5 Of The Best Folding E-bikes, According To Consumer Reports

Affordable and convenient — particularly erstwhile compared to cars — e-bikes are quickly becoming a celebrated prime for individual transportation. In nan United States alone, nan e-bike marketplace was worthy immoderate $2 billion in 2025, and that's expected to much than double, to $4.3 billion, by 2035. And location are much and much companies trading e-bikes, truthful uncovering nan champion 1 to meet your needs is turning into a increasing problem of its own.

The bully news is that nan folks astatine Consumer Reports are fresh to help, acknowledgment to nan website's database of e-bike ratings — which had reached 74 models astatine nan clip this was written. Today, though, we look specifically astatine CR's choices for champion foldable e-bikes. These tin supply an added level of convenience owed to their compact portability. For example, if you're taking an municipality travel that involves riding nan subway successful immoderate places, folding an e-bike into a smaller package makes it easier to bring along. Folding e-bikes tin beryllium easier to flip into your car's trunk, too, and they tin return up little room if you're storing/charging successful your home, apartment, aliases office.

Just retrieve arsenic you're reference that CR says it only tests bikes that suffice arsenic Class 1 aliases Class 2 e-bikes. Now, we covered what each e-bike people means successful nan past, but arsenic a refresher, for a Class 1 e-bike, nan electrical centrifugal only provides assistance erstwhile you're besides pedaling and staying beneath 20 mph. Class 2 e-bikes person a akin velocity limit for their electrical assistance, but you don't person to pedal for nan centrifugal to operate. The untested Class 3 e-bikes activity overmuch for illustration those from Class 1, but pinch a velocity limit of 28 mph.

Blix, headquartered successful Santa Cruz, Calif., has been building e-bikes since 2014 and presently offers a afloat lineup that includes nan folding Vika+ Flex — featuring basics for illustration a 500-watt electrical centrifugal providing an 18-mile scope and a 614-Wh battery. As we'll see, those are astir middle-of-the-pack numbers for CR's apical 5 recommended folding e-bikes, but nan comparatively ray weight of nan Vika+ Flex – 54 pounds — gives it an important advantage successful portability.

To beryllium specific, of nan apical 5 Consumer Reports choices, based connected CR's proprietary wide scores, nan Vika+ Flex had nan champion individual people for nan portability category. Which sounds beautiful bully until you recognize that that nonstop standing for portability was astir average. So, to beryllium clear, not a azygous 1 of CR's 5 favourite folding bikes could really emergence supra nan crowd erstwhile it comes to really folding them to lug them around. Yet immoderate non-recommended bikes were some lighter and rated arsenic much portable than those successful nan apical five.

The Vika+ Flex did person its precocious points, though. Like nan remainder of nan CR leaders here, it had precocious scores for acceleration, helping riders support up pinch metropolis traffic, arsenic good arsenic for elevation climbing, to springiness riders a break going up steep inclines. The bike's affirmative braking capacity tin besides boost riders' assurance — albeit astatine a cost. The Blix Vika+ Flex was nan astir costly of CR's first 5 folding e-bikes, pinch CR reporting a starting value of $1,899. If you're wondering where each nan inexpensive e-bikes are, conscionable support reading.

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Lectric is 1 of nan largest e-bike companies successful North America, and its XP family is among nan best-selling models successful nan U.S. Apparently for bully reason: The Lectric XP 3.0 stands retired arsenic nan CR "Smart Buy" of nan group acknowledgment to its expertise to meet Consumer Reports' standards and still correspond a "great value" to shoppers. After all, nan XP 3.0 gives you beautiful overmuch nan aforesaid grades arsenic nan Blix, but pinch somewhat amended results for unassisted cruising and a overmuch little MSRP of $1,215. In addition, nan Lectric 3.0 is engineered for astatine slightest a modicum of way use. The different folding e-bikes mentioned present are classified only arsenic commuter bikes.

All that said, there's bully news and bad news astir nan Lectric XP 3.0. On nan 1 hand, buying a caller 1 will beryllium nary easy task, arsenic they're now retired of production. On nan other, it's been replaced successful nan Lectric lineup pinch nan upgraded XP4. The caller exemplary has yet to beryllium tested by CR, but Forbes, for one, named it nan champion folding e-bike wide for 2025. Moreover, compared to nan XP 3.0, nan XP4 offers a bigger centrifugal (up to 750 watts), a bigger artillery pack, a longer range, faster charging capability, and more. Even better, nan XP4 tin somewhat trim nan introduction interest to e-bike ownerships vs. its predecessor — backed by an MSRP of $1,078.

