The Groove from Gen3 is a new folding fat tire e-bike to hit the market. It doesn’t take much to notice that prices of folding e-bikes have been on the rise lately, but this fat tire folder is currently being offered for just under $1K with current promotions.
While the market is competitive for this style of fat tire e-bike, Gen3 has focused on quality components to make this folding electric bike a consideration this season.
The Groove Folding E-Bike: Powerful Bafang Motor
The Groove starts out with a powerful Bafang 500W rear hub motor with 80N/m torque and is capable of 1000W of peak power. As with all electric bikes, the power and torque of the motors are the most important since that is what gets you up those hills and The Groove has both.
The Bafang motor is operated with 5 levels of pedal assist set to specific speed markers; PAS 1 set to 10 mph, PAS 2 -12mph, PAS 3 – 16 mph, PAS 4 – 18 mph, and PAS 5 – 20 mph. If you wish to ride at speeds of less than 10 mph you would need to set the PAS to zero which is basically riding a folding bike without any pedal assist. The throttle is not set to PAS levels (which was an issue in some e-bikes last year) and provides additional speed on demand up to 20 mph.
The Groove’s battery can provide up to 45 miles of travel and is housed behind the seat post part of the frame. The battery is capable of being charged while in the locked position, however, it should be noted that to remove the battery you also need to remove the entire seat/seat post. If it became an issue over time you could always purchase a suspension seat post with flip-up capabilities for an additional $40 USD.
The Groove Folding E-Bike: Brakes, Gearing, and Suspension
Braking for The Groove is supplied by mechanical disc brakes with a larger 180mm rotor on the front tire for better stopping performance. The front tire is also equipped with a quick release. Given that this is a folding e-bike you probably won’t need this to make the bike more compact but could be of benefit if you need to change a flat tire.
The gearing is 7 speeds and operated by a Shimano Tourney derailleur and Shimano trigger shifter. It’s your standard setup as with most folding e-bikes these days.
The Groove is equipped with a front suspension fork with lockout feature (which is nice) and a comfortable saddle for absorbing most of the riding bumps.
The Groove also includes metal fenders, an integrated front headlight, and a battery operated rear seat post light. Grips are your standard round rubber with locking rings on 580mm low rise (or back sweep) handlebars. Again, the handlebars are industry norm dimensions but at some point, we would like to these handlebars start to widen out like the Lectric XP 2.0. We also have come to find that ergonomic handlebar grips just feel better on longer e-bike rides but that’s just a personal preference like bike seats, both of which can be upgraded at any time.
The Groove Folding Fat Tire E-Bike: Conclusion
The Groove has a number of great upgraded features such as a powerful rear hub motor and front suspension with lockout. As mentioned above you do need to remove your seat post to fully remove the battery, however, we rarely remove our batteries for charging.
Currently, there is no rear rack option but there are numerous racks available that attach to seat posts.
This is a great fat tire folding e-bike for the price and you will appreciate the power of this rear hub Bafang motor.
The Groove Fat Tire Folding Electric Bike: Pricing and Specs
The Groove folding fat tire e-bike is currently priced at just $1,199 USD (currently offered at $999 USD with coupon) and includes free shipping.
The Groove 500W folding e-bike comes mostly assembled as shown in the video below. Tools are provided to install the front tire, fender, light, and pedals. Gen3 offers for all their e-bikes a 1-year all-inclusive warranty from manufacturing defects from the date of purchase on accessories and hardware components. Please review all warranties before purchasing.
The main features are as follows:
MOTOR Bafang 500W Rated / 1000W Peak Rear Hub Motor with 1:5 Planetary Gears and 80 N/m of torque
BATTERY 48V 13.75AH Battery with Fast-Charging 54.6V/2A charger
RANGE 45 miles
PEDAL ASSIST 5 levels of PAS
MAX SPEED 20 mph (class 2)
DISPLAY Backlit display with headlight on/off and thumb throttle
THROTTLE Yes, Thumb
FRAME 6061 Double-Butted Aluminum folding frame
FORK 20″ 50mm Stroke Suspension with Lock and Adjust Controls
BRAKES GEN3 DB-330 Mechanical Disc Brakes with motor cutoff, Rotors:180mm Front/160mm Rear
GEARS Shimano Tourney 7-Speed RD-TY300D with Shimano TX50-7R
HANDLEBARS 580mm Low Rise, Aluminum Alloy
GRIPS Diamond Dots 130mm Double-Density Thermoplastic Rubber with Locking Ring
STEM Adjustable Height 80mm x 31.8mm MTB with 7-Degree Rise
RIMS Aluminum Single Wall, 36H with Quick Release (Front Only)
TIRES CST BFT All-Terrain 20″ ×4″
SADDLE Trekking Comfort Saddle (260mm x 165mm)
PEDALS CNC Aluminum Platform
LIGHTS/RACK Integrated Front: Spanninga Axendo 40, Rear: Battery-Powered Seat Post Mounted
FENDERS Metal included
WEIGHT 62 lbs
FOLDING SIZE 38″ L x 28″ H x 24″ W
