REVIEW – E-bikes are becoming more and more common and the selection of bikes available on the market seems to grow each year. When the KBO K2 E-bike came up for review, I decided to take the plunge and give it a try.
What is it?
The KBO K2 is a foldable E-bike that promises portability in addition to speed and range.
What’s included?
- 1 KBO K2 e-Bike
- 1 battery
- Set of keys for battery pack
- 1 wrench
Tech specs
- 500W brushless geared hub motor, speed up to 20 mph
- 48V 10.4 Ah LG lithium-ion battery, range up to 45 miles per charge
- 6061 Aluminum bike frame
- XC-140-AD-20 front suspension fork
- Shimano 7-Speed Tourney FT
- Shimano 7-Speed Right Shift Lever SL-V4007
- 160mm mechanical brakes
- 48V US certified front light
- 20” x 3” tires
- Fold and unfold within 2 steps
- KBO Liquid Crystal Display
- Recommended Ride Height: 4’7” – 6’3”
- Speed sensor
- 280 lb MAX capacity
- 55 lbs
- Dual disc brakes and responsive stopping power
Design and features
The overall design of the KBO K2 e-bike is well-thought out and simple. The design isn’t fancy, but the form fits the function. The placement of the battery inside the main body puts it out of the way and ensures that it’s protected from damage.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
Straight out of the box, the KBO K2 electric bike came mostly pre-assembled, which was a nice feature. The main body of the bike was complete, all the wiring was connected and routed correctly, and the tires were mounted and partially inflated. The setup consisted of removing a LOT of zip ties. The instruction manual is well-written and only consisted of a few basic steps for assembly, namely unfolding the bike and installing the handlebars and pedals. The pedals also have the additional feature of folding in with the pull of a small latch, which I thought was a nice touch. There was an initial charge on the battery, but I charged it to full before doing any testing.
Performance
All the electronic assist controls on this electric bike are controlled on the left-hand handlebar. The pedal assist controls have levels from 0 to 5. Level 0 being no assistance and pedal power only with levels 1-5 being incrementally faster levels of assistance. For full throttle without pedaling you just have to push down the small switch to the left of the throttle controls. As long as you hold the switch down it will accelerate and continue without any pedaling required. On pure throttle alone, the speed tops out at around 20 mph on a flat surface. You have to continue holding the lever down continuously to keep going on electric-only without pedaling. This made my thumb a little sore after a while when I was trying to hurry back to my car.
The manual does not recommend climbing inclines greater than 15% so that the motor doesn’t overheat or become damaged from excessive load. I took it up one significant incline just to see how it would handle things and it bogged down fairly quickly, so I stopped and turned around.
I took the KBO K2 e-bike down a gravel road and found that you must be careful with your speed, especially at higher assist levels. The assist of the motor on gravel caused the bike to start to fishtail a little and lose control. I didn’t crash, but it was startling. I dialed down the assist and increased how much I was pedaling and that helped a lot. On a normal road, I ran into a patch of gravel and ran into a similar situation again, so keep an eye out for gravel patches. I don’t think that’s an issue specific to this bike because even motorcycles need to watch out for gravel and loose rocks.
The included safety features on the KBO K2 e-bike are pretty standard. Reflectors on both tires, front and back. There is a forward-facing light that you can turn on with the little control console. Took us a minute to figure out how to turn it on since we couldn’t find it anywhere in the instruction manual. Turns out you have to hold the + button down for 2-3 seconds. One feature that I would have liked to see was a rearward facing red light just to increase visibility to cars.
The comfort level of this bike isn’t too different than a standard bike. The front wheel has some pretty tight shocks that have some give to them, but nothing outstanding. The rear wheel has no shocks, so you really feel it when the road gets bumpy, especially at speed. One of the local parks has a path with quite a few bumps from underground roots and I had to dial down the speed a bit because it was uncomfortable.
What I like about the KBO K2 E-bike
- Really fun to ride around the neighborhood and longer rides around town.
- Assembly was a cinch. All of the cables are routed and organized cleanly. I was really impressed by how easy it was to set up.
- Folding up the bike to throw it in the back of a car was pretty simple. It’s a little awkward the first time, but afterwards it’s easy.
- It’s not light, but one person can still lift it into the back of a car.
- Controls are simple and intuitive.
- A functional kickstand!
What needs to be improved?
- Access to the pedal assist controls can be a bit of a stretch unless you take your hand partially off the left handlebar. Not a big issue, just takes a bit to get used to.
- If you stop pedaling and slow down, when you start pedaling again the speed abruptly kicks back up to whatever level you are on. It can be a bit jarring. A more gradual return to assistance level would be nice.
- Rear-facing red safety light.
- Cruise control on electric assist only. It becomes hard to continue to hold the lever down continuously if you’re going electric only without pedaling.
Final thoughts
This is a fun bike to ride. I don’t have many points of comparison against other E-bikes, but I have put together quite a few normal bikes. The setup on this E-bike was dead simple. I didn’t have to fiddle around with brakes or try to get wheels balance. It just worked. It fits well in the back of our car and I look forward to taking it out on future excursions. The latches that lock everything in place are pretty strong and I liked the design. For someone getting into E-bikes that wants a portable option, I highly recommend the KBO K2.
Price: $699.00 On Sale Now
Where to buy: KBO (Save an additional $20 off with code: gadgeteer )
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by KBO. KBO did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
