hub motor and single speed drivetrain of the Evelo Quest One. I love how light that bike is, but it just isn’t as fun to start or climb with. Since there is only one beltring and one rear belt sprocket on this bike, the belt is very straight and taught. It shouldn’t come off, and won’t be as noisy or messy as a chain. My pant leg did touch the belt, but there were no issues with snags or grease.
Powering the motor, beautiful color display panel, and headlight, is a good sized 36 volt 10.4 amp hour internally mounted battery pack. This pack only weighs ~4.1 lbs because it is encased in plastic vs. aluminum. The pack slides into the main tube of the battery, locking in place, and can only be accessed when the bike is unfolded. You can unlock the pack and slide it out to charge separately (and keep it away from extreme heat and cold to reduce strain on the Lithium-ion cells), or you can open the little rubber flap on the left side of the frame to charge while mounted. The battery charger for this ebike is a very average speed 2 amp design that is compact and lightweight at just 1.1 lbs. It’s the kind of thing that can easily be tossed into a trunk bag and brought along on rides! Evelo actually sells a very nice trunk bag that has integrated reflectors and can be unzipped to fold down on the sides for extra space in integrated panniers. Evelo sells a wide range of accessories and upgrades to help you with comfort, security, and commuting, but I think it’s pretty well setup stock. So again, for a folding ebike, the Quest Max weighs a bit more than average but offers a powerful motor, relatively large battery pack, and gives you many ways to use that power. There’s a USB port built into the side of the battery as well as the display panel (along the bottom edge) so you can charge a phone while riding. This is useful if you’re exploring a new area and using your phone for GPS directions. The only drawback to the battery design that I experienced with this review, was that it does not power the rear light. A couple of times when unfolding the bike, I also saw the black cable housing cover (a little plastic strip running along the base of the middle of the frame) come off as the wires pulled on it. Most cheaper electric bicycles do not have fancy cable routing like this, and perhaps it was only my demo bike that had the issue? I must say however, that the bike arrived to me in excellent condition and had been shipped with a lot of love and care. It was double boxed, had lots of foam pieces, zip ties, and even bubble wrap, as well as a service checklist and deep instructions guide. This is a great experience when buying such an expensive product sight unseen… and the 2+ year Evelo warranty and phone support are above average in my experience.
Operating this bike is two or three step process depending on the lighting conditions outside. The first step is to consider that rear light, do you need to turn it on in anticipation of dark conditions? It might be worth activating even in the daytime… Next, you can click the little toggle on/off switch that is physically located on the left side of the battery, reached through the rubber opening on the left side of the frame. Click it from the 0 to the 1 and then replace the rubber grommet. Next, you need to hold the power button on the control pad for a few seconds. Once active, the display will readout “EVELO” and then show a clock, battery percentage, current speed, assist level (0-5) and trip distance. If you press the i button on the control pad, you can cycle through lots of other menus such as odometer, max speed, and range. The range estimator menu is very fancy! It dynamically calculates how far the bike can go in the currently-selected level of assist. I was clicking through on a full battery and got a 48 mile estimate for assist level 1, which is pretty impressive. Most rides in higher levels of assist, or with the throttle, will probably reach 20+ miles. This display can be angled to reduce glare, but it is not removable. Pay special attention to turn it off when mounting and dismounting, and consider putting a sock over it when folding the bike, to reduce scratches that might occur. I love how the dropouts on this frame have magnets to keep the bike folded, but I did notice some scratching and chipping had occurred where the clasp came undone… that’s just the name of the game with folding bikes, blankets and towels can help. Back to the display, you can enter into the settings menu to adjust the top speed of the bike, change brightness, or enter a security password by double pressing the i button. To me, the whole setup was really nice, and I appreciate how the display has a light sensor built-in to automatically adjust brightness and activate the headlight. There’s a manual light button on the control pad as well, so it feels like everything has been thought of. My biggest discovery when riding however, is that the trigger throttle only becomes active once you are riding six miles per hour (or faster). This is probably a safety feature, but it can be frustrating if you’re climbing a big hill slowly (because you’re in a low gear) and need throttle support. It would be much nicer if the throttle activated at two miles per hours, or maybe even from zero, to help you get started after stop signs and traffic signals. That said, very few mid-drive ebikes even have throttles like this. The motor listens for cadence and pedal torque so you get pretty instant help pedaling, and since you can shift to low gears without even moving the bike, the setup should work well-enough for most situations.
