To run the forums, host the website, and travel, I charge a universal service fee for my reviews. This review was sponsored by Mod Bikes. My goal is to be transparent and unbiased, this video and written review are not meant to be an endorsement of Mod Bikes products.
Mod Bikes is a new company to me, and I can’t help but admire their vision. EBR began in Austin, Texas out of a need to save the environment and money. To my surprise, that need has grown so much that Austin now is home to Mod Bikes, a company based here that sells locally as well as online. Their fonder tells me they plan to expand too. It is easy to see why they are doing well with a combinations of great bikes, commuter options, and a customer centric approach. Make sure to check out the video review to meet him and the team at their flagship store in Austin. Today we are checking out the City +, a hub-drive folding cargo bike with many options and a capable system. Now the name City + might raise the question as to if there is a regular City model. There is, but the + gets upgrades like cast rims, hydraulic brakes, and a 48v system versus a 36v system. The bike comes in 1 frame size and 2 colors (matte black and gloss white) and there is quite a bit of adjustability thanks to the seat post and telescoping stem. The frame itself weighs 58.8lbs, so a little heavy for a folding bike, but that weight does give it an impressive 265lb max weight limit. The tires are nice and efficient with kind of a hybrid tread to them. These are 20” x 2.125” and feature not only reflective sidewalls, but also puncture protection. You also get these nice plastic fenders to keep you dry and they even have mud flaps making them even better. There is a lot of creature comforts here too, like the comfort gel saddle with rubber bumpers, ergonomic grips, suspension seat post, and suspension fork up front. The seat post and fork both have preload adjust and the seat post has 40mm of travel while the front fork has 50mm of travel. I love the battery integrated lights here, they have them both in the front and the rear. The front is this super bright large single LED in the middle while the rear has 2 LED lights. Safety has always been a priority for myself and other cyclists, so it’s nice to see that more and more companies are including these on ebikes. You also get fenders and a rear rack taking that commuting aspect even further. The rear rack is rated for 55lbs of cargo, has standard gage tubing for panniers, and has the ability to fit a child seat. Other features include bottle cage bosses, branded cable wraps, adjustable length kickstand, bell, and folding plastic pedals.
Driving the bike is a 350 watt Hengtai hub drive motor in the rear. This features a thumb throttle on the right as well as a pedal assist via a 12 magnet sealed cadence sensor. The bike is rated for about 23mph and it is a bit faster than the regular City counterpart that is only 20mph. Mechanically, the bike has a 7 speed Shimano Altus (so a nice step up from entry level), but a somewhat limited drivetrain. It is using an 11-28 tooth cassette, but you do get a 52 teeth chain ring up front for good pedaling with an aluminum alloy guide. Stopping the City + is a set of Tketro Auriga 160mm rotor hydraulic disc brakes. These feature dual pistons and motor inhibitors. With a mechanical advantage via the smaller wheel size, this makes for a very capable stopping system.
Powering the bike is a lithium-ion battery pack rated at 48v 12ah mounted behind the seat. The battery has an LED charge level display read out on the body and even a handle to get the battery in and out or carry it around easily. I do have some gripes about the battery and those include a key which has to remain in when riding and the fact that the saddle does not flip up for battery removal like other bikes using a similar system. I wish this thing didn’t have to have the seat post removed each time and that the key did not have to be left in because that introduces the possibility of snags or jingling keys on a keychain. However, these are minor grumbles and don’t really effect the overall experience much and likely won’t bother you too much either. Charging here is done with a bit more basic 2amp charger, but at least it will maintain the battery cycles a little better than burning it out with a super fast 5amp charger. To really care for this and other lithium-ion packs, I have heard that storing in a cool dry location vs. extreme heat or cold will extend the life, and try to keep it about 50% full when not using for long periods so you won’t stress the cells. Try not to let it run down to zero, because that’s really hard on the cell chemistry.
Using the display is pretty straight forward. The display is grayscale, backlit, but I don’t think it is removable. Once the battery is in place, press ‘i’ on the controls to turn it on. You will notice the display come on and ask for a password. That’s right, this bike is password protected, meaning others can’t activate the system unless they know the code. A great feature and I wish they had it on more bikes. Once you see the main screen, it will show battery read out in 5 bar infographic, mode of assist you are in (0-5) wattage read out and speed. If you press ‘i’ it will cycle through readouts from trips, max speed, average speed, and ride time. To turn on the lights, hold +. Now if you turn those lights off and on 3 times in a row, it will active a flashing mode for the front headlight. Pretty cool! Holding + and – together will take you to a settings menu where you can change things like the max speed or even how many levels of assist you want (can go all the way up to 9). Once in this menu, hold the ‘i’ button to save the settings and exit. There is a walk mode too, with a button on the bottom, just underneath the main controls. Finally, I love that they put a 2v charging USB port on the display so you don’t have to charge off the battery down below. It is in a much better spot for charging a phone or GPS and has the right amount of juice to charge new devices like current generation iPhones.
