Thanks for the indepth review. I live in an area with lots of hills. Would it be better for me to get the Carbo S or Carbo X? Also, what do you recommend for battery and motor? Would it be better to upgrade battery and/or motor to get more range and power for going up hills? Thanks.
I live in San Francisco on a pretty good sized hill. The motor is powerful enough to get me up good-sized hills. I do have to crank it up - if you need a lot of range it might cut down on that. Or if you're a really big person - I weight 155lbs.
@@jamesfgreer Looking at getting a Carbo, hope you dont mind some questions :) do you have the model x or s? Also, do you have the 250W motor or the 350W motor? Which size battery do you have, how far is your commute and are you please with your battery/motor selection?
Thanks for the very thorough review! With both reviews You basically answered all and every question I had about my bike Excited to put my bike together and ride.
Hi i have a cuestion haw much time take for the delivery because I order the bike I don't receive i order 3 months ago !!! Some know what's going on 😕???
The shipping industry is really holding back alot of import/export goods at this point. I've been waiting on a MTB I ordered from a company and they're held back 3 months or so, just because of shipping logistics, so that would be my best guess.
Kay Flip.....considering the X model because of the belt drive. We live on the coast (flat, Florida) and want to have option to ride on beach. I see from reading your posts that you have the S model and it has 9 gears versus the 1 gear on the X. I like the X, because of the belt drive which I see as a benefit to standard chain that gets exposed to salt air, sand and rain. But, I don't fully understand what I am losing having only 1 gear. Does that mean that the rotation of the pedals would be too fast to keep up with in a downhill situation? Can you give me your opinion? Finally, I don't see many accessories for the Carbo. In 2018, there were videos of a luggage rack with wheels and a cushier seat. To your knowledge, has that become a reality? How about customer service? Have you had any occasion to need technical assistance? Thanks so much.
Hey Mary, thanks for stopping by to watch our review :) I've lived in a few places in Florida (Sarasota, Palm Coast and St. Augustine) and I think the belt drive is the way to go for us coast people (I'm in Corpus Christi, now, but still the coast, right next to the ocean). I'm going to respond to Kay Flip down below, and see if he can pop on here and give us that first hand experience!
I see you have had a Carbo bike for around 1 year. We purchased a previous owned Carbo and Carbo is unable to transfer ownership. Carbo went so far as to delete all our communiscation thread as we have tried for 2 weeks to resolve this issue. In tbe year you have owned your bike, how has your customer service experience been? Thank you for your help?
Hey there! First off, I'm sorry for the experience that you've had over there! I worked with the founders of the company directly for this review, so I never got to experience the customer support side of things. My gut instinct is that it wasn't the top dogs making those decisions to erase your communication, and that's just the feeling I got working with them. Hopefully it was a lower level person that maybe just didn't make the right decision. For the ownership transfer, it is not a terribly common thing in the Ebike space, as far as I know. Usually the warranty is offered only to the original buyer. There are companies out there that do transfers, but I don't think it's the norm. So, after I wrapped up the review, I gave the Carbo to my mom for her birthday, and she has used it since then, pretty much every day to ride to and from work (it's only about a mile, so very convenient for her) She also would go for 10-15 mile rides on the weekend pretty consistently. She only ever had one problem with some motor noise, but turns out it was just a cable being rubbed, and readjusting the rear wheel fixed that. Other than that she has had no complaints or issues with the bike. I wish I could give some more insight into the customer support side of things, but as someone who didn't purchase the bike as a customer, I haven't yet had to deal with it. Other than transferring ownership, is there any problems with the bike?
Hey Al! Thanks for the compliment! I think with this bike the 350w motor is an available upgrade, and I would probably go with the 350w in your case, especially if you know you're gonna be tackling some hills. Can't hurt to have a little more power under ya!
@@alchernoff8309 Ah yes...the shipping times! I'm well aware of the desire to have it now and when i can't well...I don't enjoy it :P Did you end up pulling the trigger? or the wait times too long for you?