All things considered, this is an amazing folding electric bike! But, it really should be for this price point. I really appreciate the two color options, light blue and metallic grey. The blue is fun, but the grey is a bit more masculine, and this platform could work great as a his and hers setup for RV couples. Folding and unfolding the bike was relatively easy with the sturdy double-leg adjustable kickstand… but it didn’t always stow perfectly without a bit of extra help. Even though it doesn’t have a suspension fork, the ride quality and comfort was good because of the adjustable stem, seat post, and the great tires. Really, these tires are awesome! They have reflective sidewalls to keep you visible and integrated puncture protection lining. It’s no fun to get a flat tire when riding in a new city. Both wheels require tools to remove and work on because they are attached with bolts, and the rear wheel has special horizontal dropouts with tensioners to make the belt tight. Keep an eye on the tire pressure and just try to avoid thorns and glass etc. if you can. The 180 mm mechanical disc brakes are large and strong, with motor inhibitors built into both levers. I have seen fancier levers from Tektro with rubberized edges that feel a bit nicer and have an integrated bell (something this bike did not have). The four finger design gives you plenty of leverage to stop at high speed, but the smaller 20″ wheels start to feel a little unstable at high speeds… even with the reinforced and sturdy joints of the folds on this bike. I guess what I’m saying is that, I probably wouldn’t want to ride over 20 mph, but that this feels more stable than average for a folding bike. There’s a lot to consider when buying a bicycle online, but I have seen how far Evelo will go to help their customers, and I trust them. This is one of the few folding electric bikes that offer the unique combination of a quality mid-motor with a belt drive and CVT hub. It’s a beautiful looking product too, so you won’t stand out or be creating a lot of noise, even on longer rides. I’ll do my best to help answer questions in the comments below and you can connect directly with others in the Evelo Forums. I’d like to thank Evelo for partnering with me on this post, sending out a demo bike to test in the cold snowy weather! It worked out pretty well :)
Pros:
- In many cases, people who purchase this ebike will be receiving it by mail because there is only one showroom (in Seattle, Washington), but the packaging was excellent… double layer cardboard and lots of strategically positioned foam and bubble wrap, the bike came in near-perfect condition
- The bike came with a very thorough easy-to-read manual and a checklist of all the things that Evelo tested before shipping the bike, there’s a higher level of care here, and the company is well-known for offering excellent customer service
- Evelo offers some of the best customer service in the industry based on what I hear and have experienced as a customer when they were just getting started in 2013, you get a 2-year comprehensive warranty, a sliding-scale battery replacement plan, and they now have a factory shop in Seattle where you can take test rides
- The Bafang Max Drive motor is one of the quietest and smoothest value-priced mid-drives I have tested, I like how it measures cadence and torque and really appreciate the integrated motor inhibitors here on the brake levers, for an added layer of safety and control
- Very few mid-drive ebikes offer throttle operation, but you get that with the Evelo Quest, the only limitation is that you must be pedaling a bit and moving faster than ~6 mph for the throttle to activate
- Weighing ~50.9 lbs, this isn’t the lightest folding ebike, but it does have lights, fenders, and a rear rack… the mid-motor and NuVinci N380 CVT add the most weight, thankfully, you can remove the battery and saddle with seat post quickly to make it easier to lift, it would then be ~45 lbs
- I love that display panel has a full sized USB port built into the bottom, so you can run portable electronic devices while riding (such as your phone for GPS), and there is a second USB port on the battery pack itself so you can use it for portable power on the go
- The display provides lots of detailed readouts, including battery percentage and a dynamic range estimate, you can adjust settings by double tapping the i button and set a lower top speed, a password, backlight brightness, and more
- The demo bike that I received came with two seat posts, one was extra long for taller riders, I like how the stem telescopes upwards and has a longer sturdy base than the Evelo Quest One
