Best folding electric bikes

The best folding electric bikes can be stored compactly in your home, motorhome or caravan. And they take the strain out of your commute if they're light enough to carry on and off buses and trains.  

We tested folding electric bikes from popular UK retailers such as Brompton, Halfords and more, to find the best bikes from £700 upwards.

Our testers looked at how quickly you can pack them away, and how compact and secure they are when folded. We also pushed the motors to their limits up a 25% gradient.

Two folding e-bikes impressed us enough to be named Which? Best Buys.

The best folding electric bikes

Only logged-in Which? members can view the folding e-bike test results below.

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The folding electric bikes we tested

All the folding electric bikes we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best folding electric bikes from our tests

Join Which? now to get instant access to our verdicts and Best Buy recommendations below.

Apollo Transport electric folding bike

Only available at Halfords: £595

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Date tested April 2023

Manufacturer's claimed range Up to 20 miles

Weight 20kg

Max load (rider + luggage) 120kg

Motor Shengyi, front hub

Battery sizes 209Wh

Size when folded HxWxD 46 x 46 x 81cm

Need to know Kingmeter LED display, speed sensor, three assistance levels, Shimano six-speed gears with twist shifter, v-brakes, 20-inch wheels, kickstand

Basis Osprey

Cheapest price: £749.99 at E-bikes Direct, also available at Decathlon Electric Bike Amazon (out of stock)

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Date tested September 2022

Manufacturer's claimed range Up to 30 miles (317Wh), up to 50 miles (504Wh)

Weight 20kg

Max load (rider) 120kg

Motor Basis, rear hub

Battery sizes 317Wh, also 504Wh

Size when folded HxWxD 66 x 89 x 48cm

Need to know LED display, three assistance levels, Shimano six-speed gears with trigger shifter, v-brakes, 20-inch wheels, kickstand

Brompton Electric C Line Explore

Only available at Brompton: £3,230

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Date tested April 2023

Manufacturer's claimed range 20-45 miles

Weight 17.4kg

Max load (rider + luggage) 110kg

Motor front hub, Brompton

Battery sizes 300Wh

Size when folded HxWxD 65 x 57 x 27cm

Need to know torque sensor, three assistance levels, Brompton six-speed gears with trigger shifters, caliper brakes, 16-inch wheels, front and rear lights, high handlebar model available for a more upright ride, Brompton Electric smartphone app compatible, other colours available

Carrera Crosscity 2020

Only available at Halfords: £759.20

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Date tested September 2022

Manufacturer's claimed range Up to 30 miles

Weight 18kg

Max load (rider + luggage) 100kg

Motor Shengyi, rear hub

Battery sizes 313Wh

Size when folded HxWxD 60 x 92 x 72cm

Need to know LED display, three assistance levels, Shimano 8-speed gears with trigger shifter, v-brakes, 20" wheels, kickstand

Decathlon B'twin 500e

Only available at Decathlon: £749.99

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Date tested September 2022

Manufacturer's claimed range Up to 21 miles

Weight 18.6kg

Max load (rider + luggage) 100kg

Motor B-twin, rear hub

Battery sizes 187Wh

Size when folded HxWxD 67 x 83 x 45cm

Need to know B’twin LED display, three assistance levels, Shimano six-speed gears with twist shifter, v-brakes, 20-inch wheels, front and rear lights, kickstand, other colours available

Also considering an electric mountain bike or city e-bike? See our reviews of the best electric bikes

E-go Max+

Cheapest price: £1,749 at E-Go Bike Ecobike Company

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Date tested September 2022

Manufacturer's claimed range Up to 55 miles

Weight 25kg

Max load (rider + luggage) 150kg

Motor E-go, rear hub

Battery sizes 504Wh

Size when folded HxWxD 70 x 93 x 48cm

Need to know LCD display, five assistance levels, Shimano seven-speed gears with trigger shifter, disc brakes, 20-inch wheels, front light, kickstand, other colours available

Eovolt Afternoon

Cheapest price: £2,099.99 at Elecride (out of stock), also available at Eovolt 

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Date tested September 2022

Manufacturer's claimed range 43-62 miles

Weight 22kg

Max load (rider) 130kg

Motor Eovolt, rear hub

Battery sizes 504Wh

Size when folded HxWxD 83 x 73 x 46cm

Need to know Kunteng LCD display, five assistance levels, Shimano seven-speed gears with trigger shifter, hydraulic disc brakes, 20-inch wheels, front and rear lights, kickstand, other colours available

