Fat Tire Electric Bike | Mini Swell eBike

Living in Portland Ive mostly driven everywhere, even though I have several grocery stores and restaurants within several blocks of me. Ive had a bike, but I never rode it because riding up hills is exhausting, I worry about keeping up with traffic, Im lazy, and riding my bike usually takes twice as long. Really steep inclines still suck on the Macfox Mini Swell, but it solves a lot of the other issues Ive had with taking my bike instead of my car. Riding around on it is a ton of fun and it gets up and goes very quickly without too much effort from me. Its made me genuinely think of a bike as a viable method of transportation for me.

When I received the Mini Swell it was almost fully assembled. The manual mentioned attaching the front wheel, but mine was already attached. I just had to attach the handle bars and check all the connections and it was good to go. Id say I had the bike itself confidently assembled in less than half an hour, including checking the brakes, etc. The battery slides on and off the down tube and can be locked in place with the provided keys.The bike has a cool moped/dirt bike look to it and the LED lights look really nice. The construction feels pretty solid, though it may be worth taking something like this to a bike shop and paying to have somebody really dial everything in.

After charging the battery up I took my first test ride. I wasnt sure what I was expecting, but with the pedal assist set to level 3 I was up to 20 mph almost instantly with almost no effort on my part. Better still, the throttle on the handlebars lets you ride on just motor power alone, which is great. The ride felt very smooth and stable on the large tires. I felt I was able to travel with enough speed that, at least in the neighborhoods and side streets I typically take, I didnt like Id have to worry about someone zooming up from behind me. I do think Im just a tad too tall for this bike (6 3), but I was still comfortable riding it. On flat surfaces this is a breeze to ride, but I did find myself struggling on a particularly steep hill near my house where I hoped the bike would be able to mostly carry me up under its own power. I would say with the extra weight combined with the motor assist that riding up 25+ degree inclines feels about the same as riding up on a standard bike; maybe a little bit easier. There is a gear selector, though for flat surfaces I found I could mostly leave it on the highest gear all of the time. Ive been making short trips around my neighborhood and have not run the battery down all the way yet, but the 37 mile max range feels a bit optimistic and I imagine is probably quoted using minimal assists. From what I can tell I think Ill see around 25 miles on my charge on the higher assist level. The LCD display lets you adjust the assist level and activate a few other features with long presses (like the integrated LED lights). It doesnt seem like the manual lays out all the functions very well, but it was easy enough to learn through trial and error.

Overall Im happy with this bike. I dont think its completely converted me, but I can see myself running little errands and picking up groceries where that would not even have entered my mind before.

Bought for running errands around town. Good for the price. I feel like they really skimped on some of the components like brakes (cannot get them to not squeak but they work) and derailleur (rear has a plastic piece that will probably break very soon) but otherwise good. Wish the parent company offered racks or baskets to fit frame! Its a weird frame so cant find racks to fit. Battery lasts well so far, good acceleration and very comfy ride unless youre tall. Definitely a conversation piece whenever I ride around town.

I just purchased this e bike to save some money on gas.

Some parts are cheap but for this price im happy with a purchase

The electric bike was easy to assemble. Loads of fun.