- Even though this folding e-bike does not have suspension, it does have a plush saddle, puffy stitched grips, a vibration dampening steel fork, and high quality 2.15″ wide balloon tires that reduce vibration and bumps
- Considering that a folding bike may come along on adventures to new locations where you might not know your surroundings… it’s wonderful that this one has integrated lights and reflective tires to help keep you safe
- The NuVinci N380 continuously variable transmission can be shifted at standstill and has a super simple shifting mechanism, the half-grip twister is clean and easy to understand (you twist forward to make pedaling easier for starting and climbing and twist backward to make the bike go faster but pedaling will increase in difficulty)
- Very few electric bikes come stock with the Gates Carbon belt drive but it’s an awesome feature, lasting longer than a chain, weighing less, getting less dirty, being less likely to fall off because of the CDX center-track design
- Evelo sells a few optional accessory packages and I LOVE the trunk bag option, it has reflective fabric and fold-out panniers for those times when you really need extra space… the bag is awesome and works perfectly with this smaller rack design, full sized panniers may hang down and rub (though I have not tested them)
- I feel like Evelo found the perfect balance of control and safety with their throttle design, it is not active at assist level zero or when the brake levers are pulled, you can only activate the throttle in 1-5 assist when moving at 6+ mph, it’s still a good idea to always shut the bike off before folding or mounting/dismounting just to be safe
- Even with the fenders and rack, which sometimes rattle on electric bikes, the Evelo Quest Max rode very quiet, even across the bumpy sections of road I tried
Cons:
- The double-leg kickstand is very stable and is useful when loading the rear rack or folding the bike, it even stays out of the way of the crank arms! but it doesn’t stow very easily, I had to kick back and inwards to get it up
- Along the base of the main tube, there are two plastic covers that help to organize and hide the wires that come from the brakes, shifter, and control center, and the second section of plastic kept falling off (especially when folding the bike), perhaps a zip tie or more secure attachment design for this piece would be good
- Evelo does have a physical storefront, in Seattle Washington, but most people will probably order online without getting to take a test ride, setup of the folding bike was very easy (I only had to adjust the handlebars a bit), but there’s a lot of packaging and waste to deal with in the process
- I love the magnetic clasps at the front and rear dropout on the left side of the bike, that keeps it folded, but did notice some scratching and chipping on the fork from where the clasp had released, you might want to use an adjustable bungee cord and a towel to add extra support when transporting the bike and keep an eye out for scratches on the steel fork in particular, because it could rust over time compared to the aluminum alloy frame
- The throttle is disabled at standstill and requires the bike to be moving ~6 mph to activate (and possibly for you to be pedaling a bit too), sometimes it’s nice to have throttle at zero to get started from stop signs and traffic signals… but at least you can shift gears at standstill with this ebike
- Minor consideration, the folding hinge at the middle of the frame bulges out for strength but could bump your knee or inner leg when pedaling or mounting and dismounting the frame
- The Spanninga brand lights are very nice, and I love how the headlight is aimable and runs off of the main battery, the backlight is not quite as fancy and requires two AA batteries (which are included), it’s just one more step to turn on and off each time you go for a ride
- The display panel is not easily removable and could get scratched when folded or parked near other bikes, it does offer adjustable angle and you could always put a sock over it to keep it from getting damaged during transport
- Plastic folding pedals don’t usually offer as much stiffness, surface area, or traction as metal or non-folding, you’ve already got fenders here and if you ride in the rain a lot, maybe consider some upgraded metal folders like these
- The seat post doesn’t slide all the way down to the seat tube level which means you probably want to take it completely off when folding the bike (to make the bike as compact as possible), the downside is that the saddle and post will then be floating around, unattached to the bike
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