Hi! Thanks for this review. This model has single gear, right? So, what about the cadence at high speeds? Aren't you pedalling too fast? Do you miss having more gears? Thanks.
Hey Pau! Thanks for stopping by :) It is a single gear. The belt drive version paired with the rear-hub motor doesn't give us any of those fancy continuous/fluid gearings as we've seen in some of the fancy, top-end models. In my personal experience, I did not miss the extra gears. But, this model was only going to 15 MPH, as opposed to the US model that has a higher top speed. Up to 15 MPH it was super easy to pedal, very good cadence for me pedaling around the neighborhood. I would guess that it would still be a solid cadence at 20 MPH as well, but that would be an educated guess, as I wasn't able to test that out personally.
@Kay Flip thanks for your helpful answer. That's exactly what I thought when I compared the models and I ordered the S model few days ago. I can't wait to ride it!
Hey @Kay Flip I love your enthusiasm and hope I can feel it myself soon. I was wondering if it does make any sense to size up the hub power, the torque and the battery. I will personally use the bike to commute (combined with train), after my gf will use it when we go for a stroll. Would you really suggest the upgrade? (In Europe we have speed/power limits). Also, what can you tell about the battery: its lifetime after the single usage and the overall quality after long time you have being using it? Thanks so much!!
I just got one. How would you recommend locking up this bike. I have 2 u locks. But since the battery is in the removable seat would u suggest taking the seat out every time u go somewhere?
Hey Trev! How are you liking it so far?? Also, for the locking...the seat battery does make it tricky. Unless Carbo comes out with a specific fix, you may have to do some diy stuff there. There is a guy on the EBR forums who made a "seatpost tether". That involves getting a third lock to keep the seat there. electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/known-issues-problems-with-qualisports-products-help-solutions-fixes.28680/ That way you don't have to unplug the battery ad carry a seatpost around with you wherever you go! It also gives you a pretty good attachment point with one of the U locks, and then i'd go front tire (because of the quick release). So...that's probably what I would do in that situation. But there aren't any PERFECT solutions, at least that I've seen. I hope that helps!!
@@Ennovation hey thanks for the reply It hasn't been delivered just yet but I bought it. I guess I'm just nervous about the lack of antitheft features. That seat battery seems vulnerable but I did read the forum. Maybe there is a diy workaround I just hate the thought of having to break my whole bike down every time I park somewhere. Then again maybe that's why it's so portable lol take it with you every where even the bathroom!
This one, I don't think so, at least not any solution I've seen. The battery is the seatpost, so you'd have to find a seat post with that thick diameter if you wanted to convert it to a regular bike. Definitely possible there's some options out there, but seems like a VERY niche item that sombody probably made in their garage, if there is one. BUT ALSO, if you do find one, please head back here and link it up! If you're asking there may be more people interested in that type of product.
Thank you for your video. I'm considering few different models of folding ebike. I'm a Strida owner and I love it so much for many reasons but I'm looking for something more compact and electric for some longers easy rides. I'm thinking about Brombton electric but I wouldn't mind a 20" wheel to be honest. That's why my eyes went on the carbo. The Vello bike+ Is very nice and light imo but it seems to take too much space. I'd love to get it fit into my luggage so to take it with me when I travel. 13' width is still not narrow enough for my bag. If I'm not wrong, the Brompton is narrower, but heavier too nonetheless. It's an hard decision to take and I still haven't made up my mind on which one to choose. Sure thing, this bike looks very attractive to me. One question: you were talking about the front light. Is it possible to remove it so to mount a removable light on the steering bar?
Hey Ivo! Thank you for watching! For the front light, I would say it is removable, but with caveats. The wiring for the light runs straight into the light and then inside the frame, but it doesn't come out where the rest of the wiring heads to the battery connects, so my guess is that it ties in with one of the larger wires. I think it could be simple to remove, but you would have to chase down that connection and see what's happening there. I can't confirm exactly what that looks like though. No quick connection point as we've seen with other front lights here.
