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After tyring my first electic bike just a couple of years ago, I was delighted to get the chance to try another one. This time, the Charge fat tyre folding ebike from Mycle. Read on to find out what I thought!
What did I test?
Mycle Charge Fat Tyre Folding Electric Bike RRP: £1,299
Stockists
Features
- 3-4 hour charging time
- 65km range
- Puncture resistant fat tyres
- Selle Royal comfort saddle
- 10.4Ah removable and lockable battery
- Shimano gears
- Wellgo folding pedals
- Bright front and rear LED lights
- Total weight including battery 26kg
- Front and rear mudguard plus rear rack
- LCD digital display
- 12 month warranty
As soon as I’d put the bike together which took me about 10 minutes, I grabbed my helmet and went straight out for a ride around town to get to grips with it.
I always appreciate it when things are intuitive and don’t require the reading of tedious instructions, and after my first initial short ride, I felt completely comfortable with the bike.
To switch it on, a short 2-second press of the power button is needed, followed by a press of the + button to switch to your desired level of assistance (1-4).
@campingwithstyle 🚲 🌲 ⛺ I was up at 6am had left the campsite by 7.15 and I was cycling in the forest by 7.30am 😊 The Mycle Charge fat tyre eBike has been such a blast and this was my last hurrah on it before handing it back. So much fun, I was grinning ear to ear the whole time and I might be a morning convert now too. #mycle #mymycle #ebike #cycling #trails #delamereforest #bike #happieroutside #camping #weekend ♬ Low-fi hip-hop with mellow atmosphere – MATSU
When the bike was delivered by a two-man delivery team, I assumed it was just because the box was bulky and difficult to hold but actually, this is a pretty weighty bike.
At 26kg which it’s not the heaviest eBike in this price range, but it’s certainly not the lightest. I did honestly struggle to get it up the front steps and inside the house on my own after my first ride and getting it in and out of the boot of my car wasn’t easy and took quite a lot of effort.
Even on a low assist level, I felt the Charge is aptly named, as I’d get the feeling of a turbocharger gently kicking in. That additional spurt of power whilst cycling never failed to have the effect of making me feel a bit superhuman and makes the bike a lot of fun.
Comfort
The handlebars, even when adjusted felt a bit higher than I’m used to, and It took a little while to get over the fact I felt like I was on a Chopper motorcycle, (a statement which makes very clear my propensity towards exaggeration).
That feeling of the handlebars being too high however quickly faded and the riding position was actually quite comfortable. The seat isn’t too bad either (as far as bike seats go), but on longer rides, I used my padded seat cover as after 10 miles or so I could feel it, despite the great suspension and chunky tyres.
I liked the handlebars which are thick and comfortable, and when cruising on flat trails, I could rest my palms on them whilst cycling and after a ride of a couple of hours, my hands didn’t feel sore.
Features I loved
- The removable, lockable battery is a very clever function
- I love the fact the bike can be folded to fit into the boot of any mid-sized car
- The big chunky tires are so much fun and make cycling on uneven trails feel more stable
- Great suspension on the front forks and in the seat
- All that weight, combined with the chunky tyres makes the bike feel really stable
- The Mycle Charge is available in matt black, bright orange and vibrant turquoise and the battery has some funky graphics on the side
- Straight forward to assemble (it comes mostly assembled) and even with no instructions and just looking at pictures of the bike, it took me 5-10 minutes
- Riding the bike is really intuitive and easy to get to grips with
- It’s heaps of fun to ride
- Exceptional design, it’s all been really cleverly thought out to provide easy and carefree cycling, transportation and storage – even the pedals quickly fold
- The cabling system is really clever and remains neat even when the bike is folded
- The bike is constructed in the UK
Features I loved not so much
- I found the bike heavy and quite difficult to move around and to lift in and out of my car
- With it being so heavy, I felt like I really needed level 1 assist on a fair bit
- I didn’t manage to get anywhere close to the stated distance range out of the bike on longer forest trail rides
My favourite ride on the Mycle Charge was during a solo weekend camping trip in Delamere Forest. I got up super early (for me) and had the forest trails almost to myself. I might be active, but I’m not fit, and I don’t have a bike of my own which means cycling is something I rarely get to do these days.
The thought of hitting a proper mountain bike trail has always scared me a bit, but the pedal assist gave me so much extra confidence that I just went for it. There were a few steeper sections that saw me whack up the assist level to 3, but I totally avoided 4 and was able to keep it on 1 most of the time.
The fact I was grinning ear to ear throughout the ride, even when I almost came off it on a couple of sketchy sections of a very muddy and narrow trail, I was still smiling and having fun.
Who should buy this bike?
The Mycle Charge is good value for money and makes a brilliant commuting bike and is particularly great for zipping around the town and city streets.
The bike should not be discounted for leisure riders though, especially those who want to help improve their fitness or perhaps don’t have the confidence they once had in their ability to tackle hills (like me!).
Although a bike like this would likely prove a little unwieldy on the intermediate to advanced trails of Llandegla, on relatively easy forest trails in places like Delamere Forest and Cannock Chase, the Mycle Charge is a dream to ride.
If you’ll be doing less road cycling and more hardcore trails, then you may want to look at something like the Mycle Climber Electric Mountain Bike.
The design of the Mycle Charge is exceptional, it feels beautifully well made, offers really good value for money and the way it folds is so quick and easy that it makes transportation and storage super simple.
I’ve never been so reluctant to give a sample back and that alone says a lot!
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DISCLOSURE | Thank you to Mycle who loaned us the featured product to us to test. We were not paid to write this review.
