Review: ENGWE P20, a folding e-bike sporting style, performance and several advisories

E-bikes are very popular around the world today. Just a casual search for one will reveal hundreds of options in all price ranges. It feels almost daunting to pick something that may or may not be good for your needs with a plethora of specifications to think about: belt drive? single gear? front motor hub or rear? extended battery pack? and so on.

Today, I'm looking at the ENGWE P20, a European e-bike company (though the bikes and/or various components are made in China) offering appealing specifications and promising style, convenience and performance in models like this P20 folding e-bike with torque sensor.

ENGWE offered some of their other models whilst I waited for stock to arrive of the P20, but my interest was firmly with the P20 due to its belt drivetrain and long-range battery. I have extensive experience riding chain and derailleur bikes, so I was more interested in the super-simple maintenance a belt drive system brings to the table. Anything that means no need to clean and lubricate a regularly used bike is a bonus, and for commuting especially, no more greasy trouser legs or the need for clips to protect them at the ankles.

The P20 is also the only model with a belt drive system and is only available in Europe and the UK. It seems the other models offer traditional chain and sprockets for the drivetrain, and whilst ENGWE have e-bikes available in most regions, the UK warehouse is the focus here due to this being a UK review. Regional guidelines and rules may dictate what is allowed to be sold in specific regions.

Some of the photos in this review are thanks to my good buddy Paul at Tokyo Magic. We rode out one late afternoon to put the P20 through its electric paces in a torrential downpour to see if it lived up to its IPX-rated credentials.

Buyers who are interested in the P20 can get an extra £/€100 discount by using the code ENGWEV100OFF at the checkout through the official website for a limited time.

Specifications

Assembly

The P20 is delivered flat-packed in a large flatscreen TV-sized box. Everything is well protected inside with zip-ties holding all the components tightly together.

Only the front wheel, seat post and riser bars come detached, which then require assembly, though no anti-seize compound or general lubrication grease is included, which I will cover in more detail shortly.

This is something that would have come in handy for those without these things kicking about in a toolbox.

With the front wheel on and lifting the P20 on the work stand, it was clear that adjustment was needed on the front brake caliper alignment, as the brake rotor was rubbing against the pads. This is easy to do, but none of the included Allen keys were the right size for the bolt on the caliper bracket, so I had to use my own.

The road-focused tyres are flat, and the included hand pump is mostly useless, so be sure to have your own portable digital pump or a manual one to hand. Digital is my recommendation, as it takes seconds to pump them up to the rated 40-60~ PSI. The tyres are made by Kenda and have the K-Shield feature, which is said to greatly reduce the chance of a puncture. The valves are traditional Schrader, so any pump will be compatible.

The mudguards will also need attaching to front and rear forks, and these were very easy to install. The steerer tube, riser bar and seat post are attached via tool-free clamps that are easy to operate.

Build quality

Mostly very good quality. The matte-finished frame paint feels high quality and doesn't reflect the Sun, which is nice. The riser bar is of equally decent quality, though there is assembly grease on the contact area where the stem clamp attaches, which I found did result in some creaking after a few weeks of use.

The same creaking could be heard from the steering tube contact areas with the headset and fork. Applying some liquid lubricant in those areas did seem to fix the creaking after a few more rides allowing the lubricant to get right into the nooks.

The bulk of the weight comes from both motor and battery pack, the rest of the components are Aluminium alloy and are lightweight. The total weight at a shade over 18KG is lightweight, considering that some non-electrically assisted bikes can hit the 16KG mark or more. So, all things considered, this is pretty lightweight for what it is, and largely thanks to the use of a belt drive instead of steel sprocket cassette and heavy chain making up a traditional drivetrain groupset.

Surprisingly, the crank was the one area that had no creaks coming from it, this is typically the first part of a bike that starts to creak if not lubricated or torqued up correctly as water and grime gets in.

I found the folding pedals to be quite low-quality, and the platform size was a little too small and a little too slippery. I ended up swapping the pedals out for a pair of wide platform metal studded ones I had which greatly improved grip and pedalling comfort:

The only other area where I thought the build quality was lacking was the handlebar grips, these are silicone/rubber, but the quality was low.

I also did not like the palm extension area, often finding it uncomfortable on longer rides. I replaced the grips with a higher quality silicone pair that again greatly improved riding comfort:

The hydraulic brakes are of decent quality. There is no OEM brand stamp I could find, but I suspect they are Tektro as the levers and calipers and discs look almost identical to my old bike that came with Tektro brakes.

The rotors are 160 mm front and back and the pads are installed via a locking pin which is bent at the end to secure the pads in place. A full set of spare brake pads are included in the accessory box, which is a nice gesture, though the pads are not as great up front which I will talk about a bit later.

On-board computer

The OBC offers a range of options to tweak or gauge bike and rider's performance via, and a cool feature that I quite like is the password lockout.

It's by use of a 4-digit number which can quickly be input. Without the correct code the electric motor is active making the P20 manual pedal powered only, and since it's a single gear belt drive, anybody stealing it won't be able to get too far too quickly as a result, hopefully....

The metrics logger remembers between charges and power cycles, too, meaning you can continue to mileage log indefinitely, though there is no option to reset just the speed and session trip info, only clear the whole lot, so long-term odometer readings are only long term if you never reset the short-term trip info, which also resets the other metrics.

The main homescreen shows a minimal amount of information, though these are just the bits you want to see whilst riding. Top down in the photo above: Drive mode, speed, total mileage, battery.

Navigating the OBC is very easy, too. The button on top of the screen is for power, the button below it is the mode/set button. Long pressing this displays the metrics screen, whilst long pressing it within 10s of powering on the OBC shows the main settings screen. There are two further buttons below the set button to switch drive mode or navigate the menu.

There is an ENGWE app that taps into the OBC and functions in a similar way to Strava, you manually start and stop during a ride, and it pots your map route and logs the metrics:

ENGWE has confirmed that the app is still in development after I reported some connection stability issues to them, which I encountered. Pairing (the app calls it binding) the P20 to the app is slightly convoluted, too, you must get the frame number from the underside of the bike, input it in, then add some other details such as purchase information.

You cannot connect the Bluetooth via your phone's Bluetooth manager, the BTLE connection must be initiated by the app once the P20 is turned on. I found this process quite problematic and required several emails back and forth with our contact at ENGWE.

Special features

The P20 comes with some unique features that other e-bikes do not have, such as a frame integrated LED headlight, tail, brake and indicators:

What is cool about the taillights is that they activate when you turn on the headlight, and the brake lights are part of the tail, just like on a car, they just get brighter when you pull a brake lever.

Of course, having the lights on will affect battery range, though there's still enough juice from a full charge to be able to ride out to work in the morning and get back in winter darkness at 5PM with plenty of battery remaining, so at least this offers some peace of mind.

The indicators are push-button style, so pressing once activates whatever side you press, another press de-activates the indicator.

Annoyingly, there is no indication on the OBC screen that you're using an indicator, so accidentally pressing one of the buttons, or forgetting to press again to de-activate after a turn might be an issue unless you always look down behind you to see it's still not flashing.

The main thing here is that all of the cabling is tucked away inside the frame which looks very clean, the front end of the bike does have exposed cabling, but this is necessary due to the nature of a bike's steering tube and headset without affecting rigidity and safety.

Folding away is easy. ENGWE claims 10 seconds is all that is needed, and I can confirm this is accurate. Just unlatch the centre catch on the frame, and the rest is self-explanatory. The riser bar also folds in for storage convenience, but for taking onboard public transport, it's useful leaving up for wheeling the bike folded in front of you.

The rear axle has a metal plate (shown above) where the magnetic stay mounted on the front wheel attaches to, this stops the bike from unfolding itself.

Performance

The electric rear hub motor is supported by a crank sensor which detects the amount of pedal force being applied at the crank, it then dynamically adjusts the necessary amount of motor assistance required.

I found that the experience of pedal assist via torque sensor did not take much time to get used to. It almost immediately felt like a natural extension of my legs, and all I had to do to keep up the pace was maintain a steady pedalling motion without exerting much energy from my own body.

Riding on a mixed range of road elevations is a breeze, even in mode 1 on the OBC which is the lowest level of pedal assistance. Simply applying a little more pedal pressure resulted in a smooth increase in motor assistance which easily took me up inclines, all I had to do was maintain a steady pedalling action once again.

It also did not matter how much dirt collected on the drive belt or rear hub since everything is weather protected, and dirt, unlike on traditional chain driven bikes, does not compromise the ride quality at all.

The carbon infused belt used on the P20 is rated for over 20,000 miles of riding, and it's likely the battery will have started to degrade after its 600 charge-cycle range has been reached before the belt needs replacing.

Freewheeling on the P20 is virtually silent, too, there is no regen for obvious reasons.

The battery performance is excellent. ENGWE claims 100KM of range on the website, this is 62 miles, and whilst I never had the need to do 62 miles in one riding session, I did do a continuous 30-mile ride that only consumed 1.5 bars out of the 5-bar battery indicator.

This ride was in September weather, around 22°C (71°F) outside and involved a broad range of surface conditions from grass to gravel to tarmac, as well as elevation changes (which Goole Maps didn't capture correctly as I strayed off the main routes) riding with pedal assist mode 1 throughout.

I've also been riding causally every other day, sometimes totalling 10 miles, other times 15 miles and a few with the lights on. Battery life seems consistent with the long-range testing and the lights only had a small impact on the battery range achieved. It's hard to put an exact figure on the impact because every ride has been different, different weather, different elevation and so on, all of which contribute to different levels of drain on the battery.

During this ride I maintained constant pedal motion when not free-wheeling and never once felt tired because of simply just maintaining pedal motion and letting the torque sensor detect what level of motor assist was needed. Keep in mind that this ride was completely coastal, so riding against the wind for half the journey adding resistance. I was impressed by this, and from this ride alone, it was clear that the 62-mile rating would pretty accurate.

There is a thumb throttle, and by default this is set to 3.5MPH which also means the level of torque available is barely enough to even go up a small incline. It is just enough to keep a walking pace on even ground.

The throttle can be unlocked via the settings menu to enable full speed and torque actuation, though depending on your country, there may be rules that dictate what you can achieve on electric throttle alone without pedalling when riding in public spaces. So please check your local regulations before doing this.

I did test the thumb throttle when unlocked and found that the top speed achievable is 19.5MPH which then tails down to around 17MPH when the battery drops to 4 bars or less. Acceleration is quick and, in a pinch, especially going up hill in a single geared bike, can add a level of convenience.

The speedometer is 1:1 with GPS apps on my phone, so the measured speeds and mileage ranges are completely accurate, and the maximum speed I was able to comfortably achieve with pedal assist was 26MPH during one ride but that was using up a lot of my own energy to maintain momentum and allow assist to still be effective.

For reference, the average speed I achieved whilst maintaining steady pedal momentum without using much of my own energy is around 14-15MPH which felt comfortable enough to continue pedalling for miles.

There is no fast charging here, it took around 4-5 hours to fully charge the battery when the OBC is showing 1 bar remaining. There is no way to see the exact percentage left on the OBC alone, you must connect the app and view the exact figure from there which is slightly annoying.

The charger is a mains-powered brick with a hard-wired cable that connects to the battery, and a standard C7 socket that connects the mains outlet cord. There is no charging indication on the OBC or time to full. A red/green LED on the brick is all you get to tell if it's charging or fully charged. The battery can be charged whilst still attached to the P20, or on its own.

Detaching the battery requires the use of a key (two are included) which unlocks it from the frame, an anti-theft measure, of course.

The questionable bits

Not everything is perfect, though. I already mentioned that some tools that were needed were not part of the tools that come with the bike, as well as there being no assembly grease being applied to some areas or effective lubrication to prevent some joints from creaking, to show what the creaking sounds like, take a listen to this video:

The brake levers on this P20 were wired up the wrong way round. I say wrong because in the UK this is not what we are accustomed to. I had to look up legislation around the world and found that:

One of the most confounding questions in cycling is this: Which hand should control which brake? In the U.S., the law requires that all bikes are sold with the left hand controlling the front brake, and the right hand the rear brake. It’s the same in France. In Italy and Great Britain, it’s the other way around: The right hand controls the front brake. - renehersecycles.com

The more you know! This may of course be different for ENGWE bikes that ship from their UK warehouse, though if UK stock is not available and your order ships from another country's warehouse, this may be an issue for you.

Due to the nature of the cabling and how it's all wrapped up, re-routing the cabling yourself will be not only tedious, but probably not even worth the effort in the long run for a small difference that is quickly re-learned.

The front brake pads, these are superb in the dry with excellent stopping power. They are so strong in fact that I can lift the back end in a hard-stop situation. The problem is that the stopping power up front greatly reduces in the wet where the pads consistently squeal, take a listen at the 13:21 timestamp on my previous review video.

The squealing also happens in the dry, but only after several heavy brake applications and the pads have become hot. Due to this I would highly recommend changing the pads to performance orientated ones from brands like Nukeproof, these cost no more than £20.

I found no problems at all with the rear pads, the rear wheel locks up under all conditions 100% of the time when using heavy lever pressure. Fun for skids, not fun for tyre tread wear!

The riser bar is height adjustable and all the photos in this review show it at the lowest position. this is also the position where the bar is at its most rigid.

The extension allows for the riser bar to be almost twice as high as this position but beware that anywhere above halfway over does compromised the rigidity of the entire steering tube. I lost confidence in its strength when taking corners at speed or just generally riding around on bumpy surfaces.

Cable clattering inside the frame is also something that may annoy some riders. I don't mind too much now that I am used to it, but there is no tubing inside the frame for the cables to be held in place, so when riding over rough ground, you hear then clattering about and no amount of pushing or pulling the cables going into the main frame helps the matter.

The stock pedals have already bene covered, but what I have yet to mention is that the bearings are more resistive than the smoother bearings found on aftermarket pedals, this can affect the quality of pedalling due to increased resistance leading to a small increase in fatigue due to needing to pedal a bit harder, on an e-bike this could mean more pedal assist which uses up a little more battery.

Replacing the pedals is easy and cheap, the ones I installed are the same as what I had on my MTB and cost around £30.

Because the headlight is attached to the frame and the pattern of the beam is not very wide, there is no illumination of where you are turning the bar, which means your intended path won't be lit up until the frame itself has turned toward that direction which will be a moment after the bar has been turned in motion.

This could be a concern for some, especially at speed, as an obstacle in the dark when riding in unlit areas may not be obvious until it's too close for comfort, and if you're riding in the rain, then those front brake pads need a longer distance to come to a complete stop due to the squealing issue shown earlier.

The location of the rear lighting at the bottom of the rear forks is slightly compromised. When in traffic, the car behind you is unable to see the indicators or brake tail lights as the front of the car can block driver visibility of this area. Lighting higher up on the rear of the bike or rider will be necessary to be completely safe and seen in the dark when commuting on the roads.

Conclusion

Compared to a traditional looking folding commuter bike like a Brompton, the P20 offers more modern styling with cleaner cable management, though this isn't without its issues as mentioned earlier with noisy cable clattering when riding over bumpy surfaces.

Removing the rear basket/storage frame and over-sized spoke reflectors can enhance the styling from a commuter bike to a sportier looking leisure bike which some may prefer.

Aside from the mentioned issues, I found that the P20 has delivered on its specifications. The battery range is excellent, the OBC is accurate and legible, although some sub settings are missing, such as not being able to clear short term metrics and leaving a long-term odometer available, along with the app being a bit unstable when connected to the bike, though ENGWE have said it is still under development so this can be excused for now.

The saddle is also very comfortable which is unusual as typically bundled saddles with any bike tend to be uncomfortable, not so here, and the post it is attached to is long enough to cater to all leg lengths.

The real issues I think are some of the components that come with the P20 being poor in quality, these are the riser bar grips, the pedals and the hand pump. Replacing both grips and pedals is another £50 on top of a P20 purchase which some may need to factor in if outright comfort and pedal grip is important.

I've been riding the P20 for over a month now and been using it as my single mode of local transport whenever possible. It has proven to be fast, efficient and most importantly, comfortable (once the pedals and grips were swapped).

i mention all of these things because £1000 is not a small amount of money to drop on an e-bike, and if you're buying for commuting mostly, then it is something that gets used around five days a week, so hearing what it is like to use regularly in a range of conditions, even some light off-roading, may help someone decide if the P20 is the right e-bike to pick.

The biggest positive impression for me has been the belt drivetrain and riding nonstop for just over 30 miles and still having over half of the battery left. It has impressed me enough that any future bike I buy will need to have something similar.

in terms of cleaning, it took me about five minutes to clean all the grit and mud splatter off the wheels, belt and frame with the garden hose after the ride in the downpour. If I did the same thing on a regular bike then I'd have to factor in an additional time to then dry and lubricate the chain, cassette and crankset, else I'd find them grinding on the next ride and forming light corrosion in some areas depending on the severity of wear on the sprocket teeth and chain.

I also found that the green colour drew a lot of attention, the retro-futuristic frame styling and colour mean this is unavoidable, so those wanting to go under the radar may prefer the black or white option. There is a limited-edition colour option too called Ace, though subjectively, the flame effect pattern does carry the wrong vibes to my eyes.

I've given the P20 a score of 6, this is in part due to the excellent performance and quality of the frame and other components. Though it misses a couple of points due to the concerns raised.

Some of these can be resolved by simply wearing better visibility cycling clothing and using external lights which would be common practice anyway for a regular commuter, and many people would be changing the stock grips and pedals on most bikes as rarely is it the case that these components are either comfortable or of decent quality to begin with for extended riding.

Though at £1000, these concerns should not really exist. If the P20 was £600, then I could understand, but it wouldn't be.