@@Ennovation the front light cable has a detachable point towards the front opening of the frame. If you gently tug on the cable (after removing the grommet), you can pull the cable far enough out to show the detachable harness.
I believe on their website it says "starting" at 13kg, which could mean the lower battery, one of two saddles, and a different stem (they have two options from what I understand. My weight was hand-measured with a hand scale, so my unit, in its configuration was for sure 31 lbs. Thank you for clarifying and trying to get to the bottom of this :)
Did i miss something? Is this like part 5 of a 10 part review? All i got out of this was a review on pedals, night time driving, and it is light and simple.
Hey there! This is not an In-Depth review, so we just touch on a few aspects of the bike after riding the unit for a while. Here is a link to the full review: ruclips.net/video/MFe8XGfkXCs/видео.html and if you have any other questions about the bike, please let me know :)
@@laronis Glad I could be of assistance! I would also be a little confused if I clicked on a review and some guy told me 4 or 5 different things and then it was done :P
Oh yeah! The ole batteries can't fly business. Samsung sure messed that up for everyone :P To be honest, I'm not sure what/when the lithium rules came into being. I just remember the big hubbub of not flying with a Galaxy Note.
@@Ennovation well I think it’s fine until the battery exceeds 100w or something, they might make exceptions for respiratory devices? I know the brand Swytch made some 90wh e bike batteries that would be a work around except they make you buy the whole kit for them. It’s just a bit frustrating because a portable ebike is great for being portable until you are not allowed to lol
@@SolarPunk80 I heard that! I was actually watching a Q&A video on the EMTB Network and they were talking about some sort of compliancy box that you might be able to put the batteries in, but basically said that there's alot of red tape, and exceptions, yadayada, so at the end, they were like "don't plan on it".
Thanks for making this video! Looks like a nice bike. I'm willing to buy this but I'm little worried about that cable hanging under the bike. Especially with the bad weather we have in here during this season. If only they put it somewhere higher that can't touch the ground. Otherwise it seems a great bike!
Hey there! I touched on the cable connection because I think there may be a solution that doesn't involve the cable sticking out from the bottom of the frame there, but I don't think it's really any issue, even with bad weather or things like that. I think in this particular video the grass may have been misleading to how close it was to the ground. I just measured it this evening and the lowest part of the cable is just shy of 8 inches off the ground. The connection is also pretty tight/secure, so I wouldn't be too concerned with stuff getting in that bottom connection.
@Kay Flip Hey Kay Flip! Mary Frosio had a few questions about your S and your opinion on multiple gears vs. 1 gear. :) Hope you've had a wonderful holiday season so far.
I'm guessing one of the engineers :P Yeah it's pretty common, but there are a few bikes (Fiido D11/Fiido X) that have the connection at the top, just under the saddle, and I find that to be a bit more appealing and easier to get to as well.
@@ravi911uk No worries, Homey! Thank you for the clarification! I sort of assumed it was more in jest than a lecture :) I appreciate the support here on the channel, and I welcome any sort of feedback to improve!
Thanks for the indepth review. I live in an area with lots of hills. Would it be better for me to get the Carbo S or Carbo X? Also, what do you recommend for battery and motor? Would it be better to upgrade battery and/or motor to get more range and power for going up hills? Thanks.
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I live in San Francisco on a pretty good sized hill. The motor is powerful enough to get me up good-sized hills. I do have to crank it up - if you need a lot of range it might cut down on that. Or if you're a really big person - I weight 155lbs.
@@jamesfgreer Looking at getting a Carbo, hope you dont mind some questions :) do you have the model x or s? Also, do you have the 250W motor or the 350W motor? Which size battery do you have, how far is your commute and are you please with your battery/motor selection?
Thanks for the very thorough review! With both reviews You basically answered all and every question I had about my bike Excited to put my bike together and ride.
That is awesome to hear! I appreciate you supporting us by giving us a watch :) Hope your Ebike gives you lots of good trips in the future.
Is it true that the Carbo Model X 350 watt version only has a real world range of 12 miles ( 19 km )?
