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Fiido Air Carbon Fiber Electric Bike Review: A Light, Quiet Ebike
Despite a few outliers like the $7,850 Brompton T-Line E-Motiq, most electric bikes are big and cumbersome. While 40, or even 50, pounds is not considered heavy, if you’ve ever had to carry one up a flight of stairs, or manhandle it onto a bike rack, you’ll beg to differ.
Electric bikes are hugely practical if you have a garage or easy access to storage, but in urban areas, where space is limited and bike theft is common, basic pedal power or bike-share schemes remain the sensible way to go. But Chinese direct-to-consumer brand Fiido has a better idea in the form of the Air, a single-speed, pedal-assist electric bike built around a carbon-fiber frame and components that weighs just 30.3 pounds.
The Fiido Air uses a belt-drive system instead of a chain, and it comes with pneumatic disc brakes, a 250-watt rear-axle motor, 208.8 Wh (watt-hours), and a quoted maximum range of 37.5 miles. It also boasts a fingerprint scanner, integrated lights, app, and smartwatch. And despite its looking like something a 12-year-old might ask Sora to design, I’ve absolutely loved riding it. There’s plenty I’d change, and it won’t suit everyone, but for urban commuting on a reasonable budget, I’ve not ridden better.
There’s something amusingly futuristic about the Fiido Air. The curved contours of the carbon-fiber frame and internally routed cabling give it a sleek appearance. Some people have chuckled at it, one boy pointed and said, “Woah, look at that cool bike Daddy!” I’m somewhere in between. But I do love the fact that it looks more like a traditional commuter bike—albeit a souped-up, space-age one—than your average clunky electric bike.
As well as the frame, the front fork, handlebars, stem, and aero-style seat post are all carbon. It’s an impressive amount of carbon fiber for the cost, and shows how hard it is to keep the weight of electric bikes down. Being single-speed and ditching the display also reduces weight.
It is available in medium, large and XL, catering to everyone from 5′5″ to 6′9″. The large fit my 5′9″ frame well.
Carbon components aside, the Fiido Air features a 250-watt rear motor with 35 newton-meters of peak torque, paired with a Mivice torque sensor that adjusts assistance based on rider input. The integrated battery is 208.8 Wh, charged via a 36-volt charger, and the brand has calculated a range of up to 37.5 miles in Normal mode, dropping to 32.3 miles in Sport mode. Top speed for assisted pedaling is just 15.5 mph, which might not suit everyone, but it’s more than acceptable for short urban commutes.
The headline stats are a little underwhelming, but this isn’t a bike designed for long distances, flat-out speed, or tough conditions. It’s a lightweight urban commuter, and for my circumstances—living in a major city with a short daily ride and not many hills—it’s a practical one at that.
The bike has two standard speed assist modes, Normal and Sport, or you can choose to use just pedal power. It comes with Shimano BR-MT410 hydraulic disc brakes, nice and chunky Kenda 700×40C tires, and a surprisingly good saddle. It has a maximum payload of 264 pounds, and the single-speed drivetrain uses a Gates Carbon Drive CDN belt system with a 60-tooth crankset and 22-tooth rear cog.
The Air’s 208.8-Wh battery is small by electric bike standards, but that helps keep the weight down. Integrated neatly into the carbon down tube, it maintains the bike’s clean lines, but has the downside of being nonremovable, so you’ll need to bring the whole bike to a charger.