The Himiway B3 had nan nonstop aforesaid wide people arsenic nan Lectric XP 3.0, but it had what CR called exceptional marks for not only acceleration and elevation climbing — for illustration nan Blix and nan Lectric — but besides for braking and hill-climbing without electrical assistance. Further, nan B3's 23-mile all-electric scope is tied for first among nan CR apical 5 folding e-bikes and tied for 2nd among tested foldable models overall. Certainly helping matters is nan bike's artillery size of 720 Wh — nan largest of nan starring models mentioned here.

As for downsides, nan Himiway's starting constituent of $1,700 is connected nan precocious broadside for folding e-bikes successful nan CR database, and nan aforesaid tin beryllium said of its 67-pound weight. That, successful turn, contributed to nan B3's mediocre portability issues. But past again, since it bears repeating, nan folding e-bikes that CR rated champion wide did reasonably severely successful this class — pinch nan Himiway B3 among those bringing up nan rear. Another imaginable interest whitethorn beryllium nan B3's basal instrumentation, arsenic it's lacking a travel machine — a characteristic recovered connected nan different 4 members of today's CR apical five.

Nor tin we debar talking astir Himiway's location base. While U.S. senators are crying to Trump astir Chinese EVs, e-bikes originating successful that state — for illustration nan Himiway B3 — are already here. Now, Himiway does person a U.S. dealership/service web and mostly garners bully reviews connected TrustPilot, for instance, but we cognize not everyone is wholly down pinch buying Chinese products.

One point we've learned covering Consumer Reports — whether it's looking astatine top motortruck and SUV tyre picks aliases nan car insurance companies champion astatine settling claims — is that they tin beryllium benignant of quirky erstwhile you excavation into nan details. For example, nan Ride1Up Portola tied pinch nan Himiway B3 successful position of wide scores contempt nan second having noticeable value and characteristic advantages. So, on pinch a travel computer, which whitethorn not beryllium that important, nan Portola comes modular pinch hydraulic disc brakes, not nan cable-pull setup utilized by nan Himiway (and nan Blix and Lectric). The use is that hydraulic stoppers thin to beryllium much delicate and easier to power than nan much cheaply made cable-pull alternatives.

Also, moreover though nan Portula has nan aforesaid unspeakable people for portability arsenic nan B3, and it weighs a lb more, nan erstwhile has a quick-release beforehand instrumentality for an other measurement of convenience — thing missing from each nan different CR apical 5 folding e-bikes. In fact, for immoderate further context, only 1 folding e-bike of nan 17 tested earned some a apical people for portability and a recommended standing from CR: the $3,800 Brompton C-Line Explore that was $1,000 much costly than nan adjacent costliest exemplary successful nan ranking.

Meanwhile, fund shoppers should statement that nan Portula opens astatine $1,195, allowing them to bask plentifulness of bang for their subordinate arsenic they bask nan e-bike's 23-mile range, 750-watt electrical motor, and 643-Wh battery.

The Velotric Fold 1 is some nan No. 1-rated folding e-bike successful nan Consumer Reports rankings and a premier illustration of really those ratings tin beryllium a small problematic astatine times. Right disconnected nan bat, nan CR Best Electric Bike Buying Guide explicitly says that nan website "has tested Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes, but nary Class 3 models." Yet — arsenic CR suggests successful nan bike's individual overview — nan Fold 1 has aggregate driving modes, including 1 that fundamentally turns it into a Class 3 conveyance pinch a higher apical velocity and stricter requirements astir who tin thrust it and wherever it tin beryllium driven.

Plus, for illustration nan different apical folding e-bikes, nan Fold 1 isn't each that portable contempt nan truth it tin beryllium folded successful half. It did do amended successful this measurement than nan Ride1Up aliases Himiway, but nan bottommost statement was still a subpar people for a capacity you'd deliberation astir folding-bike owners would put astatine nan apical of their shopping lists.

The bully news? The Fold 1 was considered a comparatively smart worth for your money, moreover pinch its CR as-tested value of $1,500. Among its highlights were beardown acceleration and hill-climbing capacity from its 750-kW motor, on pinch apical grades for unassisted cruising and braking. An aluminum cargo rack mounted complete nan rear instrumentality adds invited functionality to nan Fold 1. For what it's worth, nan institution itself was founded by Adam Zhang, who besides co-founded Lime. You know, nan aforesaid institution whose e-bike Timothée Chamalet was caught riding to a movie premiere.