Hi i have a cuestion haw much time take for the delivery because I order the bike I don't receive i order 3 months ago !!! Some know what's going on 😕???
The shipping industry is really holding back alot of import/export goods at this point. I've been waiting on a MTB I ordered from a company and they're held back 3 months or so, just because of shipping logistics, so that would be my best guess.
Kay Flip.....considering the X model because of the belt drive. We live on the coast (flat, Florida) and want to have option to ride on beach. I see from reading your posts that you have the S model and it has 9 gears versus the 1 gear on the X. I like the X, because of the belt drive which I see as a benefit to standard chain that gets exposed to salt air, sand and rain. But, I don't fully understand what I am losing having only 1 gear. Does that mean that the rotation of the pedals would be too fast to keep up with in a downhill situation? Can you give me your opinion? Finally, I don't see many accessories for the Carbo. In 2018, there were videos of a luggage rack with wheels and a cushier seat. To your knowledge, has that become a reality? How about customer service? Have you had any occasion to need technical assistance? Thanks so much.
Hey Mary, thanks for stopping by to watch our review :) I've lived in a few places in Florida (Sarasota, Palm Coast and St. Augustine) and I think the belt drive is the way to go for us coast people (I'm in Corpus Christi, now, but still the coast, right next to the ocean). I'm going to respond to Kay Flip down below, and see if he can pop on here and give us that first hand experience!
I see you have had a Carbo bike for around 1 year. We purchased a previous owned Carbo and Carbo is unable to transfer ownership. Carbo went so far as to delete all our communiscation thread as we have tried for 2 weeks to resolve this issue. In tbe year you have owned your bike, how has your customer service experience been? Thank you for your help?
Hey there! First off, I'm sorry for the experience that you've had over there! I worked with the founders of the company directly for this review, so I never got to experience the customer support side of things. My gut instinct is that it wasn't the top dogs making those decisions to erase your communication, and that's just the feeling I got working with them. Hopefully it was a lower level person that maybe just didn't make the right decision. For the ownership transfer, it is not a terribly common thing in the Ebike space, as far as I know. Usually the warranty is offered only to the original buyer. There are companies out there that do transfers, but I don't think it's the norm. So, after I wrapped up the review, I gave the Carbo to my mom for her birthday, and she has used it since then, pretty much every day to ride to and from work (it's only about a mile, so very convenient for her) She also would go for 10-15 mile rides on the weekend pretty consistently. She only ever had one problem with some motor noise, but turns out it was just a cable being rubbed, and readjusting the rear wheel fixed that. Other than that she has had no complaints or issues with the bike. I wish I could give some more insight into the customer support side of things, but as someone who didn't purchase the bike as a customer, I haven't yet had to deal with it. Other than transferring ownership, is there any problems with the bike?
Southern California, north of San Diego. with hills would you recommend the 350w motor vs the 250w it comes with.. I like your review
Hey Al! Thanks for the compliment! I think with this bike the 350w motor is an available upgrade, and I would probably go with the 350w in your case, especially if you know you're gonna be tackling some hills. Can't hurt to have a little more power under ya!
@@Ennovation I will go for it, but they tell me any change will move it from right away to 45 to 60 days. sigh
@@alchernoff8309 Ah yes...the shipping times! I'm well aware of the desire to have it now and when i can't well...I don't enjoy it :P Did you end up pulling the trigger? or the wait times too long for you?
@@Ennovation yes... waiting for it's arrival
Hi! Thanks for this review. This model has single gear, right? So, what about the cadence at high speeds? Aren't you pedalling too fast? Do you miss having more gears? Thanks.
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Hey Pau! Thanks for stopping by :) It is a single gear. The belt drive version paired with the rear-hub motor doesn't give us any of those fancy continuous/fluid gearings as we've seen in some of the fancy, top-end models. In my personal experience, I did not miss the extra gears. But, this model was only going to 15 MPH, as opposed to the US model that has a higher top speed. Up to 15 MPH it was super easy to pedal, very good cadence for me pedaling around the neighborhood. I would guess that it would still be a solid cadence at 20 MPH as well, but that would be an educated guess, as I wasn't able to test that out personally.
