Engwe P20 folding e-bike review: how forgiving are you?

It’s casual to marque a folding e-bike similar the Engwe P20 look large connected paper. 

First, you terms it adjacent $1,000 and committedness a 10-second folding time. Then, you regenerate the accepted oily chain, derailleur, cassette, and shifter with a belt-driven centrifugal and torque sensor that should intuitively ramp up the pedal-assisted powerfulness without requiring immoderate gears oregon maintenance. Finally, you adhd hydraulic disc brakes to bring everything to a controlled halt and wrapper it each up successful a nice-looking bundle that tin beryllium carried onto a bid oregon tossed into the trunk of a car.

On paper, then, the €1,099 (about $1,190) Engwe P20 ticks each the boxes for an e-bike that precocious went connected merchantability successful Europe. Riding it for the past period astatine my location successful Amsterdam, however, makes it wide that you inactive get what you wage for.

The P20’s terms and diagnostic acceptable makes its faults mostly forgivable, but they are faults nonetheless.

My archetypal contented with the P20 is with the tuning of the torque sensor. There’s a noticeable hold successful the pedal assistance delivered by the P20’s “Talengo JKaero” loop thrust erstwhile coming disconnected the line. Trying to commencement connected an incline is adjacent worse, requiring a fewer seconds of reasonably important effort from the rider. And since it’s a single-speed bike, you can’t power gears for relief.

Perhaps this tuning is connected intent since the unbranded 250W rear-hub centrifugal is lone susceptible of 42Nm of torque. It wouldn’t beryllium the archetypal e-bike that shifts the load to the rider’s quadriceps alternatively of the centrifugal (and battery) successful favour of eking retired a spot much scope per charge. The P20 is not the motorcycle to ain if you request to regularly ascent hilly terrain, but it handles mean slopes fine.

My 2nd contented makes itself known aft getting the P20 up to speed. At astir 23km/h (14mph), my legs started spinning truthful rapidly that the saddle began to consciousness uncomfortable. That precocious bounds is good if you’re bully with rolling on astatine a casual gait but annoying if you request to get anyplace astatine the P20’s 25km/h (15.5mph) apical speed, per European limits.

And similar astir each mail-order e-bikes, you tin unlock the centrifugal for adjacent much velocity if you cognize the instrumentality — which I did for this review. Not surprisingly, I recovered pedaling astatine US speeds of 20mph (32km/h) to beryllium impossible. Fortunately, my reappraisal exemplary shipped with a throttle lever contempt being a no-no successful overmuch of Europe. It was disabled successful the bundle but tin besides beryllium unlocked with immoderate Konami codification magic. Annoyingly, adjacent the P20’s throttle suffers from a delay.

I pedal on astatine 23km/h, deed the throttle to halt the windmilling and... the centrifugal cuts out, resuming aft a 2nd oregon 2 erstwhile the throttle yet engages. It does yet get the motorcycle up to 32km/h — and beyond, if you dare. 

These show quirks would beryllium unforgivable for an e-bike successful the $3,000-plus scope that I usually reappraisal — but the Engwe P20 costs conscionable a 3rd of that. And determination are plentifulness of things to similar here.

The P20’s hydraulic disc brakes bring those 20 x 1.95-inch tires to a halt rapidly and nether control. Just enactment that the brakes are unbranded, which could origin issues uncovering replacement brake pads erstwhile the clip comes.

The P20’s geometry besides rides larger than its size, truthful the steering doesn’t consciousness overly twitchy similar some smaller foldable bikes. It’s dense for a foldable with 20-inch tires, coming successful astatine 18.5kg (41 pounds) oregon 22kg (55 pounds) erstwhile slotting successful that removable (and lockable) 346Wh (36V / 9.6A) battery. But that added heft helps the thrust consciousness a spot much unafraid astatine the disbursal of portability. 

The scope is decent, though dense usage of the throttle volition diminish it considerably. When lone utilizing the centrifugal arsenic a pedal assist, I was getting astir 52km (32 miles) from a afloat artillery erstwhile riding successful powerfulness levels 2 oregon 3 (out of three). Not bad. The artillery takes implicit 5 hours to charge.

Engwe calls the P20 a 10-second folder, which is surely ambitious — my champion clip was astir doubly that, but you mightiness fare amended with tons of practice. The handlebars and spot tin some beryllium dropped with quick-release latches, and adjacent the pedals fold with immoderate effort. The motorcycle past folds successful fractional on what feels similar a reassuringly beardown latch recovered midway on the halfway tube.

A magnet helps support the beforehand and rear wheels attached erstwhile folded, allowing you to propulsion oregon propulsion the unwieldy bundle if you equilibrium it connected 1 instrumentality portion holding the spot with 2 hands. It takes immoderate signifier and spot to get right. A tiny integrated metallic basal lets the motorcycle remainder connected the crushed successful the upright presumption without toppling implicit excessively easily.

The P20 besides comes with tons of extras baked into the price, including integrated fenders, a rear rack, a kickstand, and beforehand and rear lights (with utile brake light), which are each required by astir metropolis commuters. It besides has a crook awesome diagnostic with dedicated buttons connected the handlebar. Using them is tricky since they don’t marque a sound, don’t automatically crook off, and aren’t precise disposable during the day. You’re amended disconnected utilizing manus signals, successful my opinion.

There’s nary app, the show is tiny but fine, and the full motorcycle tin withstand rainfall and jets of h2o portion riding. You’d deliberation an IP6 standing would beryllium modular for each e-bikes meant to beryllium ridden outdoors, but it’s not guaranteed astatine this terms range.

What frustrates maine astir the P20 is that it could beryllium a large e-bike but alternatively feels similar it was developed by a selling squad utilizing disposable parts picked from a catalog, without anyone taking the clip to optimize the riding experience. But that’s what you get astatine the fund extremity of the e-bike spectrum. 

For €1,099 / £1,099, the Engwe P20 is simply a decent prime for anyone who needs a comparatively inexpensive e-bike arsenic portion of a multimodal commute oregon is looking for a foldable that rides much similar a accepted bike.

Photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge