Ride1Up's Portola Attains the Impossible: Power, Price, and Comfort in One Neat Package

Folks, Ride1Up is a crew whose work we've featured on countless occasions. Why? Well, their aim so far has been to supply the public with powerful and affordable e-bikes, helping them stand a chance against established cycling giants. Well, several years after their beginnings, this crew is still going strong and spitting out machines that are in line with their ideals.

All that brings us to the Portola, Ride1Up's freshest solution to reducing how much fuel you burn and getting that blood pumping. Furthermore, the frame folding design also unlocks far-reaching places that you may have been itching to explore simply because you can toss it in your trunk, on a camper's roof rack, or in the back of your truck. Sure, this one still means you're burning fuel, but with a starting price of under $1,000 - $995 - you've got plenty of cash to spare.

Now, the Portola is rocking 20 x 3 in tires. Technically, these are fat tires, but the less plump kind, so expect an experience that offers a tad more control than your average 4 in cross-section tire but may not be as forgiving in the face of cracks and other obstacles in your path.

As for the frame, it's built out of aluminum, so nothing out of the ordinary here. What is rather special is the fact that it's a step-through frame, so comfort and safety are part of the magic, and the way this trinket folds to reduce itself to nearly half its initial size. The latter feature is essential if you often need to take a bus or even a train ride as another means of transportation. Did I mention it'll fit in an elevator, too, assuming it's not one of those tiny ones they use on airplanes?

Another aspect of the frame I need to draw your attention to is the rear cargo rack. Here, Ride1Up integrates a rack set right into the frame; you can see the welds. This means that this puppy is also tuned to carry quite the loads, and once we take the motor into consideration, that becomes even more apparent.

In short, Ride1Up ensures that whatever you plan on carrying with your Portola, be it you, some cargo, or another human (check the manufacturer's suggested weight limit for the rack), it'll make it to your destination because a 750 W motor (nominal) is strapped to the rear hub. I've ridden a similar setup on the Engwe L20, and I can say go for it.

Now, such a motor output is enough to have you playing around town rather fast. How fast? Overall, Ride1Up ships the Portola as a Class 2 e-bike, but once it's in your home, you can unlock it all the way up to 28 mph (45 kph), ranking it as a Class 3. Got a friend who is handy with computers and software? You can understand where I'm going with this.

However, a 750 W motor is going to be hungry, to say the least, and so you'll need a rather large battery array to keep you rolling around. Well, Ride1Up gives us two different options to choose from, either a 10.4 Ah or 13.4 Ah battery pack, both running under 48 V. So far, there's nothing on just how far you'll be able to ride with each of these two packs, but Engwe's L20 I tested was sporting the same motor strength with a 13.4 Ah battery.

It was enough for riding around 25 mi (40 km) with nothing but throttle, and once pedaling was added, I could get out around 35 mi (55 km), around 30% less than the manufacturer-reported range. We can expect this percentage to be true for the Portola, too, as I've reached this number testing numerous urban e-bikes across the price board, from $1,200 up to $6,000. Luckily, it's a removable battery, and the Portola's price leaves plenty of leeway to fulfill a long list of accessories.

The rest of the Portola is finished off with a suspension fork at the front, a display, and hydraulic brakes clamping down on 180 mm rotors. Oh, these babies have motor cut-offs, too, an added safety feature that's essential on just about any e-bike on the market (this is my personal opinion regarding safety standards). It may not seem like much, but you understand why this feature is important if you've ever ridden a two-wheeler without this function.

For the remainder of this article, get comfortable, finish this paragraph, and then take all you've read about and place yourself in the center of the action. What do you have? Well, the wind blowing through your hair, raised safety, granted by a lower center of gravity (20 in wheels), and some smiles that welcome you into the e-bike game.

I told you all this day would come; we can get our hands on a beefy e-bike tuned for the concrete jungle at half the price that we could just a couple of years ago. Welcome to the future.