I have tested over a handful of electric bikes -- from foldable small-wheel ones that I refer to as "Clown bikes" to cruisers, mountains, and thin and fat tires. Each has its pros and cons.
All have one thing in common, however: I look for the below features in an electric bicycle.
- Decent motor to aid with steep inclines
- 7 or 21 speeds/gears for tackling difficult, uphill climbs
- Pedal Assist System (PAS)
- Easy to get on/off for a woman in her 60s
- Comfortable ride with shock suspension
- Fat tires for more balance and control
- Detachable, large battery for long rides and convenient charging
The MultiJoy Spaniel EB260 Foldable Electric Bike checked every box I was looking for, EXCEPT: its max speed was listed as 26mph. This could be an issue because federal and State law (at least where I live) prohibit eBikes going over 20mph unless they are classified for higher speeds.
ANALYSIS
MultiJoy's 26" Electric Bike (Spaniel EB260) immediately hit me with its quality build. The shipping box arrived partially damaged, but the content was perfectly fine -- most likely because of the large use of protective styrofoam. The bike's 75+ lbs made it the heaviest electric bicycle I had ever tested, but there was a reason for that: largest battery and stronger motor.
Assembly was straight-forward: all I had to do was attach the pedals, fenders, front wheel/disc brake, and done. Nothing else needed to be set up, although I had to tweak the brakes a bit. "Holy moly!" I thought to myself, giving flashbacks on when I had to frustratingly try to figure out how to put together the individual, small pieces of a mechanical mountain bike a year ago for the first time. Thankfully, practically everything was already pre-assembled.
The MultiJoy had a very clean, streamlined look with cables tucked away nicely. Its 75+ lbs, however, would not be something many riders would be happy to carry around.
Shifting between the 7 gears was effortless, and the fat tires gave a very satisfying sound while smoothly zipping around the neighborhood park and up a few climbs. Power Assist (PAS) was available in multiple, and speed topped at a FAST (and illegal) 28 mph without a rider (default was 20mph and I changed it to 28mph). Legally, electric bikes cannot go faster than 20 mph to fall under the United States Class 2 designation, and in California, only Class 2 can ride on Class 1 bike paths. What does that mean? This bicycle's motor was too fast to legally operate in California, but thankfully, the speed did drop to 25 mph with either my mom or myself riding on it. Either way, be sure to check with your local and State laws before you push the MultiJoy to its top speed.
Electronic controls found on the left side of the handlebar were easy to use and managed the headlight, horn, PAS level, power, and color display. The screen was easily readable under direct sunlight and provided a nice set of information, including battery and Power Assist levels, speed (current, average, max) in mph or km/h, trip time and odometer, and more. Power is activated through the twist throttle on the right-hand side handlebar.
The 960Wh-capacity, Li-Ion battery (20Ah @ 48V) is the largest I have tested yet. That gave the MultiJoy a VERY significant advantage over any of the bikes I had previously tested, including my Googo's 360Wh. Longer runtimes with a more powerful motor, although also with more weight: 27-51 miles on fully-electric and 66-89 miles with pedal assist (the manufacturer did claim more conservative numbers.) My past experience found that it should theoretically be able to handle at least 150 miles with PAS only used for short uphill climbs. I prefer pedaling most of the time for exercise/health purposes and only invoke the motor just enough to get up a hill. Let it sink it... 960Wh battery with 150-mile range when motor is only used to assist with uphill portions of street biking.
