Byocycle Chameleon 24

Due to my employer removing my free car parking is found myself in the position of having to find an alternative to get to work, an ordinary bike would have left me sweaty and as I wear a suit wasn't really a practical option, using a scooter or motorbike was awkward as they weren't happy with giving me free parking for that either and leaving it out of sight is a recipe for an insurance claim where I work.

I toyed with the idea of fitting an electric motor to a folding electric bike as the conventional electric folders look a bit ermm odd is probably the polite way to put it. I did a fair amount of research and found the Byocycle chameleon which is a folding mountain bike with an electric motor. I couldn't find any folded dimensions so visited Kinesys ebikes and spoke to Chris who spent a fair while trying to figure out how to fit it in the boot of an MG ZT it will fit if you remove the spare wheel cover and slot the handlebars into that, I'd also suggest a blanket to make sure nothing gets scratched.

The bike is great I can park a mile away and be at my office sweat free in under 6 minutes following road signs and traffic lights.

My only observations are that the low gears are very low (you only have 7 gears) but going up hill with the motor off isn't too bad, it would benefit from a quick release front wheel so you can make it lay flatter in the boot and a velcro strap to hold it together when lifting or wheeling it around.

It's impossible not to giggle when riding it as you sail past others pedalling whilst you ride the throttle or climb step hills with no effort as others are leaning forward on theirs, it won't pull you up steep hills but it's a lot easier. Less than 0.1p per mile to run it and it makes a lot of sense as a form of cheap transport.

More power would be lovely but then it would need a licence, tax, MOT and insurance so becomes less practical in that respect, being able to use it as an electric moped or pedal assisted bike means my knackered knees don't suffer either. The other thing I like is that it doesn't look odd or electrically assisted so doesn't attract unwanted attention.