Like the idea of an electric bike but not sure how it’ll fit in to your life? Hop on to Engwe’s Engine Pro – this e-bike packs a punch on the road but can be folded down in seconds for easy transport. Engwe’s full suspension, trail-ready beast of a bike offers great comfort and rugged tyres, so it’s a good choice for both city and countryside, with the extra beef of a battery to help you pedal.
Review: Engwe Engine Pro foldable e-MTB bike
Spanners at the ready: the Engwe Engine Pro arrived in a hefty cardboard box and took me a few hours to put together. Most of the bike was good to go straight out of the box, and it was relatively quick and easy to set up the wheels, handlebars and saddle – there’s no fiddly wiring involved. My main bugbear at this stage were the instructions – they are on the very simple (dare I say incomprehensible) side, and I had to watch a few YouTube videos to figure out the – literal – nuts and bolts of some parts of this bike. If you’ve never tried bike maintenance before, I’d get a professional to set the Engine Pro up for you, but if you know your cogsets from your chain rings you’ll probably be able to muddle through.
On the road again
Once the Engine Pro is ready to go, it really is a treat to ride (and to look at). This electric bike really stands out from the crowd – it looks like a hybrid between a mountain bike, a motorbike and a folding bike, which is exactly what it is. It definitely takes up space, and at 35kg it’s the heaviest bike I’ve ever ridden, but you do get a juicy battery, tough, fat tyres and a solid, comfortable frame. And once you’re in the saddle with the battery assisting as you pedal, that weight melts away and this bike proves to be speedy, comfortable and easy to manoeuvre both on and off tarmac – it feels more like riding a scooter than a bike, and great suspension and those fat tyres make this model as trusty as a mountain bike on wide groomed trails. Swap between three modes – ECO, Normal and Sport – for extra zip as you go. Even steep hills feel effortless in sport, and on flat terrain the Engine Pro is so much fun you might find yourself smiling as you go.
I charged this behemoth of a bike multiple times during testing – it takes around five hours to fully recharge, so is best left plugged in overnight. Once juiced up, it’ll tackle around 60km in one go, so it’s not suitable for travelling far on multi-day adventures, but is ideal for the daily commute and for shorter days out in the countryside. The built-in rack takes heavy panniers and bags without blinking, too.
Any downsides to this nifty design? The Engine Pro is very heavy at 35kg. I struggle to get it down stairs or push it along narrow pathways, and you definitely couldn’t pedal it without battery assistance. This is also a bulky bike – while folding is surprisingly quick and easy, you won’t end up with a tiny package, Brompton bike-style, that you can carry onto a train. That said, the Engwe Engine Pro will pop in the boot of my estate car with no issues (although it takes a bit of fitness to haul it in and out!) so I still think the folding capability is worth having. I really like that it’s easy to order racks, rack bags and other accessories from the brand’s website to customise your ride, and you can also replace the battery direct from Engwe for a decent price, something I’ve found impossible with other e-bikes in the past.
Verdict: What stands out when testing out the Engwe Engine Pro is the great solid build quality of each part of this bike despite its modest price point. Engwe seem to have carved out a bit of the market for affordable e-bikes of all shapes and sizes, but I think this is one of their most versatile offerings, despite that heavier weight – it’s easy to assemble, offers very solid build quality and best of all, is serious fun to ride.
Buy the Engine Pro for £1,349 from Engwe (reduced to £1,269 from April 8th to April 30th)