At the end of the day, the City + is a wonderful bike that features a lot of utility to make it very appealing. The wide range of accessories and customization Mod Bikes offers really takes it to another level. I wanted to call out a couple of tradeoffs though to be fair. As mentioned before, many using this battery design allow for a forward reclining seat so you can pull the battery out easily. On this bike, that is absent, so you must use the quick release lever to remove the seat post to get the battery in and out. Not a big deal, but maybe a consideration for some. Also, this battery design means the keys have to stay in while you ride. If you keep them on a key ring, it means it could jingle around and annoy you or scratch the bike. But these are minor considerations. A couple of bonuses I wanted to mention is that Mod Bikes has an optional velcro strap to keep the bike folded up tight when moving it around. When folded, you can also cart it around on the wheels by holding on to the post and walk it around as shown in the video. I love that Mod Bikes works hard to bring ebikes to not only their flagship store in Austin, but around the country via free shipping to the contingent United States. I want to thank Mod Bikes and look forward to working with them again.
As always, I welcome questions and feedback in the comment section below. Whether you own a previous version of the bike, have taken a test ride, or are brand new to the space, my goal is to provide an objective and honest resource. You can also join the Mod Bikes ebike forums and share your own photos, videos, and review updates to help others! Have fun out there, and ride safe :)
Pros:
- A fully featured folding ebike that is supported by a passionate company, comfortable, capable and comes in 2 colors
- Uses a Hengtai hub-drive with 350 watts, 12 magnet sealed cadance sensor based pedal assist, and a thumb throttle
- Commuter ready with rear rack, fenders, lights, suspension fork, suspension seat post, adjustable kickstand, and comfort gel saddle with rubber bumpers
- Mod bikes focuses on commuting so they have a lot of available accessories, they also have an 18 month comprehensive warranty and free shipping in the US
- Features a 50mm travel RST suspension fork in the front, makes the ride comfortable and aesthetically clean too
- An included suspension seat post with 40mm of travel and even preload adjust, a great addition to any bike
- I love that they included battery integrated lights in the front and rear for safety, the front light is a super bright single large LED and the rear is an active brake light
- A nice 7 speed Shimano Altus system with trigger shifters, 11-28 tooth cassette, and a 52 tooth chain ring up front
- A folding bike like this should be easy to stop for both safety and performance, luckily, they added a great set of 160mm rotor Tektro hydraulic disc brakes with motor inhibitors to handle the job
- The 48v 12ah battery is removable and even has a USB port on it if you want to use it to power devices or as a portable power bank
- The display is easy to read, backlit, can password locks the bike, adjust many settings, and even has a 2v USB for charging all sorts of devices
- Mod Bikes has an optional velcro strap to keep the bike folded up tight when moving it around, really a nice convenient way to keep things together, some folding bikes don’t have solutions for this
- When folded, you can cart it around on the wheels by holding on to the post and walk it around as shown in the video
- Local customers in Austin get some free tune-ups as well as a government rebate just for buying an electric bike
Cons:
- Others using this battery design allow for a forward reclining seat so you can pull the battery out easily, the City + doesn’t have that, so you must use the quick release lever to remove the seat post to get the battery in and out
- The 5 bar battery infographic is getting long in the tooth, now-a-days, a lot of displays have battery readouts in percentages so you don’t have to guess if you have 1% or 20% battery left at 1 bar, a minor gripe, but an electric upgrade some bikes are not picking up on
- This battery design means the keys have to stay in while you ride, if you keep them on a key ring, it means it could jingle around and annoy you or scratch the bike, something to be aware of
- The high capacity battery and smaller 2amp charger means charging can take a while, however this is actually better for the battery in the long run
- I love that it includes a kickstand, but it is mounted near the crank arm so you can get annoy pedal lock when reversing and the pedals rotate backwards getting stuck on the kickstand
Resources:
- Official Site: https://www.mod-bikes.com/
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