Bicycles

Fat, electric folder is one Bad Bike

Fat, electric folder is one Bad Bike
The Fat Bad will be on display at Eurobike 2015
The Fat Bad will be on display at Eurobike 2015
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Bad Bike's Fat Bad
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Bad Bike's Fat Bad
The Fat Bad uses a li-po battery pack for up to 43 miles of electric power
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The Fat Bad uses a li-po battery pack for up to 43 miles of electric power
The Fat Bad is billed as the world's first folding fat e-bike
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The Fat Bad is billed as the world's first folding fat e-bike
Bad Bike will also show a fat version of the pictured Beach Vintage Side e-bike at Eurobike
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Bad Bike will also show a fat version of the pictured Beach Vintage Side e-bike at Eurobike
The Fat Bad is available for pre-order
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The Fat Bad is available for pre-order
The Fat Bad will be on display at Eurobike 2015
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The Fat Bad will be on display at Eurobike 2015
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We've covered plenty of folding electric bikes and a few electric fat bikes. What we haven't previously seen is a folding electric bike with fat tires. The Fat Bad from Italy's Bad Bike launches with claims of being the world's first. Its thick, knobby tires are secured to a folding frame and powered by up to 500 watts of pedal assist.

We're not sure about you, but we think "folding," "electric" and "fat" are just too many adjectives for any one bike. It seems like those big, burly tires will get in the way of your compact, folding bike. We also wonder if the 20-in folding-bike sizing of those tires will cut into the performance of the fat tire, which is usually mountain bike-sized.

We won't knock it, though, because there are probably more than a few commuters out there that have to ride through snow and muck in winter, want to store or transport their bikes in a small space, and want to have an electric motor helping them climb hills and pedal farther. So why not a folding, electric fat bike?

Bad Bike's Fat Bad
Bad Bike's Fat Bad

The Fat Bad comes in 36V/250-watt and 48V/500-watt levels. The 250-watt drive is wired to a 10-Ah lithium-polymer battery pack mounted vertically behind the seat post. That battery helps you roll the 4-inch-wide tires forward for between 31 and 43 miles (55 and 70 km). After that, it takes four to five hours to charge back up. Motor output is adjusted via a three-speed controller, and a battery life indicator lets you know how much juice is left.

Beyond that, the Fat Bad is your basic small folder. The 25-kg (55-lb/with battery) bike features an aluminum alloy frame, hydraulic disc brakes, a 7-speed Shimano Altus drivetrain and reinforced aluminum rims. Options include mud guards, and front and rear LED lighting.

Bad Bike doesn't show any photos of the Fat Bad folded up, but a quick scan of the photos it has supplied tells us that the bike folds in half via a hinge on the main central tube, and the handlebars fold down.

The Fat Bad is available for preorder via Bad Bike's online shop. The 250-watt base model is listed at €1,598 (about US$1,775) and requires a €298 deposit. The 500-watt Fat Bad R comes in at €1,998 ($2,220) and involves a €348 deposit.

Bad Bike will also show a fat version of the pictured Beach Vintage Side e-bike at Eurobike
Bad Bike will also show a fat version of the pictured Beach Vintage Side e-bike at Eurobike

Bad Bike will be showing the Fat Bad at Eurobike 2015 at the end of the month, where it will also show a fat-tired version of the cool, little Beach Vintage Side, a beach cruisin' e-bike with side car (original, non-fat Beach Vintage Side pictured above).

Source: Bad Bike

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3 comments
3 comments
Pat Pending
I own a near identical bike, the Volt Metro, http://www.voltbikes.co.uk/metro-folding-electric-bike.php is has the same 36 volt 10-Ah lithium-polymer battery.
It will just make 15 miles on skinny tyres. To claim "between 31 and 43 miles" on fat, knobbly tyres is disingenuous at best.
I have researched the components to build a 72 volt, 20 amp LiPo bike with a 1000 watt motor running on 700c wheels with 28mm tyres. The computer projections suggest a range of 30 miles although wind resistance is the biggest single factor.
For anyone interested in building electric bikes that will function in the real world visit this site; https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=21
unklmurray
While there is no reason why the "Fat Bad folder" won't function in the "real world" but a comment section wouldn't be proper without a naysayer" so since there is only one other comment,I like the little Fat Folder!!I want 2.......
WagTheSchmoo
Full-sized adults do not fare well riding 20"-wheeled bikes. I'm 78 and have been riding bikes since I was 7. I fell twice at age 7 on 20"-wheeled bikes until I got used to them. I never fell again until I bought a 20"-wheeled Dahon folding bike at age 63. I bought two of them for a pal and myself, and we added every accessory needed for safe riding in the Swiss and French alps, often on some hairy mountain bike trails. We had no problems on these trails but for rapidly wearing rim brake pads. After a month my pal went home, and I stayed for another month, and it was during this time I fell twice. It seems that we larger folk's weight causes the front end of these small-wheeled bikes to twist out of our hands in certain situations, throwing us at speed onto the pavement, with loss of skin and blood being the painful result. One day along the Loire River I decided to photograph the sunflower field alongside the farm road I was on when suddenly my bike drifted off the pavement ... I immediately dropped my camera (on a lanyard around my neck) and grabbed the handlebar and forcibly attempted to climb back onto the pavement, but the front end twisted violently out of my hands and over I went like a torpedo onto the tarmac. Another time outside Saint-Maxime I was coming fast down a hill from my hotel and realized I was too fast to comfortably hit the large speed bump as the road "T'd" at a stop sign at the bottom. So I came at it at an angle and too late noticed it was covered in sand. As I hit the sandy bump, the front end twisted once again VIOLENTLY out of my hands, and over I went again like a torpedo, skidding across the intersection ... a bloody mess. These two incidents were incredibly rare for me, an expert cyclist with 60,000 bike miles under my belt and who has pedaled across America 5,000 miles in all manner of weather and terrain without so much as dropping my bike. It was obvious that the 20" wheels were NOT meant for adults. So the next year I bought two full-sized Dahon 26"-wheeled folding mountain bikes with disc brakes, and my pal and I once again hit the bike trails of the Alps. Nothing could stop us on those bikes ... they were golden! And we used them for several more trips before my savings ran out after 15 summers of Alpine rides, and we were stuck at home in the USA getting our exercise on city streets once again. Be warned, you adults out there, 20" wheels are for KIDS and NOT adults! If you choose to take a chance, be sure to include a LARGE first aid kit in your backpack!