Drop Few Bucks on a Charter F Folding E-Bike and Help Save the Honey Bees Too

To make things easier for would-be owners of e-bikes, a crew from out in Ohio, U.S.A., Buzz Bicycles, has taken it upon them to be the answer to expensive and monstrous e-bikes. Funny enough, they're part of a group of companies that include Huffy, Niner Bikes, Allite, and Royce Union, and together, they amass over 125 years of cycling experience. Maybe that's why the Charter F folding e-bike comes in with a price tag of a flat $1,000 (€944 at current exchange rates).

The easiest way to help you understand how and what this bike is built for is to have you imagine that you just bought one. The first thing you'll have to do once you've received your package is assemble it, including adding the pedals, and then you'll be looking at an aluminum-frame machine that weighs no more than 35 pounds (15.8 kilograms). Since the battery pack should be empty, you may need to stand by for up to six hours before you start riding.

Once your battery is at full blast, you put on a helmet and head for the front door. There just may be one issue, you live on the tenth floor of your building, and carrying a full-size, 35 pounds bike down that many flights of stairs may be daunting. Thankfully, this trinket is a foldable one, and all you must do is devote a few seconds to pulling and locking pins and then just hop on the elevator. Once downstairs, just work the pins in reverse order, and off you go.

So, what exactly will you be riding? Like any e-bike around, there's a motor mounted to the rear hub. Running with a rating of 250 watts of power, it's enough to assist you up to speeds of 20 mph (32 kph). If that's too fast for you, you'll be able to select one of three levels of assistance from a controller mounted neatly on the handlebar.

Because bicycles are defined by their eventual purpose, Charter F is clearly not meant to be seen smashing it down mountains or on off-road trails. The 20-inch tires ensure you stay on the streets, at best crossing a grassy knoll or some unpaved road. Since there are no suspension abilities integrated into the frame, your tires will be the basis for vibration attenuation. But you could always mess with your saddle and grab one of those with springs under your glutes.

Furthermore, it seems as though the F is built for a particular lifestyle, and judging by the images in the gallery, it's destined for folks who are always on the go and need an e-bike to explore areas where traditional cars wouldn't dare venture. I say this because we can see these babies being loaded into RV garages.

Yet, the same holds true for people that need an e-bike as a last-mile solution. If you live in a crowded city where parking near your office is often a problem, just park a few miles away from work, and weave through cars and people like the Flash on your way to save the day. Don't worry, a range of up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) should have you riding worry-free.

The last thing you need to know about this folding e-bike is that $50 of the price you pay for this bugger goes to a very wholesome and life-giving cause, saving honey bees. Yes, that cash goes toward "adopting" a beehive through Operation Honey Bee's Adopt-A-Hive Program. Sounds like a neat way to ensure you have lots of flowers to see and fruit to eat this next year.

At the end of the day, you're getting an e-bike for $1,000, $50 will ensure our future generations have real food to eat, and you can throw it into the trunk of your car, under an office desk, or in an RV garage. All are features worth considering if you're in the market for a new lifestyle.