MiRider One

Only available at MiRider: £1,595

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Date tested September 2022

Manufacturer's claimed range Up to 21 miles

Weight 17.3kg

Max load (rider) 120kg

Motor MiRider, rear hub

Battery sizes 252Wh

Size when folded HxWxD 68 x 77 x 43cm

Need to know LCD display, torque sensor, five assistance levels, single gear, disc brakes, 16-inch wheels, front light, kickstand, boost button provides max motor assistance while pressed, other colours available

Mycle Compact

Only available at Mycle: £999 (out of stock)

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Date tested September 2022

Manufacturer's claimed range Up to 18 miles

Weight 17.5kg

Max load (rider) 115kg

Motor Mycle, rear hub

Battery sizes 230Wh

Size when folded HxWxD 67 x 85 x 44cm

Need to know Kunteng LCD display, five assistance levels, Shimano seven-speed gears with trigger shifter, mechanical disc brakes, 20-inch wheels, front light, kickstand, other colours available

Raleigh Stow-e-way 2022

Cheapest price: £1,199 at E-bikes Direct (out of stock), also available at Raleigh 

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Date tested September 2022

Manufacturer's claimed range Up to 30 miles

Weight 20kg

Max load (rider) 110kg

Motor Tranz X, rear hub

Battery sizes 250Wh

Size when folded HxWxD 88 x 80 x 44cm

Need to know Tranz X display, three assistance levels, Shimano seven-speed gears with twist shifter, v-brakes, 20-inch wheels, front and rear lights, kickstand, larger seat post available for taller riders

Volt Metro folding electric bike

Only available at Volt (crossbar frame), Volt (step-through frame): £1,949

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Date tested April 2023

Manufacturer's claimed range Up to 50 miles (504Wh battery)

Weight 22.4kg

Max load (rider + luggage) 100kg

Motor SpinTech, rear hub

Battery sizes 504Wh, also 630Wh

Size when folded HxWxD 84 x 76 x 46cm

Need to know SpinTech LCD display, four assistance levels with boost button, Shimano eight-speed gears with trigger shifter, hydraulic disc brakes, 20-inch wheels, front and rear lights, kickstand, other colours available

Wisper 806 folding electric bike (with torque power pack)

Cheapest price: £1,661.55 at Wisper Ecobike company

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Date tested April 2023

Manufacturer's claimed range Up to 50 miles (375Wh battery)

Weight 21kg

Max load (rider + luggage) 130kg

Motor Wisper, rear hub

Battery sizes 375Wh, also 575Wh and 700Wh

Size when folded HxWxD 73 x 85 x 43cm

Need to know LCD display, torque sensor (cadence sensor model available from £1,499), four assistance levels, Shimano seven-speed gears with trigger shifter, mechanical disc brakes, 20-inch wheels, front and rear lights, kickstand, other colours available

Xiaomi Mi Smart Folding Electric Bike

Only available at Halfords: £999 (out of stock)

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Date tested September 2022

Manufacturer's claimed range Up to 25 miles

Weight 15kg

Max load (rider) 100kg

Motor Ananda, front hub

Battery sizes 209Wh

Size when folded HxWxD 65 x 100 x 45cm

Need to know TFT LCD display, torque sensor, three assistance levels, Shimano three-speed gears with twist shifter, v-brakes, 16-inch wheels, front and rear lights, kickstand, Xiaomi Home smartphone app compatible

Zinc folding electric bike

Cheapest price: £499.99 at Zinc, also available at Currys

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Date tested April 2023

Manufacturer's claimed range Up to 35 miles

Weight 22kg

Max load (rider + luggage) 125kg

Motor Zinc, Front hub

Battery sizes 280Wh

Size when folded HxWxD 65 x 88 x 36cm

Need to know LED display, three assistance levels, single speed gear, v-brakes, 20-inch wheels, kickstand

Make sure your bike is night-ready and can be locked securely – read our reviews of Best bike lights and Best bike locks

How we tested folding electric bikes

We shopped from key UK retailers and top brands such as Brompton, Carrera, Raleigh and Halfords, to find the best folding electric bikes. 