@Kay Flip thanks for your helpful answer. That's exactly what I thought when I compared the models and I ordered the S model few days ago. I can't wait to ride it!
Hey @Kay Flip I love your enthusiasm and hope I can feel it myself soon.
I was wondering if it does make any sense to size up the hub power, the torque and the battery. I will personally use the bike to commute (combined with train), after my gf will use it when we go for a stroll.
Would you really suggest the upgrade? (In Europe we have speed/power limits).
Also, what can you tell about the battery: its lifetime after the single usage and the overall quality after long time you have being using it?
Thanks so much!!
What is it about this bike where the reviewers don’t seem to have adjusted the seat height? Or is the bike very limited in catering for taller folks?
I just got one. How would you recommend locking up this bike. I have 2 u locks. But since the battery is in the removable seat would u suggest taking the seat out every time u go somewhere?
Hey Trev! How are you liking it so far?? Also, for the locking...the seat battery does make it tricky. Unless Carbo comes out with a specific fix, you may have to do some diy stuff there. There is a guy on the EBR forums who made a "seatpost tether". That involves getting a third lock to keep the seat there. electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/known-issues-problems-with-qualisports-products-help-solutions-fixes.28680/
That way you don't have to unplug the battery ad carry a seatpost around with you wherever you go! It also gives you a pretty good attachment point with one of the U locks, and then i'd go front tire (because of the quick release). So...that's probably what I would do in that situation. But there aren't any PERFECT solutions, at least that I've seen. I hope that helps!!
@@Ennovation hey thanks for the reply It hasn't been delivered just yet but I bought it. I guess I'm just nervous about the lack of antitheft features. That seat battery seems vulnerable but I did read the forum. Maybe there is a diy workaround I just hate the thought of having to break my whole bike down every time I park somewhere. Then again maybe that's why it's so portable lol take it with you every where even the bathroom!
@@trevthird2566 You may want to try and add a Axa or Abus cafe lock (frame lock) with a chain to lock it up for short stop
is there an option to make it a normal bike if you want to bring it on plane?
This one, I don't think so, at least not any solution I've seen. The battery is the seatpost, so you'd have to find a seat post with that thick diameter if you wanted to convert it to a regular bike. Definitely possible there's some options out there, but seems like a VERY niche item that sombody probably made in their garage, if there is one. BUT ALSO, if you do find one, please head back here and link it up! If you're asking there may be more people interested in that type of product.
Thank you for your video. I'm considering few different models of folding ebike. I'm a Strida owner and I love it so much for many reasons but I'm looking for something more compact and electric for some longers easy rides. I'm thinking about Brombton electric but I wouldn't mind a 20" wheel to be honest. That's why my eyes went on the carbo. The Vello bike+ Is very nice and light imo but it seems to take too much space. I'd love to get it fit into my luggage so to take it with me when I travel. 13' width is still not narrow enough for my bag. If I'm not wrong, the Brompton is narrower, but heavier too nonetheless. It's an hard decision to take and I still haven't made up my mind on which one to choose. Sure thing, this bike looks very attractive to me. One question: you were talking about the front light. Is it possible to remove it so to mount a removable light on the steering bar?
Hey Ivo! Thank you for watching! For the front light, I would say it is removable, but with caveats. The wiring for the light runs straight into the light and then inside the frame, but it doesn't come out where the rest of the wiring heads to the battery connects, so my guess is that it ties in with one of the larger wires. I think it could be simple to remove, but you would have to chase down that connection and see what's happening there. I can't confirm exactly what that looks like though. No quick connection point as we've seen with other front lights here.
@@Ennovation Thank you for taking time to reply. Much appreciated. Have a bright day.
@@pierangelaoliva658 You're very welcome! I hope you have a great one as well :)
@@Ennovation the front light cable has a detachable point towards the front opening of the frame. If you gently tug on the cable (after removing the grommet), you can pull the cable far enough out to show the detachable harness.
