Micro Edition

Jetbike Micro Edition is a powerful folding electric bike from GTF brand. The benefit is improved traction and steering but one downside is a completely rear-heavy bike. At 43 pounds it weighs about as much as a full sized ebike but the removable battery pack makes it lighter to lift and store and the small folding design is convenient for travel. In short, this thing has excellent power for climbing and the smaller 14″ wheels create even more mechanical advantage for the motor. While the smaller wheels also ride bumpier the basic suspension fork and seat post shock help to make it feel comfortable.

The motor powering Micro Edition is a geared rear-hub design offering 250 watts of output (Bosch). That’s pretty powerful for even a full sized ebike so it’s very capable on this smaller design. You can hear the electronic whir that the motor creates when really unleashed in the video review above. It’s super quiet but the geared design provides excellent torque and helps the hub fit into a smaller form factor which accommodates the 1 speed cassette.

The battery pack offers ~48 volts of power and 12 amp hours of capacity. The Lithium Iron Phosphate chemistry is known for being relatively light weight, durable and heat resistant.

The control system on this bike is relatively straight forward, once the pack is charged and mounted on the rear rack (you can also charge while it’s mounted) just insert the key and twist the throttle. Unlike some fancier bikes, this one only provides a twist throttle and there’s no LCD display readout for speed, power mode or remaining battery level. Instead, you have three LED’s to reference which act as a basic guide for how full the battery is. While this setup may be simple, it’s also intuitive and just about anyone can hop right on and use it without issue. The parts are basic and help to keep the overall price of the bike low.

The Micro Edition does some important things very well: it folds and is powerful. While the design isn’t as refined, balanced or sleek as some other folding e bikes it also costs less. Some of the components are really quite nice and the two year warranty is solid. While I appreciate pedal assist, the 40+ mile range of this twist throttle setup is quite satisfying and with the addition of a backpack the whole rear rack storage thing becomes less of an issues. This could be a good choice for heavier riders who want extra power, but still need the folding design.