Motor tests

Our testers – of various ages, heights and genders – rode each bike to evaluate the following:

• How smooth each motor accelerated and delivered power while cycling
• How smoothly the power tapers off as you reach 15.5mph
• If there was any yo-yoing (if the assistance kicks in or cuts out too forcefully at 15.5mph, the e-bike feels almost like it's rocking back and forth like a yo-yo).

Each bike was also taken up the test hill at Brooklands Museum. The bikes were ridden up hills with fixed gradients on the highest assistance and lowest gear to make sure it was the motor, not the rider, doing the work. 

The bikes were accelerated multiple times over a set distance to see which were the quickest.

All folding electric bikes helped with shallow hills, but the best ones could climb very steep 25% gradients, with some even being able to hill start on them. The motors delivered smooth and responsive power.

The worst launched us like a rocket, kicked in and cut out abruptly, and couldn't even climb a 12.5% gradient.

Ride quality

Our testers evaluated each bike on:

• How clear and easy to use the display and motor controls were
• How comfortable each bike was on various terrain – from smooth roads to bumpy woodland trails
• How easy it was to change gear 
• How easy it was to perform quick manoeuvres and corner at low speeds while pedalling. 

The best electric bikes were comfortable to ride over potholes and rough ground, easy to handle, with clear displays and good controls – in other words, a joy to ride.

The worst had hard-to-read displays, with awkward buttons and gear controls. The ride was bumpy and the e-bike motor made low speed handling jerky and difficult.

Portability

• We folded and unfolded each e-bike multiple times, timing how long it took on average to complete the process. 
• We also evaluated the quality of each bike's folding mechanism and, when folded, if it could fit in the boot of a 2019 Hyundai i10 (252 litres).

The best folding electric bikes took less than 20 seconds to fold and unfold. While all these bikes could fit in a larger boot, the best models also fitted in the small one with room to spare.

The best also folded easily and locked in place, so the parts didn't flop apart when you tried to move it while folded. 

The worst folding e-bikes were cumbersome and fiddly. Handlebars chipped paint during folding and pedals got in the way, making the folding experience frustrating. They took twice as long to fold as the best.

Braking

We repeatedly measured the stopping distance after each bike was travelling at 15.5mph. While brakes can be adjusted, our testing assessed how good they were when you first get on the bike.

The best had responsive brakes with short stopping distances; they were also less noisy, and the triggers didn't need squeezing all the way in to activate.

The worst took a while to stop, needing more compression before the brakes engaged; they were also noisy and grating. 

Ease of use

Each electric bike was assessed for how easily they could be lifted and carried short distances and how easy the battery was to take out and put back in.

The best folding electric bikes were light enough to carry a short distance, and easily get up and into a car boot.

The worst were tricky to get a comfortable grip on and carry, and a lot were too heavy to lift easily into a car boot.

Build quality

On the best e-bikes the electrical wiring was sealed or built into the frame; comfortable materials were used to make the handles and saddle.

The worst bikes had cheaper plastic handles, exposed electrical wiring and scruffier welding on the frame.

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Is a folding electric bike worth it?

The appeal of a folding over a regular e-bike is the fact that it takes up less space when you're storing or transporting it. If this isn't an issue for you, then you can usually get more for your money with a regular e-bike.

We've found in our testing that folding e-bikes are, on the whole, cumbersome to fold quickly and too heavy to carry easily for long They are good for space-saving, OK for transporting in cars and caravans, but not really for commuting in our opinion. Join Which?  to find out which folding e-bikes we found were light and easy enough to manoeuvre when folded to be suitable for the daily commute.

A lot of folding e-bikes fold in the same way, but some are designed better Only the Brompton has a truly unique method of packing down. We found some scuffed the paintwork when the handlebars were folded down, on others the pedals had to be in certain positions for folding or unfolding, and some even struggled to stand upright when folded.

It's easier to buy replacement parts for some models Battery capacity reduces over time, brakes wear down and tyres may puncture. If you want your e-bike to stay in tip-top condition, it's important to check that you can buy replacement parts easily.

Take manufacturer range claims as a maximum It's hard to give a single value for the range a folding e-bike can go on one charge that's accurate for everyone. Factors such as rider weight, motor assistance level, weather, wind speed and road conditions all affect how far you can go on any given day. Manufacturers give estimates, but they are usually based on ideal riding conditions on a low assistance level. The most reliable measure is the bigger the battery, the further you'll go.

How do you charge an electric bike battery? - top tips for safe chargin