@@theMadMan74 That is sweet! Thanks for the updated info here! I hope this can help out someone watching :)
The add on u tube says it’s 29 pounds not 31. Which is it.
I believe on their website it says "starting" at 13kg, which could mean the lower battery, one of two saddles, and a different stem (they have two options from what I understand. My weight was hand-measured with a hand scale, so my unit, in its configuration was for sure 31 lbs. Thank you for clarifying and trying to get to the bottom of this :)
Great review once again. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for taking the time to watch :) I appreciate you supporting us as we grow!
Did i miss something? Is this like part 5 of a 10 part review? All i got out of this was a review on pedals, night time driving, and it is light and simple.
Hey there! This is not an In-Depth review, so we just touch on a few aspects of the bike after riding the unit for a while. Here is a link to the full review: ruclips.net/video/MFe8XGfkXCs/видео.html and if you have any other questions about the bike, please let me know :)
@@Ennovation thx
@@Ennovation That is the review i was looking for, nice!
@@laronis Glad I could be of assistance! I would also be a little confused if I clicked on a review and some guy told me 4 or 5 different things and then it was done :P
What about hills and gravel ?
This seems to tick a lot of boxes for me except for the rules of not bringing batteries on planes for travel…
Oh yeah! The ole batteries can't fly business. Samsung sure messed that up for everyone :P To be honest, I'm not sure what/when the lithium rules came into being. I just remember the big hubbub of not flying with a Galaxy Note.
@@Ennovation well I think it’s fine until the battery exceeds 100w or something, they might make exceptions for respiratory devices? I know the brand Swytch made some 90wh e bike batteries that would be a work around except they make you buy the whole kit for them. It’s just a bit frustrating because a portable ebike is great for being portable until you are not allowed to lol
@@SolarPunk80 I heard that! I was actually watching a Q&A video on the EMTB Network and they were talking about some sort of compliancy box that you might be able to put the batteries in, but basically said that there's alot of red tape, and exceptions, yadayada, so at the end, they were like "don't plan on it".
Thanks for making this video! Looks like a nice bike. I'm willing to buy this but I'm little worried about that cable hanging under the bike. Especially with the bad weather we have in here during this season. If only they put it somewhere higher that can't touch the ground. Otherwise it seems a great bike!
Hey there! I touched on the cable connection because I think there may be a solution that doesn't involve the cable sticking out from the bottom of the frame there, but I don't think it's really any issue, even with bad weather or things like that. I think in this particular video the grass may have been misleading to how close it was to the ground. I just measured it this evening and the lowest part of the cable is just shy of 8 inches off the ground. The connection is also pretty tight/secure, so I wouldn't be too concerned with stuff getting in that bottom connection.
@Kay Flip Hey Kay Flip! Mary Frosio had a few questions about your S and your opinion on multiple gears vs. 1 gear. :) Hope you've had a wonderful holiday season so far.
Was considering it BUT that battery cable underneath killed it for me. Who's idea was it to put that there ... no way !
I'm guessing one of the engineers :P Yeah it's pretty common, but there are a few bikes (Fiido D11/Fiido X) that have the connection at the top, just under the saddle, and I find that to be a bit more appealing and easier to get to as well.
@@Ennovation They should have put the battery in the top tube.
Hey was there a way to connect my Google Maps to the display screen??
I don't think so. That is an excellent feature add though!
This or the vanmoof?
depends if u need a folding bike or not!
Dude, there’s a ‘h’ in aesthetics. Get it right.
Hey Homey! I'll work on that pronunciation for future videos! Thanks for the advice :)
@@Ennovation Sorry man, just read what I wrote, didn’t mean to lecture you, just a FYI. Apologies for the tone.
@@ravi911uk No worries, Homey! Thank you for the clarification! I sort of assumed it was more in jest than a lecture :) I appreciate the support here on the channel, and I welcome any sort of feedback to improve!